Travel and Service Update

[Jaxon]

Originally Posted by ScrapIrony-2

SO, what does it take for a class-action...? Appealing to common decency is above these folks, and the pocketbook is the only impression I got that impresses them...
We'll be in Austin in a week or so...
just sayin'
mike

Won't get anywhere on a class action... perhaps we need to contact the CC1 head office, the BBB and turn 'em on to this thread... I am amazed as to the number of folks that have had consistent problems with these schmucks.

After paying our bill (& the lease on their property for the month), I went out to back up the truck and hook the trailer up. I asked one of the service guys to help. RELUCTANTLY, he agreed (there was no one else getting service and nothing else going on in the "service" dept.). Got the "hold" sign from him indicating that I was aligned and he then walked away back into the garage. "No problem", I said to myself. He's busy thinking about what to scratch next and I'm anxious to get going for the Rally the next morning (long trip, early start)...

I lowered the trailer, hitched it all up then started back to the truck. The service guy, from inside the garage said something to me and I glanced back to him. He was pointing to the power cord - it was still plugged in to an extension cord and pulled out it's full length. As he pointed this out to me, he walked back into the garage... scratching something!

Maybe I'm expecting too much. I spent close to $1100 with those Darwinian specimens, so I thought that at least when they "finished" working on my trailer, they would of at least put everything back into it place, wound up the power cord, closed all the compartments, wiped the grease off, help me hook it up and say "thanks for your business, come back and see us".

They couldn't of cared less. And I had the previously mentioned problems afterwords. Their "customer service" when I was there should of been a warning to check EVERYTHING out before leaving.

Actually, I think I'll send an email to Dave at Airstream and ask him to check out this thread. Treatment received by people such as has been described here, is not accidential. It's consistent and pervasive. Comes from the top and from the relentless pursuit of $$.

Bad for the reputation of Airstream.

[ScrapIrony-2]

Mr Jaxon,
GREAT approach...I do wonder if CC1 knows...hard to think they can't be aware of a long-term problem in service...the liability, alone, should make responsible management take a hard look...or, maybe they know and just don't care, as long as they can cash the checks.
mike

[gypsychris]

Originally Posted by ScrapIrony-2

are leaving for Tucson (to have work done at Oasis), then on to Austin (I have family, there).

Tracy

We just arrived in Tuscon yesterday...PM us, lets meet up? What do you think? We should be here for almost a week...

I am so tired and exhausted right now...I will respond and comment on all the other posts...all I can say...is that it is really a shame...I am so sorry... We need to start a site, like "airstreamersforairstreamers.com...."....

[gypsychris]

BTW...drove by OASIS, today, and I really want to give them a chance at fixing some of the probs we have...any praise/complaint? suggestions?
Someone there I can ask for?

Thanks! Time to go to bed for me...

[balrgn]

Originally Posted by gypsychris

BTW...drove by OASIS, today, and I really want to give them a chance at fixing some of the probs we have...any praise/complaint? suggestions?
Someone there I can ask for?

Thanks! Time to go to bed for me...

I've used them for parts, never had an issue, called and talked. Very helpful. Good luck out there!

[azflycaster]

I have stopped at Oasis several times for parts. Nice folks to deal with. They have a very good service reputation and should be able to kelp you out. Michael (Scrapirony2) knows them very well and can tell you more...

[CanoeStream]

Oasis has a good service attitude. This showed through when I phoned their parts department several times for help when I was working on my Argosy.

[ScrapIrony-2]

Oasis is people-friendly...we are willing to drive from Colorado to Tucson, just to have them do repairs...they had a short period of 'adjustment' when their long-time service manager, Jay, died, but my understanding is that they are back up to snuff...they do little things that need to be done, without making a big deal(or charge) out of it...things you didn't ask for...we have been very pleased with their service, and will continue to drive the extra miles.
Joe is the owner, and Rick is the service manager...use my name, if you want...they'll probably take care of you, anyway...they have our '68 Overlander, and I think Joe sold it, this week
We got our mail today, so will be heading out tomorrow for Tucson...we'll stay at Oasis Monday night...
mike

[xstreamcampe]

wow, i absolutely do not believe what has been written here. leslie is the rental agent at camper clinic and has nothing to do with the people who fix the trailers. i bought mine there and have it serviced there. although they are a bit pricey, i pay it because they do excellent work and they do timely work. not everybody who owns a mercedes can get it maintained and repaired at the mercedes dealership. if you cant afford them, go to camping world.

