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Old 07-25-2016, 06:42 AM   #1
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Campers Inn Philadelphia

I purchased camper at Hershey RV show. I was offered a fair deal. Not the best price I’ve seen but in the same ball park and I wanted a local dealer so I could get warranty work done if needed. They very much did the used car lets make a deal routine with me, but OK. It was the last day of a trade show and sometimes that’s just how it works. As soon as I signed the deal sheet the sales lady walked out to catch a flight and I received no confirmation of unit build sheet or any of the financial info behind price and trade in value. I was told by her that the Philly location would be in contact.

Two weeks later I called them and verbally confirmed unit was to be configured as I requested since I hadn’t heard a word.

At delivery – Unit was demo’d by on duty tech not the tech who did the setup. The tech was not familiar with this product line and did not know what switches were used for tank heaters and a few other features. I also noted that party deck was misaligned which I fixed myself at home. Was told I would receive a call from tech who did setup on switch locations. I never received the call but I did determine how all the items in the unit worked on my own. I also desicovered the wrong microwave was installed. Made appointment with CampersInn central group when they did a courtesy follow up to have the following warranty items repaired:

· Rusted Screws in generator compartment
· Bent Arm on Happy Jack Dinette.
· Bubbled Backsplash
· Damaged aerator or kitchen faucet
· Incorrect Microwave
· Damaged Light switch on propane tank area courtesy light.

CampersInn suggested I contact service manager at Philly location to arrange for the items to be ordered ahead of time. I called was told to email the list which did. I dropped winterized camper off January 18th as scheduled. I was told a couple of days to hear about parts approval and exact time needed. I was told it might be into the first week of February. I never got a call as promised about the items being approved. So I called week of 2/1. I was told nothing had been done due to the blizzard of the previous week. February 10th I called service to find out status. I was told I’d receive a call back in an hour. I didn’t so I called back and was told waiting on approval for Happy Jack bed. All other items were approved. March 1st I called service for status. Was told parts were in except for “a couple” of items and that the camper would be ready by within approx. 10 days. March 15th I called service for status. Was told everything was on order and that it would be in by Wednesday 3/23 and I would receive a status call by close of business. No call came. I back in a week for status since I did not receive a call as promised. Was told parts are not in. would check with parts manager for status, meaning that no one even bothered to check if the parts were in until I called. I was now told that the parts manager quit and now they’ve spoken directly to Forest River and have rush ordered the couch, backsplash and convection microwave and it will be here in one week. March 30th I received a call stating the parts were actually being shipped to Forest Rive and would not be shipped FROM forest river until next week, ETA to follow. I requested to pick up the camper as I needed it for April 1st weekend a date I’d booked a full two months after the promised time frame that I was to get it back.

I made an appointment to have it back in at the end of April after verifying that all the parts were in. I explained that I had to have it back in one week because my son was going to be staying in it between assignments in the Coast Guard. I delivered it to them as promised. The day before it was due to be picked up I called to confirm a time and was told that they hadn’t started and it would be next week “sometime”. I demanded to speak to a corporate manager and finally got someone who did get them to do the work that day. (I’d tried to do this originally and got no where either through campers inn or through the dealer). They told me that a part was not in for the microwave but I tild them to send it to me and I’d install it at this point.

So I got it back. The microwave cabinet was cut to the wrong size. Fortunately I do cabinet making as a hobby so I fixed it. The Happyjac bed is misaligned now which I just discovered last month while camping as we hadn’t used it. I’ll be fixing that this week. The camper was a MESS with saw dust and debris everywhere.

And since this review is already so long, I didn’t even get into the promised Thousand Trails membership they couldn’t deliver on, at least another dozen or so calls where I left messages that weren't returned about the status, the completely dead battery when I picked it up, etc.
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Old 07-25-2016, 07:06 AM   #2
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Are they that busy...or just that crappy?


