What does having an appointment mean?

[Super_Dave]

When you call your RV service center and they tell you that you have an appointment in 2 weeks, what does that mean to you? What are your expectations about when work will begin on your unit? The day I dropped off my trailer I was given an estimate of 5 hours labor. My trailer has been there 2 weeks.

[Gulfcoast]

Do the repairs yourself and stay away from the dealers.

[spoon059]

Thankfully I have never experienced this, but from friends, my expectation would be that they will pull the camper in and start figuring out what the problem is. Then they will figure out what they need to order to fix it. Then they will figure out if it is under warranty or not.

[Super_Dave]

DarkSkySeeker wrote:

Super_Dave wrote:
When you call your RV service center and they tell you that you have an appointment in 2 weeks, what does that mean to you? What are your expectations about when work will begin on your unit? The day I dropped off my trailer I was given an estimate of 5 hours labor. My trailer has been there 2 weeks.

It means NEXT TIME you may ask them more questions about expectations. Live and learn.

Silly boy, questions were asked but answers haven't met reality.

[JimBollman]

I learned about appointments with RV dealers last year. All I initially wanted was a rough idea if it was possible to add a second battery and a gray water tank to my 1999 B Van. Went to one of the bigger RV dealers in the area (not Camper Word) about 30 miles away. SIlly me I thought I could just drop in and they could either crawl under or put it on a lift and give me an idea if they could do the job. They said the first opening that had was in 8 weeks, so I made an appointment for first thing in the morning. I showed up about 30 minutes before they opened, walked in behind the person unlocking the door. They said they had no record of my appointment, but would try to squeeze me in. In about an hour they had me pull around by the service door and in another 30 minutes or so a fellow came out and asked what I had in mind. Told him and he crawled under. Had no ideas how they could do what I wanted. I told them a couple of ideas and he said yea that could work. Maybe spent 15 minutes with me and gave me no info other than their fabrication guy was on vacation so couldn't tell me if they could build what I suggested. Went back inside and found that the great consultation cost me $140, they had a 1 hour minimum charge. I never went back and never will.

Second place I went was smaller, friendly enough and did crawl under and gave me some good suggestions and told me why one of my ideas was not very good (all for free). I also added having him put a MaxXFan in place of the single speed fan that was there. He took some notes and said he would get back to me after he talked to his fabricator. Sounded good. After several phone calls over the next few weeks, his fabricator was to busy to even give him a time to build what he needed, I made an appointment for the fan replacement. That went well and he and his son did it while I waited. Over the next 6 months I checked in a few more times, still not fabricator time, or would not return the calls.

Now a year later I still don't have my mods done and go back and forth from trying to do it myself and finding another RV place.

[TXiceman]

We use Kansas RV Center (Chanute, KS), the former manufacturer of NuWa HitchHiker. When you call for an appointment, you get a date and time. You pull up to the door at the appointed time and the service manager or his assistant meets you with work order in hand and goes over it. You pull the RV into the shop, unhitch and the crew to work on it starts right then. That is what having an appointment means.

Ken

[Thom02099]

I found a local mobile service that comes to me. When they set the appointment time, that's when they actually arrived, assessed, and started to work. Their hourly rate is $135/hr.

Another mobile service locally also offers the option to come to him and save the service charge for at home service. He gets the rig checked out immediately, advises what's needed, and starts working on it, while I'm standing there. He also goes "off the clock" if he has to put on hold my rig and take a look at another rig he's working on simultaneously. His rate at the shop is $125/hr.

These independent repair services are worth their weight in gold, in my opinion. Reasonably priced, all things considered. Guess it depends on how much you're willing to pay for actual on time service.

Several of the big box RV service centers in the local northern Colorado area are in the $160-$175/hr range.

[Veebyes]

I don't know how some of you put up with such poor service. Lucky me I guess able to figure out & fix my own problems short of what I am not physically able to do like an AC replacement last year, booked a time 5 days in advance, service place got the new unit ontime & it was installed in less than 2 hours. Also replaced a fridge a few years ago. Had to chill my heels in a CG for a few days for new one to arrive. Mobile tech with help from an assistant, me, & the DW had the new one in the next day.

