Reaching end of rope with factory parts dept

[Rustydade]

I like our trailer and I am not trying to bash there product just I feel that we as customers that choose to spend our hard earned money with them, should be treated with good customer service and fast service. 4 months and still not right is not good customer service. I could never get away with that with my customers. All I would want is for them to make it right. I do like the fact that we have this forum. I find a lot of great info from all of you guys here and appreciate you guys. and I know I might be asking or expecting too much from forest river in this matter. I guess from what you gys are saying the whole rv industry lacks in customer service.

[Rustydade]

Well if we do move up to a class A what should i know before buying one and we did look at the George town and liked it's layout. it was a brand new 2014.

[youroo]

Rustydade,what was the part you were waiting on? Youroo!!

[Rustydade]

Cabinets

[F.R.O.G.]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

Frustration at the time can be and often is overpowering. Make plans to go to next year's rally. It's a fantastic experience and you will be amazed at what happens there for FR customers plus you get to meet the Phat Phrog Stunt Team and partake in their Pot Luck.

If you're going to partake in the PPST Pot Luck, don't eat for about a week before you get there. AMAZING food, and a lot of it!

[Weezer]

DH and I are already talking about upgrading to a 5er in a year or so. Will I go FR? Dunno, YET. We've got a couple of issues and don't intend to take ours in until after Thanksgiving. A lot will hinge on how our issues are handled.

Had one issue that, IMO, was a real safety hazard and I wasn't happy with the response from our dealer and/or FR. Found out a lot of that was due to ball dropping regarding communication between people at the dealer and between the dealer and FR. Finally things were handled with the urgency I felt was warranted.

Since this is our first RV, I haven't built up a loyalty to the brand. So, the 5er purchase will hinge on floor plans and price, in that order. However, I *will* do research on warranty response specific to the model and brand.

Service after the sale will be a deal maker or breaker.

[Theresa Bakker]

Originally Posted by gljurczyk

Can I ask what warranty parts were you waiting on so long?

The only parts we needed from the factory (that were not available elsewhere) were a fender skirt and decals. Other parts included various bits and bobs that are available at any RV supplier (electrical outlet cover, fridge vent etc). The repair shop ordered everything from the factory however.

Our repairs were due to accidental damage and not warranty-related. Everything on the rig has been functioning pretty much as expected since we got it in May, and we have been living in it from Day 1.

[IndyCamp]

We are having the same issue and also with cabinets.

We took it into the dealer on 8/26 for damaged cabinets. The dealer inspected it, took pictures, and submitted it to FR as a warranty claim. The claim was approved and now the dealer is still waiting on the parts. It's been two months and still we wait.

The service manager at the dealer was told by FR that our unit is a 2013 and the cabinets on the 2014s are different so they have to wait until the end of this production run to make us a new cabinet.

That is crazy to me. I am used to service in the auto industry where dealers can get any part they need within a couple of days at the most.

We were told that if we call the FR Warranty Department ourselves and raise hell, it might be quicker. It's ridiculous that I should even have to do such a thing.

Fortunately, the cabinet issue is not keeping us from using the camper and we have taken several trips in it with the cabinet damaged.

We LOVE the trailer and the overall quality is fine. This is not enough to make me not consider FR in the future, as I have heard similar stories about every manufacturer. It seems to be the norm in the industry, not just with FR.

[Theresa Bakker]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

With the many years of camping we've done, I will say that I have never heard of a rally held by any manufacture EXCEPT Forest River, where you could go and have any problem you had fixed FOR FREE. This happened last year and I was a witness to it this year. I think you two fellows may be burning a big bridge by eliminating Forest River. Next year, make plans to attend the rally and see for yourselves! End of sermon.

I agree this is a very nice thing to do but for someone like myself who has sustained accidental damage to the rig, what I really need is a company that is going to fill a parts order upon request, within a reasonable period of time.

It's not as if we (or in this case our insurance company) is not willing to pay for the parts. It's a merchandise transaction that makes my continued use of their VERY EXPENSIVE product possible. A very important aspect of the RV business if you ask me!

[Rustydade]

well sounds like the industry needs to go back and look at there Quality control department s and maybe retrain them. not let the trailers leave the factory with issues. that would solve alot of this.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by IndyCamp

We are having the same issue and also with cabinets.

We took it into the dealer on 8/26 for damaged cabinets. The dealer inspected it, took pictures, and submitted it to FR as a warranty claim. The claim was approved and now the dealer is still waiting on the parts. It's been two months and still we wait.

