Mike Thompson Offering Support to U.S. Military

The staff at Mike Thompson RV Superstore has enlisted in several initiatives for 2012 to support members of the U.S. military who are currently deployed, their families at home and wounded personnel, according to a press release.

“We couldn’t be more proud of our staff for taking the initiative to support charities and organizations specific to those serving in the U.S. Military,” said Mark Rosenbaum, sales director for the multi-location California-based dealership. “At Mike Thompson RV it is always about family whether it is our coworkers, our extended family of customers, or our local communities. RVing is tied to the roots of our country. Now Mike Thompson RV has the opportunity to help support those protecting our country and is proud not only to be involved, but to help draw awareness to these organizations.”

Carolyn Blashek, of Operation Gratitude a non-profit organization, recently responded to Mike Thompson RV: “On behalf of Operation Gratitude and the U.S. military members who receive our care packages, I thank you for your generosity. Your donation of used cell phones will enable us to send over 100,000 ‘chock full” Care Packages this year to brave men and women deployed overseas, their children waiting at home and the Wounded Warriors recuperating stateside.”

As one Private First Class wrote, “I cannot express to you how great it feels to come home after a long day of running missions to find a care package full of love sitting on your bunk. Our location doesn’t have a PX so we rely on the support of Operation Gratitude for the items we need, not to mention the morale boosting items such as cookies or candy. You are all the true heroes. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

David Revere of Mike Thompson RV noted: “This July for the Second Annual Mike Thompson RV Golf Tournament we will be donating the earnings of our fundraiser to The Wounded EODWarrior Foundation. They are a national 501(c) 3 non-profit organization that provides assistance to our Wounded EODWarriors and their families in the form of financial relief. The resources provided by the foundation to the wounded and their families are above and beyond the budgetary constraints of the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs. We believe, as the foundation does, that families are an integral part of the healing and rehabilitation process and strive to keep them together during the most difficult of times. The staff at Mike Thompson RV is very excited and working hard to plan the success of this upcoming event.”

Mike Thompson RV: California’s No. 1 Dealer

Mike Thompson’s RV SuperStores has once again been ranked as the No.1 selling RV dealer in California.

According to Statistical Surveys Inc., Mike Thompson’s RV Super Stores swept the honors: No. 1 in motorhome sales, No. 1 in towables and No. 1 overall for 2010.

California is the nation’s second largest market for RVs, trailing only Texas.

In a news release, Mark Rosenbaum, director of sales for Mike Thompson RV, explained, “Mike Thompson RV has a rich history of taking care of its customers and supporting them not only during, but after the sale as well. We fully understand that satisfied customers provide repeat business and that referrals make up the majority of our business. You can’t have longevity in this business if your customers are unhappy. We’ve all seen quite a few RV dealerships go out of business over the years and without question the past few years have been particularly challenging, but our formula has held true since 1972, take care of customers and they will take care of you.”

In January, a third-party survey determined that 98% of Mike Thompson RV’s customers stated they would recommend Mike Thompson’s RV to their family and friends as a place to purchase their RV.

Geary Powell, director of service at Mike Thompson RV, said, “Many dealers in an effort to cut costs have sacrificed service in the downturn of the market. When other dealers were closing their service departments as a way to save money, Mike Thompson RV continued to support the RV industry with superior customer service, fully staffed and operational service centers.”

Rosenbaum also noted, “Due to our reputation for quality service we attract all of the top RV manufacturers, they want to partner with us. We have been able to choose the right manufacturers with the same customer service philosophies as we have. Long-term relationships with our customers and our manufacturers is what we’re all about. This has everyone at Mike Thompson’s very excited about continuing our success for 2011.”

Mike Thompson RV offers a full range of RVs in every price point.

Mike Thompson RV SuperStores has four Southern California locations. Visit their website at www.mikethompson.com.

Mike Thompson’s RV Super Stores Opens Fourth Store

Mike Thompson’s RV Super Stores Tuesday (Nov. 3) opened a fourth location in Cathedral City, Calif., about 130 miles east of its flagship dealership in Santa Fe Springs southeast of Los Angeles.

“It’s kind of exciting that for the first time in a year and a half, we are hiring people instead of laying them off,” said Mark Rosenbaum, Mike Thompson’s sales director.

Mike Thompson’s, which also operates stores in Colton and Fountain Valley, Calif., has hired about 25 people to staff the new dealership featuring an outdoor display area on two acres.

“We’ve moved into the Palm Desert area to capture some of the Snow Bird market — the people from the East Coast, Midwest and Northwest who come to the sunny areas during winter months,” Rosenbaum said. “There was inventory sitting on the ground as of Tuesday. Five customers showed up while we were setting up.”

Rosenbaum said Mike Thompson’s will market heavily to RV owners occupying Palm Desert-area RV campgrounds and resorts with which the dealership already has made contact.

The dealership, Rosenbaum said, will establish temporary displays at several local campgrounds. “The local campgrounds have been absolutely the best you could possibly ask for,” Rosenbaum said. “They’re looking forward to a dealer being involved in the market out here.

”We will be visiting the campgrounds with units and we will have get-togethers for the campers. Word-of-mounth is the most important marketing we can do.”

Having recently added Tiffin motorhomes to its inventory, Mike Thompson’s also retails Itasca, Fleetwood Bounder and Bounder Classic, Forest River Georgetown, Damon, CT Coachworks and Four Winds motorhomes and Keystone towable RVs.

The new store’s split will be about 50/50 between motorhomes and towables, although Rosenbaum said that ”trailers will probably grow more.”

Rosenbaum credited Mike Thompson’s 97% customer satisfaction rating — measured by an independent research company — as generating the business to expand during economically challenging times.

”Our customer service index is pretty strong so we have some very strong customer loyalty,” he said.