Newmar Customer "Service" strikes out again

[PanJH]

We have a new puppy and he managed to evade our ever watching eyes and chew some of the molding in the coach during our last 4 month trip .
I'll be able to repair the wood and will need to get matching stain, so, I contact Newmar customer service via email . I provide them with the coach number and asked for the info regarding the stain they used ( Manhattan Maple is the color according to the brochure).... here's the lame response I get back :

Good morning,
We don’t have a breakdown or name for the stain, typically our dealers will remove a small cabinet door, and have the local hardware store match the stain.

Yeah, I'm sure a dealer is going to take a door off and go to a hardware store.
How in the world can Newmar offer consistency in their wood finishes if they don't know what they are using ?
How would they perform repairs at the factory to interior woodwork if they don't know what they are using ?

I don't know if this is indicative of support changes from the Winnebago parent company, or if I got a rep that has no idea about researching an issue or if Newmar really doesn't have a clue about what finishes they use from coach to coach.

Really sad and frustrating.

[paul65k]

Originally Posted by PanJH

We have a new puppy and he managed to evade our ever watching eyes and chew some of the molding in the coach during our last 4 month trip .
I'll be able to repair the wood and will need to get matching stain, so, I contact Newmar customer service via email . I provide them with the coach number and asked for the info regarding the stain they used ( Manhattan Maple is the color according to the brochure).... here's the lame response I get back :

Good morning,
We don’t have a breakdown or name for the stain, typically our dealers will remove a small cabinet door, and have the local hardware store match the stain.

Yeah, I'm sure a dealer is going to take a door off and go to a hardware store.
How in the world can Newmar offer consistency in their wood finishes if they don't know what they are using ?
How would they perform repairs at the factory to interior woodwork if they don't know what they are using ?

I don't know if this is indicative of support changes from the Winnebago parent company, or if I got a rep that has no idea about researching an issue or if Newmar really doesn't have a clue about what finishes they use from coach to coach.

Really sad and frustrating.

Probably outsourced to multiple vendors and they don't have the exact color because different vendors will have slight variations.....just a guess

[Lowdie24]

PanJH,

I cannot speak to your question referring to any new Newmar polcies relating to the recent Winnebago aquisition, but I can state that every piece of cabinetry installed in a Winnebago coach (and I assume in their trailerables as well) is individually labeled for size, location and colour.
We had a door that had a poor glue joint in the rail/style connection and our dealership simply ordered a replacement using the code on the back of the door. If I wasn't to point it out as a replacment one would never know it wasn't OEM.
Personally I do not see any correlation between the merger and your lack of customer support.

[tnedator]

It is a lame response. One thing you could try instead of the stain color is seeing if you can buy a length of the trim needed already stained.

[wildtoad]

But at the end of the day, take a door off and take it to a paint store and have them match it.

[lce3]

Originally Posted by PanJH

We have a new puppy and he managed to evade our ever watching eyes and chew some of the molding in the coach during our last 4 month trip .
I'll be able to repair the wood and will need to get matching stain, so, I contact Newmar customer service via email . I provide them with the coach number and asked for the info regarding the stain they used ( Manhattan Maple is the color according to the brochure).... here's the lame response I get back :

Good morning,
We don’t have a breakdown or name for the stain, typically our dealers will remove a small cabinet door, and have the local hardware store match the stain.

Yeah, I'm sure a dealer is going to take a door off and go to a hardware store.
How in the world can Newmar offer consistency in their wood finishes if they don't know what they are using ?
How would they perform repairs at the factory to interior woodwork if they don't know what they are using ?

I don't know if this is indicative of support changes from the Winnebago parent company, or if I got a rep that has no idea about researching an issue or if Newmar really doesn't have a clue about what finishes they use from coach to coach.

Really sad and frustrating.

Try calling the parts department. Customer service doesn't have that info. We were able to get color specs from the parts department.

[jdyson]

Originally Posted by PanJH

We have a new puppy and he managed to evade our ever watching eyes and chew some of the molding in the coach during our last 4 month trip .
I'll be able to repair the wood and will need to get matching stain, so, I contact Newmar customer service via email . I provide them with the coach number and asked for the info regarding the stain they used ( Manhattan Maple is the color according to the brochure).... here's the lame response I get back :

Good morning,
We don’t have a breakdown or name for the stain, typically our dealers will remove a small cabinet door, and have the local hardware store match the stain.

Yeah, I'm sure a dealer is going to take a door off and go to a hardware store.
How in the world can Newmar offer consistency in their wood finishes if they don't know what they are using ?
How would they perform repairs at the factory to interior woodwork if they don't know what they are using ?

I don't know if this is indicative of support changes from the Winnebago parent company, or if I got a rep that has no idea about researching an issue or if Newmar really doesn't have a clue about what finishes they use from coach to coach.

Really sad and frustrating.

It’s really the best way, have it matched locally. Wood and stain colors change as they age. Match the way it looks now and you’ll get a better match.

[Winger2]

Originally Posted by PanJH

We have a new puppy and he managed to evade our ever watching eyes and chew some of the molding in the coach during our last 4 month trip .
I'll be able to repair the wood and will need to get matching stain, so, I contact Newmar customer service via email . I provide them with the coach number and asked for the info regarding the stain they used ( Manhattan Maple is the color according to the brochure).... here's the lame response I get back :

Good morning,
We don’t have a breakdown or name for the stain, typically our dealers will remove a small cabinet door, and have the local hardware store match the stain.

Yeah, I'm sure a dealer is going to take a door off and go to a hardware store.
How in the world can Newmar offer consistency in their wood finishes if they don't know what they are using ?
How would they perform repairs at the factory to interior woodwork if they don't know what they are using ?

I don't know if this is indicative of support changes from the Winnebago parent company, or if I got a rep that has no idea about researching an issue or if Newmar really doesn't have a clue about what finishes they use from coach to coach.

Really sad and frustrating.

Your coach is 9 years old, its not 2. You are better off taking a door to the store to match.

[Granite17]

I wouldn’t imagine they would still have the same stain used in 2013 for your DS.
I believe their response was honest in how they match stain this old.
Cabinet finishes change frequently.
Can’t blame Winnebago for this!
Pull a door and let your local hardware match.

[Clemson]

Your coach is 9 years old…..their response is probably very factual. Take the door off and visit H Depot

[lass]

You can contact “FinishWorks” who supplies some of the Newmar stains. They’re in Fredericksburg Ohio. 330-659-2882

[Dav L]

You will also find that the parts department can't ship stain due to it being a "hazardous material".

I got mine matched from HomeDepot. Looks very close. Ended up going through the whole coach and touched up lots of scuffs and digs. I used Gel stain.

[lce3]

Originally Posted by jdyson

It’s really the best way, have it matched locally. Wood and stain colors change as they age. Match the way it looks now and you’ll get a better match.

This is true, and is probably the reason you got the response you did.

We had an entire door replaced, during our warranty period, in Nappanee. The new door with the same factory stain but they made sure we understood that the colors would not match because of the way stain changes over time.

With a much older coach, using the original stain is not going to match the existing colors. Taking it to be matched is going to have a much better result.

[4B77]

Check with Wood Design RV in Nappanee. They might be able to help