The service manager at the dealer was told by FR that our unit is a 2013 and the cabinets on the 2014s are different so they have to wait until the end of this production run to make us a new cabinet.

That is crazy to me. I am used to service in the auto industry where dealers can get any part they need within a couple of days at the most.

We were told that if we call the FR Warranty Department ourselves and raise hell, it might be quicker. It's ridiculous that I should even have to do such a thing.

Fortunately, the cabinet issue is not keeping us from using the camper and we have taken several trips in it with the cabinet damaged.

We LOVE the trailer and the overall quality is fine. This is not enough to make me not consider FR in the future, as I have heard similar stories about every manufacturer. It seems to be the norm in the industry, not just with FR.

I have to be on FR side on this one. If you get a chance tour the factory. At that point you will understand what they said. Each week they change models that are produced. If they do a Rookwood line, they put out 35 units per day. They have the vendors send them the pieces that they do not make. It is stacked all over there lot for that weeks production. How can anyone expect FR to stock every item and keep it in inventory. You would need a football field size warehouse stacked top to bottom. So what happens? They wait until they run that line again and get the part then. Everything is set for the model being produce. You just can not stop production to make a certain part that is different from what they are producing. It takes time to reset everything it's not hand made the only hands that touch things are the people who press the buttons in production and the line that install them. If people took the factory tour, You get a good grasp on how things work. People get a pretty good bang for the buck. I have dealt with the parts department it is difficult I agree but they always seem to come through. I also would think that this happens at the vendor line also who supply them. It's even worst when they change something in the line then it really takes time. Why do they change layouts and colors, it is because they listen to the consumer and try to please and what they are looking for. Now that's good business......

[another_newfie]

Maybe I'm lucky, or maybe all the foot work I put into the issue I ran into paid off. I goofed and broke the front baggage door on my Prime time fifth wheel (note to self, or anyone else, CLOSE THE TAILGATE after putting recycles into container..). I decided to push through an insurance claim and the longest wait was getting the insurance adjuster to setup the claim.

From the time we got the order for the door through to Prime Time to the doors arrival at my dealer (in Hamilton, Ontario Canada no less) was about 3 weeks. All the while the parts person at Prime Time kept me in the loop so I knew how things were progressing.

I can't say enough about Prime Time's level of customer service, it seems to be in short supply from other manufacturers, as I have heard and read so many stories just like this one.

Be vocal, be that squeaky wheel; perhaps that is what it takes to keep the manufacturers and by extension dealers on their toes.

[Theresa Bakker]

We were to pick up our rig today from the repair shop (shop was awesome with approx 24 hour turnaround time) but when the paint was dry and the shop went to apply factory decals this morning they discovered that Forest River had sent the WRONG decals so the job could not be completed.

The bill of lading had all the correct parts listed but the wrong pieces were shipped. Coincidence? Or payback for getting a manager involved when they wouldn't stop dragging their feet?

Forest River has now agreed to express ship the correct decals immediately with no runaround. At this point I'll believe it when I see it.

The folks at the shop have told me that they have many, many Forest River rigs on their back lot which have been waiting weeks and months for parts. "Are they the worst on parts?" I asked. "Yep," says shop guy. But since they are so huge, they are the 800 pound gorilla of the business, and we all know what an 800 pound gorilla does. ANYTHING HE WANTS. Including erasing the phrase "service after the sale" from his vocabulary.

Anyhow, HOPEFULLY the correct decals will arrive tomorrow or the next day. In the meantime, the shop returned our rig to us today and are coming to the park to complete the job. Again, no complaints with the shop -- they have been more than accommodating.

I'll update again either way so that everyone can know how (or whether) this gets resolved.

[Iwannacamp]

. Second, they said that their mailroom is five days behind on shipping things out. In this economy, this is an easily solvable problem as there is no shortage of workers who could be hired so that customers can get their orders within a reasonable period of time. (Or, at the very least, they should be springing for some overtime and weekends with their current staff until the backlog is cleared). That's what you do when you actually care about customer satisfaction anyway.

Caring about your customer is the KEY!! I worked for a large corporation for 20 years...I know the corporate b/s. Overtime...problem. Adding/replacing employees...problem. The answer is managers holding employees responsible for their actions and leading by example. It is hard to get "good" employees in any economy...not saying this IS the problem, but I am sure it is a part of it.

[Theresa Bakker]

FINAL UPDATE: Decals came, collsion damage repair is complete, stress is done. So glad that ordeal is over!