Camping World a let down

[thecoles]

This entry is somewhat lengthy but frustration is paramount and I want Marcus and his staff to understand.

On 5-15-15 I attempted to place an online order to Camping World and it would not go through, so I called and was told the computer system was going through a major overhaul (who would do this just weeks or days before the start of the camping season? Did these people previously work for Obamacare?). Anyway the lady on the phone assured me she could assist me with the order and said she would get me all the internet discounts, so I agreed (even though I knew I would miss things without the leisure of ordering online.).I went ahead and placed my order a little more than $1,000.00 worth. Later I realized I had forgotten several items so I placed another order this time online worked and again the next day I found more items I needed another $500.00 worth.

Anyway I waited a week and started checking on the status of my orders and all I got was Processing the big order was not even listed. So I started calling and was told the system was down and they could not help me. Today the 26th (11 days later) I called and again was told the system was down so they couldn't help me. I called again 4 hrs. later (45 minutes on hold)and finally got a human who told me my large order had been released today for shipment but no tracking information was available. A smaller order had been released a week ago today but there was no indication that it had as yet shipped as there was no tracking information. Also they found another shipment under my account that was not mine, different name and address, so they just cancelled that order (hope that wasn't what happened to my order that still is waiting to be shipped).

Anyway I just want to say that I was so excited when I bought my new RV and I could not wait to join The Good Sam Club and couldn't wait to order all the toys to outfit my unit for a big trip we have planned only to be disenchanted with all the problems that I have encountered with Camping Worlds inefficient customer service.

[deltamaster]

4X4Dodger wrote:

edatlanta wrote:

Markiemark32 wrote:

edatlanta wrote:
A response from an Administrator with an offer to research the issue in less than 2 hours after the post in open forum? That tells me they are trying to get good information to us. How many companies do we all try to deal with that we don't get any response at all from anyone let alone a response to a post on an open forum.

I have found Camping World to be responsive when a mistake is made and while they aren't perfect either, they have always come through for me.

"A response from an Administrator with an offer to research the issue in less than 2 hours after the post in open forum?"

This after several attempts to get this fixed through CUSTOMER SERVICE?*?*?*?*?*? is that good?


$1,500 worth of accessories, you bet they will jump quickly on this one...


"Business success is about the three P's: People, Process and Product."


MArkiemark:C

I do not work for CW, I have no relatives that work for CW now or at anytime in the past and none scheduled for the future. I am just a customer that appreciates them being around when needed. They will never satisfy everybody, but they are trying. Having been in management in another industry I know that every company depends on their employees to get the job done. Not all employees are good, not all of their managers are good, but as long as a company is working toward improvement, I am willing to work with them.

Someone mentioned to another one of my posts about CW opening up this forum as another means of communication being a good thing. I agree with this.

Let's just be a little nicer here and I think we all will accomplish much more. CW will never be perfect and no other company will either, they seem to be trying to me.

Edatlanta, I am not picking on you I promise, but honestly I dont know what kind of management system you have experience with but the companies I have ran and the projects I have been in charge of including building and running my own hotel, I can tell you Management is about results, efficiency, People people people and first and foremost THE CUSTOMER.

CW and GSE will not get better if we are "nicer" to them. (I dont see anyone being overtly mean) They will only improve if they understand and LISTEN and take to heart the very valid criticisms of so many of their customers. Politeness and civility are important in anything, but sometimes in business to break through the fog of "Well we've always done it this way" you need to be blunt and forthright also.

Upthread it was mentioned that they (Camping World) were trying.

Considering my own experiences as well as those posted frequently here on these forums I MUST disagree.

An example of a company that is customer centric and is constantly trying is Amazon. Amazon Customer service would have taken care of this issue long before it got to a forum .

Accepting that several hours wasted trying to deal with customer service and then having the issue looked in to AFTER it was posted on an internet forum is FAR from productive, FAR from acceptable. A customer should not need to go through all of that in order to get service.