[ScrapIrony-2]

Originally Posted by xstreamcampe

wow, i absolutely do not believe what has been written here. leslie is the rental agent at camper clinic and has nothing to do with the people who fix the trailers. i bought mine there and have it serviced there. although they are a bit pricey, i pay it because they do excellent work and they do timely work. not everybody who owns a mercedes can get it maintained and repaired at the mercedes dealership. if you cant afford them, go to camping world.

Sorry you don't believe it, but there it is...price and service are not always the same in value...maybe if I had bought a new Airstream, they would have been more attentive to DETAILS, but I wasn't aware it was criteria for appropriate service...I went to them, because they are AIRSTREAM dealers...Camping World is not, although we did go to them AFTER the CC2 fiasco, and they were timely and pretty darned cheap...AC fixed in about 1 hour, $85 for the repair, and they were waiting for me when I arrived at the appointed time(New Braunfels)...I know where you can put your Mercedes.
mike

[NevadaGeo]

Lets see. Right now the counter says 555 hits on this thread. I wonder if any distribuship owner could see through their short term profit to think that 555 positive reviews might get them a few more AS sales, than 555 negative views and people going elsewhere to get their oil changed.
Naw, probably not. Doesn't matter because I'm in Nevada.

[fotochop]

If a dealer had removed my hitch and given it to another customer my first action would be to contact the district attorney and police department in that area and press charges against them for theft. I would be relentless in pursuing charges against such scumbags, using every legal means necessary, and would not DISCUSS anything related to the case with them.

[phoenix491]

^^^ Exactly. It is theft, pure and simple. I still can't imagine the gall it takes to do such a thing. Unreal.

[Bambi_Bandit]

Originally Posted by xstreamcampe

wow, i absolutely do not believe what has been written here. leslie is the rental agent at camper clinic and has nothing to do with the people who fix the trailers. i bought mine there and have it serviced there. although they are a bit pricey, i pay it because they do excellent work and they do timely work. not everybody who owns a mercedes can get it maintained and repaired at the mercedes dealership. if you cant afford them, go to camping world.

Probably not referring to the same Leslie. There is a Leslie (male) that was the service manager at the time, and had been for quite a while when I had my issues with them. (I believe he was part owner as well) The issue I have is the integrity and quality of work performed, not the price. I will more than gladly pay for $80-90+ per hour labor rates if the quality is there. At the time I went there, work performed did not reflect in the labor rates.

Since you brought up Mercedes and are also in Austin, I must say that the service I receive at Mercedes of Georgetown far exceeds Mercedes of Austin, again, due to my personal experience with work performed at both locations. Both have comparable labor rates, but my experience has shown that Georgetown's service, integrity, follow thru, and "fixed right the first time" is better than that of the Austin dealership.

Point being is that it isn't about what can or cannot be afforded, or if it is an Airstream or Mercedes. Its about comparing different "qualified" repair facilities, and the different outcomes and experiences we have had.

[drgood2001]

I have been made aware of this site today from one of our customers. I am sorry to hear about the issues with our service department, but would like an opportunity to address the ones I can.

The oil change mentioned broke down this way;
3/4 hour to change engine oil and filter - $127.52 (labor, oil and filter)
1/2 hour to change generator oil and filter - $78.55 (labor, oil and filter)
1/2 hour to check and fill leveling jack fluid - $54.14 (labor and oil)
Tax and Shop Supplies - $18.32
Total 1.75 hours, oil, filters, etc. $ 278.53.
Not only has the price of gas gone up, so has oil and everything associated with it unfortunately. Our shop time was reasonable and our rate is only $95.00 per hour. I do not know what happened to the odometer, but I can assure you it was not removed to fix another unit. I would like to see if I could talk to the customers and see if there is anything I could do to change their opinion of our shop.

