Lazydays to perform our final Warranty work

[Joe Bee]

After flying to Tampa Friday night, I had an appointment with a salesman at Lazy Days Sat March 3rd.  I didn't remember who Paul's sales person was and haven't been able to read the Forum for several days.  My sales person was none other than Paul's salesman, Matt Sibbick.  When I mentioned the RV Forum, Matt was very up front and acknowledged  all of Paul's problems.  He was most apologetic and very professional.  I can't believe that this nightmare can happen again anytime soon.  I have to admit that I might be contacting Matt soon re: new coach if I can special order a new 2007 with 2006 engine.  (Monaco told me NO.  I would get a 2008 model with a 2007 ULSD engine but at 2007 prices.)  And YES, Matt reads this forum.  Hello Matt. 
Joe Barack

 

[raedmunds71]

Can you believe that there have been 1,699 views of this saga and 4,388 views to Pauls original post called
"Am I being unreasonable". There have been a total of 283 replys to these two posts as well.

I hope Lazyways notices how much coverage they are getting.

Paul, I think you have a "Best Seller" here!

 

[Tom]

....Matt was very up front and acknowledged  all of Paul's problems.  He was most apologetic and very professional.

Joe,

IIRC most, if not all, of Paul's issues have been with the service end of the business. Almost everyone I can think of who has dealt with the sales staff have provided positive reports. I don't recall what Paul's experiences with sales were, but I'm sure he'll tell us.

Will you be taking factory delivery?

 

[Tom]

... if I can special order a new 2007 with 2006 engine.  (Monaco told me NO.  I would get a 2008 model with a 2007 ULSD engine but at 2007 prices.)

Joe,

With all due respect to the folks at LD, I'd believe Monaco on this subject before anyone at a dealership.

Monaco and most other coach manufacturers purchased and inventoried pre-ULSD engines to see them through a transition period. That period seems to be different for different engines. While we were at a Cummins seminar at a recent Monaco rally, the Cummins rep spelled out when Monaco would be out of the 'old' engines (by engine size), but I didn't make any notes of that info and my memory is failing me. IIRC they're already out of pre-ULSD engines of one or more sizes.

I don't know how anyone at a dealership would have a better idea than Monaco how many engines of a given size and era they would have in their inventory  ???

 

[vlady daddy]

If anything goes wrong from now on LazyWays is the one place we will NOT be going.

Due to price, we had them down as our No.1 place for buying the next RV (with factory delivery of course) but we will do everything to try and find our RV elsewhere now.

Paul,

Besides another RV dealership, you might consider a different manufacturer on your next visit to the U.S. Looks like Fleetwood is closing 3 factories due to ?declining RV sales nationwide".

Fleetwood Plant Closing

 

[29er]

UK-RV:

I don't know if you drink or not, but you may start after reading our warranty adventures.

We took our motor home to DKRV here in Las Vegas. The list of requested warranty work had several items of real safety. There were 16 items total.

Took the MH in on Tues (27 Feb 07) and picked it up Fri (2 Mar 07). All the work was completed except for three. Two had to be factory ordered. The other had to do with our satellite receiver (tracvision 4). Satellite World (a subcontractor) will come out to our home and fix it in the driveway.

Talk about great service... But, before I did anything, I spoke with the chief at the factory, faxed him a copy, he approved it, sent it back to me with his OK. Then called DKRV on Monday and took it down the next day Tues) All together it was 4 days.

Didn't whine or cry, just told the exactly what needed to be done. Belligerence and force always the last resort.

29er.

 

[UK-RV]

Hi Guys

Ian

Glad it worked out for you. As I have zero mechanical know-how, I would have got them to sort those 3 items. As you hadnt actually left LazyWays, I would think those items were missing PDI issues, not warranty issues - but of course, LazyWays would get to charge more for them if classed as Warranty wouldn't they.

I would also be hesitant fixing PDI/Warranty issues myself as the manuafacturer/dealer could claim I had made a minor issue worse by messing with it.

I don't know what your items were, but you clearly felt comfotable with your skills to sort them and it probably saved you several days of waiting around.

Joe/Tom

Yes, the Sales process was nearly perfect for us.

