Keystone Warranty - What A Joke!

Yeah Uh what are you talking about.. ?? We are talking about a failed toilet valve due to whatever. GM will cover a failed tire under their warranty. They may recover from the tire company . I never had GM tell me to go elsewhere when the tire they supplied failed even when it was an alignment issue .I never had GM tell me to go to goodyear on a failed tire. They always took care of it under my new car warranty. Hope you got it now.. Whew !!!

JCR-1 wrote:

mike-s wrote:

JCR-1 wrote:
B.S.. Gm replaced 4 tires for me under warranty.. due to mis alignment from the factory. It was not the tire's that were bad it was a misalignment from the factory.

Whoooosh. That wasn't the tire warranty.

Prob right because a blowout is caused by an road hazard or accident.GM may replace and bill back the tire manufacturer as a courtesy to owner providing the tire had a manuf defect. In this case the valve broke as manuf defect or maybe not.

Uh, what???

The vehicle wasn't aligned right at the factory. That caused bad tire wear. GM paid for new tires, even though their warranty probably has a "incidental or consequential clause" where they don't really have to. It wasn't a tire issue, and the tire warranty didn't come into play.

No one said anything even remotely like blowout/road hazard/accident/tire defect/broken valve. And the tire manufacturer's warranty isn't going to cover uneven wear caused by misalignment.

Just to add to how a good company handles things. I had a problem with a Reese hitch I had. The way it was designed when you turned tight the nut on he ball would contact the trunnions of the WD bars and force them down, this bent the bottom of the trunnion sockets down and the bars were about ready to come out. The hitch was a couple years out of warranty. I called Reese and they said there was nothing they could do because it was damaged. They did redisign the hitch head to eliminate this issue. When I brought that up they offered to ship me a new one for free and I would have to pay for he hitch head. I said that if it was redisigned they new here was an issue and it should be covered. I offered to pay half. He came back in 2 minutes and said he would ship a new one for free.

Moral is be nice and know what you are talking about. Because of how this was handled they kept a customer and will have many more because of it and the way they handled it!

Keep in mind that normal market forces not matter in the RV industry. Except for a few low volume manufacturers, cost rules.

Customer service, quality, and convenience plays less of a roll than in other business models. It is the way the customer base has shaped the industry.

JCR-1 wrote
"I also agree that this is a 30 minute fix and no biggy for anyone. It will take more time to bring the trailer to the shop then fix it yourself."

This is the heart of the whole issue.
If you can fix it yourself do so without hesitation.
It will be far faster and efficient with less aggravation vs. dealing with the cumbersome, inefficient warranty policy that may end with a denial as seen in this thread.

mike-s wrote:

JCR-1 wrote:
B.S.. Gm replaced 4 tires for me under warranty.. due to mis alignment from the factory. It was not the tire's that were bad it was a misalignment from the factory.

Whoooosh. That wasn't the tire warranty.

Prob right because a blowout is caused by an road hazard or accident.GM may replace and bill back the tire manufacturer as a courtesy to owner providing the tire had a manuf defect. In this case the valve broke as manuf defect or maybe not. If it was a manuf defect Keystone should cover it and recoup from Thetford .. or whomever. This is a matter of goodwill and customer relations..and I don't think this can be considered a wear item ie tire.This is an operational component relating to the full and complete operation of the trailer.I also agree that this is a 30 minute fix and no biggy for anyone. It will take more time to bring the trailer to the shop then fix it yourself.

Lantley wrote:

ktmrfs wrote:

Lantley wrote:

proxim2020 wrote:
Seems a lot of people are missing the point. Keystone denied the claim because they found that the damage done to this 6 month old toilet was normal wear and tear, which is a bit appalling. Keystone never denied the claim because they felt the claim should be filed with the toilet manufacturer. Keystone doesn't appear to be operating under this premise in this case according to the statements and actions.

