REV Group restricts Customer Service Phone Help

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Gary RV_Wizard

Gary RV_Wizard

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I'm sad to report another decrease in RV customer service.  Reports state that the Rev Group, the OEM for the Fleetwood, American Coach, Monaco and Holiday Rambler brands, has terminated Customer Support phone service for all coaches that are out of warranty (more than a one year old). There hasn't been any announcement yet, but callers have been turned away in the last few days.

Rev had previously merged both factory service center and CS Help for all their brands, making the techs less expert by spreading them over dozens of models. That was particularly galling to buyers of high end models (upwards of $500k) that previously had received some extra care (pampering, if you will). Now most of them will get no phone help at all.  Not clear yet if there will be any change in access to the factory service centers, which do repairs for fee as well as warranty.

This is a real negative for the owners of all the Rev Group brands, but I think the ultra high end models (American Coach and Monaco Signature, etc) are going to feel it the most. Owners who spend $0.5M-$1.0M bucks feel they should get some extra care & feeding. That may not be an egalitarian view, but they are used to getting more personal service for their money!
 
I talked to them aout two weeks ago asking for a wiring diagram, and the guy I spoke to sounded like he was reading from a script.  Specific questions, he couldn't answer.  Also, he couldn't find a diagram.
 
I just sent them an email asking about the policy change since I am looking at one of their brands.
 
I was disappointed with REV when I found that a Holiday Rambler was the same as a Fleetwood Terra, which was at mid/bottom of the Fleetwood line. The Holiday Rambler name used to mean something at least a bit above average, now it's just another name.
 
kdbgoat said:
I was disappointed with REV when I found that a Holiday Rambler was the same as a Fleetwood Terra, which was at mid/bottom of the Fleetwood line. The Holiday Rambler name used to mean something at least a bit above average, now it's just another name.
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It?s happening in every industry and I hate it. During a remodel of a stick and bricks  a few years back was looking at microwaves. Since I looked at (but did not buy, too $$) a Wolf range, also ran across a ?Wolf? microwave. Turns out, Wolf doesn?t make microwaves, they rebadge the Sharp - and add $200. Bought the Sharp.


Re the phone support being terminated, it really is appalling how many industries view the very customers that keep them in business. They have figured out that a majority of buyers will buy a rig independent of whether there is long term tech support. At some point there was a backroom ?the heck with them? conversation (I?m being generous). Incredible.


So far, as the second owner of a 13 year old coach I can still call Newmar - they have been very helpful. I wonder how long it will last ?
 
My last trip of four out to the Fleetwood for repairs to my unit, I noticed a change in attitude, from previous trips where I felt they were very considerate and would do anything to resolve my problems to the point that they extended the warranty past one year because of the multitude of problems the coach has experienced. I was aware that my customer service contact who was very helpful had been transferred away from Fleetwood to another brand.  I also discovered recently that the replacement was no longer with the company.  Perhaps too helpful.  Am glad that I am proactive in most of what I do, and over the past few years have accumulated just about every drawing conceivable for my coach.  Last fall, when I had a problem, the local Fleetwood Dealer in NY would not even consider working on my coach as he was so fed up with REV and the way they handled warranty problems.  He was dropping Fleetwood from his line up.  Sounds like the industry has gotten "too big for their britches", which will start their demise and let China supply another product to America.  Incidentally, if anyone needs some drawing for a 2016 Fleetwood 33C Bounder, would be happy to send them to them.  Have them stored electronically.
 
I've seen a further report from the president of the American Coach Association, who contacted American Coach senior management about this new policy.  He was told that Tech Support is still available for short inquiries but that any complicated question would be referred to a dealer for action.  Maybe that's what the front office thinks, but those who try to utilize it find the phone menu no longer even has a Tech Support option.  If they persist and get a warranty rep on the phone, owners of older coaches (out of warranty) are told to go to a dealer. Period.

Hopefully the reps on the phone lines will get in sync with what the upper management thinks, but I'm not holding my breathe!
 