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Old 07-25-2016, 07:45 AM   #3
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The people are very nice in person. But some of them are outright lying on the phone. I was told that the parts were in, when they hadn't even been ordered. They blamed it on the parts person who quit. I don't know the truth. Since I'm not one of those yell and scream types I managed to talk to some of the staff who told me that when Campers Inn acquired them they quadrupled the number of units on site and didn't increase the service department at all.

Besides under staffing for the new inventory/service levels that Campers Inn put in, I'd say they're not bringing the staff up to speed. I get emails directed to the person who bought my trade in. Even though I emailed them three times that they had the wrong person. They didn't understand there own Thousand Trails promotion. They didn't seem to know who was supposed to follow up.

So under staffing is a lot of it. But certainly not all. A lot of the Media Camper Center (Their previous name before being acquired) folks have left. So now no one seems to know the old way or the new way of doing things.
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Old 07-25-2016, 07:57 AM   #4
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The people are very nice in person. But some of them are outright lying on the phone. I was told that the parts were in, when they hadn't even been ordered. They blamed it on the parts person who quit. I don't know the truth. Since I'm not one of those yell and scream types I managed to talk to some of the staff who told me that when Campers Inn acquired them they quadrupled the number of units on site and didn't increase the service department at all.

Besides under staffing for the new inventory/service levels that Campers Inn put in, I'd say they're not bringing the staff up to speed. I get emails directed to the person who bought my trade in. Even though I emailed them three times that they had the wrong person. They didn't understand there own Thousand Trails promotion. They didn't seem to know who was supposed to follow up.

So under staffing is a lot of it. But certainly not all. A lot of the Media Camper Center (Their previous name before being acquired) folks have left. So now no one seems to know the old way or the new way of doing things.

Have you talked to anyone at Campers Inn Corporate?
There was some turmoil here in Pittsburgh I witnessed during the changeover from Clems RV also, but it seems once they put a new GM in place things turned around quickly. I just had a few issues with our 2017 that they handled pretty well.

Here's a little known tidbit. Campers Inn is an "investment group" and registered as a holding company. The original owners of the "acquired" locations / dealerships are more than likely behind the scenes as one of the investors. Some are even still active in the dealerships. I find it ironic when I read posts that say Campers Inn ruined a dealership when in actuality the previous "owners", who people thought so highly of, sold out to the mighty dollar.
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Old 07-25-2016, 08:07 AM   #5
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Yes. I called the corporate office twice and they called me once. And basically told me their was nothing they could or would do, but "follow up". I finally was able to get the regional service manager's number and call him and he made them at least get it done enough to get it back so my son could stay. But I only got his number after saying some things that I won't commit to writing about the consequences of my son having no place to stay with us between Coast Guard stations. I don't threaten physical violence. But I do know how to play the marketing game. So it was corporate who eventually got me some resolution, but even there it was not stepping up to the plate. I'd say it was the bare minimum to keep me and them out of civil court.

I waited two months to write the review, primarily because they did eventually meet my minimum demands to make it passable. But as I continue to find things they screwed up... well I figure I'd want someone to warn me before I got involved in a mess like this.
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Old 07-25-2016, 09:51 AM   #6
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...I managed to talk to some of the staff who told me that when Campers Inn acquired them they quadrupled the number of units on site and didn't increase the service department at all...
Doesn't surprise me. I think a similar thing happened in Atlanta when Peco Campers sold to Campers Inn. The one service tech I knew I could count on at Peco is now gone. I had a similar months-long CI screw-up with a cabinet door needing replacement. Finally fixed it myself.
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Old 07-28-2016, 05:40 AM   #7
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WOW! this all sounds sooo familiar.....just like the treatment you get @ Boat N Rv. I had an issue with CI a while back ( look back a few mos. for my rant in this section) I will never buy a unit from this company.
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Old 07-28-2016, 06:04 AM   #8
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WOW! this all sounds sooo familiar.....just like the treatment you get @ Boat N Rv. I had an issue with CI a while back ( look back a few mos. for my rant in this section) I will never buy a unit from this company.
Boat 'N' RV is the closest RV dealer to my house. We shop at the Cabella's and Walmart across the street. I don't even know if they carry XLR because I refuse to walk on their lot. 4 people I know who bought RVs from them won't go back. I've never heard a positive experience about them.