The warranty for the toilet may very well indeed rest with the manufacturer and Keystone may have no obligation to replace the broken parts. However, from a customer service stand point they would be better off de-escalating the situation by covering the small costs associated with the repair and saving a customer's warranty experience.

This morning I had no obligation to slowdown, put my 4 ways on, and help a struggling semi merge into traffic. I clearly had the right of way and could've easily zoomed right past him. I didn't do it because I was obligated to, I did it because it was the nice and courteous thing to do.

There's plenty of cases out there where manufacturers have covered components that have their own warranty. I've even seen where manufacturers have stepped up to the plate to cover issues caused by the operator. Those are the types of companies I want to do business with. Not someone who's going to fight me tooth and nail over such a small issue. If Keystone offered parts only from the jump then that would be one thing. At least they were trying to help out. But both the OP and the dealer had to fight just to get to that point.

Keystone is not in the business of goodwill or being nice.
Their decisions are driven by profit. They are part of a large conglomerate driven by profit.If they can avoid paying a warranty claim they will.

well, sort of on "the not in business of goodwill."

Part of the equation in maximizing profit is satisfying customers. So, therein falls the warranty policy. Having worked for a large company with a reputation of products to solve customer design issues, warranty satisfaction was a noticeable driver in customer satisfaction. Develop a policy customers understand, and be willing to go out of the normal when issues arose,helped us keep high profits and high customer satisfaction.

Keystone (actually Thor) gets to decide how strick or loose they are on warranty, and let the results flow, good or bad for profits.

I don't disagree with you, however this is the RV world. Remove those rose colored Lenses.
All they care about is profit. Repeat business is secondary, reputation is not a real concern. Decisions are made based on the beans that are counted. The RV world is very shady, In the end it survives on the PT Barnum theory. A newbie RV'er will walk in the door believing the RV industry is reputable. They will eventually find out all the dirty little secrets, but by then the damage is done or more importantly the warranty has expired.

maybe my glasses are rose colored because keystone treated me well. at near the 1 year timeframe without any hassle and within two weeks they replaced 4 aluminum wheels on my trailer because the clear coat was starting to show spider webs. paid for mounting, paid to have the tires balanced. other than that my keystone has survived 8 years of between 60 and 90 days/year use and around 30K miles with no other defects or even wear and tear issues. I'm satisified. But I am not satisfied that others are having trouble with keystone warranty coverage.

The veteran buyers have learned that the warranty is a joke and we proceed at our own risk. We will do the warranty dance for major repairs but otherwise we have learned how to navigate the RV world and complete our own repairs as required. We use mobile techs and independent shop if we get in over our heads
Experienced RV'ers enjoy the lifestyle despite the shortcomings of the industry.
Many prefer used vs.new. They could care less about warranty.They prefer units that the previous owners have worked out all the kinks

Veteran buyers expectations are different. We understand there is no point in calling out Keystone or anyone else, The warranty does not last forever it's only a matter of time before all the issues are your responsibility anyway. Use warranty for calamities fend for yourself otherwise.

Lantley wrote:

ktmrfs wrote:

Lantley wrote:

proxim2020 wrote:
Seems a lot of people are missing the point. Keystone denied the claim because they found that the damage done to this 6 month old toilet was normal wear and tear, which is a bit appalling. Keystone never denied the claim because they felt the claim should be filed with the toilet manufacturer. Keystone doesn't appear to be operating under this premise in this case according to the statements and actions.

The warranty for the toilet may very well indeed rest with the manufacturer and Keystone may have no obligation to replace the broken parts. However, from a customer service stand point they would be better off de-escalating the situation by covering the small costs associated with the repair and saving a customer's warranty experience.

This morning I had no obligation to slowdown, put my 4 ways on, and help a struggling semi merge into traffic. I clearly had the right of way and could've easily zoomed right past him. I didn't do it because I was obligated to, I did it because it was the nice and courteous thing to do.

