Airstream Factory

[Aspenbrook]

We recently made a trip to the mother ship as we are at the end of our warranty. While the 20 hours trip involved rain, sleet, and many, many potholes, the trip was well worth it.

We were frustrated by our local dealer after having things fixed 2 or 3 times with the same result, so we decided to make the voyage.

I can't say enough about Airstream and they're service. We arrived, as instructed, on Monday afternoon for check in. We parked in the Terra Port and settled in for the night. Promptly at 7:00am on Tuesday, as promised, a tractor showed up as we were scrambling to get everything ready (7:00am is 5:00am our time...).

We went into the waiting room - and at about 7:30, Matt showed up. Not our service advisor, but the actual tech. And, he said -- let's go. He had everything detailed from our emails in his job sheets and away we went to the shop floor. No matter how large or small, Matt simply nodded and was onto the next issue.

On the trip out (and after just de-winterizing), the hot water would only produce about a cup and the inverter wasn't working. We emailed Artie (our service advisory) - and he rolled with the punches.

So, after talking to Matt, away he went and when 4:00 rolled around, he showed up again -- he fixed the hot water heater - mixing valve (he had to replace it twice as the first one he used was bad as well). He also upgraded out pressure valve for the tailer thinking it was that. He also went over the other things he was able to fix.

We had a creak in the floor in front of the bathroom. There was water that would run under the shower door down the front of the wall - I thought it was causing the creaking...Nope -- Matt knew exactly what it was. In order to fix he had to drop the underbelly, drop the gray and black holding tanks. He said it was an issue with production -- something not be strapped down, causing rubbing...etc. 8 - 10 hours to fix. After much deliberation, and conversations with Artie -- who assured us, it would all be much better -- we decided to go for it.

This was in addition to ripping out the rear overhead cabinet (where all of the electronics are) -- there was damage from production -- and replacing it completely.

The shower door issue - remove the shower door and frame -- replace it completely.

We also asked for them to install the Airstream Connected package (not warranty -- we pay for). They had been selling too many of them and ran out by the time we got there...2 weeks for the new shipment. Brad the service manager got involved and pulled all kinds of strings. They found one. We had the person who was in charge of the entire program in our trailer making sure it was all done right.

I have to say that at no time was there a hesitation on any of the issues on the list. Not even a blink or eye roll. Warranty and Matt worked together and the answer was alway YES.

I know there are issues with quality and after the tour, I see why the new factory will be more than welcome! But Airstream covered every last little request. NO questions.

AND, we had to leave by Friday -- so they had 5 techs on Friday working on our little 27' and they got it all done at 4:45. We keep testing things and everything works perfectly -- I just can't say enough about Airstream Factory Service.

I think it's important to give credit where credit is due and I have to say that our experience with Airstream and their warranty / service department was nothing like I've ever seen.

I've talked to our friends who own SOBs and they are amazed...

I'm a little more proud of our little Airstream and the company behind it.

Happy trailering!

Jeff

[Tater]

That is a great outcome and glad they got everything completed before you had to leave. We'll be up there in October with ours and anticipate the same outcome. JC is a great place for the factory as well.

[SteveSueMac]

Congrats. I’m a huge fan of the service center too - Brad in particular is great to work with. Enjoy your rolling home!

[Baby Zeppelin]

Glad it all worked out so well. We've got an appt for September to have our squeaky floor attended too. Sounds like they know what to do!

Also sounds like I may have to remove the video cable I've got riveted to the belly pan for my back up camera.

[GeocamperAS]

I applaud you Jeff. I have been in retail service for 40 years. The average person is quick to complain and rarely compliments. Pride in service has changed over the years. It has become harder to compliment but I still do it whenever I can it is important to let any service industry know we want and appreciate good service.
Good service is not to just satisfy the customer but to do the little something above their expectations. “The WOW factor”

[Silvertwinkie]

Having been to the factory service center a few times over the years, I'd have to agree, the work the service center does is really great and folks there are extremely friendly and helpful.

[steve46]

We also had recent warranty work done at the Jackson Center Service Center and can echo the positive comments noted above. Lester, our technician, was knowledgeable, competent and thorough—he resolved all items well. Brad, the service manager, is extremely customer focused, attentive and ensures that things get fixed—on top of that he has a very positive attitude and approach. Customer satisfaction seems to be his highest priority and he is the best person to work with that we have encountered within the company—in our opinion, Airstream is very fortunate to have Brad leading such an important team. Our journey was quite short compared to others (only 200 miles from home), however the level of understanding, ability and output is likely to be unmatched anywhere else.

[stevejones]

We have been to Jackson Center three times. First time was in June to take the factory tour and see our trailer on the assembly line. Very cool. An emotional moment. If you haven't taken the tour you should. If you've ordered a trailer, try to see it on the assembly line. Work with your dealer to determine the best date to go.

The second time was just a few days later, right after we took delivery of our Globetrotter. We basically drove straight to JC from the dealership. I called and said we were coming. They fit us into their schedule and took care of some warranty issues the dealer could not resolve. We stayed in the Terraport, so the Terraport was our first camping experience in our new trailer. In the morning they came and took our trailer away to work on it and returned it in the afternoon. Great system. We met some seasoned Airstreamers at the Terraport and in the Service Center Lounge. We had some great conversations and learned a lot. Matt, our technician, took care of almost everything on our list. He even fixed some things he found that were not on our list. However, there were two issues that required time and preparation by Airstream to fix. So we scheduled an appointment to take care of those issues.