Frankly, I didn't do my homework on Camper's Inn. They had only recently acquired Media Camping who were reasonably well liked in the SE PA region. When we got to Hershey it was late on Sunday because we came up from Ocean City Bike Week in Maryland. We wanted to see the 29HFS in person to make a decision. We fell in love with it and decided to buy without researching the dealer. Since each unit is represented by a specific dealer, if you want the RV show price you have to deal with that dealer so I didn't try to rush online research. Not that there was much about that location at the time, but certainly there's enough about the corporate entity to make me think twice.

Its hard to pick a good dealer. It seems like the best of them have a mixed bag of reviews online and the worst of them have some reviews of questionable veracity. Especially when you've worked for organizations who like to "enhance" their on-line "presence". You begin to recognize the marketing speak in the first sentence.
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Old 07-28-2016, 06:32 AM   #9
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Are they that busy...or just that crappy?
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I see not much has changed in their back shop.
I will never go back there, either. Just sayin'

The best Tech they ever had now works at a truck repair shop where I get my camper inspected. FYI - they can also do warranty and routine maintenance on campers and motorhomes because FR WILL ship parts to a repair facility even if it is not a "dealer". You just need to be a bit more proactive for warranty items.
PM if you need the name.

Not to worry as most items are only warranted for a year and the warranty, like most - if not all - of the RV industry, is worded such that it does not cover a whole lot.

For example a tire blow out on an OEM tire that damages the camper will only be reimbursed for the tire (and THEN through the tire warranty) and not the camper damage which is on you.

Or, the 10 year roof warranty that does not cover leaks or leak damage, only the material itself.

The "incorrect" microwave would have to go through the selling dealership as it was THEIR mistake and not FR.
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Old 08-02-2016, 06:56 AM   #10
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I had similar issues with Campers Inn in Fredericksburg. To be honest receive better customer service at Walmart for a $15 toaster then I have from Campers Inn for $40,000 trailer. If your in VA head further south down 95 to the more established professional dealership or you will pay the price.
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Old 08-02-2016, 01:16 PM   #11
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The people are very nice in person. But some of them are outright lying on the phone. I was told that the parts were in, when they hadn't even been ordered. They blamed it on the parts person who quit. I don't know the truth. Since I'm not one of those yell and scream types I managed to talk to some of the staff who told me that when Campers Inn acquired them they quadrupled the number of units on site and didn't increase the service department at all.

Besides under staffing for the new inventory/service levels that Campers Inn put in, I'd say they're not bringing the staff up to speed. I get emails directed to the person who bought my trade in. Even though I emailed them three times that they had the wrong person. They didn't understand there own Thousand Trails promotion. They didn't seem to know who was supposed to follow up.

So under staffing is a lot of it. But certainly not all. A lot of the Media Camper Center (Their previous name before being acquired) folks have left. So now no one seems to know the old way or the new way of doing things.
JC,