THAT is running around putting out fires and that is NOT what you want in customer service. What you WANT is to prevent those fires from starting in the first place by installing policies, procedures and processes that WORK, are intuitive and customer centric.

As for the comment "Because we have always done it that way."

When a company gets stuck in the rut of never changing, never adapting because things have always been done that way, then the company is on the downhill side if it's demise.

Montgomery Ward, Circuit City, Dozens of Mom & Pop businesses all across the country have all fallen victim to "Because we have always done it that way."

Archaic practices and refusal to innovate and not being intuitive to the customer will eventually kill a company.

Today there are companies like Amazon that ARE willing to innovate and evolve. As for Camping World.... Amazon already offers virtually everything you can purchase at camping world... for better prices AND better customer service..

[4X4Dodger]

edatlanta wrote:

Markiemark32 wrote:

edatlanta wrote:
A response from an Administrator with an offer to research the issue in less than 2 hours after the post in open forum? That tells me they are trying to get good information to us. How many companies do we all try to deal with that we don't get any response at all from anyone let alone a response to a post on an open forum.

I have found Camping World to be responsive when a mistake is made and while they aren't perfect either, they have always come through for me.

"A response from an Administrator with an offer to research the issue in less than 2 hours after the post in open forum?"

This after several attempts to get this fixed through CUSTOMER SERVICE?*?*?*?*?*? is that good?


$1,500 worth of accessories, you bet they will jump quickly on this one...


"Business success is about the three P's: People, Process and Product."


MArkiemark:C

I do not work for CW, I have no relatives that work for CW now or at anytime in the past and none scheduled for the future. I am just a customer that appreciates them being around when needed. They will never satisfy everybody, but they are trying. Having been in management in another industry I know that every company depends on their employees to get the job done. Not all employees are good, not all of their managers are good, but as long as a company is working toward improvement, I am willing to work with them.

Someone mentioned to another one of my posts about CW opening up this forum as another means of communication being a good thing. I agree with this.

Let's just be a little nicer here and I think we all will accomplish much more. CW will never be perfect and no other company will either, they seem to be trying to me.

Edatlanta, I am not picking on you I promise, but honestly I dont know what kind of management system you have experience with but the companies I have ran and the projects I have been in charge of including building and running my own hotel, I can tell you Management is about results, efficiency, People people people and first and foremost THE CUSTOMER.

CW and GSE will not get better if we are "nicer" to them. (I dont see anyone being overtly mean) They will only improve if they understand and LISTEN and take to heart the very valid criticisms of so many of their customers. Politeness and civility are important in anything, but sometimes in business to break through the fog of "Well we've always done it this way" you need to be blunt and forthright also.

[peaches_cream]

Markiemark32 wrote:
An Update


As suggested by Rudy I PM'ed him and received a call from someone don't recall the name. His question was do I want to cancel my orders I told him no not at this time but I would appreciate if he could check on my orders and let me know what the actual status is. He assured me that he would and would get back to me via e-mail. Another day has passed and still no word. Not sure if this was customer service or lip-service, time will tell. He said the warehouse is in arrears 5,000 orders plus and are receiving upwards of 6,000 orders per day. He did say they are doing what they can even added another shift to ship orders but had no idea how long it would take to catch up. Still can't believe management chose this time of year for their computer upgrade.

You can tell these people "really love" CW. :Z

[Markiemark32]

An Update


As suggested by Rudy I PM'ed him and received a call from someone don't recall the name. His question was do I want to cancel my orders I told him no not at this time but I would appreciate if he could check on my orders and let me know what the actual status is. He assured me that he would and would get back to me via e-mail. Another day has passed and still no word. Not sure if this was customer service or lip-service, time will tell. He said the warehouse is in arrears 5,000 orders plus and are receiving upwards of 6,000 orders per day. He did say they are doing what they can even added another shift to ship orders but had no idea how long it would take to catch up. Still can't believe management chose this time of year for their computer upgrade.

