Current Management does not support the Escape Family

[Craiger-ESC]

Reality

A long long time ago in the land of the great North was a family owned company manufactured fiberglass trailers. At a certain point this family made the decision to move on and a corporation was created. All corporations have one overriding mission that mission is to create return on investment. The management team primary job is to create return on investment or they don't find themselves employed. That's where escape is now. The management teams job now is to maintain the corporate name to improve productivity reduce the cost of manufacturing an attempt to maintain goodwill with existing and new customers. As someone who spent most of his life in corporate America I understand what's happening the great customer service of the previous owners was an outgrowth of trying to stay in business and satisfy the customer a few lost sales and you could be out of business. Today escape has over a two-year waiting list with more customers signing up on a daily basis. My question to everybody here if you had a choice on buying a trailer made by escape being built in Texas or one being built in Canada, which one would you choose???

 

[Iowa Dave]

Over the span of the 50 years I worked I had a variety of experiences from positive to negative. I never felt it necessary to blast my employer with one exception and looking back that feeling remains intact. In the case of our two Escapes which were both bought from the same original owner, we haven’t had enough problems to talk about. Sure stuff wears out and at times gets accidentally broken but the basic trailers have been very very good and there’s nothing I would feel right about complaining about. Many owners like ourselves expect to do maintenance and repairs, periodic and regular inspections and at times custom improvements that fit our camping style. At least you can work on the trailers. Buy a new John Deere Tractor or Combine, the price of which can approach a half million dollars. Have a problem. Stop at the dealership and describe the problem. Bring it in for a Diagnostic analysis they say. No I’ll analyze it myself. Whoops, you can’t get the code reader because it’s proprietary. They got you where they want you. Totally dependent on the dealer. Parts, analysis and all.

So before you deem all of the Escape components “junk” consider what my dad would say about cars assembled in Detroit years ago. “If they can’t built them right in Detroit, we can take them apart and fix them right here. It was an attitude born of independence, can do, field expediency, and confidence from previous experiences and successes. Many owners have had similar backgrounds and that’s a spirit and a drive that we are lucky to have. Reach out to others, don’t be embarrassed to ask, own or borrow or rent the right tools and approach tasks with a positive attitude. Satisfaction can be yours.
Have a good late fall and don’t obsess over the opinion of a person you’ll never meet and probably wouldn’t have employed yourself after an interview.
Iowa Dave



A

 

[cpaharley2008]

Well said, Dave........

 

[cpaharley2008]

I can add to the mix, having owned several types of SOB's before acquiring my first Escape, that generally if one of the components fail it is easily remedied. No matter who the trailer manufacturer is, they all use similar components.

 

[Telescopist]

[Snip] My question to everybody here if you had a choice on buying a trailer made by escape being built in Texas or one being built in Canada, which one would you choose???

What is the purpose of this question?

 

[jediwhale]

Are you aware of Indeed.com? Saw the ad tonight on World Series so I checked:

https://ca.indeed.com/cmp/Escape-Trailer-Industries-Lp

Not great.

These ratings should be taken with a grain of salt. For a small company like ETI, the sample size is too small to be statistically significant. They can be skewed by a few disgruntled employees, who are much more likely to post a review.

 

[Ooshkaboo]

These ratings should be taken with a grain of salt. For a small company like ETI, the sample size is too small to be statistically significant. They can be skewed by a few disgruntled employees, who are much more likely to post a review.

Hmmm…

Not sure how Canadian wages compare to pay in the US, but it appears that production line folks are getting an hourly rate similar to burger flippers at In N Out.

Maybe those low wages reflect the government provided heathcare, may not be all that bad for a manufacturing job when benefits are added in…

 

[WillyB]

Speaking of the downgrade of customer service and quality on the transition from Family Owned to Corporate Owned.

There is a very well respected company in my industry that is based about 1 hour South of Escape Trailers in Washington state. The family owned company built a great business that focused on two things. Exceptional Customer Service and Exception Quality.

About 3 Years ago a large conglomerate bought them and the first thing that change was the replacement of the executive team and a few other mid-level changes. Many of the previous staff had ownership.