I decided to drive to Fleetwood four times (548 miles each way) four repairs because my selling dealer was not capable of fixing the problems, and the only other Fleetwood dealer within a few hours was Camping World, and I'm not a fan of theirs either, and the word is that if they didn't sell it to you, it would take forever to get it serviced.
 
Haven't heard anything about that [yet], but Rev Group reduced the amount of free tech service at rallies when they took over.  Fleetwood used to be generous on extra services once everybody had their short list taken care of, but I'm told Rev has a hard limit.  But maybe that's why Rev Group is more profitable...
 
That's really sad. I guess no one in upper management has a clue to what generates "Customer Loyalty".  When we were shopping for another coach, the only two names that kept coming up were Newmar and Tiffin. Both with good reputations for customer service. 

I can't imagine paying a chunk of money for a coach and being told they can't answer your inquires because you are out of warranty. I wonder how others like Forest River and Thor treating their customers.
 
Worse, according to the reports I see. Forest River "encourages" owners to contact their dealer for anything, even in warranty. They do have a Contact Us, though.
 
Maybe not at Tiffin's level, but I have excellent service from Coachmen on two different RV's. In the the same situations, I don't see where Tiffin would or could have been more satisfactory. There again, I haven't had to go back to the factory for work either. I don't think Coachmen goes that far.
 
Tiffin has restricted access to their factory service for older models - their service center was so overwhelmed that new owners were having difficulty getting warranty service.  In their case, it was due to both sales success and excellence at the factory service center.

One positive thing REV Group has done is establish additional service centers across the country. The remote location techs may not be quite up to factory standards, but probably better than most dealer shops.
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
Tiffin has restricted access to their factory service for older models - their service center was so overwhelmed that new owners were having difficulty getting warranty service.  In their case, it was due to both sales success and excellence at the factory service center.
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True, that is a partial restriction. The rule is that rigs over 4 years old are restricted from going to a "full service bay". Those are service bays with unlimited time constraints. However all are still welcome in "express bays" which are half day each. So 2 techs, half day. And the limit does not apply to other services like cabinet shop, tile shop, or mechanic shop. 

One positive effect this has had though, is that several new shops have sprang up in the town mostly comprised of former Tiffin employees that offer many of the services the service center offers, in a much shorter time frame. Some even do a better job! (Like the paint shop)
 
## NEW NEWS ##
It appears that REV Group is re-thinking their decision to severely restrict customer support for out-of warranty owners.  Officers of the various brand owner clubs have been protesting to REV mgmt, and there has been negative commentary on blogs and forums.  REV Group now says it was a mistake and they never intended to cut off all support, but that some of their employees got the wrong message.  For the moment, anyway, they have restored the previous level of service until a revised  procedure can be communicated to all involved.  Just what that new service will be remains to be seen.

According to reports, the intent was to do away with lengthy calls for tech assistance, e.g. those that sometimes ran 20 minutes or more.  An example might be someone asking to be walked through a test procedure that most any RV tech would already now how to do. REV Group reportedly says it is not their intention to provide an alternative to a dealer tech and that complex problems are better handled by a skilled & trained tech in a shop.  Just how a phone help tech determines the dividing line between simple and complex seems problematic to me, but I guess they are going to try.
 
Hmm, sounds like "damage control".  Also sounds like a different way of saying almost the same thing. If the tech won't help you troubleshoot a problem, I guess the answer would be "that issue requires diagnostic help. You will have to take it to a dealer"???
 
Two days ago I called Fleetwood (REV Group) Customer Support for help in contacting Kwikee, part of Power Gear, owned by Lippert as I had been unsuccessful in getting a person at the Kwikee group other than send them and email (after being told that there was no one available in the Chat Room), which I did, not getting a response after five days.  Fleetwood CS was very helpful in getting a number for Lippert, and in turn Lippert was very helpful in solving my problem of replacing the motor and gear assembly under warranty for my Kwikee automatic steps that had just been replaced last May under warranty by Fleetwood.  Incidentally, do you know that it appears that Lippert, when they buy a company reduces their warranty?  ie - Magnum Inverter 3 yrs to two;  Kwikee 3 years to one.  Guess they are concerned about quality.
 
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