Good Sam Goofs

johnrbd wrote:
Because they are attempting to put out a better product?

People are human and unlike their high-tech hardware/software, they do, on occasion, make mistakes.

I even remember, back around 1970, even I made a mistake. But I am sure that was the last one I made.:R

I made a mistake years ago! That's when I thought I was wrong, but I was right!!:W

FWIW this is the Good Sam CLUB section about CLUB issues. There are separate sections for Camping World, Roadside Assistance, Insurance, Extended Service, and etc.

I will bite, I had a different tow provider, starts with a C. They failed to provide me any service for hours, I ended up paying out of pocket, filed a claim, they denied it stating they sent a tow, but no one was there. I have no where to complain about them where someone from Customer Service can even try and fix it. I gave up after weeks on the phone, and numerous letters. I know some here will tell you they are the best thing ever and no one complains about them. The reason no one does is, where do you complain where you will get some traction? No where.
I now have GS, I have used them twice, once for a jump, and the DW used them once to change a flat, both times they showed up and did what I expected.
I also know if I have an issue with GS, at least I have a place to come and voice my complaint, and at the very least someone from the Rapid response team will try and see what went wrong, and fix it if needed.

Well said paulsang!

jdog wrote:
Let me put it this way! Why are there so many issues brought up on this site that must be resolved by the Administrator? Why can not these issues by fixed once and for all at the company level? It goes on and on, same problems over and over.

I hear what you are saying.

In my opinion, CW has many issues that are systemic, and these forums really are just the tip of the iceberg. For every issue posted here,there may be 20 calls to the cutomer service hotline. It's not that I think the individuals taking the complaints don't care. I think they are overwhelmed, frustrated, and are probably working in a resolution environment with no real systems in place to address the issues.

The single-line source for 800 calls is taking calls for 4 different depts; RV Sales, Retail Dept, Service, and Parts. NONE of them are interfaced with the other, and are all working on different POS/computer systems. All have different managers. My local CW is a disaster. I avoid it like the plague. I had one lady in parts actually say to me when I said I was (and did) taking my money elsewhere "OK by me, we are so busy, we won't even notice you're not here'.

That statement may be true today, but that kind of team member apathy will hurt the Brand tomorrow. The damage team members like her do to a national brand can not even be measured. The only real fix is a multi-million dollar investment.

Camping world must get the company all together on the same page for the cutomer experience. This includes the technical, behind the scenes aspects, that effects customer experience from RV Sales all the way back to service. CW must retrain all team members from the top down, and set the expectations. No one should ever walk out the door angry, and if they do happen to, then CW must know they did everything in its' power to make the customer happy - which currently does not happen.

Many national brands like TGI Fridays, Lowes, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Brinker Intl, Kia and many others have done this, and have saved their brands.

To continue on the road CW will invite competition (which I welcome)that will learn from THEIR mistakes, and start pulling market share.

Good caring service wins every time.

The ones fixing the problems on here are not the "administrator". Think of them as customer service reps. There are a bunch of them on here. Usually under "Marcus Rapid Response Team". Wile they can immediately fix some things, often they can't do it themselves and will forward the information to the appropriate person. Having the dialogue on here openly will sometimes allow others to help out with something before they can respond. A lot of things not. But it also allows others to pipe in and say "hey I'm having that same issue". They may see an answer as well. Most people don't search on here for answers. And I can't blame them. The search function is a PITA. I'm reluctant to go searching pass the first page or two as its usually a waste of time. Perhaps one day they can take questions they get a lot of and put them in a FAQ that is divided up into sections. And then promote it primarily and then "Ask Marcus", secondly. But that is just my personal opinion and others will not like it.

The administrator oversees the whole forum. Each area has moderators. Which as far as I know are volunteers. I could be wrong on that, but that's how it normally works on forums like this.

Let me put it this way! Why are there so many issues brought up on this site that must be resolved by the Administrator? Why can not these issues by fixed once and for all at the company level? It goes on and on, same problems over and over.

Still again, what other company gives an outlet as such?

wbwood wrote:
What other company gives a public outlet to mention issues that customers have?

I think it's transparency at its best.

I respectfully disagree and here's why:

The forum has become replete with practically daily complaints. It has become so numerous that a few perceptive members have recently begun to counter with their positive responses. Much of the negative is derived from a lack of the poster's full understanding, for what ever reason, regarding the product/service he/she purchased. No surprise (Caveat emptor); some pertain to the marketing snafus indigenous to every large company.Understandable; while some are quite *concerning*.

A traditional venue for checking the credibility of a business is the BBB. Good Sam Enterprises, LLC enjoys a top A+ rating, having successfully closed *51* customer complaints with the bulk involving advertising/sales issues and problems with products/service over the past *three years*. On the surface, that's an incredibly awesome record to be proud of with 1.3 million members. Perhaps, if the complainants on this 300k+ forum took their complaints to the BBB, GS's record would reflect a different skew.

Regarding Camping World with their products and repair services: While under the GS umbrella, they're not listed as a BBB member that I could find. I wonder why that is. The internet's Ripoff Report dot com lists 51 unresolved complaints filed roughly within the same time period as GS's BBB report. Yet IMO, on a scale of 1 to 10, Ripoff Report is a -17 when it comes to maintaining the same respectable standards as the BBB.

Nevertheless, a representative of the Rapid Response team has made clear their policy of privacy in handling complaints. I appreciate their position. However, short of a complainant pursuing their issue directly through the BBB with their reporting, the resolution of those *concerning* issues remain unknown. If that's "transparency at it's best", what's under the rug? In the meantime, GS's image takes a hit, the Rapid Response team is overwhelmed with management by crisis, and the forum becomes an addendum to Ripoff Reports. Many companies have faced similar circumstances. I'd like to see GS get this under control. It's doable and I wish them the best.

What other company gives a public outlet to mention issues that customers have?

I think it's transparency at its best.