Today, they are still the talk of our industry when it comes to Exception Customer Service and Exceptional Quality. They expanded production and expanded product offering without damaging the special reputation they had before the take over.

Some companies get that "reputation" is a sellable asset and others do not.

I think Escape is doing a pretty good job on this transition especially given the highly unique challenges with Covid and supply chain. I just hope they don't mess it up.

 

[Red-ESC]

As someone who spent most of his life in corporate America I understand what's happening the great customer service of the previous owners was an outgrowth of trying to stay in business and satisfy the customer a few lost sales and you could be out of business.

I don't agree with your conclusion about the customer service of the previous owners being financially driven. They started as a side line business of renting rv's from home and very gradually morphed into the production side. They utilized their own property and had low overhead and grew gradually but at a steady pace. They built trailers to their standards and not because customers and lenders demanded it.

As for your question about comparing Canada to Texas for production, the world is much smaller and quality exists every where now, it's not a relevant question to the topic.

 

[gbaglo]

Imagine being stuck in the middle, between a customer who hasn't read the manual and a supplier who is unresponsive.

 

[kathytony1985]

I have found that a lot of the questions and concerns people have can be addressed by reading the manual. Once we got our Escape, in September, I read through the manual, and have since read through a couple of more times for specific information. As I was reading the thought came to me, "Wow, if some of those people on the forum read their manual, and the manual for their appliances, they would have their answer(s) to their questions!" Yes, not everything is in detail in the Owner's manual, and it does refer one to the specific system/appliance manual a lot of times, but for the most part my questions have been answered.

 

[rubicon327]

It was an attitude born of independence, can do, field expediency, and confidence from previous experiences and successes. Many owners have had similar backgrounds and that’s a spirit and a drive that we are lucky to have. Reach out to others, don’t be embarrassed to ask, own or borrow or rent the right tools and approach tasks with a positive attitude. Satisfaction can be yours.

Neighbor came over today and said I’ve got water on the floor of my basement. I said let me take a look. We had the hot water heater disconnected in about a half hour. New one picked up from the supply house and installed in a few hours after overcoming some hurdles. Hot water back on in time to wash up some dishes from dinner. Who needs a plumber?

 

[rjreeves]

You think it"s bad Now just wait...

DATELINE ELKHART, IN. APRIL 1 2023

UmbrellaCorp LLC (NYSE: UBUM) Holdings, parent company of Forest Floor, manufacturers of BlisterWagon, JoyGo, StickLike, SoLamia, CalMiaCabins, Le Akron, SonoGoode, UltraTripe,
as well as countless other somewhat questionably badged travel trailer brands, announced today the acquisition of ETI Industries Inc. from KV Private Equity, Edmonton, AB, Canada.

At the announcement, UmbrellaCorp spokesperson Stanislaus Borgenspoon stated
"The Escape Trailer family is a fine addition to our grotesquely immense warehouse of brands" adding that "The quality inherent in our other products is sure to add a shine to the Escape name wherever one encounters it. "Speaking of encounters, due to the current 16-plus year backlog on deliveries with the newly acquired company, our shareholders are not currently "encountering" their accustomed and expected 12-15% Rate of Return on Investment, at least within the Escape portion (currently 0.08%) of our portfolio.

"Therefore we are announcing today the major expansion of production for the Escape brand. Two new(ish) assembly facilities are planned: one in the former Pineywoods Pressure Treated Wood Products Superfund Site in Del Boca Vista Florida, the other at the abandoned National Guard Armory and Firing Range in Sueños Muertos, Texas."
Mr Borgenspoon further stated "Both facilities are uniquely located: the Del Boca Vista site is equidistant between the local WalMart SuperDuperCenter and the Broward County office of Social Services, which should be a boon to our Team Members, should they ever find themselves in the position of needing either.
"The Sueños Muertos site is near to both an expansive, aged, and unusually well-oiled railyard and military hospital, "a unique combination of benefits if there ever was one.
"In addition, both sites are located adjacent to "flexible labor pools,” which Borgenspoon assured "would fix some of the "labor issues" that have plagued the "legacy plant" since the company transitioned from private ownership some 5 years ago.

