Randy Houser

[Campin Cajun]

Originally Posted by Nobra67

I hope you guys are right. It has taken 3 weeks for my brand new unit to be picked up to go back to Elkhart for repairs. Now 5 more days and no contact.

Welcome to the forum first off. I would like to hear this story. I see you are from Mandeville. Did you buy from Berryland? What kind of issues do you have that needs the coach going back to the factory?

[frankatp]

Welcome Nobra 67, I have found this forum to be a valuable resource for any and all problems you may encounter. Anything that you can think of has already happened to somebody else. I also want to mention the friendships that you will make on the forum. We had quite a time with our rig when we first picked it up. (For example) The ice maker line was busted and when I hooked up the water for the first time we had water dripping out of the bottom of the coach. It soaked everything underneath the rig. Not a good start to our first trip. Be patient and it will be worth it. Good luck. Frank

[po 185]

your right randy does do a good job. he has been working on my problem for about 5 mo. and they are still trying to figure out what to do... I have a 2014 , 360 ql and I cant get the radiator cap off of the overflow tank to add any coolant , if I need to,, but I know they will come up with a way

[Nobra67]

Campin Cajun. Yes I purchased from berryland. One of my slides needed to be adjusted and Berryland did what they could then called the factory. As far as I was told Randy told Berryland that they wanted the unit back up there. I found a few other small things that needed attention . Bad part is it sat at Berryland for 3 weeks. If CC didn't call me to give me a number to call the factory who knows how long it would have sat.

[Nobra67]

I left Randy a message about getting my unit picked up and he couldn't even return my call. Instead he e-mailed Berryland Campers to tell them he was sending someone to pick up my unit. Not very professional. This was a week ago. I have called again and got no answer or return call. Not very professional.

[Phil57]

Sorry this happened but let me say this and I don't want to sound like an AH but most who know me will say I are one. Three posts and already it's FR is unprofessional. I have had many dealings with them and it all is who it's handled. I got a woman very mad at me because I told a Saber owner that they needed some lessons in dealing with service people. It sounds like it's being taken care of and it is the dealer not FR that should be taking care of these easy fix problems. So go ahead and flame me but it really a dealer issue and it sounds like Randy did you a favor.

[NO3putt]

Randy works hard at solving problems, ever think that he's could be on vacation? We had to wait a week or so for a call back, then he explained why, vacation. It's usually the dealer who has the issues communicating

[Phil57]

I know that my last post was harsh but it does bother me when a new person to the forum three posts in has that attitude. Maybe it's justified but with a little explanation someone here would do almost anything to help you. Please hang around and aka questions and share your issues and fixes. Know way your rig should sit for three weeks having nothing done. Who's fault? I can say mine would not for one week without some answers. In three weeks I will bet everyone at the dealership would never forget me. Do I understand this is a bad motor gear box in a slide? Why would it need to go to FR.

[Phil57]

This has been asked but what is wrong with your rig?

[NO3putt]

Agree Phil, I made a mistake when we first purchased our MH and trusting the dealer that it was being fixed only to find out it was all BS from the dealer. Ours sat for months "waiting for parts" per the dealer, or "waiting for authorization" I'm sure there are a few good dealers, but I won't play their games anymore, they change when you say I'll go to another place with my cash. Now it is fix while we wait or call me when the parts come in, no more MH sitting at the dealer.

[62_inrightlane]

I have to agree with Phil (not the AH part). The only reason you wouldn't get a phone call back from Randy, in a reasonable amount of time, would be because of a vacation or some other time away from work issue. I have never met a man more dedicated to solving problems for the owners of his companies products. I also agree with Phil that you have to be your own advocate when problems occur.

Here's the problem with many dealers, but not all. They are dishonest when doing warranty service work. I have had first hand experience with their dishonesty.

When I bought my coach the front AC went out the first week of ownership. I called the dealer and they told me to bring it back for repair. Since the dealer was 250 miles away I wasn't a happy camper. I took it back and it took them just over 3 weeks to return it to me. Took them a week to diagnose the problem and order the new AC. They told me when I called at the end of week 2 that they had not received the A/C unit from Dometic. I got ahold of Randy in week 3 and he called the dealer. He authorized them to remove the AC that I needed from another Berkshire they had in inventory and place it in my coach. a couple days after my call to Randy the coach was done.

I went to pick it up and when the service advisor brought the paperwork for my signature. I noticed several thing on the work order that I never noticed. They told me these were things they noticed. They told me they had to repaint the top of the front cap because of paint issues. They had to reattach the carpet on the rear bedroom slide. They had to replace a missing piece of molding in the bathroom. About a year after this I was cleaning the picture files on my old laptop and transferring to my new one and noticed some pictures I had taken of the new motorhome the day we bought it. The missing molding was there in the picture I took of the bathroom. So it wasn't missing but the dealer got paid for replacing it. By the way the dealer, who I will not mention, no longer carries Forest River products!

The day I picked it back up from the dealer, we took it out camping again. 4 days later in the GA heat the replacement AC went out again. I called Randy and explained the situation. He authorized me to take it to another Forest River dealer 30 miles from my house. He called the dealer after speaking with me and the new dealer called me about 1 hour after Randy had called them. They told me to bring in the coach the next day. They told me that Randy was getting in touch with Dometic and that the new unit would be to them the next day. I took it in and the next day they called and told me I could pick up my coach after noon the next day. So the new dealer, with Randy's help, did in 2 days what the selling dealer took 3 weeks to do.

