I had the occasion to use Beau Reece's mobile services today and learned that OTM may have closed up.
Beau was renting a bay from OTM to work inside. He said he went away for a bit and upon return after the New Year all the OTM stuff and the people were gone,. Beau had no speculation on the situation, but is hoping that he might be able to continue the lease there.
Anyone have more/better info?
Wow, that's too bad.
I am not sure he could continue to lease but it would be good for motorhome owners. Few years ago he was one of the key resource for diesel at Berndt's shop. His home at Cushing is a bit remote for service. He has a good reputation and can take on more than can handle timely at times but that is very easily understood.
I guess one would speculate it would take a robust diesel service business to pay the lease to the owner. So that might portend more than one mechanic and diesel trucks?
If he does get this I surely wish him well.
WHO was OTM, was that a spin off of a mother ship employee?
Old Town Motorcoach. Lots of info on the forum (they are a forum Commercial Member).
Let's please all refrain from any speculation at this point until we get official word from OTM or someone directly connected to them.
Somebody with some money get with Beau and get a shop started!!!!!!!!
Fair number of places here close this and past week, University is closed for example. There are coaches at OTM, and in past they worked out deal that Beau use a bay so that not unusual. What would help is if he got a dedicated bay to work around their other business and maybe that is option seen.
Shops are quiet this time year. And cold too.
I was there in October. It was my second visit since buying the YACHT. Adam had filled in when Issac left, and he was very good. Wayne, also, helped with a few minor items. Lance was there, also. I had been very happy with the service there. Hope Adam and Wayne find new digs, and that we can inform each other where they end up. Sorry to hear that they closed. The wait time at MOT and FOT is very long, at times.
Again, lets wait for word from one of the principals before continuing the "they are out of business" speculation.
Just texted Adam. OTM IS closed. He is working at Thomas welding and doesn't know where Wayne is.
The loss of a business supporting us is never good, but from the very first "phone trouble" post, I knew it was just a matter of time. No business can survive if they dont even communicate with the customers.
We should have called "Garage Rehab" on Discovery with Richard Rawlings. If you know of an other failing garage, this is a thought, it is not too late. The signs are dirty floors, dirty, old shop equipment, dirty workers, not happy workers, poor lighting, poor ventilation, poor communication, poor phone and website maintenance, in other words not poor workers, poor management or poor investment by owners. Sometimes it is as simple as a poor building lease, other times not. Richard is not afraid to take over, boot the owners, and put in place proper management, so that is a risk for a bad owner/operator. I've owned more than one repair shop. I have seen a few episodes, and I believe Richard wants to help the owner improve if they are able. It is his $100,000 plus invested, thus he will control the shop from then on. Richard Rawlings helps struggling shop owners on new TV show 'Garage Rehab,'... (https://www.guidelive.com/reality-tv/2017/08/29/richard-rawlings-new-tv-show-garage-rehab-debuts-aug-30)
I think many small business fail not because of desire but because of not knowing how to manage it. A lot of people are GREAT at what they are able to do. Doing the task they are probably the best. But the reality is they never knew all the hats they would need to wear to manage what they created. Also not having systems in place to be able to attract key people who are as talented or more ie healthcare, retirement, etc. If you cannot get great help it's very difficult to grow a great business. After paying the monthly bills and looking at all the time and effort invested in maybe a small paycheck takes the wind and desire out of the sail so to speak. The person can go get a job, have a life and maybe one day have a little something to retire on.
I can see where having a service business working on luxury vehicles or whatever for a lot of very particular / finicky kinds of people who can/are be very demanding would get tiresome and stressful. Then to see a slim slim profit margin. Would you do it? Jmo
Numerous small companies/dealerships have to cease operations because they are under capitalized. They do not have enough cash in their accounts to pay the bills when the times are slow. The other issue could be that their receivables are not being collected fast enough and they are always in a need for a cash infusion. I wish Lance and his crew the very best.
Reese
This really stinks!
Both FOT and MOT have more business than they can handle which increases the pressure on techs to move 'em in and roll 'em out... Old Town being staffed with Foretravel experienced staff gave us all another excellent resource.
Dang it!
WOW! It sure would have been nice of them to let us know. We're going to be there tomorrow for scheduled work, including replacing all eight air bags. They have our $100 deposit.
Now, what are the chances that someone else in Nac can get us in tomorrow?
Interesting...I wonder how many more air bag appointments they had from their special"offer". Could be some legal action coming up..??
Sorry to see them close....
David,
Beau Reece can certainly replace air bags for you. However, since he was only renting a bay and not integral to OTM operations he wouldn't be expecting you nor have bags ready.
When I called Beau on Weds he was actually in the OTM building cleaning up some of the debris from the evacuation. Unless out on a mobile service call or other business he might well be at the building when you arrive in NAC.