There were issues surrounding the wrong indicator lenses we requested, but Im not sure if that was Matt not understanding our requirement or the Service Dept just ignoring it - based on experiences, Im tempted to go with the latter.

Yes, with hindsight, Matt should have been there on our delivery date, as he knew right from the outset what date it was going to be.

But then, I doubt there would have been much he could have done as the delays in sorting things were all in Service.

29er

I already had a letter from Fleetwood pre-authorising our warranty repairs and Lazyways already had the cheques for our insurance claim.

A full week before our scheduled appointment, I had the work order written up by a member of Lazyways service dept.

I also typed 2 full pages for them, detailing what the problems were.

Your good report for DKRV and our excellent experience at Camping Time in Clermont shows there ARE good service facilities out there.

I would finish by stating I didn't whine and cry either until they had us leave the RV for 4 full days and did nothing to it.

Paul

 

[raedmunds71]

Paul,

I was just reading this article in the AARP magazine and couldn't help thinking of you. Maybe with all your spare time while waiting at Lazyways, you could have been passing out copies of this post.
Here's the web address:
http://www.aarpmagazine.org/lifestyle/consumerguide_fightingback.html

 

[UK-RV]

Hi

I read the article and found it interesting - until I got to this bit (after which, I stopped reading) :

The short answer: if you're in the right, you should never take no for an answer. But it can get more complicated than that. Before you go to the mat, make sure it's worth your time?and I'm talking worth literally, in dollars and cents. For example, I value my free time at $100 an hour (steep, I know, but free time is worth more to me than work time). If I'm going to chase down a $40 mistake on my cable bill, I had better be able to resolve it in less than 25 minutes. Set your own rate, and then stick to it. Also, remember to factor in hidden costs: you may win the war against a $5 bank overcharge, but if the battles cost you $10 in parking meters and gasoline, you actually lose.

Im a FIRM believer in principles - if I am ripped off for $40 then I WILL do everything I can to sort it out. Once it is sorted, I will claim my reasonable out of pocket expenses for getting it sorted.

Why should companies (not just Lazyways here) be allowed to continue fleecing customers ?

I await the day when an online community is formed whereby people around the World can hold companies to account by way of their individual reviews.

It already happens (in a slightly different way) with seller/buyer ratings on Ebay.

I'm confident we WONT have too long to wait !!

Paul

 

[JW]

By the inane comments on Paul's tribulations Shayne is definitely the service manager for LD.  No one buys a new mh and then has to spend 3 weeks to get it repaired to use it.  The man did everythign possible and LD shafted him.  Read his posts.  This was not a rush off trip.  Horse hockey! 

 

[Shayne]

Had I been the SM  It would never have gotten out of the shop in the 1st place without being totally checked and test driven.  Also, When you buy entry level stuff anything can happen, and usually does.

 

[Mick & Pat]

Shayne,

When visited the USA for our very first time back in Sept 2006 it was to checkout several Forest River dealers.

The Forest River Charleston 360 & 400 quad & triple slides is one of only a few American RVs that have consistently been in the UK DVLA's 'approved' size listings.

Now these RVs back in Sept were being advertised with a MSRP of $227,756 which at that time was about the price of a Monaco Diplomat 38PST.

When we called in at Lazydays we spoke to a salesman we had been recommended to, on mentioning the Forest River Charleston he called it an 'Entry level RV' and directed us to a Fleetwood Bounder at MSRP $192,302.

Looking back I'm sure that he must have misunderstood the  model of Forest River I had mentioned or is a $227,756 entry level?

 

[Shayne]

Sorry that happened to you  Another good reason to never deal with a large dealer/  With smaller dealers  they (most of them) bust their butt to take care of the customer, cuz thats their bread a butter.  Large dealers could care less,.  You are just a number.  Yes, their are exceptions, but for and few between.  After all Some one is paying for those high dollar dealerships and facilities.  If it's not the  profit being made off sales, warranty, and aftermarket sales and service,  where do you think it comes from?  Sure not out of the goodness of the dealers pocket just to please the customer.