Sometimes it makes a difference when work is done. Back in my boating days I would have the mechanic come onboard in the fall before the boat was hauled for the winter. We would take a ride & he would do a survey of what was what that needed doing & a list of parts needed. I'd order the parts since he was more interested in the hands on stuff than paperwork. Come January the parts would be here & the boat would be 'on the hard' for the annual refit. Slow time of year for marine mechanics. That is when I got him back onboard to do whatever he needed to do. No pressure to get to the next impatient customer who left it till the beginning of the season to get work done.

My truck has never been to a dealership for maintenance. Once a year it goes to a small, trusted & respected very small town garage that has a good reputation for diesel, marine & land bound. A time is booked as soon as we can give a firm date. They get the truck first thing in the morning, go through it removing worn parts & are pretty much given an open book to get whatever is needed without having to call to OK every little thing.

Usually we get our truck back in a few days, which suits us fine because while the truck gets its annual physical we are busy in a nearby boatyard giving our 5er it's annual refit.

We bought our truck & trailer to travel with, not sit in some service centers yard for weeks on end.

[DarkSkySeeker]

Super_Dave wrote:
When you call your RV service center and they tell you that you have an appointment in 2 weeks, what does that mean to you? What are your expectations about when work will begin on your unit? The day I dropped off my trailer I was given an estimate of 5 hours labor. My trailer has been there 2 weeks.

It means NEXT TIME you may ask them more questions about expectations. Live and learn.

[campigloo]

midnightsadie wrote:
I only go to a mom/pop rv shop in ohio for me its close ,BUT when they set a appointment thats the day it gets serviced. great sales and service at camper care in north east ohio. p.s. I.m just a happy customer.have nothing to do with the shop. theres a CW close but thats ok ,I,ll drive by.

I go to similar one. Blanchard’s in Baton Rouge. They work on it the day of the appt and if I ask them to check something they will or they will tell me it’s ahead of schedule or not something to worry about or etc. They're very honest and capable.
Sure is nice isn’t it!

[Crowe]

An appointment is no more than a prearranged time to drop the unit off. The onus was on you to ask at that time if it would be looked at that day and if not, how long might it be. A simple phone call made 1.5 weeks ago probably would have provided you your answer already. Unless I am told it's going to be a certain time frame after 2 days I call and see what's going on. If I don't like the answer I resort to Plan B-finding someone else. Expediency with these situations is the key.

[Lwiddis]

“If something is broke, I have them order the part BEFORE the trailer is dropped off, a lot of waiting is due to the factory missing parts deliveries, or dealers NOT ordering properly”

Sometimes possible to order parts prior to repair. Particularly when replacing the complete item. If parts are not available or slow to arrive, how is that the repair facility’s fault? Sometimes the longer people are retired the more unrealistic their expectations....”back in my day...”

[Super_Dave]

I plan on going in person on Monday and want a math lesson on how 5 hours of labor (no parts) turns into over a 2 week stay when I was given an appointment date.

[ford_truck_guy]

I can tell you what it mans to me,,

When I buy a camper, I meet with the service manager when taking delivery. I tell them my expectations which are -

* I will make an appointment for a Monday....
* I will drop the trailer off the Saturday before...
* They will have 40 hours to work on it.....
* I will be back the following Saturday to pick it up..
* If something is broke, I have them order the part BEFORE the trailer is dropped off, a lot of waiting is due to the factory missing parts deliveries, or dealers NOT ordering properly.

All of my dealers have been 1-1/2 hrs away or farther that is why I do the Saturday drop and pick.

I email on Tuesday to get a progress report, if no answer, I call.
This has worked for me since I have been buying RV's...It also helps to bring donuts and coffee in on the morning you drop and pick it up.... they go a long way.....

NOW.... if the repair is HUGE, all bets are off, but that has not happened to me...

[BarryG20]

my experience has been the same as guidry described above

[guidry]

Here’s what “appointment “ actually means with RV dealer service centers;
1. You have an appointment for April1: you bring it in and they will look at it to see what work needs to be done. Then you pick it up and,
2. You make another appointment while parts are being ordered and a few weeks later you bring it back and,
3. Then your RV is “in line” to be worked on and several weeks or months later it’s ready but when you pick it up you find they didn’t do a repair right or missed something, or one part didn’t come in yet. Or the tech broke something unrelated. So you go back to #1!

Then, you determine you’d rather learn to do things yourself or hire a mobile mechanic and have a lot less stress on your life!