Nice surprise - Referral check

[D&R_SC]

Today's mail included a nice note and a referral check for $147.90 (US equivalent of $200 Canadian) from Escape.
Shortly after returning home from Florida, where we had bought our 5.0TA last February, we let Escape know that we were the new owners and willing to show it. Soon after, we got a call from a man who wanted to check out our Escape. He seemed to like it, but said his wife wanted no part of any RV and he didn't like the idea of having to wait months to get a new trailer. He was a nice guy and showing him the trailer was painless, but we never gave another thought to his visit.
Evidently, he recently took ownership of a shiny new 5.0TA and we got the check, a nice holiday surprise.
Happy Holidays to all of you,
David & Rosemary

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by D&R_MA

Today's mail included a nice note and a referral check for $147.90 (US equivalent of $200 Canadian) from Escape.
Shortly after returning home from Florida, where we had bought our 5.0TA last February, we let Escape know that we were the new owners and willing to show it. Soon after, we got a call from a man who wanted to check out our Escape. He seemed to like it, but said his wife wanted no part of any RV and he didn't like the idea of having to wait months to get a new trailer. He was a nice guy and showing him the trailer was painless, but we never gave another thought to his visit.
Evidently, he recently took ownership of a shiny new 5.0TA and we got the check, a nice holiday surprise.
Happy Holidays to all of you,
David & Rosemary

Hi: D&R_MA... Good for you. I figured it wouldn't take long!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[LarryandLiz]

if it was a financial instrument from Canada drawn on ETI account it was a CHEQUE not check


Merry Christmas

[rbryan4]

Received another referral check today from Escape. I never know when one of these is coming, but it's always a nice surprise when it does.

[NW Cat Owner]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Received another referral check today from Escape. I never know when one of these is coming, but it's always a nice surprise when it does.

Yay! Do they reference who the buyer is? I'm curious if they send them out when the buyer has paid in full or when the trailer is delivered. I'm thinking the second situation as you never know what will happen between the time you order, pay and receive it.

So, party time, party time, party time!

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by NW Cat Owner

Yay! Do they reference who the buyer is? I'm curious if they send them out when the buyer has paid in full or when the trailer is delivered. I'm thinking the second situation as you never know what will happen between the time you order, pay and receive it.

So, party time, party time, party time!

Yep, they reference the buyer in the letter the accompanies the check. It's sent once the trailer is paid for.

[freespirit]

The referral viewing was a very valuable service and sincerely appreciated by this potential buyer. A purchase decision was quite easy after a very nice owner took the time to show his trailer recently. Of course one must also be lucky enough to get a spot in the next production schedule ...then wait a year to get delivery. Purchasing a new Escape can be a significant exercise in "patience" and planning....all the while those "off the shelf" trailers are calling to you! Pretty similar to the goddess of cheeseburgers beckoning to you while hiking the Muir trail.

[NW Cat Owner]

Originally Posted by freespirit

The referral viewing was a very valuable service and sincerely appreciated by this potential buyer. A purchase decision was quite easy after a very nice owner took the time to show his trailer recently. Of course one must also be lucky enough to get a spot in the next production schedule ...then wait a year to get delivery. Purchasing a new Escape can be a significant exercise in "patience" and planning....all the while those "off the shelf" trailers are calling to you! Pretty similar to the goddess of cheeseburgers beckoning to you while hiking the Muir trail.

Oh I know! (the merits of the referral service) Even though we live 3 hours away from the factory and we've toured the factory, toured the display trailers and had several sit-down chats with customer service, seeing trailers USED and owned by others made a huge difference. We got to see 4, thanks to their generous owners.

Each trailer was well loved by their owners and they knew their trailers inside and out. We fully appreciated each tour and learned something from each one. Seeing the trailers equipped with their personal items made the trailers feel that much nicer and friendlier.

Fortunately, none of those "off the shelf" trailers called to us and said "buy me, buy me, buy me". But I know the patience factor. I'm not known for my patience and that's been very tough at times. So, I spend my time going over lists of what we need to get for it and sorting through what we have already. Then I get to start planning trips!

Good luck in getting through on April 1st! And seeing how much patience you'll acquire waiting. Same to everyone else waiting.

[nathanj04011]

When we bought our Casita, they asked us if we would mind them giving prospective buyers our phone number and in the event that a person purchased, we would get $200.

The first weekend we were back in our area after getting the Casita, we were at a campground in NH, and a couple were intrigued by our trailer but refused to come over and look inside, saying they knew that we'd try to get their name and send it to Casita. I was a little puzzled so he told me he had previously contacted Casita before they got their Rockwood and he found there was a referral bonus and he did not want to deal with the arm twisting. Of course, with a brand new Casita, I just wanted to show it off and I promised not to get his name. Nope. No go.

After that experience and a close encounter with Amway marketing when I was in college, I tossed all the business cards Casita gave us, and never mentioned anything about referral bonuses or asked for people's names when they came to look at our trailer. We did get 3 referral checks from Casita, but for me, it was more about the exuberance of sharing my passion for something I loved. Especially if I could tell the other folks were interested it too.

Maybe there are some who figure that they are not about to turn down free money, and I don't fault that approach. It's just not something we did.

I did, however notify Escape of the two trailers we looked at to make sure the kind folks get something for their efforts...

[cpaharley2008]

I just tell Escape to hold my referral fees to apply against any future purchase.....

[Steve Clark]

Originally Posted by freespirit

The referral viewing was a very valuable service and sincerely appreciated by this potential buyer. A purchase decision was quite easy after a very nice owner took the time to show his trailer recently. Of course one must also be lucky enough to get a spot in the next production schedule ...then wait a year to get delivery. Purchasing a new Escape can be a significant exercise in "patience" and planning....all the while those "off the shelf" trailers are calling to you! Pretty similar to the goddess of cheeseburgers beckoning to you while hiking the Muir trail.

.......The more things stay the same! We did the John Muir Trail in 2003 and from the 3rd day out that's all we talked about; A cheeseburger and a six-pack at The Whitney Portal !!

Salute'

[Mary F]

I like the way Escape does it (where the buyers provide the names of folks whose trailers they've seen), vs. the Casita version, where the show off sends in the info of the people who have been shown. I showed our Casita several times when it was newer, but never felt it appropriate to have someone fill out a card. I was just happy to show our trailer, and figured that most lookers were just curious - not seriously in the market for a new one.

[gbaglo]

I give an Escape business card with my name on it to the person who is interested in the trailer.
I don't ask them for any information.
They will either remember to tell ETI that they visited my trailer, or they won't.
I have no expectations.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

I give an Escape business card with my name on it to the person who is interested in the trailer.
I don't ask them for any information.
They will either remember to tell ETI that they visited my trailer, or they won't.
I have no expectations.

Exactly. The check is just a nice bonus. I've probably given a tour of our trailer many dozens of times, but I don't expect more than a handful to ever purchase.