If you want to call ahead his number is 936-221-2055.
If in fact OTM is closed, I would call either Issac Anderson at Infinity or Beau Reece at Reece Mobile Service and see if they do that sort of work and could fit you in. Of course, they'd have to source the air bags so there might be a short delay while they got parts. We would not hesitate to have either work on our coach (and have).
Thanks, Bill and Michelle. We'll be making some phone calls while we're driving tomorrow.
I was planning on giving them a call next week.....plan "B" I suppose....
Wow! I was definitely a fan because of no wait service, no mark up on parts and reasonable prices. My biggest complaint, like most, was the communications. One of the problems, I'm sure, is that they weren't charging enough for their services. They charged me $1500 for installing 8 airbags, discounted since I was having my bulkhead work done there. Can't see how they made any money on that. Lance also spent two hours squaring away my entertainment system and wouldn't take a dime for it.
I also wish them the best and hope things work out for them.
Looks like I will be doing the fuel lines myself.
I sent 'em an email last week with a list of things I'd like to have worked on... this explains the 'no reply'.
Did call MOT and spoke with James (had an issue with our slide not opening, a problem worked on in August with them). He said they were booked until the end of Feb. but would check with Eric and call me back...
FOT scheduled me in the next day and took care of the problem. Still haven't heard back from MOT (which really bugs me after the large amount of business we've done with them!). But I digress...
Hate to see the options dry up for us on quality Foretravel work...
Legal action is hardly ever the answer, as they say, you can't get blood out of a turnip. No matter what your lawyer tells you.
Discussing legal issues is outside the bounds of the forum. Let's not go there or the topic will be locked.
Ok I will avoid responding to that in the future, it's to bad they closed. As a older coach owner, the forum is invaluable.
Some of this dialogue seems to come back to the problems of any business, whether it be or may be or been OTM, Encore and FOT back in early 2000 era
I argued before, low prices are not good for the business nor the customer that applauds them when it creates an unsustainable business model.
The Best employees will typically migrate to the employer that is fair to employees and can also provide benefits and better salaries and a sustainable team. That business over time survives if it provides the quality the customer accepts.
The exceptions to such I believe are an employee owned business where the present compensation can be low versus the competition because the owners build for their later perceived much greater reward. The other is where a large organization can cut prices by having other business that can carry the new operation even as it loses money, that they provide total employee compensation it could not otherwise afford, temporarily.
One other aspect. There is a critical mass of talent needed to be viable. That mass is defined by the scope of services offered. I think Encore was a one person senior tech shop? It is hard for even two or three to know all really required for saying you can do everything on all models, oh and cheaper than all others, unless you are the owner doing the work.
As shops form, we all hope they have success. But where they do not, then we can hope for them that the employees are well trained and get picked up by those other shops.
Last time I called they turned me away. Went to Infinity. Great choice.
Dan, Mark has done and had a great niche shop. Not trying to do everything, keeping small and taking the business he could do on time and support the larger shops like MOT and FOT and RV Station.
You probably knew him back on Appleby Sand Rd where he had no "bay", so the new area is a help. He really had the upholstery market here. Then FOT and MOT expanded into that area as part of major remodels, I think on a larger scale than what Infinity does? I recall a large, expensive Newell bought at MOT where before it left the lot the new owner had MOT do many many coach bucks of remodel, upholstery was just a part.
I know with Isaac at Infinity they do some mechanical work but as far as I last knew are not trying to do sales and take on large inventories of work beyond what Isaac can handle alone. Perhaps Isaac has added an assistant, I am not aware and hope to get out there to check. Bill C. had them replace his refrigerator year or so ago, did good.
Well said for any start up business, due to all costs of doing business, unfortunately it may take 2-3 years to turn a profit, especially if the start-up owner"s spouses do not have family health care insurance that is a $1200 or more a month drain plus co-pays and prescriptions. Heck I work for a large construction company and although we track costs carefully it may be 2 years before we know if we actually made a profit when the job is completed. We can only get competive bid projects if we are in the 5-7% profit range.
We are here in the OTM parking lot. The office area looks like someone has cleaned up and then left. Doors locked. We talked to Beau today and he will be here this afternoon to find out exactly what we need. He said we can stay here until he is done working.
There are three Foretravels here that I assume are for sale. One is a much older coach, one looks like a 320 with tag, and the third is a Phenix.
Beau came in about 5:45. He is taking over the lease of the building, at least temporarily. He already had our air bags ordered, and will start on us on Monday - just as originally scheduled. He is working 10-12 hours/day seven days a week all over the area. No wonder he's so skinny.