[afrescopXx]

edatlanta wrote:

Markiemark32 wrote:

edatlanta wrote:
A response from an Administrator with an offer to research the issue in less than 2 hours after the post in open forum? That tells me they are trying to get good information to us. How many companies do we all try to deal with that we don't get any response at all from anyone let alone a response to a post on an open forum.

I have found Camping World to be responsive when a mistake is made and while they aren't perfect either, they have always come through for me.

"A response from an Administrator with an offer to research the issue in less than 2 hours after the post in open forum?"

This after several attempts to get this fixed through CUSTOMER SERVICE?*?*?*?*?*? is that good?


$1,500 worth of accessories, you bet they will jump quickly on this one...


"Business success is about the three P's: People, Process and Product."


MArkiemark:C

I do not work for CW, I have no relatives that work for CW now or at anytime in the past and none scheduled for the future. I am just a customer that appreciates them being around when needed. They will never satisfy everybody, but they are trying. Having been in management in another industry I know that every company depends on their employees to get the job done. Not all employees are good, not all of their managers are good, but as long as a company is working toward improvement, I am willing to work with them.

Someone mentioned to another one of my posts about CW opening up this forum as another means of communication being a good thing. I agree with this.

Let's just be a little nicer here and I think we all will accomplish much more. CW will never be perfect and no other company will either, they seem to be trying to me.

x2

[edatlanta]

Markiemark32 wrote:

edatlanta wrote:
A response from an Administrator with an offer to research the issue in less than 2 hours after the post in open forum? That tells me they are trying to get good information to us. How many companies do we all try to deal with that we don't get any response at all from anyone let alone a response to a post on an open forum.

I have found Camping World to be responsive when a mistake is made and while they aren't perfect either, they have always come through for me.

"A response from an Administrator with an offer to research the issue in less than 2 hours after the post in open forum?"

This after several attempts to get this fixed through CUSTOMER SERVICE?*?*?*?*?*? is that good?


$1,500 worth of accessories, you bet they will jump quickly on this one...


"Business success is about the three P's: People, Process and Product."


MArkiemark:C

I do not work for CW, I have no relatives that work for CW now or at anytime in the past and none scheduled for the future. I am just a customer that appreciates them being around when needed. They will never satisfy everybody, but they are trying. Having been in management in another industry I know that every company depends on their employees to get the job done. Not all employees are good, not all of their managers are good, but as long as a company is working toward improvement, I am willing to work with them.

Someone mentioned to another one of my posts about CW opening up this forum as another means of communication being a good thing. I agree with this.

Let's just be a little nicer here and I think we all will accomplish much more. CW will never be perfect and no other company will either, they seem to be trying to me.

[jimmycrack]

When I was in Florida this pass winter I went to Camping World with my shopping list in hand because this was the place to shop for your RV. I left Camping World with only my list still in hand because they didn't have a lot of product and what the did have was expensive in my opinion. There are better shopping options out there, you just have to look.

[deltamaster]

Which is what I meant by preventing the fires in the first place.

[Markiemark32]

deltamaster wrote:

DownTheAvenue wrote:

edatlanta wrote:
A response from an Administrator with an offer to research the issue in less than 2 hours after the post in open forum? That tells me they are trying to get good information to us. How many companies do we all try to deal with that we don't get any response at all from anyone let alone a response to a post on an open forum.

I have found Camping World to be responsive when a mistake is made and while they aren't perfect either, they have always come through for me.

If the business model, core best practice, and management style is just to "put out fires'" then Camping World deserves the defense this poster provides. However, it appears that Camping World/Good Sam are in the business of just appeasing a customer and not permanently resolving problems.

Even a business model that focuses on just "Putting out fired" is not worthy of defense. Maybe they should do something about preventing the "Fires" from starting in the first place.

If the business model, core best practice, and management style is just to "put out fires'" then Camping World deserves the defense this poster provides. However, it appears that Camping World/Good Sam are in the business of .


