Community Forums

TJ · 05-20-2021, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R.Wold

My experience with Newmar over eight days of service, repairs and upgrades on my well out-of-warranty Ventana in March, was an example of consummate experts in customer service. Yeah, they may have missed the boat on an opportunity to “wow” the OP, but in the grand order of things, if the problem was handled, the customer was served.

They are busy, but they still went the extra mile making sure that everything was done to my satisfaction and that both my dog and I were well cared for during the process. They even have a dog lounge! They also covered $1500 of paint work that I expected to pay for, did a few small jobs N/C, and every job cost less than the estimate, aside for some basic maintenance that was priced at or below my threshold.

So while the OP may be right that they missed a chance to demonstrate excellence, they proved to me that they are results oriented and do indeed strive for complete customer satisfaction. Do they always get there? Probably not. But they are the best I’ve ever seen in the automotive industry and that’s good enough for me.

PS - I also have a little over 40 years in customer service, so I know it when I see it...

We’ve been to Nappanee and everything you say was true during our visit too! The problem is that we can’t just dash over to Nappanee whenever we need service of some kind. It is 2,700 miles, one-way.

It is the telephone/e-mail communication where the ball gets dropped.

TJ

Mich F · 05-20-2021, 08:54 PM

I must be the only one that doesn't see a problem here ? Newmar helped the OP with directions on how to prevent the problem from happening again. Girard contacted the OP and told him they had been in touch with Newmar and that Girard would take care of the situation from that point forward. That sounds like pretty good service to me. The OP is upset that Newmar didn't call him back to tell him the same thing that Girard told him - that Girard would take care of the issue.

NXR · 05-20-2021, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Were I in charge of Newmar’s customer service, I would have immediately responded with something like “Thank you for contacting us. We have gotten in touch with Girard Awnings and they have agreed to be the point of contact for resolving this issue. We are always concerned when one of our coach owners experiences a problem and know that our awning supplier, Girard, is also concerned when the problem involves one of its products. At Girard’s request, we ask that you communicate directly with them in getting the problem resolved. Thank you for being a Newmar customer.”

Since you confirmed that Girard talked to Newmar before Girard talked to you, the other possibility is the Girard rep said "I'll let the customer know we're handling this instead of you" and the Newmar rep said "OK" and moved on to the next customer who was waiting for support.

Ray

TJ · 05-20-2021, 09:17 PM

In my communication with both Newmar and Girard, there were three other action items beyond simply replacing the awning. At least two of them were action items that could only be addressed by Newmar. To not even acknowledge receipt of those action item requests may be fine with the rest of you, but it does not sit well with me.

Since some appear to be content with Newmar’s status quo, let’s just agree to disagree and put an end to this thread. This will be my last post on this matter.

creativepart · 05-20-2021, 09:22 PM

TJ, customer service is tough. If Newmar does what YOU think they should do they are rockstars. If they don’t do what YOU think they should do they are bums.

Trouble is, there are thousands of individual “you”(s) to please and they have to not only guess correctly what it is that you think they need to do, but they have to get it right every time.

Give ‘em a break.

You are Newmar, you get a customer complaint about a problem with a supplier’s product. You call the supplier and he agrees to take ownership of the problem and help the customer. You go to bed satisfied that the customer is taken care of. Then the customer goes on a public forum and complains that he didn’t get the call from you that he also wanted to get.

Again, give ‘em a break.

Winepress · 05-20-2021, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by creativepart

TJ, customer service is tough. If Newmar does what YOU think they should do they are rockstars. If they don’t do what YOU think they should do they are bums.

Trouble is, there are thousands of individual “you”(s) to please and they have to not only guess correctly what it is that you think they need to do, but they have to get it right every time.

Give ‘em a break.

You are Newmar, you get a customer complaint about a problem with a supplier’s product. You call the supplier and he agrees to take ownership of the problem and help the customer. You go to bed satisfied that the customer is taken care of. Then the customer goes on a public forum and complains that he didn’t get the call from you that he also wanted to get.

Again, give ‘em a break.

At our company, we call the supplier who takes ownership, then we follow up with our mutual customer to make sure the customer is satisfied and is there anything else we can do. There is basic CS software that ques our reps to make the call. Newmar used to do this. Seems so basic to create customer delight.

