Will I get any after the sales reply from salesman...?

[BigSwick]

I guess we have been fortunate with our salesperson. We had lots of communication as you would expect before the sale, but more surprisingly, have remained in communication for the last two years. Have gotten texts from him for birthdays, anniversaries and such which I know is prompted by their customer service retention software, but I've also gotten quite a few "How's everything going?" messages. As a matter of fact, we had an issue with my bedroom slide last week in Gulf Shores. Left a voicemail for service and had not got a call back for several hours. Texted my salesman asking for a little help and within 5 minutes, the service director called me back. I know not all are created equal but I wanted to share my experiences.

I would think that if you are happy with them it would be permissible to mention the dealers name on this forum. Now if you are ripping them up, it might not go over so good. So what dealership was it?

[jneubig]

I would think that if you are happy with them it would be permissible to mention the dealers name on this forum. Now if you are ripping them up, it might not go over so good. So what dealership was it?

The dealership is Dixie RV in Hammond, LA. I have read lots of negative things online about them, but can state without hesitation every interaction I have had with them has been above board and a great experience. Of course, coming from an automobile dealership background, I do understand the plight of dealing with a manufacturer and the time it takes to get things approved and done. I never go in with unreasonable expectations and value communication above all else. If anyone needs the salespersons contact info, I will provide it via PM.

[Brewhedd]

I bought mine at General RV in Jacksonville. After the sale I emailed the salesman and asked if he could get me a receipt (proving they installed it) for the front air conditioner they installed as part of our negotiations. Never heard a word from him, service dept emailed me a copy of the W.O. after contacting them. This was after he told me if I needed anything to contact him. He should have cut the B.S and said if you need anything don't bother me, I'll be too busy trying to sell the next RV. LOL

[papermakermd]

I knew all along I would never here from the salesman after leaving the lot. The service department at my dealer has been fine after one visit for some minor issues. Beckley's RV Thurmont Md.

[NavyGrog]

We bought in person, and were escorted to the service department for introductions. All friendly and smiles, but fat lotta good it did. The smiling faces had no idea who we were or what we wanted when we came back a week later for our “orientation” appointment, and to pick up our trailer. Same for two visits thereafter. We were DONE with THEM within the first year.

Once the salesperson makes the sale, he/she is done. Except to litter your mailbox for a year after encouraging you to refer your family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, and, he!!!, the bottle redeemer on the street to him/her so that all of them can be as happy as you are with your GD trailer.
N

Sorry, probably not what the new trailer owner wants to hear. I get where you’re coming from, re: the sales team going the extra mile to ensure that the service team delivers for you, the valued customer. I’ve not seen any evidence that GD dealerships work that way.
My suggestion to you is that you sort out the service items you are needing into two groups, first-those you can fix yourself, and second-those that need immediate GD warranty service/parts to protect your investment. I know I’d hate to lose the use of my trailer or be unable to get it ready for winter if the warranty issue it’s waiting for is something like radio/TV, window blinds, cupboards, etc. (I had to buy and install about 10 door/drawer latches myself, and we’re still using bungees to secure a couple when we travel).

I didn't even get that. Once the paperwork was signed, he wouldn't call us or talk to us. Felt like he didn't care. Upside, I saved about 15k over purchasing somewhere else.

[Spiniker56]

We bought in person, and were escorted to the service department for introductions. All friendly and smiles, but fat lotta good it did. The smiling faces had no idea who we were or what we wanted when we came back a week later for our “orientation” appointment, and to pick up our trailer. Same for two visits thereafter. We were DONE with THEM within the first year.

Once the salesperson makes the sale, he/she is done. Except to litter your mailbox for a year after encouraging you to refer your family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, and, he!!!, the bottle redeemer on the street to him/her so that all of them can be as happy as you are with your GD trailer.
N

Sorry, probably not what the new trailer owner wants to hear. I get where you’re coming from, re: the sales team going the extra mile to ensure that the service team delivers for you, the valued customer. I’ve not seen any evidence that GD dealerships work that way.
My suggestion to you is that you sort out the service items you are needing into two groups, first-those you can fix yourself, and second-those that need immediate GD warranty service/parts to protect your investment. I know I’d hate to lose the use of my trailer or be unable to get it ready for winter if the warranty issue it’s waiting for is something like radio/TV, window blinds, cupboards, etc. (I had to buy and install about 10 door/drawer latches myself, and we’re still using bungees to secure a couple when we travel).

I have to disagree with the statement that all dealers are the same. We bought our 379RLS from Bill Plemmons in NC. They have been outstanding. Russ the service manager has been more than responsive to every question and request we have had. And to be honest I had some concerns based on some reviews I read. But the truth is most people do not want to hear the truth so they badmouth the messenger. I also took my concerns directly to the source. I went to Russ’s office and told him to explain the reviews I had read and I was more than satisfied with his responses.

So all that being said, I would be all over GD headquarters asking why they have a dealership that does not buy into their service model. I will tell you that most people do not know the influence they can have with unresponsive companies. I have drafted letters to news media and consumer advocates groups and then sent them in draft form to the concerned company and informed them that this would be what I will send out if my issue is not addressed within a certain time. I tell you in those cases the issues were addressed.

That’s my 2 cents.

[Wicked ace]

So all that being said, I would be all over GD headquarters asking why they have a dealership that does not buy into their service model. I will tell you that most people do not know the influence they can have with unresponsive companies. I have drafted letters to news media and consumer advocates groups and then sent them in draft form to the concerned company and informed them that this would be what I will send out if my issue is not addressed within a certain time. I tell you in those cases the issues were addressed.

That’s my 2 cents.

What you advised is what I did and I can say from experience that GD really has little sway over the dealers. They can ask and that's about all they can do. Please do not kid yourself that Grand Design has some great influence. The biggest motivator of customer service I had was asking for the names and contact information of the customer service manager and Don Clark. As far as dealers, after many troubles with the dealer I bought from I asked two others to look at mine both told me they only take GD units for warranty from their own customers. One went so far as to say the reason was because of the difficulty in getting paid. As for the first dealer that I bought from, I asked the CS supervisor handling my case, Gerry Weaver to get involved while they had my trailer to no avail. He had no trouble providing evidence that GD was not at fault when things got into finger pointing blame. After getting it back I spoke with another CS rep and laid out my case with them and I doubt anything was done. The reason I say this is I posted a dealer review in a public forum four months after and the response was like water off their back.

[Roll With The Changes]

I bought my 300gk in May of this year. When I got it home, I started pulling panels for a more detailed inspection and found a water leak and floor rot starting.

When I called my salesman, he told me to call the main number and schedule service. Four hours after delivery, my salesman had disowned me. I told the dealership how dissatisfied I was when the surveys came out and never heard from them either.

This was a large dealership that has a solid reputation.

[Houndbb]

I have to disagree with the statement that all dealers are the same. We bought our 379RLS from Bill Plemmons in NC. They have been outstanding. Russ the service manager has been more than responsive to every question and request we have had. And to be honest I had some concerns based on some reviews I read. But the truth is most people do not want to hear the truth so they badmouth the messenger. I also took my concerns directly to the source. I went to Russ’s office and told him to explain the reviews I had read and I was more than satisfied with his responses.

So all that being said, I would be all over GD headquarters asking why they have a dealership that does not buy into their service model. I will tell you that most people do not know the influence they can have with unresponsive companies. I have drafted letters to news media and consumer advocates groups and then sent them in draft form to the concerned company and informed them that this would be what I will send out if my issue is not addressed within a certain time. I tell you in those cases the issues were addressed.

That’s my 2 cents.

Spinnaker,
I can appreciate your 2 cents, and agree that there are probably ethical, competent, trustworthy dealerships out there. In our case, we haven’t had that experience. Our list of grievances regarding the competence of our selling dealership and their service department was just too long to tolerate:

The salesperson overcharged us sales tax because he was too lazy to look up the appropriate percentage-he just guessed. He then initiated a year-long registration, inspection, warranty, and insurance nightmare for us by inserting an extra digit into our VIN. We had a trailer, but legally couldn’t travel with it.

The service advisor promised to get approval for warranty work a full 6 months before our scheduled appointment. When we showed up for the appointment, nothing had been done-we had to start at square one. We waited, emailing him 2x per week (when we called, he always “just stepped away from his desk”). When we finally insisted upon speaking with the service manager, we found out nothing had been done because the service advisor had gone on vacation.

The service manager expedited matters: we paid for safety inspection, but for some reason, they couldn’t find the sticker and took 3 months to issue paper verification that the inspection was completed satisfactorily, in their rush to get the work done, the technicians repaired a warranty part (replaced top slide seal), but burned a hole in the side slide seal in the process. Finally, they replaced our main hitch jack, recalled for safety reasons, with ANOTHER recalled jack! (It could have caused a serious highway accident, injuring us, and others-the recall stated that owners should travel minimally until it was replaced).

We thoroughly liked everything we were TOLD by our selling dealership, problem was, they fouled it up because they couldn’t deliver.

So, what is the parent company, Grand Design, going to do? I just can’t see them “unauthorizing” (it’s not even a word) a dealership sitting on 5 acres of a thousand or so unsold product. Even if we had been on the phone to Indiana instead of our dealer, the outcomes would have been the same-expedited incompetence. Even GD can’t fix stupid and lazy, and I can’t figure they can influence anyone to have a care.

We tried getting service from another, highly rated, approved dealer, and were happy the first few times we went, but as they got busier, we found them to be not so friendly (but very eager to rack up the charges), as we didn’t buy our trailer from them.

We’re not sorry we bought our trailer, and really, we’ve had fewer problems than others who post here. We’ll keep her ship-shape and like new for as long as we can. But we have no illusions that Grand Design will be involved in that endeavor. (ah-“Mind how you go”)
N

[WhittleBurner]

How you are treated at a dealer can depend on who you deal with at that dealership as well. The dealer we go to has mixed reviews. after our purchase when we took it back for some minor work we sat down with a service advisor to go over what needed to be done. We liked the person we had and everything was dealt with in a good fashion. After that when we had to take the trailer back we would always ask for the same service advisor. We have always been taken good care of. The dealer has opened a new building just for service work. Our service advisor is now the head of the service department. We still call her when we need something. We have gotten to know our service advisor and talk to her like a friend. Knowing her I bet she will stay on top of things and will run a tight ship. The dealer is a general trailer dealership. Reading reviews of general trailer you will get different reports from different individual dealers. I guess what I am saying is try dealing with the same person, get to know them and treat them well. How you treat others can make a big difference on how they treat you. Many times it doesn't matter ,I realize that but sometimes it does.