The good,the bad and the ugly

[blackttr]

The good part is that my wife and I were able to make a deal on a "NEW" 2011 Charleston. We were told how Forest River would stand behind their product and that they would go to any length to make us happy with our purchase.

The bad part, as I previous posted, is that after our first trip with the motorhome we had over 35 items that needed repaired or replaced. Some of these items were minor repairs but a major problem was the water issues in all our cargo bays.

The ugly part is how we are now being treated by Forest River. Our coach is at the factory(2 weeks) and we have had no communications with Forest River. I have had to call the factory rep to check on the progress of our repairs. Each time I have been told that they aren't sure what has been done and I have asked if they could check to see what is repaired and give me an update. The last time I called the rep who I had been working with told me that I should call another rep to check on the progress. We have already had to cancel a family camping trip and who knows how many more. If you listen to the VP of sales and marketing for Forest River he talks about being family, well I don't think this is how you treat family members.

[wnytaxman]

The thing that bothers me the most about your treatment by Forest River is that the Charleston is supposed to be their flagship, yet it seems more like the illegitimate step child when it comes to service. I have seen other complaints about the Charleston which leads me to wonder why would anyone make the move from the Berkshire or some other brand to the Charleston. You would think that Forest River would go out of their way to make the Charleston a top brand.

[tmmar]

Ed,
I have to agree with your last sentence where you say ' You would think that Forest River would go out of their way to make the Charleston a top brand'. I think that the customer service on the Berkshire is pretty good and I don't know why the service on the Charlston would be any less.
Tom

[wnytaxman]

Tom,

It is hard to fathom with the good job that FR does on the Berkshire that they could be so shoddy on the Charleston. It just doesn't make sense that FR drops the ball on the Charleston, but I have seen that with other brands. I follow the Tiffin Forum and there are a bunch of real upset folks there who have their coaches delaminating and cracks in their roofs and Tiffin is telling them to bring it in to Red Bay, Alabama and we'll fix it. Next available appointment is in August of 2013 and, oh by the way, if your coach is more than three years old, the repair is on your nickel. That is what is happening there and it is on their Phaeton which is one of their middle models.

I think that Forest River and many other manufacturers better be careful. You have up and coming companies like Entegra out there that are just licking their chops for that middle and upper end coach market and poor communication doesn't help marketing one iota.

Ed