General RV Wixom, mi

[et2]

What ever happened to your customer service? Appreciation to those who've supported you over the years. You've grown tremendously over the last 10 years. Buildt a brand new building with added service bays. Your salespeople brag about how the last two years have been banner ones. You can't keep inventory on the lots.

But your loyalty isn't there anymore. You don't care about your prior customers anymore. Just the new stuff flying off the lot. It all get's preference over service work requests. For one day I tried to get in touch with your service dept. Your receptionist put me through. Nobody ever picked up, just went into a voice mail. Nobody called back to help. I tried again the next day. Someone finally answered. She took all my info, finally I thought we'd get this taken care of before my extended service contract runs out soon. You know, that one you told me was so valuable. Well too good to be true. Your young lady told me a service writer would be calling me soon to setup as they're real busy. That was 2 days ago.

Well, never mind. I just went on Amazon and purchased all the parts that might fix my problem. I'll do it myself. No thanks to you. I will be certain if I ever consider buying another motorhome, it won't be from you. Even though I realize all dealers are the same.

Just curious what your going to do when the next down turn in the economy happens and sales drop. You have a lot of bays to fill, and a lot of customers have left you behind.

Good by General RV. I felt like a cheap date.

[wa8yxm]

This has nothing to do with General RV other than that's where I bought this house (Wixom store too).. But that was over 13 years ago. This was last April.

I was in the state of Virginia when the exhaust manifold to exhaust pipe gasket (Donut) blew... And in the mountains this 8.1 will rattle the windows goign up hill even if they (the windows) are mounted in rubber mounts!!.

So I called a Camping world a few feet off my route.. "Two weeks is the soonest we can fit you in"

Wound up at Liberty Auto/Truck service, paid 'em over 600 for a job that should not have topped 150 and they put in the wrong type of gasket. it blew 3 days later.. Got back to American Rv in Burton MI (I mentioned them earlier) Scheduled an appointment for when I was changing campgrounds (4 weeks but on the flat land I travel here in MI the thing is not so loud, Even had a State Trooper pass me as I was going up hill and he did not even flinch) $125 and the RIGHT gasket. I do not expect this one to blow.

[M_R_E_]

I bought my 5th wheel at Midway RV Center, just south of Grand Rapids near 131. I live on the other side of the state, but their service is great. You schedule your date and time and they take then. Worth the drive for me.They do a good job.

[D_E_Bishop]

I think that the problems stated here are pretty common ones, no one likes being left out in the cold and it seems that for many businesses the phone only rings on one end, theirs. My brother says it is just the law of supply and demand.

Last fall we were on the road for several months and the DW noticed that the rig was due for an oil change, actually I had seen the note in our trip log for an oil change and I chose to ignore it. We were in Waldport, OR, we had been at friends home for the eclipse and so I called everyone I could think of from Florence to Lincoln City and most sites with service bays for a 33.5' rig were one two or three weeks out for appointments. Both of them!

We actually couldn't get into a place within a week from Florence, OR to Cape Disappointment in Washington. When we got to Astoria a couple of days later, I called CW in Hillsboro, OR and not only were they busy as the dickens, they had two extra guys doing nothing but oil changes. And yet, it took "one" call to get an appointment for two days out and a reminder that while their lot is not really level, we could park there the night before our appointment and they could get us in within one half hour of opening.

The on site service writer signed us in and explained that a couple came in just before closing the night before and asked for a rush job, he asked us if we had an extra half hour as he really wanted to help these folks out as they had a DR's appointment later that day and needed to be on the road. The the service writer took us to the lounge, made sure I had coffee and even offered doughnuts.

I've never had a really bad experience with any CW store, maybe I'm lucky but the Hillsboro, OR store is really great and the few times we really wanted something they were "Johnny on the Spot".

So there are some folks out there that are building a customer base and responding to their customer's needs. They are few and far between but they are busy and still helpful.

PS: I really liked CW back when they had a lot of work campers doing sales in the retail part of the store, it was like being in a campground. All you had to do figuratively was say Hi! and offer a cup of coffee and you had a friend for life.

[et2]

WTP-GC wrote:

theoldwizard1 wrote:

et2 wrote:

WTP-GC wrote:
When complaining about service work being done at dealerships, make sure that you understand the backlog they do or don't have. Its not reasonable to complain that your rig didn't get fixed in 2-3 days when their lot is slammed full of other customers rigs too.

FWIW, our most local General RV center has a good track record of 1-2 day turnarounds on most units.

Nobody mentioned asking for 2-3 days service turnaround. My post was about the shell game they're playing just trying to get in for a service appointment. No need for 3 layers of people to get to a service appointment.

They did the same thing to my daughter ! "We are very busy today ! Can you call back next week and we will make an appointment for you then ?"

What a crock ! How hard is it to make an appointment ?

My point better stated is that it's important to differentiate between someone who is truly busy and someone who is intentionally negligent or lazy.

And why complain on an Internet board? Did you call the management directly at the local General RV or even the headquarters?

Scheduling their work flow isn't my / our problem. The logistics isn't setup for warranty work. It's setup to sell at low profit margins beating their competitors. Personally I'd pay more just to have access to better service.

Why not use the Internet board? Good way to communicate with others possibly considering doing business with them? You lie to people you should be called out. You provide terrible customer service, why wouldn't people want to know. Perfect platform to do it. What would you suggest smoke signals?

And yes many times, the management is very aware of their problems. They don't care because they have you between a rock and a hard place unless you wish to fix it yourself. Most dealers don't want to work on the warranty issues if you didn't buy from them.