There's plenty of cases out there where manufacturers have covered components that have their own warranty. I've even seen where manufacturers have stepped up to the plate to cover issues caused by the operator. Those are the types of companies I want to do business with. Not someone who's going to fight me tooth and nail over such a small issue. If Keystone offered parts only from the jump then that would be one thing. At least they were trying to help out. But both the OP and the dealer had to fight just to get to that point.

Keystone is not in the business of goodwill or being nice.
Their decisions are driven by profit. They are part of a large conglomerate driven by profit.If they can avoid paying a warranty claim they will.

well, sort of on "the not in business of goodwill."

Part of the equation in maximizing profit is satisfying customers. So, therein falls the warranty policy. Having worked for a large company with a reputation of products to solve customer design issues, warranty satisfaction was a noticeable driver in customer satisfaction. Develop a policy customers understand, and be willing to go out of the normal when issues arose,helped us keep high profits and high customer satisfaction.

Keystone (actually Thor) gets to decide how strick or loose they are on warranty, and let the results flow, good or bad for profits.

I don't disagree with you, however this is the RV world. Remove those rose colored Lenses.
All they care about is profit. Repeat business is secondary, reputation is not a real concern. Decisions are made based on the beans that are counted. The RV world is very shady, In the end it survives on the PT Barnum theory. A newbie RV'er will walk in the door believing the RV industry is reputable. They will eventually find out all the dirty little secrets, but by then the damage is done or more importantly the warranty has expired.

And also by then 1 out of 3 buyers is a newbie that just bought another new one. Rinse repeat.

ktmrfs wrote:

Lantley wrote:

proxim2020 wrote:
Seems a lot of people are missing the point. Keystone denied the claim because they found that the damage done to this 6 month old toilet was normal wear and tear, which is a bit appalling. Keystone never denied the claim because they felt the claim should be filed with the toilet manufacturer. Keystone doesn't appear to be operating under this premise in this case according to the statements and actions.

The warranty for the toilet may very well indeed rest with the manufacturer and Keystone may have no obligation to replace the broken parts. However, from a customer service stand point they would be better off de-escalating the situation by covering the small costs associated with the repair and saving a customer's warranty experience.

This morning I had no obligation to slowdown, put my 4 ways on, and help a struggling semi merge into traffic. I clearly had the right of way and could've easily zoomed right past him. I didn't do it because I was obligated to, I did it because it was the nice and courteous thing to do.

There's plenty of cases out there where manufacturers have covered components that have their own warranty. I've even seen where manufacturers have stepped up to the plate to cover issues caused by the operator. Those are the types of companies I want to do business with. Not someone who's going to fight me tooth and nail over such a small issue. If Keystone offered parts only from the jump then that would be one thing. At least they were trying to help out. But both the OP and the dealer had to fight just to get to that point.

Keystone is not in the business of goodwill or being nice.
Their decisions are driven by profit. They are part of a large conglomerate driven by profit.If they can avoid paying a warranty claim they will.

well, sort of on "the not in business of goodwill."

Part of the equation in maximizing profit is satisfying customers. So, therein falls the warranty policy. Having worked for a large company with a reputation of products to solve customer design issues, warranty satisfaction was a noticeable driver in customer satisfaction. Develop a policy customers understand, and be willing to go out of the normal when issues arose,helped us keep high profits and high customer satisfaction.

Keystone (actually Thor) gets to decide how strick or loose they are on warranty, and let the results flow, good or bad for profits.

I don't disagree with you, however this is the RV world. Remove those rose colored Lenses.
All they care about is profit. Repeat business is secondary, reputation is not a real concern. Decisions are made based on the beans that are counted. The RV world is very shady, In the end it survives on the PT Barnum theory. A newbie RV'er will walk in the door believing the RV industry is reputable. They will eventually find out all the dirty little secrets, but by then the damage is done or more importantly the warranty has expired.