Friday, February 13, 2015

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? 










28 comments:

  1. You narrate horror stories very well. Stephen King has made a fortune using his similar skill. Perhaps you should follow in his footsteps?

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    1. LOL - right!? Going to the dealer is like going back in the house when you hear the scary music!

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  2. Oh No!! I'm sorry to hear this :-( Hopefully it will all get straightened out without too many trips back to Montclair and the dreaded waiting room!

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    1. We're really hoping the tire folks can do the work here like the others are :-) One thing you guys can take from this is to always confirm every last thing you think they are working on - and make sure you're talking to the person/department who actually does the work!

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  3. Oh, isn't it fun? I think we'll all go through a bit of this now and then. Our experience has been so wonderful (7 months (11 months in) until now. It's currently in a repair shop. Just taking care of a few minor things before our warranty is up. On their own, they found what they think is a large problem (roof staples coming out blah blah). Keystone is pushing back. So I guess it's our turn now. We're in a hotel so we can continue our fun in San Antonio but will move into a campground next to the dealership so we can be in our rig until we get this handled. It'll be in a later post :-(

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    1. Sorry to hear "it" caught up with you! I've heard that if you're staying in the rig they do work faster, so maybe that will be a bonus for you guys. Look for their sash with all the badges........ :-)

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    2. Ha ha. But I don't want no steenking badges!

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  4. Ah yes the "we have your money, now we never heard of you" switcheroo. We learned all about this with our first new car and 25 years later we have never bought a new vehicle of any type since. I prefer the one owner used where he danced around with the guys wearing badges and I pay lots less and just do a few things here and there. I'd be furious at the run around and would have definitely gone to the manager by now with threats of calling the manufacturer and taking out a front page ad in whatever the best read local newspaper is. LOL! You are a woman with a rare gift of humor. I laughed reading this and felt dismay for you at the same time. Glad you got the permacoat at least.

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    1. LOL! I think it's partly after fighting for others for so many years I'd rather just let it roll by now..... However, they will rue the day they finally push me too far :-))) The tire guy called and that's going to happen too, so I'm happy again.

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  5. You were so wise to give yourself plenty of time to work out all of the glitches before you take to the road full-time! You definitely get a badge for forbearance. :-)

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    1. Thanks Laurel :-) Today I'm really happy we have this time to get everything done!

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  6. GRRRRRR! It's a good thing you've got some time to work with here!

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    1. In this case the extra time is definitely on our side :-)

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  7. Hey, perhaps you should mention you are a famous blog writer...and you could give them some bad references? Oh, but then they made a sale, were beamed up and never to be seen again..hahaha...Hang in there Jodee, glad you have some time to iron out the post sale kinks.

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    1. That might be a stretch Maura - but doesn't mean I wouldn't resort to that should the craziness continue!!

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  8. I think the salespeople forget you exist after you sign on the dotted line. They just pass you on to the next and the next and the next.

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    1. I've had pretty good luck with service departments at car dealers so I have been really shocked by the horrible lack of communication between sales and service. They literally didn't know we existed!!

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  9. Congrats on getting the new rig. Hope you can stay sane as you wait a few months before starting your full-time adventure. Enjoy the excitement, it is a great lifestyle. Maybe our paths will cross some day.
    Russ Ranger

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    1. Thanks Russ! As frustrating as this part is, we're still super excited about our realizing our dream.

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  10. Just finished reading your blog start to finish over these last two days. Very informative and an enjoyable read. Hope to learn more from you guys and maybe run a couple questions past you in time.

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    1. Thanks for joining us Mark! It's been a heck of a ride thus far :-) When I look back at older posts I'm so glad I captured this journey of preparation, and I'm delighted that you enjoyed it! I look forward to hearing from you as we all learn together about this crazy dream :-)))))

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  11. We all have horror stories when dealing with those rv dealers..ours was a wrinkled blind that took a year to get fixed!
    We refused to take the trailer back to the dealer for it to be fixed..we did it once and they had no idea they were suppose to be replacing the blind...so they finally arranged for a mobile guy to come to the trailer and fix it ..no charge to us!..squeaky wheel gets the grease, I guess!!

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    1. I'm sure there must be others, but I personally don't know of another industry so consistently incompetent. Hopefully you won't have to deal with them for awhile as you unwind and "get settled". So exciting!

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  12. I am "shopping" for the rig of my future now...

    I can hardly believe all these wonderfully helpful salesman I've met, could turn around and be so un-accommodating after a sale. (just being snarky) ;-) Actually, after only shopping a few RV dealers, meeting several salesman (of who I was obviously more informed about their product than they were), reading many stories about the lack of build quality, incompetence of service and management departments, "break in" periods, disastrous maiden voyages, and the rapid depreciation of a new motor home, it's OBVIOUS the smarter choice is to buy a gently used model that is cheaper, and has most of the initial bugs worked out.

    ...but who can live with OUT the latest, state of the art. USB, digital, solar powered, collapsible, iphone compatible, lightweight, and portable, ultra-leather gizmo that gets 21 MPG, AND is gauranteed maintenance free, and leak proof -for-ev-er- ?!?

    ;-)

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    1. Good luck with your search and be sure to have fun doing it! It's true that having the bells and whistles were a draw for us, but the biggest reason for us buying new was the lack of used models we liked. Both floorplans we wanted were only two years old and there just weren't any used ones out there....anywhere. I'm also just as skeptical of "gently used" as I am "maintenance free" :-)))

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    2. Yes, I agree. I am having the exact same dilemma regarding choice. Due to the recession and gas prices, very few RV's were even sold during the last 7 or so years. And it seems of the few that were, very few are back on the market. And it seems that of THOSE few, the owners seem so proud of them it's still attractive to buy new!

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  13. Holy @#&%#^% !!!! I love your sense of humor. I would be going ballistic by now. It was good that you had some weeks left for them to get their act together.

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