If I didn't know any better I'd swear you were writing my review! This is my first RV so I did not know Media Camping before they were bought by CI but I'd have to say, even with my limited RV background, my experience with CI Philadelphia has been just short of a disaster. All the points your brought up are valid although I do have first hand knowledge that the problem employee was fired and did not quit. At this point all my calls go through the regional director just so he can feel my pain first hand. Things have not improved all that much mostly because as you said they are severely understaffed and I have noticed that they seem to have no process to manage work requests and status. The people seem nice enough but are completely overwhelmed and are working with one hand tied behind their back. I also must say that they are also handicapped by the multiple problems that the FR RV's seem to be having, including mine.
So unfortunately I think we are seeing the perfect storm here. High volume sales of vehicles with quality issues being sold/serviced by an organization undergoing significant change and staffed by individuals with limited experience either in the industry and/or with the product line.
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Old 08-17-2016, 02:53 PM   #12
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Meet someone how bought from this year. There having issues.
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Old 08-17-2016, 03:24 PM   #13
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They're not having issues. They're having whole subscriptions. 😀
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Old 08-17-2016, 08:52 PM   #14
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If this forum keeps only one person from buying from Camper Sinn then it'll all be worth it!!!
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Old 08-17-2016, 09:34 PM   #15
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I purchased my XLR from CI with few issues. At the Hershey show my first contact was with Ryan (factory rep but I don't have his last name) and through the entire process he took care of my purchase. My sales rep was John Souza and I think he did a good job also. They had installed the wrong microwave from the factory and I didn't discover that until I was there to pick it up. Therefore I didn't leave the the trailer and had to drive the 180 miles again after a couple of weeks. Since it was in December and the camper was winterized I didn't test everything in the fresh water system. In the spring of this year I went through everything and had to do all of the setups myself. It's a good thing I know what I'm doing with campers or I would have been lost. The microwave was so crooked I had to reinstall it myself. The water heater was never plugged in so it was never even tested at the factory. Overall I have a great camper but as has been discussed already there is a lack of personnel at the Philly location. Since I am 180 miles away I will probably never be back but my local FR dealer (Beckley's in Frederick Maryland) has a great service department. I would have purchased from them but they didn't stock the XLR.
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Old 08-22-2016, 01:00 PM   #16
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That's the problem with XLR. They have a small dealer network and I know Forest River says any Forest River dealer is OK for warranty, but I've heard just as bad of horror stories trying to get your unit worked on from a dealer you didn't purchase from.

I love my XLR. I believe we'll keep this one until we retire into a XLR Thunderbolt. But I know I'll be scheduling time to get to Indiana once a quarter during the warranty period to get to the dealer I intend to buy from next time.

Maybe we could start, or if it exists someone could point out, a thread listing the quality dealers in various areas who are known to happily take RVs that were purchased elsewhere for warranty and other service. I know they're out there. I just don't know how to find them!
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Old 08-22-2016, 01:11 PM   #17
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Doesn't surprise me. I think a similar thing happened in Atlanta when Peco Campers sold to Campers Inn. The one service tech I knew I could count on at Peco is now gone. I had a similar months-long CI screw-up with a cabinet door needing replacement. Finally fixed it myself.
X 2 I lucked out when I bought mine just about changeover time. Yes did call Corporate and got the ball rolling to get a few items fixed. Just glade this maybe the last tt I buy and won't have to go looking for a good dealer. Later RJD
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Old 08-22-2016, 04:30 PM   #18
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That's the problem with XLR. They have a small dealer network and I know Forest River says any Forest River dealer is OK for warranty, but I've heard just as bad of horror stories trying to get your unit worked on from a dealer you didn't purchase from.

I love my XLR. I believe we'll keep this one until we retire into a XLR Thunderbolt. But I know I'll be scheduling time to get to Indiana once a quarter during the warranty period to get to the dealer I intend to buy from next time.

Maybe we could start, or if it exists someone could point out, a thread listing the quality dealers in various areas who are known to happily take RVs that were purchased elsewhere for warranty and other service. I know they're out there. I just don't know how to find them!
I see very few XLRs on the road. As I stated in my last post I have a good dealer in Frederick, Maryland and they will provide warranty service no matter where you purchased. They seem to have a knowledgeable staff and do service work on almost any brand.

I am going to do some research on providing a dealer network who will service all who enter. I am new to this forum so maybe someone has started this already.
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Old 08-22-2016, 04:36 PM   #19
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LOL! I didn't realize this thread is in the Dealers Reviews forum!
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Old 08-24-2016, 03:27 PM   #20
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All,

My name is Derek, and I handle the We Care Program for Campers Inn. If you are having an issue with one of our stores, I would encourage you to contact the We Care hotline at wecare@campersinn.com or (603) 347-9600. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss the issues you are experiencing.

Thank you,

Derek
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