We returned in October for our third visit to JC to have the outstanding issues addressed, some custom work done, and some additional warranty repairs. This time we left the trailer with them and came back for it later. This allowed them to leave our trailer in the service bay and not worry about getting it back to us at the end of the day. All the work was well done. Artie was our service manager for that work and he was great to work with. They were totally flexible about pickup when we had to postpone picking up the trailer due to bad weather.

We are on the road now as full-timers, but intend to make our way to Jackson Center soon on the way to Portland OR. We need to have some issues addressed before we head across country. I know we'll be taken care of.

What I like about having work done at the Factory Service Center is the folks there seem to like their job. They are friendly and accommodating. If you want to walk back into the service bay area and see what is happening with your trailer or talk to your service technician, not a problem. Unlike a dealership, there is no pressure to do things to your trailer that you don't need so that the dealership can make money off of you.

I just wish Jackson Center itself (the town) had maybe a little more going on for places to eat and shop. However, it definitely has small town charm. Our second visit there we bought lunch from a "food truck" that was run by two enterprising college girls earning money for school. The food was surprisingly good. Went to "Dee's Beauty Shoppe" and had my hair cut by Dee herself, a very senior citizen who had been cutting hair for "over 55 years" and told me she would continue cutting hair until "she dropped dead at her chair" and they "carried her out in a box". The conversation between her and other customers was worth the visit. If you haven't visited the The Heidout Restaurant & Bar, you need to. Just a short walk from the Factory Service Center. Worth a visit just to listen to the farmers sitting at the bar talking about their new combines...

Steve

[OTRA15]

Thanks for the report, although the quality of the work at Jackson Center is certainly counter-balanced, both by the necessity to go there at all, and by the onerous trip IMO. When I first read your post, my reaction was . . . "what a mess!" . . .

Originally Posted by Aspenbrook

. . .
. . . the 20 hours trip involved rain, sleet, and many, many potholes . . .
. . .
We were frustrated by our local dealer after having things fixed 2 or 3 times with the same result . . .
. . .
On the trip out (and after just de-winterizing), the hot water would only produce about a cup and the inverter wasn't working. We emailed Artie (our service advisory) - and he rolled with the punches.
. . .
. . . he fixed the hot water heater - mixing valve (he had to replace it twice as the first one he used was bad as well). He also upgraded out pressure valve for the tailer thinking it was that. He also went over the other things he was able to fix.
. . .
We had a creak in the floor in front of the bathroom. There was water that would run under the shower door down the front of the wall - I thought it was causing the creaking...Nope -- Matt knew exactly what it was. In order to fix he had to drop the underbelly, drop the gray and black holding tanks. He said it was an issue with production -- something not be strapped down, causing rubbing...etc. 8 - 10 hours to fix. . . .
. . .
This was in addition to ripping out the rear overhead cabinet (where all of the electronics are) -- there was damage from production -- and replacing it completely.
. . .
The shower door issue - remove the shower door and frame -- replace it completely.
. . .
We also asked for them to install the Airstream Connected package (not warranty -- we pay for). They had been selling too many of them and ran out by the time we got there...2 weeks for the new shipment. Brad the service manager got involved and pulled all kinds of strings. They found one. We had the person who was in charge of the entire program in our trailer making sure it was all done right.
. . .
[emphasis added above]

Does the Airstream Connected work correctly? Please post in the thread dedicated to this new system, as the reports to-date have been mixed at best IMO:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f451...ed-191803.html

Thanks again for the detailed post, and welcome to the forum!

Peter

[Wyo Silver]

I have to agree on the factory service having just been there.

We shipped our Bambi back to get a new axle and 15 inch tires and have them do a thorough once over. I visited with Artie and got everything set up and sent Bambi on its way. Artie emailed and called and kept me up to date and let me know what Tanner found and recommended. He gave me a price and I had him do the work. Excellent service!

We went to pick it up and go on the factory tour. When we arrived, Tanner showed me everything he did to the trailer and explained some things. Very friendly and professional.

During the tour, my wife commented several times about how we were there at the end of their day and the crew in the factory were still smiling and friendly.

After the tour, I went to get hitched up to the trailer. Since we had a new truck, I needed to do some adjusting to get everything situated correctly. Tanner saw me working on the set up and came out to help. Again, excellent service.

It was well worth the drive for the excellent service.

[MikeandCarol]

This is good to hear and is what we get at the Oliver factory and service. I’m sure the Airstream service guys are using what they see and do on the units they work on to continue to improve the production line. Mike

[HC Dan]

I haven’t had to use The factory much with our 2016 international, but they have been absolutely helpful with every question I have asked and actually gotten back with me in a timely manner. I had to replace the fresh water tank and some of the belly wrap that was destroyed when a tire blew off at 65mpg. I got the part numbers from the factory and they just went out of their way to help me with information. I bought the trailer used from a dealer in Florida which were less than helpful but Airstream locates my closest Dealer for purchase of parts and they have been wonderful. Haydocy Airstream in Columbus. The parts guy Wendell is a prince of a guy. Super knowledgeable and after trying to prod the outfit in Florida to help me I can’t say enough good things about Wendell. That’s the way I want to be treated. Thumbs up to both the factory and Haydocy Airstream.