Mich F · 05-20-2021, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TJ

In my communication with both Newmar and Girard, there were three other action items beyond simply replacing the awning. At least two of them were action items that could only be addressed by Newmar. To not even acknowledge receipt of those action item requests may be fine with the rest of you, but it does not sit well with me.

Since some appear to be content with Newmar’s status quo, let’s just agree to disagree and put an end to this thread. This will be my last post on this matter.

Since your initial post didn't mention anything other than you being upset with Newmar not calling you back on the awning issue, I assumed that was your only gripe. Perhaps you should have mentioned those three other issues.

PanJH · 05-21-2021, 07:01 AM

My dometic awning also deployed while driving during the first week of ownership. Investigation found newmar did not hook up the ignition interlock. Might have been the same issue on your girard.
I've found that customer support at newmar is hot or miss. Sometimes you get great phone support, other times, not. Email support has been essentially non-existent. Never get a response.
I believe it all starts at the top. In 2013 after our coach had been in service for over 6 months of the first year of ownership, I wrote Matt Miller.... sent certified, return receipt. I got teh return receipt but never got a response. I called and was told someone would get back to me... that never happened, not even a contact from a delegate. If the "leader" doesn't care about his customers, you can't expect the staff to be any different.

wildtoad · 05-21-2021, 07:13 AM

I’m not sure I see a “going off the rails” kind of issue here. You notified both companies that you had a problem. Those two companies communicated and determined the awning company would take ownership and they in turn contacted you to get things resolved to your satisfaction. Seem like a smooth service transaction.

mbutts · 05-21-2021, 08:20 AM

I fully agree with the OP. It would be really nice if the manufacturer acted like they appreciated that you spent the equivalent of a medium-sized house on their product.

However, unemployment in RV manufacturing areas of Indiana has been essentially zero for years now. There simply isn't anyone available to hire anymore.

My guess is that manufacturers will address the problem by offshoring the phone centers & we'll get the joy of the language barrier to add to the frustration.

pilotspike · 05-21-2021, 08:33 AM

So, The companies worked together, identified the party to take care of your issues, and are fixing it, and the problem is what?

I think people are getting confused between the ideas of concierge service and being able to call the company for support issues. Very different things. If we truly wanted 24/7 technical support with perfect communication, etc, quite frankly Id expect to have to pay for that. Especially for any coach out of warranty.

Matter of fact, thats likely a business opportunity to Newmar.

J

Newmar has been nothing but outstanding.

pilotspike · 05-21-2021, 08:35 AM

And just to tie onto that, my personal experience has been that in general Newmar has been fantastic for customer service. Both on phone support and in person.

No, they dont make everything goldilocks the first time every time, but they are consummate professionals who have taken care of me, above and beyond, numerous times.

J

USMCRET · 05-21-2021, 08:41 AM

I don’t think TJ is confused about anything. I also spent time in the customer relations arena and it was never excusable to leave an open loop with a customer, regardless of what communication occurred beyond the customer’s ears. It’s good form to follow up and ensure the customer is happy. It sends a powerful message.

amosnandy · 05-21-2021, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winepress

New corporate owners, new corporate direction. I think most saw this coming. On the other hand, Thor who bought Entegra seem to be leaving it alone. Hope Newmar can rally up to their previous reputation but I am doubtful as Winnebago is not at the top of quality to begin with.

I disagree with your comment on Winnebago. I'm a new owner of a 2006 Journey and just took it to the factory service center, unscheduled. The were full but managed to fit me in with a drop-off appointment. They have been in constant contact with me, and yes, it's been there 2 weeks, but they answer all my questions, even before I took it in, the connected me with technical support that knew what they were talking about, made Arrangements with CDI (their paint shop) to get some paint work done while waiting for parts and I could not be more pleased with them.

Only thing left is a slide out awning they are waiting on fabric and that is out of their control.

They have explained everything and answered every question.

As for emergency weekend help, I've not used but every body deserves days off. The guys and gals that know their stuff know they can work a Monday through Friday job.

When we call we think we are the most important person in the world, for a problem that happens on Sunday that can really wait till Monday.