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Old 12-01-2020, 10:41 AM   #1
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Cummins Coach Care

We just returned home from a three week long “Punch List Pilgrimage” to Nappanee and Gaffney. Both Newmar and Freightliner were awesome. They fixed almost every open item on the Coach and Chassis. As we pulled into the driveway the dreaded “Malfunction Indicator Light” (MIL) illuminated in the instrument panel.

I called Newmar and was directed to call Freightliner. I called Freightliner and was told to call Cummins...

I called our nearest Cummins Coach Care in Orlando, Florida...

Here is how that went...

Me: I have an “MIL” illuminated in my dash, a FAULT Code is being displayed, it is using an unusually high volume of DEF and the engine feels like it is down on power...
Cummins Coach Care in Orlando: “Yeah, drive it over and drop it off. We should be able to look at it in about 11 business days...”
Me: How about I just bring it over in 11 days?
Cummins Coach Care in Orlando: “We don’t make appointments...you have to leave your coach.”
Me: Since you are a Cummins Coach Care facility can we just stay there in case you can get to it sooner?
Cummins Coach Care in Orlando: “No.”
Me: Will it be plugged into power for the 11 days so the batteries don’t die?
Cummins Coach Care in Orlando: “No.”
Me: Can you think of anything that would make this a more painful experience for the customer?

I hung up and called Cummins in Jacksonville. The Service Manager said bring it up and they would look at it within 15 minutes of our arriving. So we drove the 175 miles to Jacksonville last night and spent the night to avoid the morning rush hour traffic. They had 50-amp power and water in their dedicated RV parking area. First thing this morning service manager (Dante) came out and met us, took some coach information and said he would get someone on it as soon as possible.
Service Manager just came back and said he would have a tech available after lunch to troubleshoot and attempt repair.

I am beginning to understand why I frequently see nearly new coaches for sale. When I spend $50,000 on a new car I receive incredibly high quality service and timely responses to any inquiries. When I spend $500,000 on a luxury motor coach I’m treated like I am an imposition...
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Old 12-01-2020, 11:07 AM   #2
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Not all Cummins Coach Care facilities are equal.... Now You know of one to avoid..
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Old 12-01-2020, 11:18 AM   #3
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I needed work done and contacted Coach Care in Ocala and had a positive experience. They had a campground in the back. They provided professional service and excellent customer care. I would go back to them again.
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Old 12-01-2020, 11:36 AM   #4
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Vettesniper --

A majority of Cummins Service Centers / Coach Care Centers are independently owned sales / distributor / service businesses. Unfortunately, I think you experienced poor service from the Orlando Cummins location. I've had good service from the Houston Cummins Coach Care Center which is an independent distributor.

But then similar to you, I've had very poor service from Houston Freightliner, which is independently owned, for a recall repair (phone calls never answered, emails never answered, RV technician only available one day per week, etc.).

When you find a good repair shop, such as the the one in Jacksonville, stick with them!
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Old 12-01-2020, 04:20 PM   #5
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They all have such short memories....when times get tough and MH usage and sales drop, they'll all be singing the blues. My local Freightliner shop could careless about MH's. When we go to Oregon, there are two shops on I-5 that both do great work and quick diagnosis.

We had acquaintances that would drive from Southern California once a year to Oregon, making a trip out of it, to have their coach serviced. Now I understand why they do it.
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Old 12-01-2020, 06:50 PM   #6
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Quick update on our Cummins service experience in Jacksonville. About 2:00pm the tech knocked on the door and said he was going to begin troubleshooting. He hooked up his test equipment and laptop running Cummins Insite software. Within a few minutes he showed me that the fault I had showing in the dash had only occurred once and that it was no longer reporting as being active by the ECM. He explained that per Cummins Policy he was only supposed to clear the code and send me down the road, but that he wanted to make sure there weren’t any other issues that may have contributed to the fault. He slid under the coach and thoroughly checked every connection to include the air and fuel lines. He then used his laptop and software to command the emissions system to perform a regeneration and manually activated all sensors, valves, switches etc. to make sure they were operating within OEM parameters. Satisfied that everything was operating correctly, he buttoned up the coach and said we were good to go. I was thrilled!

This young man restored my faith in our future. He was a consummate professional and extremely knowledgeable. He took the time to explain what he was doing, why he was doing and what results he expected. I work with complex systems and highly skilled engineers and technicians everyday; I can’t tell you how impressed I was with this guy.

If you are ever in need of service on your Cummins equipped coach and are near the Jacksonville, Florida area make a beeline for Cummins Power South at 755 Pickettville Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32220!

