It takes a special kind of confidence to invite your customers to get together and talk about you year after year.

Escape Trailers is hosting its ninth annual customer appreciation rally in Osoyoos May 24 to 27, and it鈥檚 booked to capacity 鈥� approximately 150 Escape owners are gathering to show off their trailers, compare after-factory add-ons and share their experiences.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a wonderful time, and it鈥檚 a great opportunity for us to thank our customers,鈥� said Joldie Coombes, one of Escape鈥檚 Customer Care Reps.

Canadian and American 鈥渇amilies鈥� come together

The rally is an international gathering. 鈥淎pproximately 70 per cent of our customers are US based,鈥� Coombes said, 鈥渟o we have what we call our American Family and our Canadian Family. This annual rally is an opportunity for some of these customers to come together. Some meet for the first time, and others are meeting old friends.鈥�

The Thursday-to-Sunday rally includes optional winery tours and golf, a catered meal, potlucks and more. A favourite activity is the trailer open house.

鈥淚t鈥檚 optional,鈥� Coombes says, 鈥渂ut a lot of our customers love to show off their trailers. Many of them have done after market modifications to their trailers. It鈥檚 always interesting to see what has been done and people are generally happy to show off their home away from home.鈥�

There鈥檚 no better endorsement than the word of a satisfied customer, and Escape Trailers is confident that their 鈥渇amily鈥� speaks well of them. 鈥淥ur advertising is limited,鈥� Coombes said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all word of mouth. It鈥檚 our customers that promote the trailers.鈥�

All Escape trailers are built to order

Escape sells directly from its Chilliwack factory to the customer, and every trailer is built to order. To help each buyer get the right trailer, Escape has a customer referral program which connects an interested party with an existing owner close to them. 鈥淪omebody who鈥檚 interested will meet with an owner and view that owner鈥檚 trailer, and ask them questions,鈥� Coombes said. 鈥淭hen they follow up with us and see what鈥檚 involved in continuing the ordering process.鈥�

鈥淭here鈥檚 no inventory on site, aside from four demo trailers for people to come in and see.鈥�

For Coombes, it鈥檚 a mixed blessing that the rally has filled up so fast. 鈥淯nfortunately, there is no more room for registration, so that鈥檚 good and bad I guess. It鈥檚 great that it fills up and we love that our customers want to come and be a part of it. I guess we just need a bigger campground to accommodate the rally! It sure is fun!鈥�

Escape Trailer Industries is a family owned and operated business located in Chilliwack, BC. The Escape travel trailers are manufactured with a 100 per cent molded fiberglass body. This allows for the construction of a true lightweight travel trailer. For more information please visit our website or call a Customer Care rep at 1-855-703-1650.