Karl Says Goodbye

[Mike G]

Hard to say whether Karl was given a choice of resigning 'or else,' or whether he simply chose of his own accord to move on. It could be either one, and we may never know which was the truth. That's the way things work in the business world. The company saw its huge backorder list dwindle away and the future prospects aren't as bright as they were (not necessarily bad, but still not as bright). So the honchos may have become disenchanted with Karl's leadership. On the other side of the coin, managers often leave at a juncture when they still can brag about successes, and waiting too long can jeopardize a career if things turn too sour in the company, so Karl might have just chosen to "git while the gittin's good".


My son is an engineer in a petroleum business. Some years back they wanted to promote him to management. He declined. He told us that managers come and managers go; it's a revolving door, and they have to be shameless self-promoters plus know when to cut & run before they get an involuntary heave-ho. As an experienced engineer who started 'at the bottom' in CAD, he's stable in employment because he's just about indispensable; he can do almost every job in the place (other than the fabrication shop).

[Mark James]

He gave no reason for his departure which is telling. Can’t help but think this is about slowing sales. Suspect we may see some big changes at Escape in the coming months.

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

some of us will be glad to see him go.
Hopefully the new management can undo some of the changes.
Love to see the
Quilty control issues get better.
let U.S customers pay the same as Canadian customers.
let a customer see the trailer before paying in full.
Have some type of warranty on trailers. That a customer can use. This going out and getting bids does not work. At least in my location no Rv repair shop will even look at a escape trailer. I feel the changes over the last 4 years where all based increasing profits. I know this is a business and they need to make money, but you also need to balance customer satisfaction or sales will drop.
Just my option

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Mark James

He gave no reason for his departure which is telling. Can’t help but think this is about slowing sales. Suspect we may see some big changes at Escape in the coming months.

Hi: Mark James... My sediments exactly!!! Maybe the whole of ETI is "Going south"!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[JohnK]

Perception is not always reality but sometimes it is. Accurate or not, my perception was that Karl was the face, perhaps even an unwilling face on the ugly body of the Suburban cooktop debacle. Suburban and ETI's parent comprised the rest of that ugly customer service body. During my career I once had to engineer a career change to preserve my own ethical honesty. That took several months. Without knowing differently, I'll give Karl the benefit of the doubt that he too is making a move for ethical reasons. Please say it is so Karl.

John

[Ian G]

I am wishing both Karl and Escape future success.
Looking at Karl's LinkedIn profile he has a very impressive portfolio, I am sure he will find his next exciting challenge very soon.

[Selkirk]

I'm not going to speculate as to the specific reasons behind Karl's departure. However, my Spidey Senses have been tingling for the last little while regarding the future direction of ETI's leadership.

Though I would have welcomed the opportunity, I never had the chance to interact with Karl directly. My only exposure to him was as the marketing face of the company. From that perspective, his no-nonsense/customer-centric approach seemed sincere. I don't regret doing business with ETI under his tenure....and certainly wish him well.

It will be interesting to see how the company will evolve in light of the leadership change. I think Karl's successor faces some considerable challenges.....some specific to ETI, others affecting the entire industry.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Selkirk

Though I would have welcomed the opportunity, I never had the chance to interact with Karl directly.

Well I did, the most recent a couple of weeks ago were one-on-one conversations about some evolving design details.

He's an engineer with a problem solving brain and he was hands on. There certainly was no hint in what he said that he would be moving on in a couple of weeks.

He read all the posts on the forum and other places. Must have been frustrating to read some of the misinformed statements and not be able to reply without getting into a dog fight.

Wishing him well.

Ron

[SageRpod]

The conversation around quality really makes me chuckle. If you really want to experience poor quality, just go to a Camping World or any RV dealership and check out the stuff that is being cranked out these days. I guarantee you will break out in a cold sweat.

Everyone has different expectations and perceptions of what the word "quality" means to them. Our 5.0 and ETI have exceeded all of our expectations and with over 5K miles in less than 6 months, shows no sign of letting us down.

[SageRpod]

Originally Posted by Ian G

I am wishing both Karl and Escape future success.
Looking at Karl's LinkedIn profile he has a very impressive portfolio, I am sure he will find his next exciting challenge very soon.

It didn't occur to me to look at look at Karl's LinkedIn profile. Once I did, that told me everything I needed to know. If you look at his history, with the exception of his work at Ricardo as a development engineer, Karl usually stays with a company for 3-4 years. I work for a research and engineering lab and this is the norm at all levels.

For those hoping Karl was canned or kicked to the curb, I'm sorry to disappoint you but he is most likely moving on to his next big thing and quite happy about it.

[rubicon327]

Best wishes for Karl.

[h2owmn]

I was not aware that he read the FB and the posts here. That gives a new perspective on how long it took to address the exploding stove issue.

[kavm]

First, all the best to Karl.

Second, I don’t have a particularly positive or negative impression of him. While Reece, who I never had a chance to meet, sounded like someone who cared customer satisfaction and doing right by the customer. In return, he deserved the customers who cared back.

Karl, on the other hand, was a non-event. He led ETI during the era of exploding demand and, I am sure, turned in good financial performance for the company (he’d have had to be a genius to mess up the gold rush era). He prioritized the bottom line over product quality and the resulting negative impact on customer satisfaction. That’s his legacy as far as I am concerned.

That, however, is not unlike most companies we do business with. But, I don’t have a particular feeling one way or the other about the execs of such businesses either. Same goes for Karl.

[WillyB]

Seems as if Karl was just a hired hand to put LEAN in place. They are generally 3-4 year folks.

Off to the next.

[Eggscape]

I wish Karl and his family all the best.

He appeared to have lots of Escape energy still left in him at the Rally.

I can’t help but think that he is distancing himself from an upcoming announcement.

A few years ago KV closed up production of Campion Boats here in Kelowna BC and putting hundreds of people out of work. I see Campion Boats is still alive with their boats probably being made in a much cheaper environment.

[Allan Bornestig]

Yes, I thought Karl was very engaged and upbeat at the Rally, but things can change very fast.Wishing him and the family the very best in the future.Feels like I just got to know him, and poof he is gone.

[NoSOD]

Who is going to lead the sing-song at the Rally now?

[Rockhead]

I nominate Iowa Dave

[MadCAT3]

As always, Iowa Dave is right on target… Great suggestions. The addition of stepping up quality control by Hugh is essential to continued success. Sorry to hear of the issues with his trailer. Those of us who promote this brand by word-of-mouth will be observing the path going forward as with the transition from Reace & Tammy to KV. Good luck to Karl and his family…

[MrLynn]

Only know Karl from his newsy videos, but I have enjoyed them, and thought he presented a cheerful, enthusiastic, and welcoming face for Escape Trailers. He also personalized the company, making us customers feel like part of the family; bigger companies may try this, but without a personality like Karl's at the helm, that's pretty much impossible.

I would not be surprised if he were offered a comparable position in another manufacturing firm. Like most here, I'm curious.

What happens next? Only a year ago lead times for new trailers were between one and two years, and 'Inventory' trailers were unavailable except for lottery winners. Is production improving, or demand lessening, or both? My guess is that the latter is the larger factor, and that may not bode well for the short term. Could be a challenge for Karl's successor.