Looking for a professional organization with legit opportunities? Not Here!
Pros
Pro #1 No background checks so if you're a child molester welcome aboard, your secret is safe here! Pro #2 Looking for a promotion? Find the manager who appreciates your ability to feed his ego and you too are on the fast path to success. Pro #3 Speaking of fast-tracking - nepotism is a sure fire way to get ahead and it is rampant. Pro #4 Training is a breeze. The first 3 to 6 weeks you'll spend time waiting for your log-on so you can do your specialized training and, if you're from the used car business...well you'll feel right at home with the training video. Pro #5 Speaking of training, the Golf Cart Operational training is top notch. Pro #6 The beauty is once you earn your Certificate of Completion for the golf cart training you’re grandfathered, you too will be able to take a family of four out for test drives in 50,000 - 60,000 lb. motor home. No prior experience necessary. Pro #7 If you're planning a career in sales you’ll be glad to know you won't have to worry about transparency – local management is able to assist you by limiting the visibility you’ll have on each of your sales so you’ll never have to be concerned if you’re actually being paid your full commission. It's a great system and if you like being screwed you'll love this place.
Cons
For the most part, Camping World's reputation across the country and within the RV industry is truly deplorable. Now, if I were in your shoes and reading this review I would be asking the obvious question which is; "If things are as described, why in the world did this guy stay?" Right? That seems like the right question doesn't it? I know it’s a question I’ve asked myself a few times. The top three answers are easy and they are all about me! 1) A roof over my head. 2) Food in the refrigerator. 3) Healthcare benefits. There are a few other reasons for not leaving earlier. Over a short period things become progressively more like the used car business and my role became as a buffer between the buyers and those folks in Sales, Service and Finance who are less then scrupulous. Overtime it became more and more obvious that Camping World’s business model meant selling as many family once vs. selling families their first, next, and next and even their last RV. No matter how good your reputation, the negative press simply shuts down repeat and referral business. As an FYI, you do not earn a commission for the selling the units – you get paid only if that unit rolls off the lot and that is where the rub is. In many cases the Service or Finance folks get in the way of themselves and end-up upsetting your client to the point where the client just walks away. If your desire is to be the best in the business, Camping World is not the place you want to invest your energies. Are there good people at Camping World stores; absolutely! Do they have the right people in place to execute their business plan. From the inside out the answer is no. Elevating people to their level of incompetency is the norm not the exception and will continue to erode the shaky infra-structure. Educate yourself and keep an eye out for investor sentiment – I think you might see some drastic changes to the basic stability of Camping World. Listen in on the quarterly conference and investor relation presentation and don’t be afraid to read between the lines. An example is the push for building their consignment business. This is typically free inventory and companies who may not have the capital to purchase or fund new RV’s…well, you can come to your own conclusions. The RV business is a great business, but Camping World is not in the RV business. Not in the real sense. Until they get the people part right they are not much more then a clearing house of new and used RVs and in theory a value added resellers of memberships, insurance, financing and parts etc.
