Service Expectations

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In speaking to a local small dealer, he told me that they are squeezed by the manufacturers on labor time and rates for warranty work, so they are not a profitable venture for them to start, if you bring them a unit they did not sell and make money off of, there is little incentive for them to want to perform non-customers warranty issues.
 
I would think the incentive is to sell that customer a new RV when the time comes.
The incentive is keeping the lights on. If warranty work is a losing or at best a break even proposition, there's no incentive for a dealer to take on someone else's problem.
 
if you bring them a unit they did not sell and make money off of, there is little incentive for them to want to perform non-customers warranty issues.
That is exactly what I was told by the owner of the RV dealership where I bought my last RV. He said that he is much quicker to do warranty work for someone who is traveling and far from home than for one who lives nearby but bought elsewhere.
 
The incentive is keeping the lights on. If warranty work is a losing or at best a break even proposition, there's no incentive for a dealer to take on someone else's problem.
That's counterintuitive. If keeping the lights on is the incentive and warranty work is a losing proposition then it seems there's only a few other money making endeavors in a dealership. Service, which I understand from this and other forums isn't all that profitable and selling parts and RVs. If you piss off a prospective customer by not attempting to help them with a warranty claim do you think they are going to buy a new RV or parts from you? That'd be NO.
 
That's counterintuitive. If keeping the lights on is the incentive and warranty work is a losing proposition then it seems there's only a few other money making endeavors in a dealership. Service, which I understand from this and other forums isn't all that profitable and selling parts and RVs. If you piss off a prospective customer by not attempting to help them with a warranty claim do you think they are going to buy a new RV or parts from you? That'd be NO.
If they were going to buy a new RV from me they wouldn't be needing me to do warranty work on the one they just bought somewhere else. Not sure what parts have to do with anything. Warranty work is the sticking point.
 
....Not sure what parts have to do with anything. ...
Well, how dealers make money is a subject of this thread, and selling parts to customers is a way to make money, and you need to attract customers to sell them parts. The parts business for my former employer (completely different industry, though) was a major profit center.
 
WRT dealers who refuse to perform warranty service unless you buy from them... To me, blackmail is unlikely to be a successful path to having happy and repeat customers.

Speaking personally, I have walked out on a car dealer who tried that approach with me a number of years ago. I imagine a number of RV potential customers feel the same way.
 
If they were going to buy a new RV from me they wouldn't be needing me to do warranty work on the one they just bought somewhere else. Not sure what parts have to do with anything. Warranty work is the sticking point.
Apparently you aren't plugged in to what's going on these days. I know people that trade these things after a certain amount of time or just on a whim as long as it's before the warranty runs out. So yes they would very possibly be in the market for new unit before you run out a tank of fuel. You just never know and as has been said, refusing warranty work though it may not be against some company rule is unethical and very shortsighted.
 
WRT dealers who refuse to perform warranty service unless you buy from them... To me, blackmail is unlikely to be a successful path to having happy and repeat customers.

Speaking personally, I have walked out on a car dealer who tried that approach with me a number of years ago. I imagine a number of RV potential customers feel the same way.
I'm thinking you walking out on an RV dealer who won't do warranty work on an RV you bought elsewhere is the general idea. Meantime, there's no reason they won't sell you parts, no.one said otherwise.
 
Parts are indeed profitable for RV dealers, but not warranty parts. The factory reimburses the dealer for warranty replacement parts at the factory price - no resale profit for the dealer because he sold it back to the factory, not to the RV owner. Chances are the dealer ends up losing money on any part installed in a warranty repair.

Market studies have shown there is very little brand loyalty in RV purchases and little dealer loyalty (repeat sales) either. The prevailing attitude among RV buyers seems to be where is the biggest discount. Price, not service or quality, is what brings in the customer.
 
I suspect if you'd agree to pay for the parts and labor and deal with the factory yourself the dealer would be glad to help you. Someone on here earlier said that's the only way his mobile tech would do warranty work. That way your problem stays your problem and doesn't become my problem.
 
It’s only unethical and shortsighted in the minds of buyers. Dealerships don’t really care about that stuff.
It's neither from my perspective. The buyer obviously shopped elsewhere to get a better deal. Why should a dealer feel any obligation to another dealer's customer?
 
Apparently you aren't plugged in to what's going on these days.
:ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
Market studies have shown there is very little brand loyalty in RV purchases and little dealer loyalty (repeat sales) either. The prevailing attitude among RV buyers seems to be where is the biggest discount. Price, not service or quality, is what brings in the customer. (emphasis added)
The key point of the entire marketing of RVs is based on that point. As long as price is the most important factor in successful sales, nothing is going to change. Until the majority of the buyers are willing to pay for quality control, the demand means nothing. That is also the reason that in the majority of situations, the best RV service comes from service only RV techs and shops who have nothing but service to sell.
 
I don't accept that high quality must equal high cost.

Remember when the marketing of cars in this county was all about chrome and price? No one cared (seemingly) about quality and reliability.

Then, along came Toyota, Datsun (Nissan), Honda...

Also, high quality does not mean expensive components. It means well-made components that do what they are designed to do. Keeping with the car analogy, I can buy a high quality economy car. I don't need to buy a luxury car to get high quality.

What the RV industry needs is a shake up by a manufacturer that focuses on quality and reliability at the low end of the price spectrum, rather than at the Airstream end.
 
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