In the two years that have passed since the issues above I have stopped by the factory each spring on my way to my summer place in Michigan and had a few things repaired. This year when I stopped my coach had been out of warranty for 1.5 years so I expected to pay for the repairs. I had one of the slide sweeps tear so it needed to be replaced. I also put a slide in and forgot to remove the throw rug. So when I cut out the rug and pulled the pieces out I tore up the molding on the bottom of the fridge. Dropped the coach off at 9:00 am and picked it up at 11:30 all fixed. When I asked for the bill Randy said we will cover it under warranty.

Can anyone tell me of another company that would do this? Maybe Tiffin but no one else!

Like I said in an earlier post be professional when dealing with people you want to help you. It's OK to be persistent. It's OK to ask questions and ask for timelines.

It's not OK to rant, rave, cuss and make unreasonable demands when someone is trying to help you. Treat people the same way you would want to be treated if your roles were reversed.

[grt1014]

Randy has been on vacation since Wednesday afternoon. He has been great for me so far too. I took my rv to a none fr dealer because none close to me and the 2 that are within a 2 hr drive cannot even look at mine until late June.

Randy talked to the non fr dealer and shipped the slide motor/gearbox. It arrived Thursday. Since randy went on vacation he did not give the dealer written authorization to pay the labor bill so I did not get my rv out for this three day weekend trip with the family.

Randy's good but he makes a few mistakes too. Overall I'm still pleased with him and fr. Just wish he would of sent the letter so I could be at a campground right now enjoying my new Rv.

Dealer said he would not start on it until randy agreed to pay his labor rate. Says manufactures try to pay a much less rate and hrs than actual time. Especially for none trained forest river dealers.

[Phil57]

Well said both of you.

[62_inrightlane]

Grt1014. I had to pay for an overnight delivery of a freightliner part so we could start a scheduled trip and when I mentioned it to Randy he said Forest River would reimburse me the cost. A few weeks later I received the check.

A little different situation but this is who Randy is.

Without Randy I would probably be on here blaming Forest River for problems that should fall in the lap of the dealers! Instead I am an advocate for Forest River! I bought a pontoon 2 years ago and when I found out Forest River had a marine division I checked into their products. I bought a Berkshire pontoon because of the way Randy and the folks in the diesel division treated me!

You are right even good people make mistakes. When / if Randy finds out that he forgot to call the dealer and he messed up your weekend he will feel awful!



Sent from my DROID RAZR using Forest River Forums mobile app

[gasman94]

I would like to say welcome to NoBra67. The advice you are getting from Phil and the others is great advice. This forum is full of great, helpful people that share the same passion in camping/rv'ing. I am also a new owner of a Berkshire, which is the first class A that I've owned. I had some issues with my coach and was feeling like maybe I was the guy to get the lemon....until others shared their experiences with me. The way I see it, buying a new coach is like buying a new car in the 60's or 70's (anyone old enough to remember that experience will relate). You buy it knowing that there will be some issues that will need to be addressed. When I got mine, I had a slide that was stubborn in closing and on closing up after our maiden voyage with the new Berk. When it finally closed, there was a big CRACKKKK and then it closed. Also, my left mirror went off tilt and almost non viewable after a strong wind gust on the freeway. I called Randy when I got back, went to Elkhart and he remedied the problems while I waited. I had a list of some other minor problems, but he suggested waiting until the spring because other issues may crop up that can be addressed then and save multiple trips in. I took the advice and it was good because the genny went out during the winter. When I took it back in the spring, all other issues were resolved. It is hard to take when you have spent so much money on a new coach because you DIDN"T want someone else's problems, to see many little things wrong. But this happens with most new coaches of any brand. Forest River is great at supporting the owners for repairs. Randy and all of the other people involved were nothing but top notch!

The point that others are making is that even though you are justifiably frustrated, Randy and the FR people are there to help and will go the distance for you. But if you've ever worked with the public, then you know that it is human nature to not want to kill yourself for someone that is not listening or making unreasonable demands (and please, don't take this personally, this is just a general statement applying to all of us...myself included) As stated before, this forum, and people like Randy will help to make this a much smoother process. Once again, welcome to the Forest River family and I hope you create many happy memories with your new coach....Rich

[boowho]

Originally Posted by NO3putt

Agree Phil, I made a mistake when we first purchased our MH and trusting the dealer that it was being fixed only to find out it was all BS from the dealer. Ours sat for months "waiting for parts" per the dealer, or "waiting for authorization" I'm sure there are a few good dealers, but I won't play their games anymore, they change when you say I'll go to another place with my cash. Now it is fix while we wait or call me when the parts come in, no more MH sitting at the dealer.

Was that our "friends" in Canon City?? Inquiring minds want to know!!!

It certainly possible to get screwed either way, but I'd by from an individual instead of a dealer by a ratio of 100 to 1. Basically, I HATE even walking in their front door.

Boowho??

[NO3putt]

Boowho, you got that right, final straw was when the recall came out for the transfer switch, gave the dealer two weeks to order, then called FR, (FR told me they had plenty on hand to ship out) gave dealer two more weeks, then he told me FR didn't have any, called FR again, and was told they never ordered one for me. FR made arragements for it to be installed at a non-FR dealer. Never been back.

Is it a bit cold this weekend in Durango? Cool and wet down here at Navajo state park, but was nice on Tuesday when we took the Durango-Silverton railroad.

If you need engine or feightliner work done, Transwest in Fountian is great and reasonable on prices.

[boowho]

Originally Posted by NO3putt

Is it a bit cold this weekend in Durango? Cool and wet down here at Navajo state park, but was nice on Tuesday when we took the Durango-Silverton railroad.

Yep, down right chilly. Maybe I should have stayed in AZ for an extra month.

And yes, I did see you go by on the train.....

Boowho??

[NO3putt]

Boowho, thought about stopping by but didn't see any pizza ready.....