clueless salesperson

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2KViggen

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May 31, 2009
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Took RV in for service yesterday & overheard a tech talk to the service manager about something that is not going to work..... the tech said I wouldn't do it.  The service manager didn't understand what he was trying to say (I did) so they went out to look at the problem.  Several minutes later the service manager went out to my RV so we could go over the issues we are having (new purchase) & he ran into the sales person.  Ends up the sales person sold a close to 30ft trailer which has one of those 6-8ft decks on the back to someone with a jeep liberty as a tow vehicle.  Fortunantly the tech was smart enough to say NO & not allow them to drive away or finish prepping the trailer for towing with the liberty.

what a mess that was going to be
 
Good for the tech. Talk about the tail wagging the dog. My buddy who has been weekend rv'ing for a number of years recently went shopping for a larger 5er. At the third dealership the sales person asked what they wanted in the unit. Her second question "What will you be towing it with?" He was impressed, she was the first to ask. They bought from her, she knew what she was talking about and followed through on the pre delivery. They are happy with their purchase.
 
I met a camper in a campground that had all the rear wheel studs on his truck stripped so bad they I had to use my max bar to undo one nut and all the threads were damaged, so I told him he needed to change all his studs. He blammed it on the tire installers that had overtorqued them. I told him I would not take the trailer out on the road with the truck he was towing it with. He had bought a 5th wheel  with a 1500 Dodge truck as a complete unit from the local RV dealer.  The trailer was a 30Ft unit weighting 7300lbs empty, and he was on his way across Canada from the east coast, and had gone 100 miles by then.  The Dodge had 5 off  1/2" studs on the rear wheels, the same size my Ford Ranger 1/4ton had.  Then I concluded what happened was that with a 1500lbs Plus pin weight, he came to a curve and the weight on the one side just strethed the studs behound their design capacity.  At the time I had a GM with 6 off 9/16" studs on the rear wheels and in no way I would have hooked on his 5th.  Some dealers are great to help but this salesman surely just wanted to do a sale.  I see so many 1/2tons with air bags hauling large 5th.  I just can't emagine the trouble they get into, when they can only put 50Lbs of air in the rear wheels.
 
I heard a customer in a dealership with about the same problem he had a truck that was rated at 7000 and a trailer that was about that dry. he had just got back from a maiden voyage and was still shaking. The dealer said they would work something out.

All that being said maybe the consumer shouldn't be that clueless too, I spent 3 months researching a fifth wheel that was light enough and had the features that my wife wanted. And then when we looked at it i was the one telling the salesman and the tech that walked us through about the features they didn't know about.
 
I firmly believe it is more about ignorance on the part of sales people than about greed. Of course they want to make the sale, but few of them actually know much about RVs and especially about hauling them. They talk to other salesmen and newbies and read stuff in sales brochures that highlight the great features and ignore the constraints, but seldom get factual advice on towing, let alone any actual training.  And the guys they assign the customer PDI are often the kid who does the clean and prep work or the part time employee who knows the basics but nothing in depth. And it gets worse in late spring and early summer when most dealers are busy hustling sales and deliveries to customers anxious to get going with their new rig.  One PDI guy, whose main job was to wash coaches and fill water tanks before delivery, told me his boss only allowed him a half hour for a customer walkthrough. He didn't get paid for any more than that.
 
One would think that a sales clerk in a RV store would have been trained in what you need to tow.. But alas they are not,  They get training in many things. Such things as "Non-Discrimination" (Do not let one class of person sit and wait while you deal with another class that came in behind them less the 2nd class is "Has an appointment"). They get "Truth in lending" training, and again non-discrimination training in the loan department.

What they do not get is training in towing and tow ratings

Thus to a salesman, A Chevy LUV pickup can tow a 35' 5th wheel with no problems.

Right.. Monty Python time if you try it.
 
Truck dealers too.  This salesman tried to sell me a 08 Silverado 4.8L with 3.46 gears and telling me it towed 9000 lbs just like the 5.3L.  But the brochure stated 5400 lbs with that configuration.  He tried to plead ignorance, but since he told me he's been selling vehicles for 34 years, I am sure he knew better.

Now, at the Ford dealership, this saleswoman knew nothing about trucks, nothing about cars either.  She could not remember what kind of car her own car was.  I was looking at a truck, but said I'm not interested because it did not have the towing package.  She told me, don't worry we can add a hitch, not knowing that the Ford towing package is more than just a trailer hitch.

Trust no one and do your own homework.
 
YUP !! Salesman said/assured customer 10,000#TONGUE :eek: weight on Toyota P/U.  Fella wasn't pleased when he dropped his BIG trailer on it and it went to the ground. ;D ;D ;D
 
I went to a dealer last year to purchase a 5th wheel...I decided not to purchase because I knew more about the 5th wheel than the salesman.  He was telling me stuff that I knew was bs because I have been towing for over 40 years....The kicker was having to lay on my back on the ground to pull the dump valve because it was hidden behind the facia at the bottom of the 5th wheel....
 
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