My technician’s name was TRAVIS RINGER...ask for him by name.
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Old 12-01-2020, 09:51 PM   #7
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As full-timers and traveling the country we've always had a fast, excellent with Cummins Coach Care and were always welcomed to spend the night; most often with electric.
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Old 12-02-2020, 12:01 PM   #8
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I have what I call the "squeaky wheel" response to treatment like that, I call corporate and file a complaint. Many say that doesn't accomplish anything but I have gotten called and apologized to from shop owners and offers to "make it up" to me. But that's not my purpose. If corporate gets a lot of complaints about a shop, they will revoke their certification. I have seen it happen. Our goal should be to improve service for everyone so we need to report problems.
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Old 12-02-2020, 04:09 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rev. Roy View Post
I have what I call the "squeaky wheel" response to treatment like that, I call corporate and file a complaint. Many say that doesn't accomplish anything but I have gotten called and apologized to from shop owners and offers to "make it up" to me. But that's not my purpose. If corporate gets a lot of complaints about a shop, they will revoke their certification. I have seen it happen. Our goal should be to improve service for everyone so we need to report problems.
I honestly do not think the "squeaky wheel" response works in today's world. The corporate guy with an "oil can" doesn't exist anymore. He answers to a board who answers to shareholders. Sure, he will listen to your complaint, and maybe even take action on your singular issue, apologize and offer some token refund or reimbursement...but then what? What does that achieve on a larger scale? Nothing.

What we should really strive to do is effect a change in the behavior that causes poor service. The only way to do that is to reward good behavior. And I don't mean a "participation trophy" either. Publicly recognizing truly outstanding employees sends a much stronger and longer lasting message: We value and reward excellence!

So, that is the route I try to take. By taking the time to write out a very detailed and honest review of a good experience, I hope that our tech (Travis Ringer) is recognized for his excellence by Cummins in front of his peers and THAT will reinforce the message I really want to send and effect a change that we can all benefit from...better overall service!
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Old 12-03-2020, 07:09 AM   #10
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Yep so true we get treated different than big trucks in many places u just need to find the correct shop and for me it was a little Cummings shop that took care of me.....
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Old 12-03-2020, 07:23 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vettesniper View Post
Quick update on our Cummins service experience in Jacksonville. About 2:00pm the tech knocked on the door and said he was going to begin troubleshooting. He hooked up his test equipment and laptop running Cummins Insite software. Within a few minutes he showed me that the fault I had showing in the dash had only occurred once and that it was no longer reporting as being active by the ECM. He explained that per Cummins Policy he was only supposed to clear the code and send me down the road, but that he wanted to make sure there weren’t any other issues that may have contributed to the fault. He slid under the coach and thoroughly checked every connection to include the air and fuel lines. He then used his laptop and software to command the emissions system to perform a regeneration and manually activated all sensors, valves, switches etc. to make sure they were operating within OEM parameters. Satisfied that everything was operating correctly, he buttoned up the coach and said we were good to go. I was thrilled!

This young man restored my faith in our future. He was a consummate professional and extremely knowledgeable. He took the time to explain what he was doing, why he was doing and what results he expected. I work with complex systems and highly skilled engineers and technicians everyday; I can’t tell you how impressed I was with this guy.

If you are ever in need of service on your Cummins equipped coach and are near the Jacksonville, Florida area make a beeline for Cummins Power South at 755 Pickettville Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32220!

My technician’s name was TRAVIS RINGER...ask for him by name.
You should call Cummins headquarters and give positive feedback on this place and critical feedback on the Orlando location.
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Old 12-05-2020, 06:59 PM   #12
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Last year I was wintering in FL. I wanted to get my annual service before parking in my campground. I called the Orlando location of Cummings and got the same negative treatment. They even quoted me $1,500 when I have paid $800 everywhere else. I called the Tampa location, was quoted $800, including the service for the generator, and was allowed to park overnight the night before my appointment. The service was completed by 2 PM and I was in my campground an hour later. The Orlando location does not have good customer service.
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Old 12-06-2020, 04:33 AM   #13
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Since I live in FL and have a daughter and son-in-law in Orlando, we bring the coach up there often. I sense a pattern from the Orlando Cummins shop. They don’t want any RV business. That’s fine, there choice. Or maybe it’s the service managers choice and not the local owners choice? It wouldn’t be the e first time an employee takes it upon themselves to determine the type of customers they choose. To me, the tell is the 2x price for the same service quote. That is what needs to be forwarded to Cummins and the owner of the local shop. Neither one probably knows that kind of misquote is happening.
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Old 12-06-2020, 05:58 PM   #14
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Squeaky Wheel definitely works. I have received extraordinary responses from the office of various CEOs.

The problem is usually caused by lazy or incompetent employees and it is NOT OK with their bosses/business owners.
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