It is with pleasure that I write to share my recent experience at Lloyd Bridges Traveland (
www.funrving.com). I had an appointment scheduled in December 2016, for service on my coach. I had waited more than 2 months to get my coach in for warranty work at the end of the camping season. I learned that Christian had been promoted to service manager at LBTL. I was ecstatic.
Since 2013, my interactions with Christian first as a service technician, and then in sales, have been outstanding. I believe Jerry Bridges made an incredibly good business decision by promoting Christian. He has many years of service in the industry, as well as with LBTL and equally important, he possesses the right attitude and personality to work effectively with customers, including those like me whose standards and expectations can be high. When Christian and I spoke in early December, we went over the list of work I was requesting be performed on my coach, and while he could not promise me, his goal was to return my coach to me before LBTL closed for the holiday break. I am delighted to say Christian was able to keep his word.
For anyone who has dealt with the service department at LBTL in the past couple of years, service was (for me anyway) more miss than hit. In 2015 alone there was a very high turnover of managers in the service department. Between 2013-present, I found it extremely upsetting, frustrating and disappointing to deal with the service department at LBTL. No one seemed to know what was going on or how to get things done or when repairs would be completed. This, unfortunately, seems to be a common thread amongst members of this forum when their coach requires repairs.
Which brings me back to the present. I have very high hopes for the service department, and LBTL as a whole now that Christian is the service manager. The service department went through several rough years after Charlie retired, but I believe with Christian at the helm, he will restore the LBTL service department it to its former glory, vastly improving the reputation of LBTL. I no longer have concerns with referring anyone to LBTL for sales, service or parts.
It seems that a disproportionately high number of the online posts to our group are about negative experiences with both sales and service that group members have had with a dealer or Forest River. On occasion, someone will put up a post about a positive experience or a positive outcome to a situation involving an RV dealer/Forest River. This is a positive change of events at LBTL. If you have interacted with LBTL, especially the service department in the last 2-4 years and it has not been what you would have expected, consider giving them a try again. I expect you will have a much better experience now that Christian is the head of the service department.