RV Dealerships - Do You Think It's a Test?

It has to be planned.  There must be a mandatory training program.  They all have a manual they follow.  Incentive bonuses are paid, badges are earned.

Otherwise, why would an entire industry have such consistently poor customer service?  I mean you really have to try to be this bad!

 

The goal

We bought our rig at an RV show.  Not a big, multi-manufacturer/dealer show.  A show put on by one dealership - huge, but one dealer.  Rigs from three locations, but one dealer.  Sales, finance, service - all one dealer.

Might as well have bought it on another planet.  From aliens.

And everything that didn't get done, or was done wrong, was the fault of said aliens (sounds familiar).  They are "show people", apparently not "really part of" the dealership. Of course, we really liked those people and wish they had come back with our rig.  Apparently they return to the mother ship until another show......

Thanks man, see you at the next show!

When "Fiasco Friday" was over we put the experience behind us, after sharing it here, and prepared for a good relationship with our dealer.  Stuff happens, the people were nice, things worked out.  All good.

Now having time to "reflect" on where we are with getting everything finalized we realized there was no paperwork in the rig on the two after-market items we paid for "at the show".  In fact, why would they be buffing out scratches if the permacoat had been applied?

About the time this thought pops up we get a phone call from the permacoat rep.  Now, a small backtrack to the first week after we bought the rig: the permacoat rep calls me to ask if I know where my rig is. Seems she has called the dealer and they have no record, can I help her out.  Hmmmm, I call my sales guy who gives me the name of the service manager who refers me to the service rep who "finds" my rig after too long on hold. I call back the permacoat rep with the information.

Okay, back to the current call. She now tells me that after six tries (over six weeks) to set up the application she has learned we picked up the rig before it was done.  She gives me the names of the service people she spoke with who kept telling her to call back.  Sometimes, you really don't want to be right :-( 

Good news, they come to us and there's no need to return to the dealer.  Appointment is scheduled, cell phone numbers are given, issue resolved.  The after-market companies don't get the training or the manual.......

But there's still the tire thingys we paid for that clearly never got done.  Three phone calls and two messages to service later, "my" service rep calls back.  Service doesn't schedule after-market SERVICES, that's the responsibility of the finance department.  On the other side of the service driveway, 40 yards away, at the same dealership!  Of course, if they can lose a 35' DP I shouldn't be surprised they don't communicate between departments!

I'm transferred to the finance department and leave a message for the same person who apologized on Friday for not scheduling our walk-through.  She calls back a few hours later and gets my voice mail.  Guess what?  Guess who's really responsible for scheduling the after-market installs????  Yep -

It's those "show people"!  And since they've all been beamed up, what's a gal to do?!  Her message also says she has contacted the tire thingy people who will be in contact with me directly.  I like the idea of talking with anyone who hasn't already earned a lot of badges from my purchase.

The work is going to get done. We aren't under any time crunch.  No extra money has been spent, or extra miles driven (yet).  I haven't lost my temper.
But just getting what you paid for shouldn't be this difficult!

So did we pass the test?  Is there some karmic exam that is automatically part of buying an RV from a dealer?  Do WE get a badge too?