Guest mflora Report post Posted February 26, 2009 FMCA.com is creating a new online Business Directory and is seeking motorhome owners' feedback. The Business Directory will be a searchable online listing of FMCA commercial member campgrounds and RV repair facilities, as well as motorhome dealers and manufacturers. What features would make our online Business Directory a useful resource that you would continue to use when looking for motorhome-related services? How do you use the Internet to research campgrounds and decide which ones to stay at while traveling? We welcome your input and appreciate any suggestions as we develop this directory for motorhome owners. Thank you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xplorer Report post Posted February 26, 2009 I would like to give your question(s) some more thought,,,but my first reaction is: 1. A means to input member reviews of every business,,,,similar to rvservicereviews.com and rvparkreviews.com (I do not have any relationship with either of these sites) 2. Website link to the business/campground. 3. In the event something goes bad,,,,it would be nice to have a simple means for a fair resolution. Anytime I need service and or a campground,,,,the first place I go is to the above review sites to see what experiences others have had. Anytime I have used a business that has had reviews from others, I have not been disappointed. Customer service, honesty, and reliability/competence are my most important concerns when searching for a business. I don 't want to be ripped off any more than anyone else,,,,I don't mind paying a fair price for a service if I am confident that they will stand behind their work,,,,,If they have my confidence they have my business. I have my personal listing of businesses I have accumulated, throughout the country that I return if I am the area or even close when I need service. Without having access to members reviews of businesses,,,it would just be another search process,,,,and a shot in the dark as what to expect. Good Luck with your venture. {Maybe if businesses knew their service/sales would potentially have public reviews posted,,,,,,it might be a win,win for all,,,,business that do good work,,,obviously, their reviews would be what is expected. Other businesses,,,,,welllllll! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Wayne77590 Report post Posted February 26, 2009 I am in total agreement with Xplorer regarding reviews, but the reviews need to be fair. I like RV Park Reviews, and I have no affiliation with them, in that they use radio buttons as a polling feature of what parks have. The same could be done for service. The narrative is of more importance to me, but again, it has to be fair. Recently I read some reviews of the CG we are presently staying at that were, in my opinion, not fair. They indicated that the personnel were rude and uncaring. I have found out over the years that if you approach someone with an attitude, you will get attitude back. Our review of this CG will not be in keeping with their thoughts. How do I research a CG. Wow! I have so many different ways, including the reviews. First, if we have an idea of where we want to stop I will use Microsoft Street and Trips to get an idea if the CG's in the area. Once I figure it out that way I will switch to Microsoft Live Maps in the internet and look at the options in the area. With live maps I can drag the map in any direction and see what CG's are in the area. Knowing that no one organization can be a complete source, I have joined several camping organizations and I wil use their internet services, along with the camp ground directories that are sent to me (DW does that aspect) It all seems to be time involved, but normally we find a CG fairly fast that we like and do not have to go through the entire searching process. Once we have stayed at a CG, we then know if we want to ever stay there again. We then write an opinion on that CG in a reviews section. Besides reading reviews, when at a CG one-on-one word of mouth seems to be a very good way to find your next CG. Someone who has just come from the direction you are going and can say if a CG is bad, good, or indifferent. I also need more time to think on this one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sueglassart@tds.net Report post Posted February 28, 2009 I believe Xplorer and Wayne77590 said it all. If our business directory has the search and the comments proposed by Xplorer with Wayne77590 modifications it would be a great business sight. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
travelingsages Report post Posted February 28, 2009 Good input above. There also needs to be a way to keep the data current. An example is the experience that I had last spring. I am from the West Coast and found myself in College Park, MD which is near Washington, D.C. I needed to have an oil change and lube job done on my motorhome which is on a Workhorse chassis. I looked in my Workhorse Chassis manual which listed a location right nearby. I drove by to make sure that I could get my big rig in and out of their facility and it appeared that they were pretty busy. I then stopped in and made an appointment for my service. When I returned to have the service done, it turned out that they didn't even have the oil filter and had to send someone out to get one. The final bill was about 50% more than they had quoted earlier and they would not budge on it. I ended up putting in a review on www.rvserviesreviews.com but that was all I could do. I later went into the Workhorse web site and found that they had an online version of the authorized service centers and this company was no longer on the list! Anyway, my point is that FMCA would need to keep their business list current. I am sure that they know we expect them to do some vetting and not just take their money for a listing. It will do me no good to have a reference to a business if they are sleaze bags and no one will tell me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cg-henry@comcast.net Report post Posted March 1, 2009 Excellent input. Likewise, I use both "reviews" mentioned, as well as one website that is google map based. If your intent is not to have it map based, it goes without saying, but needs to be said, to have the data base zip code searchable. I personally think this would become a well used feature. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xplorer Report post Posted March 1, 2009 In the event that FMCA chooses to provide a business directory and campground directory which allows reviews,,,,any business listing where I have received services or stayed at a campground,,,,I will go back through my records and input my experience with any pertinent business or campground,,,if allowed. One thing I keep in mind when using a site that has allows reviews,,,,is that everyone has their own perception based on their personal experience,,,,and I consider all reviews subjective. However, that said,,,,,I do look for tangible comments,,,,as well as personal experiences. Obviously,,,the more reviews that have been recorded, the better to judge a particular business or campground....and whether I want to use that particular business or campground. An ability to input reviews,,,,may not be headache free,,,,but would sure be a valuable resource for FMCA members.....Also,,,,it would be interesting whether sponsored businesses would be interested in responding to reviews,,,,if appropriate,,,,and or have a section on the forum for a technical expert as another resource. Just mho. Anyway,,,thanks for asking for input... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kalynzoo Report post Posted March 5, 2009 I too use RVparkreview regularly. If FMCA were to also maintain a review site, I would appreciate a way not only adding comments but also to upload pictures of the sites, the campgrounds, and the surrounding area Somehow the pictures supplied by the campground often neglect the train tracks, the power plant, or the truck stop next door. Travelers pictures would be both informative and interesting. It would be something not offered on other sites. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
travelingsages Report post Posted March 5, 2009 Google Earth is a good way to see the nearby road construction or railroad tracks when you are checking out a campground. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbutler Report post Posted March 18, 2009 When we travel, proximity is our first concern. I would be most interested in having location information (map) and the ability to find nearby campgrounds and businesses on a common map. I seldom use the internet to search because the sites on the internet have a few hundred campgrounds. I can grab a book and look at virtually every campground in the area. So I want to see lots of campgrounds, the more the better. The second concern is rates for staying at campgrounds. There are guides that list recent rates in general terms and other guides that only occasionally list rates. My first choice is always to go to the guide that lists rates for every campground. If I can't find a campground near where I want to stay in the first guide, then I'll check the second guide. We usually don't spend too much time at any one campground during our summer travels so we will put up with less than excellent conditions for a brief stay. If conditions are bad enough we mark that campground off our personal list. A campground near our daughters home was a campground on our personal list for six years. Last year we ended up there because the campground had changed it name. It turns out the management had changed as well and the campground was now welcoming and a much friendlier campground. Being able to rate campgrounds would be useful but I prefer independent ratings based on specific criteria. When it comes to businesses, ratings from members would be helpful. Businesses are in my estimation even more proximity dependent when the need is a repair or emergency situation. Links to the campground or business are a must and keeping data current should be a priority. Now, here is the kicker. We avoid schedules whenever possible. We frequently travel for a day and then decide where we'll stay for the night or for a few days. I don't need an internet connection to use the book references. The internet information would have to be considerably more powerful than the books to make it the first place that I go. Internet connections are still difficult to come by especially when north of the border. Slow connections abound and web pages are getting more complex and slower to load. This makes searching for information a very trying process. So keep it simple and quick to find any campground and then make the information as complete as you can. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seajaycecil@yahoo.com Report post Posted March 19, 2009 I propose this for FMCA. You should make a list of "Rotten Egg'' and ''Good Egg'' businesses. By that I mean let us give you names of businesses that will ''rip off'' an out of town person if they can. Case in point. My wife Willa and I spent about 20 hours setting in the high desert of Utah waiting for the service truck form Johnson Towing to arrive to change a blowout. When service was finally rendered the attendant, ''Goober'', sat down at my table to negotiate his cash ''fee'' for the service. I laughed at him. He said that the towing contract did not cover his labor. I refused to pay his cash ''fee''. He became belligerent and pressed the point about paying his cash ''fee'' or suffer the consequences of not paying the ''fee''. I told him that he could take it up with my two associates Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson or he could leave standing up and forget about his cash ''fee''. He left in a huff. He was simply trying to rip us off because we were ''out of townees''. (I have a premium road service package that covers everything) Also, put in a list of businesses that treat us right. It is so easy to take advantage of someone on the road because they have little choice when they need service of some kind. Call them '' GOOD EGGS'' and ''ROTTEN EGGS'' and let us up-date the list with our travels and experiences on the road. There are many good people out on the road that are just trying to make a living and they give you a good product for a fair price and there are a several out there that will 'stick it to you' if they get the chance. As a group we can not do business with the ''Rotten Eggs'' and give our business to the ''Good Eggs'' and we will all reap the rewards...... Willa, Gus, Finnie and me note .......... my two associates never entered the room or showed their presence .............. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sjmondl Report post Posted March 20, 2009 Mike, I tell you this, I was very disappointed today when I logged into FMCA.COM trying to get info on Commercial Members. I even read online that Members are to be able to find Comm Member info via the FMCA Magazine online - no so. Members should be able to access this info online easily. Steve M. F147279 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest mflora Report post Posted March 24, 2009 Steve, Your point, "Members should be able to access this info online easily", is exactly why I solicited input from people. We felt that our previous version of the online business directory was not an adequate implementation of listing FMCA's commercial members. Therefore, we are currently working on a much improved version of the online business directory and hope to have it available in the next several weeks. This new version will incorporate many of the suggestions that have been made by the people responding in this forum. Thank you and all of the others that have responded with their input. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