While Beau and I were taking a Jeep pulled in and a gentleman got out. We had met him earlier in Branson, saw we were here, and came by to say hello. Beau had worked on his coach earlier. Tomorrow we'll meet up with some other Foretravelers, so should be a fun weekend.
We know where Issac is and where Adam is working. I want to know where Wayne is. This man knows a LOT about Foretravels. If anyone finds out, please let us know. Thanks
Britney, the office assistant, responded to an email I sent her yesterday. She had very little information and had not worked there since late November. She had not been "let go" and was waiting for a call from Lance that never came. She has not been in contact with Adam or Wayne.
Glad Beau is able to take care of your air bags, Glenn.
This post sheds a lot of light on my recent experience. I hate to see any small business in distress and have to close up shop. My experience with OTM started a few months ago when I called them to take advantage of their airbag replacement special. I spoke with Britney. She was very knowledgeable. I didn't make an appointment that day because I needed to find available time to take it in for the repair.
I pinpointed a date where I could get the coach over there and called back to leave a deposit and make an appointment. I am guessing this is when they were having the phone issues. I was not able to get anyone, so in early December, I drove over to their shop (not far; I live in Lufkin) to meet with them in person. I spoke with a lady in the front office (not sure if it was Britney or someone else?) who acknowledged their phone issues. I was somewhat surprised there was no activity in the service bays that I could see at the time, but they were open for business.
I told her I wanted to make an appointment and went down a list of services I was hoping to have done while it was there. I was hoping to get on the schedule before I walked out the door; that was the whole reason for my personal visit. She took notes on a Post-It and told me that someone would call me back to confirm my service reservation and send me an email with instructions for the airbag deposit. I left a phone number and my email address. This was early December. The call back and email never came.
The airbags still need to be replaced. Rudy recommend Beau to me about a year ago and I have ready a lot about him on the forum. When I contacted Beau, he was not doing repairs at the time. Although I have never done business with him, I am glad to hear Beau is back in the saddle at what I hear he is very skilled at doing and it sounds like he is still in high demand.
I have an appointment with FOT in early March. I wouldn't mind supporting an independent repair shop/person and would really like to have the service done sooner if possible seeing all my five year old wants for his March birthday is for our family to take a "motorhome trip." He chose that over a traditional birthday party and I couldn't be more delighted! These years are precious ones and I would hate for the coach to still be down during my little guy's spring break... it'll be here before we know it!
Somebody approach Beau and mention having one bay availible for rent to the do it yourselfer.
The use of the bay would be great, but would not be much use to me without all my tools. I can never predict what tools I would need for a project.
In most shops, the insurance companies don't like you even IN the shop, much less work on the coach!
That leaves FT or MOT as viable options to us.
Remember there are FT approved shops around the country. We have three in the southern California area.
While that is true not many of them have the knowledge these two shops do. I used Cummins for all the engine needs and some chassis but we spent a day chasing down why my M11 would stall when I turned on the AC at the dash. In the 99 and 2000 model year the EMC shared the same breaker as the condesor cooling fan which is behind the tire. I got the word where to check from a forum member but FT knew of the issue and it would have been a 30 min fix. I had to send for the fan and wait on overnight shipping and get two new breakers. Now we had schematics and were following wires but the diagnoses time was as much as it would have costed me in fuel then to drive to FT. I really liked it when they had factory stores in CA WA TN and FL. It meant service was a days drive and done by people who know the coach. I think that FT should go back to that model and sell on service not how pretty the coach is.
I thought FOT's main selling points were quality planning, craftsmanship, and the use of quality materials.
When coaches are built to a customer's specific orders compared to most RV builders mass production then labor & material costs cannot be spread over a large number or units. They are most likely unit-specific.
Beau told me yesterday that the owner of the property is selling it, so Beau will not be able to lease it.
Issac Anderson is a Factory Trained Foretravel Technician at Infinity.
While at MOT this week I was told that David is interested in buying the property where OTM was located. Eventually the entire MOT operation will be on the west side of the highway where they now own about 21 acres of land.
OTM is a natural add to the adjacent MOT property for their RV park.
While we were there a prospective buyer was looking at the property. Don't know who it was.
:(
b^.^d
:whistle:
8)
And the plot thickens...
Guess I wont need to stop and talk to them tomorrow when I got to Foretravel to pick up my coach, I might just have to go to Butcher Boys for a early lunch "LOL"
I didn't see the property listed in the commercial RE listings.
Sven, I looked for it, too. Heard a rumor that the asking price was about $500,000. I thought that was a bit high, but it is much easier to come down in price than go up, so maybe the seller was planning to make the buyer feel good by giving him a "bargain" when in reality it sold for what the seller actually wanted. Who knows.
Sure hope that Beau can find another place for a shop. I was happy with what he did for us and what he charged. I'll go back to him again next year.