[WTP-GC]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

et2 wrote:

WTP-GC wrote:
When complaining about service work being done at dealerships, make sure that you understand the backlog they do or don't have. Its not reasonable to complain that your rig didn't get fixed in 2-3 days when their lot is slammed full of other customers rigs too.

FWIW, our most local General RV center has a good track record of 1-2 day turnarounds on most units.

Nobody mentioned asking for 2-3 days service turnaround. My post was about the shell game they're playing just trying to get in for a service appointment. No need for 3 layers of people to get to a service appointment.

They did the same thing to my daughter ! "We are very busy today ! Can you call back next week and we will make an appointment for you then ?"

What a crock ! How hard is it to make an appointment ?

My point better stated is that it's important to differentiate between someone who is truly busy and someone who is intentionally negligent or lazy.

And why complain on an Internet board? Did you call the management directly at the local General RV or even the headquarters?

[ken56]

It isn't just General RV. I think that the high volume dealers are all like that really. That is where their money is made. You might get the best deal at them but don't look for prompt service, too busy prepping new units for delivery. Bought my first trailer at General in Birch Run and aside from very minor PDI issues that were addressed promptly I never had to take it back to them for any kind of service issue, lucky I guess.


Now my latest trailer was bought at a high volume dealer and getting service is just like people have described here with 3 weeks out to get it in and then 30 days later its still not been touched. My 1 year dealer warranty is up and I just took my service business to a local dealer that is the BEST. TriAm RV in Bulls Gap TN is very customer conscientious and professional. They kept me informed all the way through a warranty claim with Suburban for my water heater circuit board replacement, it kept going into reset when on propane. It took all of 2 days.


If you are fortunate enough to find a good honest servicing dealer then give them your undying loyalty.


They will have my future business from now on. They have a location in Ocala FL too. I can't speak for that location as I have never been there. As a family owned business I can only surmise they have the same customer values as the one in TN does.

[theoldwizard1]

et2 wrote:

WTP-GC wrote:
When complaining about service work being done at dealerships, make sure that you understand the backlog they do or don't have. Its not reasonable to complain that your rig didn't get fixed in 2-3 days when their lot is slammed full of other customers rigs too.

FWIW, our most local General RV center has a good track record of 1-2 day turnarounds on most units.

Nobody mentioned asking for 2-3 days service turnaround. My post was about the shell game they're playing just trying to get in for a service appointment. No need for 3 layers of people to get to a service appointment.

They did the same thing to my daughter ! "We are very busy today ! Can you call back next week and we will make an appointment for you then ?"

What a crock ! How hard is it to make an appointment ?

[theoldwizard1]

wa8yxm wrote:
On your water heater.. When mine wasw new it occasionally took 2 or 3 times to get it to light on gas. Turned out to be the control board.

They charged her $75 to "adjust" the flame sensor because "adjustment" are only covered for 90 days. It still did not work.

After 2 more return trips to General RV, they gave up. I removed the thermostats, cleaned them and the tank and nor it works about 75% of the time.

[theoldwizard1]

Ralph Cramden wrote:

theoldwizard1 wrote:
My daughter got a very good deal on a TT there a couple of years ago. The water heater has never worked consistently since they bought it and trying to get service during the summer months is an absolute joke !

Almost no place else to buy new or get service in SE MI !

?????? A quick search of a 120 mile radius of Detroit locates at least 30 different RV dealers, most are apparently one location mom and pop type operations?

That is a 2 hour drive !

[et2]

WTP-GC wrote:
When complaining about service work being done at dealerships, make sure that you understand the backlog they do or don't have. Its not reasonable to complain that your rig didn't get fixed in 2-3 days when their lot is slammed full of other customers rigs too.

FWIW, our most local General RV center has a good track record of 1-2 day turnarounds on most units.

Nobody mentioned asking for 2-3 days service turnaround. My post was about the shell game they're playing just trying to get in for a service appointment. No need for 3 layers of people to get to a service appointment.

The back log they do or don't have is created by them and is their problem. After sale service is a critical element "of the sale". As a matter of fact they brag about their all new service center and numerous bays to get you in and out quickly. They're filled with new rigs arriving being prepped and sold. But when you try to utilize their service department it's a **** shoot. It's out right lying. If people knew what problems were waiting for them after the sale it might make them think twice.

My experience particularly with General RV in Wixom Mi., your "appointment" for service ( if you're lucky to get one) means drop it off. If you're lucky they'll look at the problem for diagnoses with 7-10 days. Then needing to order the parts as they usually never have them. It's all down hill from there. I've had numerous times had it turn into a month or more game. They never call back as to status, and you can't easily get to talk to anyone. I've had to drive back there and walk in to get answers.

I know many people in my area who have the same problem with them. They're despised by many of their customers by the after the sale service they don't provide.

Buyers beware!

[et2]

Jayco-noslide wrote:
Are you talking about a specific place or all RV dealers, repair shops or what? If you're applying it in general then your statements are far too overreaching. I've found a number of good places to work on cars, motorhomes, etc. where I get good service at a fair price. Also found some I won't go back to.

If your talking to me, my header and post should answer your question.

[WTP-GC]

When complaining about service work being done at dealerships, make sure that you understand the backlog they do or don't have. Its not reasonable to complain that your rig didn't get fixed in 2-3 days when their lot is slammed full of other customers rigs too.

FWIW, our most local General RV center has a good track record of 1-2 day turnarounds on most units.

[Jayco-noslide]

To me "loyalty" isn't the issue. It's, do they listen to me, do good work, and deliver as promised for a reasonable price.

[Jayco-noslide]

Are you talking about a specific place or all RV dealers, repair shops or what? If you're applying it in general then your statements are far too overreaching. I've found a number of good places to work on cars, motorhomes, etc. where I get good service at a fair price. Also found some I won't go back to.