By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
For 42 years, Harper Camperland turned Blue Compass RV served the recreational travel industry in Great Bend. Six months before celebrating 40 years of business, Harper Camperland was purchased by Blue Compass RV. On Oct. 1, Blue Compass announced to its Great Bend employees that it was closing the business, located at 10th Street and the 281 Bypass, for good.
“Sales people got let go at the end of that week, and parts and service got asked to stick around and clean up the building and clean all the floors, essentially sweep floors and mop so the building can be sold,” a former employee said.
That employee said employees were notified of the permanent close on Oct. 2. No severance package was offered, though those who did stick around the clean the facility were paid for personal time off they had already earned plus an extra week’s pay.
When purchasing Harper Camperland in September 2022, Blue Compass RV officials promised more variety for customers with more than 100 locations in 33 states. Staff at the Great Bend location dropped from 35 at the time of the acquisition to just more than a dozen on its final day three years later.
“When you lose half your workforce and you’re being asked to do the exact same thing, it’s not possible,” the former employee said.
Nine days after the closure, almost half of the new units at the facility have been moved, and service units are on their way out. The former employee expects the grounds to be fully locked down for business by the end of October.