 

[coolrun_n]

  I have worked at all sizes of dealerships and you are wrong about small dealerships. Lazydays sell 500 units per month average. it takes only a tiny amount of profit to add up to supply them with all the money they need to give away whatever they wish. Small dealers work on a tighter profit margin and there is little wiggle room in their profit. Lazydays is actualy a great dealer ship. If you remain honest with them your experience will be wonderful but if you are trying to pull something over on them it gets very messy. I work there and I know yhis from experience. They are the most honest dealer I have ever worked for and people flock there because of price and availability. You can not go wrong with Lazydays. Keep in mind when you read stuff on line that you never hear both sides of the story and I know both sides well for over 35 years of RV service.

 

[Tom]

I'd have to say that, since you work there, you can't be totally unbiased; It's just human nature to be defensive. Yes, I understand that there's always two sides to every story, but I've dealt with enough customers around the world to know that, although the customer may not always be right, more times than not they are. Even if they're wrong, it's a rookie's mistake to tell them they are because there's not much more that can alienate a customer than to say that.

As an old boss used to say to me, perception is reality.

I've never dealt with LD, so I wouldn't attempt to pass judgement. But I've read enough reports to understand that there are mixed reviews on the service experience. Dismissing the customer's perspective doesn't make it better. If LD hasn't already done so, I'd recommend you ask them to lay on some customer sensitivity/satisfaction training for the service end of the business, because reality is that the reviews leave a lot to be desired. Telling the customer they're wrong merely adds insult to injury.

 

[coolrun_n]

Hello Tom: We at Lazydays have weekly classes on the subject of customer service. I wish you could personally experience the level of care and professionalism we strive to deliver. I do not consider myself to be biased and I base my statements on my many years at dealers from California,Ohio,Indiana and Florida. I have found a home at lazydays and I am one of the best techs you will ever meet. Just my honest opinion.

 

[Tom]

Understood, but you're obviously not listening to customers here and elsewhere, preferring to say they're wrong  ???

I speak as a consumer for more years than you've worked at dealerships and I've been on both sides of the customer relationship issue for more years than you've been in service. So please don't throw that one at me.

Glad to hear you feel you're one of the best techs I'll ever meet. Since I don't plan to buy from LD, regrettably we'll probably never meet. I don't question your personal competence, sincerity or conviction, but I've never told a customer or potential customer how great I am. The customer makes that judgement, not me. Customer satisfaction 101.

Maybe someone needs to pay more attention during class.

There's a good reason I'll opt for factory delivery on my next coach, something I wish I'd done with our present coach. No, it wasn't bought at LD, but my experience had some similarities to Paul's.

 

[coolrun_n]

Tom; I appreciate your candor and honesty. All I can say in defense is we did not become the single largest single location dealer by not serving our customers and supplying great value. Thank you for your feed back it does always help to hear from outsiders.

 

[Tom]

All I can say in defense

There's that word again. Customer satisfaction 101 says don't be defensive.

...we did not become the single largest single location dealer by not serving our customers....

Maybe you did. If you read the reviews here, you'd see that folks come to LD because of price, not because of service, and some later regret the decision. Others were very happy with the service they received.

Again, I'm not passing judgement, just making an observation.

 

[Ron]

While most employees may be very customer oriented and work hard to keep the customer happy and to insure they are treated fairly it only take a few employees to make everybody look bad.  IMHO some and probably most of the events posted here were the result of somebody at Lazydays not doing their job.  This reflects on the whole dealership.  It is probably a good thing I do not work there as a manager because there would be a few troops kicking rocks down the road for poor performance starting with the salesman that was not present for Paul's delivery.  Yep maybe sounds hard line but my career was working in customer support for a company that has an excellent reputation for how they take care of their customers.  In that organization deadbeats are just not tolerated.

Now we did buy our coach from Lazydays but took delivery at a rally so the PDI was down at the factory and was done well.  We have been to Lazydays and have had a few items looked at.  While the work we had done was very good I feel that Lazydays could benefit if they would learn to meet commitment they make such as when the work is expected to be done and if a delay does occur follow up with the customer and not wait till the customer asks.  Basically they should not make commitments to a customer that they cannot comply with.

Thanks for posting your thoughts here.  That is a good sign that you are concerned.