As far as the question about the hitch, we did make a mistake, but did corrected the situation as soon as it was found. When the trailer in question came in, this was in October of '04, it was improperly installed by the dealer they had bought the trailer from. The tech working on it had to dismantle it and reassemble it. Unfortunately, when he left for the day, it was not complete. A second tech had a delivery the following day that included a hitch. Seeing the hitch pieces, he assumed they were for his delivery and used them, not knowing the full situation and not investigating. He did not realize that parts had not received his hitch from our supplier, the old "assume problem". When the couple came in on Monday, the morning we discovered the problem, we got them a new hitch to replace it. We have since corrected the communication problem so it doesn't happen again to any other customers. I do know that we did see these customer on several more occassions for warranty repairs. I am sorry they went to Weatherford for their next purchase, but I have great respect for Roger Williams' staff and know they will be treated well.

In closing, I realize we are not perfect. When dealing with both business and personal issues, employees can have an off day. While we do our best to try and put the customer first, it doesn't always happen in the real world. I do ask all customers that feel we did not perform at our best to please let me know. We have a good crew, but alsways have room for improvement. The problem is, if we don't know we screwed up, it is hard to correct it.

Travel Safe,
Don

[Bambi_Bandit]

Originally Posted by drgood2001

As far as the question about the hitch, we did make a mistake, but did corrected the situation as soon as it was found. When the trailer in question came in, this was in October of '04, it was improperly installed by the dealer they had bought the trailer from. The tech working on it had to dismantle it and reassemble it. Unfortunately, when he left for the day, it was not complete. A second tech had a delivery the following day that included a hitch. Seeing the hitch pieces, he assumed they were for his delivery and used them, not knowing the full situation and not investigating. He did not realize that parts had not received his hitch from our supplier, the old "assume problem". When the couple came in on Monday, the morning we discovered the problem, we got them a new hitch to replace it. We have since corrected the communication problem so it doesn't happen again to any other customers. I do know that we did see these customer on several more occassions for warranty repairs. I am sorry they went to Weatherford for their next purchase, but I have great respect for Roger Williams' staff and know they will be treated well.

Hello Don,

First, let me commend you for your response to this public forum. That action alone does speak something.

Second, I would like to address your information on the hitch. Yes, the first time I went to CC for service, my hitch was improperly installed by Alamo City RV (now out of business). At that time, I did pay a flat labor rate to get it reinstalled.

However, it was on a subsequent visit for repairs that the hitch was taken off my unit. This was admitted by Leslie. They rectified the situation by delivering the trailer back to my home and getting me a new hitch. Unfortunately, they ordered the wrong hitch head to the sway bars (Equa-i-zer setup) as I had 1000 lb bars and they ordered the head/bars for a different weight rating witch resulted in the bars not fitting into the head... so although my trailer was "delivered" back to my home, it took an additional 2-3 days before all the parts were delivered to my home before I could even hook my trailer up to my truck.

Anyways, as I stated, good to see you respond, but in my case, I needed to clarify the facts on my situation.

[yukionna]

There's always two sides to every story.

[CanoeStream]

Don, thank you for the response. Your business philosophy comes through in your post. As with each of our jobs, misunderstandings often can be dealt with by broader communication. In my professional life I certainly would welcome clients to get second opinions laterally among my peers and would actually point them up the ladder. Daylight is refreshing & renewing.

In this thread points have been made from several perspectives. I would strongly recommend that individuals with a bone to pick follow up in person. On top of that, AIR Forums policy linked at the bottom of every webpage says,

Originally Posted by Community Rules

Dealer/Vendor and Customer Disputes: This forum is not intended to be a mechanism for people to vent frustrations about vendors or sales from private parties. Please settle your differences with the seller, manufacturer and dealer through the long-established legal or arbitration systems or the Better Business Bureau but not through our community.

Thanks to all involved for their level headedness!

[Bambi_Bandit]

Originally Posted by yukionna

There's always two sides to every story.

Actually, more like 3....

As we used to say in law enforcement, there are 3 sides to every story, yours mine, and the truth.

I do have my receipts to show the timeline of events....

[xstreamcampe]

thanks don,
it is that kind of level headed business that makes camper clinic my choice for airstream and having a 1970, i do need service every now and again. thanks for the response and explaination.