In a somewhat testy question and answer period that followed the spokesperson's statements, when queried as to why Forest Floor Inc. didn't incorporate the manufacture of the Escape brand into its existing facilities in Elkhart, Mr. Borgenspoon appeared to mumble something incoherent into the microphone that some interpreted as "In the end I'm going to fire your ass" but others heard as "Indiana don't do fiberglass". He went on to state "As the manufacture of fiberglass trailers is new to our portfolio, the company feels it best that the "unprecedented opportunity of building something utterly unknown to us should be fully enmeshed within a workforce of trainee Team Members completely unfettered with "ideas'' or "experience", who will be learning on the job, in a multilingual setting, alongside the experts from our Elkhart Managerial Teams, from the ground up how to bring the Escape Trailer brand up to the standards of our unique industry".

Reporting from the near future at RVCon Elkhart, in the Axle Center for Mobile Adventure, J. Doe.

Mr. Stanislaus Borgenspoon represented UmbrellaCorp, an OccupyThis company.
Financial shenanigans and logistics for the ETI acquisition by UmbrellaCorp provided by:
Triad Bank of Bermuda, a subsidiary of BlackOps Financial Services.

 

[Craiger-ESC]

I really wanted it have people think would escape change its corporate culture by moving to the states, it would be less expensive for them to manufacture in the states. There is a whole social network of benefits for employees that are nonexistent in many companies in the US. Would they change?

 

[gbaglo]

DATELINE ELKHART, IN. APRIL 1 2023

That is a keeper.

 

[YakRV]

You had me going there for a second, Richard. More like half a second.

 

[Iowa Dave]

Hey Richard
My kind of humor and well written. Unfortunately I’ve seen the truth be stranger than fiction in times past.

Iowa Dave

 

[yangstyle]

That’s where I think the customer is being fooled to a degree. Escape trailers are very expensive on a $/FT basis versus stick built. There should be higher expectations. ETI is selling their trailers at a much greater cost than just a few years ago and is no doubt making more profit than ever off of each trailer. All while apparently providing less after-sales support. Not the right combination. People speak with their wallet so we’ll see if the current sales rate can be sustained. IMO Escape has a sweet spot between Scamp/Casita and Oliver/Bigfoot and should try to stay there. As their prices rise and perceived value is lost people will walk.

Sure the costs have gone up but look at all the changes they have implemented since they bought Escape. Lithium batteries, much more customization of fabrics, upholstery, maple panels, different stoves and fridges, new floorplans like 21ne, a brand new model- the 23, plus like anywhere else I am sure they are having problems getting stock in.
As far as I know all trailers have increased in value since the pandemic, not just Escape.
Escapes are built by humans who can make mistakes and as long as the mistakes get taken care of (which most of them do) I think I think they will continue to succeed.

 

[yangstyle]

I think you are very close to hitting the target dead center. There is a "service response" problem which has broken out of the corral. And a reasonable assumption can be made that the majority of Escape owners are satisfied with their trailers. It is an odd juxtaposition. Customer satisfaction is high whereas the way the company is dealing with warranty issues, etc. is not so high.

I would not recommend anyone buy an Escape who either: 1. Is not "reasonably handy" at fixing things when they break, and/or 2. does not have friends or professional services which are available to help when a problem crops up. And there will be problems. Someone on this forum said one time that you are dealing with a "moving house". There always going to be problems of one sort or another when houses are moving over surfaces of doubtful integrity at 96kmh. :ermm:

I think that anyone buying a trailer, especially a stick built, should be handy enough to do some work on it themselves or know someone who can.
Escapes are a breeze compared to the maintenance of a stick built with all the problems that water intrusion can cause.
This forum is very helpful also when it comes to repairs such as the issue with the loose connections on the Suburban stove, mine is now fixed and working 100% because I caught it soon enough thanks to this forum.

 

[escape artist]

That is a keeper.

Hi: gbaglo... Just goes to prove... in the corp. whirl... BS baffles brains. Does ETI continue to grow or is it ripe for the picking? Stay tuned!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie