Dealerships reopening Welcome back to the forecourts
SOME TWO AND a half months after the lockdown was imposed, Britain’s caravan dealers were finally allowed to reopen again at the start of June.
We caught up with all of our most recent Owner Satisfaction Survey winners to see how they have been faring – on the whole, it’s a reassuringly positive story.
n Blackmore Vale Leisure
› www.bmvleisure.co.uk
This Knaus, Weinsberg and T@B dealership, in the heart of Thomas Hardy country near Shaftesbury, in Dorset, is providing gloves and masks to all customers who visit the premises. A new 2m social distancing rule is in place.
Access to the indoor showroom is restricted, and Perspex screens have been installed at sales desks. The company is also increasing its cleaning and sanitation rota.
n Broad Lane Leisure
› www.broadlane.co.uk
Broad Lane Leisure has social distancing measures at both its Kenilworth and its Alcester sites, which you can check for yourself before you go, by visiting their Facebook pages.
These include providing plenty of hand sanitiser, setting up a new one-way system, restrictions on | SUMMER SPECIAL 2020 entry to the shop, and distancing around sales desks and café tables.
Director Darren Brown says the website has been “inundated” with what he calls “fingerfall”
(as opposed to footfall you might get with a conventional retailer).
“The sales we are achieving, across the board, are running well ahead of expectations. Once the caravan sites open, Uk-wide, we expect to see even greater demand, which we might not be able to keep up with.
“It’s a nice problem to have, but it needs managing to ensure we do not let people down.”
Darren says first-time buyers and those people returning to caravanning all stand to benefit from offers Swift is continuing throughout the summer.
These include a £1500 discount on an Elegance model, £1000 off Challengers (including Broad Lane’s Fairway Platinum dealer specials) and £750 off Sprites (including Broad Lane’s Fairway Classic models).
‘Our sales are well ahead of expectations, and we expect even greater demand once campsites reopen’
n Chichester Caravans › www.chichester-caravans.co.uk Offering Lunar, Bailey and Swift models, this dealer has branches in East Sussex, and Bromsgrove in the West Midlands, as well as Chichester. It has installed new social distancing signage and plenty of hand sanitisers at all of its branches, and is committing to cleaning vans after each customer has had a look at them.
The company is also preparing videos of all its demonstrator models, which it can send out to prospective customers.
n Couplands Caravans › www.couplandscaravans.co.uk Lincolnshire-based Couplands Caravans is encouraging all of its customers to book a sales appointment, and insisting on appointments only for its service department.
If you turn up at the premises in Louth but don’t want to go inside, you can call reception and a member of staff will come out to meet you. You will also have to ring a doorbell to be let into the shop.
The company has introduced hand sanitisers throughout the building, but because its whole range of new Bailey, Coachman and Swift caravans, and Bessacarr by Design dealer specials, is on display outside on the forecourt, they haven’t felt it necessary to establish a one-way system.
Director Sally Bonner says they are still aware that, since opening at the start of June, they have to make up for a 10-week backlog. But the initial signs have been very encouraging.
Sally says: “It has been very positive. We have seen lots of new customers who’ve never been caravanning before, making purchases with no part-exchange involved.”
n Newport Caravans & Motorhomes
› www.newportcaravans.com As it is based in Wales, where at the time of writing no clear roadmap on easing lockdown had been published, Newport Caravans is not officially open
to customers yet, and doesn’t expect to be until probably the start of July.
But director Rob Lynch says they are still taking telephone calls and sending out ‘see it now’ videos of the Swift, Elddis and Buccaneer caravans on offer.
Then if you are interested after that, they can arrange for you to come to the dealership forecourt, where, provided you wear a face mask and gloves, the caravan you are considering will be unlocked for you to view.
n Oxford/swindon Caravan Centre
› www.swindoncaravansgroup.com The social distancing rules this Bailey, Lunar and Swift dealership (which has another branch in Reading) has introduced are set out in detail on its website, with a helpful video.
In short, it is encouraging you to try sales calls by live video. Then, should you go ahead and buy a new van, they can provide you with a quote by phone, text, video or email.
You can then pay for the van by BACS transfer, and a 100-point PDI and thorough valeting will be carried out at least 72 hours before the handover.
On handover day itself, all of the paperwork can be emailed, and you can request either a pre-recorded or a live handover video. Staff will even hitch up your new caravan, without you having to get out of your car.
If you do want to go into the showroom itself, numbers of customers will be restricted, and you will need to follow the new floor markings for social distancing and one-way systems.
Expect to see plenty of Perspex screens at sales desks, and to use the hand sanitisers provided.
When it comes to servicing, the firm is working through a backlog and isn’t currently taking on any new appointments.
However, it points out that Bailey has extended its service warranty period by six months and Swift by four months, while Lunar Automotive is assessing individual cases on merit.
n Peter Roberts Caravans & Motorhomes
› www.peterrobertscaravans.co.uk Huddersfield-based used caravan dealer Peter Roberts is now open again, but is carrying out viewings by appointment only.
It has taken advantage of the lockdown to give the whole site a deep clean, and if you turn up there, you should find all sales staff wearing personal protective equipment, including masks and gloves. There is also new signage to encourage you to keep proper social distancing, and plenty of hand sanitisers are available. › raymondjamescaravans.co.uk This Warwickshire Coachman, Elddis and Bailey dealer is open for sales, collection and servicing only, and strictly by appointment (confirmed by email beforehand).
It will not be taking on any new servicing work for the rest of the year, just warranty services. As well as abiding by manufacturers’ extended warranties, the firm has extended its own used warranty service intervals by six months.
The main gate to the depot is closed, and you will be guided in via radio by a member of staff.
The company says it has had more than 3000 caravan-related enquiries during lockdown, with many people reserving vans for purchase. It has also extended its hours, and is open from 8am to 8.30pm, Monday to Saturday, and 10.30am to 4.30pm on Sundays.
n Ropers Leisure
› www.ropersleisure.co.uk
North Yorkshire’s Ropers Caravan World is partially open for sales and service. Its accessory shop remains ‘click and collect’ only.
Anyone looking to buy a van is being encouraged to make an appointment, and if you would rather not go to the site, Ropers can arrange a contactless visit or a video call.
Ropers prefers the video option for handovers, or customers can pick up their caravan without a handover, and return at a later date for a demonstration.
All servicing must be booked in advance, and before you turn up with your caravan, staff will contact you to ensure you are showing no signs of Covid-19.
When you arrive, you will be expected to leave your caravan with the keys in the door, ready for a member of staff to pick it up while respecting social distancing.
Once all agreed work has been completed, they will leave keys and paperwork in the caravan, ready for you to collect it again.
n Salop Leisure
› www.salopleisure.co.uk
Salop Leisure’s main site outside Shrewsbury, the only one of its three outlets that sells touring caravans, is now open again.
The site has a garden centre, so it was allowed to open earlier than other dealers, although any caravan business was only for key
‘We’ve seen lots of new customers who have never been caravanning before’
| SUMMER SPECIAL 2020
workers initially. But the company is now fully open, and although they are encouraging customers to book sales appointments, you can still turn up on spec to view its new Swift and used models.
You should be prepared for the usual social distancing measures, and to use hand sanitisers, and at the moment the dealership’s large café is only providing takeaways – you aren’t allowed to sit there.
Operation of the firm’s servicing department is back to two-thirds of what it was before lockdown, although the remote servicing team is not yet up and running.
Joint managing director Mark Bebb, however, is very optimistic about the return to work, and thinks that there might even be a shortage of caravans for sale later this year.
“We are doing significantly better than we had dreaded just a few weeks ago. Sales are 70% of what they were this time last year and some 65% of those are to new caravanners. We sold 10 caravans this week and only two came with part-exchanges.
“Our shop is probably doing about 67% of what it was last year. But we are fully open for seven days a week now.”
n Sussex Caravan Centre
› www.sussexcaravancentre.co.uk This Coachman, Elddis and Swift dealership has two branches, one each in East and West Sussex. Both are now open again, but with significant changes.
Booked appointments for sales viewings are being encouraged, although you might still be able to turn up at the site on spec.
Either way, you will have to identify which caravans you are interested in – only those will be unlocked for you to see when you arrive. There will also be a limit on how many caravans you can view at one time.
The company has abandoned its former practice of carrying out two-hour handovers, because this would not be possible under social distancing rules. Instead, it is working on producing a new series of tutorials, which it can send out to customers before the end of June.
These are something it thinks might be a positive spin-off of the lockdown, because they could be used more widely in future.
If you are bringing another caravan in part-exchange, it will need to come in at least three days before handover, although all of the necessary paperwork can be dealt with remotely.
The accessory shop is open, but only for one set of customers at a time. The service department is also operating on a limited contact basis. More information will be made available to anyone booking a service.
Finance director Jack O’neill says he is very pleased with the reopening, and the firm doesn’t have much 2020 stock left to sell. He adds: “We haven’t brought all of the staff off furlough yet, but everyone has been buying stuff ready for when caravan parks reopen at the start of July. It has all been a very positive start.” › www.thecaravancompany.com This used van dealer has two branches, in Wimborne, Dorset, and Finedon, Northamptonshire.
Since it reopened, staff have their temperature checked each time they come into work. It is also asking customers to check how they feel before they come in, and not to visit if any of their party has Covid-19 symptoms.
On arrival at either site, you will be offered face masks and gloves if you want to use them.
Perspex screens have been installed at sales desks, and new signage reminds everyone to stay 2m apart. There are plenty of hand sanitisers, and you will be encouraged to pay for anything by card, rather than cash.
n White Arches Caravans
› www.white-arches.co.uk
This Norhamptonshire Swift and Bailey dealer has a 2m distancing rule at its Rushden showroom.
It is also placing ‘occupied’ signs on all caravans that are being viewed, so no more than one party is in a van at any time.
The company is carrying out regular cleaning, and customers are being encouraged to use the hand sanitisers provided.
n Winchester Caravans › www.winchestercaravans.com Winchester Caravans, which deals in new Bailey, Compass, Lunar and Swift, is requiring all staff to wear face masks and gloves in customers’ caravans.
It is introducing a 2m social distancing rule throughout the showroom, and is pledging to wipe down every sales desk after each appointment.
Customers are encouraged to book appointments, and to look, not touch, when inside vans. For handovers, the company is keen to send out videos, or customers can collect without a handover and come back at a later date for a demonstration.
If you are bringing your van in for servicing, you will be asked to leave the key in the door and to pick it up the same way, with keys left in the door and relevant paperwork inside.
Contactless sales and service visits are possible, as are sales deliveries. The dealer has changed the layout of its accessory shop, and is opening an online shop.
‘Sales are 70% of what they were this time last year and 65% are new customers’