Town Hall Meeting - Q&A with Airstream

[RangerJay]

Mr. Wheeler,

I believe Uncle Wally would approve of the manner in which you are now reaching out to your customer.

Anyone involved in public planning around controversial issues will tell you that when you invite public comment you are figuratively standing in front of the crowd and saying "shoot me".

You need a thick skin.

None of the feedback you have heard should be interpreted as hostility - but - you do need to read those negative responses as expressions of high frustration.

I think you can appreciate that the expensive purchase of a high-end product comes with high expectations - and when those expectations are not met - and the manufacturer's response is one that appears to run away from responsibility - then expressions of high frustration is really the only response you are going to get.

You've taken a great step forward in addressing the issues and the frustrations those issues have created - but you need to recognize that your customers are going to take advantage of the opportunity to vent - and you need to listen.

Bottom lines?: put your customers back on the pedestal - listen to them - take your licks when they are do - get past them - learn from the mistakes - deal with the issues - and build a better product for tomorrow.

Airstream has been around for a long time - and there is no one who doesn't want it to be around for a much longer time to come.

Thanks for the opportunity to comment - thanks for listening - and I really look forward to enjoying my Bambi for many more years to come.


Jay