? ----> just appeasing a customer and not permanently resolving problems = putting out fires


Markiemark:C

[deltamaster]

DownTheAvenue wrote:

edatlanta wrote:
A response from an Administrator with an offer to research the issue in less than 2 hours after the post in open forum? That tells me they are trying to get good information to us. How many companies do we all try to deal with that we don't get any response at all from anyone let alone a response to a post on an open forum.

I have found Camping World to be responsive when a mistake is made and while they aren't perfect either, they have always come through for me.

If the business model, core best practice, and management style is just to "put out fires'" then Camping World deserves the defense this poster provides. However, it appears that Camping World/Good Sam are in the business of just appeasing a customer and not permanently resolving problems.

Even a business model that focuses on just "Putting out fired" is not worthy of defense. Maybe they should do something about preventing the "Fires" from starting in the first place.

[deltamaster]

4X4Dodger wrote:

edatlanta wrote:
A response from an Administrator with an offer to research the issue in less than 2 hours after the post in open forum? That tells me they are trying to get good information to us. How many companies do we all try to deal with that we don't get any response at all from anyone let alone a response to a post on an open forum.

I have found Camping World to be responsive when a mistake is made and while they aren't perfect either, they have always come through for me.

Hi edatlanta, I just responded to another of your posts on a similar subject and then came across this one which is almost identical. And I am curious. What is your experience with GSE and CW that makes you want to rush to their defense? Do you have a spouse or other family member who works for them and thus feel honor-bound to defend them? I can certainly understand that.

But I cant help but think that if you were experiencing the same issues as the posters you would not be so forgiving.

CW and GSE are not the underdog they are not David. They need help for sure I think we can all agree.

YES! AND, why is it that someone spends hours fighting with a company on their own but when they complain on an open forum they get immediate attention... IF they are willing to deal with the issue OFF the discussion board so no one else can see what is going on?

[HappyKayakers]

DownTheAvenue wrote:

edatlanta wrote:
A response from an Administrator with an offer to research the issue in less than 2 hours after the post in open forum? That tells me they are trying to get good information to us. How many companies do we all try to deal with that we don't get any response at all from anyone let alone a response to a post on an open forum.

I have found Camping World to be responsive when a mistake is made and while they aren't perfect either, they have always come through for me.

If the business model, core best practice, and management style is just to "put out fires'" then Camping World deserves the defense this poster provides. However, it appears that Camping World/Good Sam are in the business of just appeasing a customer and not permanently resolving problems.

Yep, kudos for allowing another line of communication (this forum) but bad on ya for not resolving root issues.

[DownTheAvenue]

edatlanta wrote:
A response from an Administrator with an offer to research the issue in less than 2 hours after the post in open forum? That tells me they are trying to get good information to us. How many companies do we all try to deal with that we don't get any response at all from anyone let alone a response to a post on an open forum.

I have found Camping World to be responsive when a mistake is made and while they aren't perfect either, they have always come through for me.

If the business model, core best practice, and management style is just to "put out fires'" then Camping World deserves the defense this poster provides. However, it appears that Camping World/Good Sam are in the business of just appeasing a customer and not permanently resolving problems.

[Markiemark32]

edatlanta wrote:
A response from an Administrator with an offer to research the issue in less than 2 hours after the post in open forum? That tells me they are trying to get good information to us. How many companies do we all try to deal with that we don't get any response at all from anyone let alone a response to a post on an open forum.

I have found Camping World to be responsive when a mistake is made and while they aren't perfect either, they have always come through for me.

"A response from an Administrator with an offer to research the issue in less than 2 hours after the post in open forum?"

This after several attempts to get this fixed through CUSTOMER SERVICE?*?*?*?*?*? is that good?


$1,500 worth of accessories, you bet they will jump quickly on this one...


"Business success is about the three P's: People, Process and Product."


MArkiemark:C