My RV Resource loves sharing details about our Featured VIP members and this week, we’re proud to spotlight Lissa Bengtson and John Davis, owner-operators of Gneiss Goods and proud members of the Better Business Bureau in good standing. You can rest assured that they provide a thorough inspection!
Tell us a little about your situation while running your RV business.
We’re based in San Antonio, TX but will travel throughout Texas to do inspections.
We like to take short trips in our RV, usually with a dog or two. When possible, we attend concerts of folk musicians. We have two dogs whom we love very much. Lissa also manages to attend many Zoom dance events, including everything from large folk dance festivals to weekly folk and line dance classes. She recently produced 40 dance videos for the City of San Antonio.
Do you live in an RV full-time?
No, we are not full-timers yet. We still need about 2 years of down-sizing.
What inspired you to start your own RV business?
When Covid 19 caused Lissa to lose her job as a dance instructor, we took online RV Maintenance and inspection courses offered by NRVTA.
What RV services or RV products do you offer?
Getting your future RV inspected is a very important piece of the purchasing puzzle. After all, without a professional inspection service, you could find yourself sitting on the side of the road instead of driving down it.
We offer one level of RV inspection for both buyers and sellers, which includes the points of inspection listed on our website. We also offer fluid analysis (like bloodwork for an RV) and re-inspection services to be sure the repairs are complete after the initial inspection.
We have sometimes been present for RV deliveries to be an extra set of eyes on delivery day and to ask any questions you may not think of.
What is your background and how did you develop the skills to start your business?
Before COVID-19, John worked as an accountant, office manager, and human resources manager. Lissa was a dance instructor in Senior Centers and a contra dance caller. She also worked as a bookkeeper and spent 30 years in the hotel industry working as a Controller and other accounting-oriented jobs.
We purchased an RV in 2019, so they decided that COVID-19 had given us the time to research RV maintenance. We began by attending the National RV Training Academy in Athens, Texas. We both found it to be very interesting and decided to pursue training to become RV inspectors.
What has been your business’s proudest moment?
We’re very proud to have received some excellent reviews on Google My Business!
What has been your biggest challenge?
Bankrolling a new business–the website, the equipment, advertising, the cost of training.
Describe your typical work day.
During the summer we like to start an inspection at 7 a.m. due to the heat. Lissa does the “outside” and John inspects the “inside” of the RV., although we are exploring different ways to be more efficient.
Tell us something interesting/fun about your business.
It’s fun to travel to a distant inspection–we’ve always enjoyed a road trip.
If you could go back to the beginning knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently?
Would not change anything in our control. Covid was not in our control–we came to a fork in the road and we took it.
What’s your best advice for someone who wants to start his/her own RV business?
You’ll meet some great people–it’s a long day, but take the time to chat.
Any other comments or advice you'd like to share?
Lots of people may be wondering why our name is Gneiss Goods.
John studied geology and both of them like the geology of Texas. As a rock-solid inspection company that’s been through the fire, we decided to name our company Gneiss Goods after the metamorphic rock known as gneiss. Even better is the fact that “gneiss” is pronounced as “nice,” so what we’re really saying is that we’ll always make sure your RV has the “nice goods.”
Conclusion
If you’re an RV service provider and would like My RV Resource to handle some of the marketing tasks, make sure you sign up for a VIP company listing on My RV Resource, where we nurture a community of RVers and RV-related small business owners.
If you’re an RVer, become a member today so you can use advanced filters to find RV service providers all across the US (and even a few in Canada).
We’d also appreciate it if you would suggest companies that should be added to our directory and share reviews directly on the company’s listing page! It’ll help everyone in the long run.
