Dear Bob Olson, Chairman, CEO, and President of Winnebago Industries,
We have been a loyal Winnebago customers since 2006. Our first coach was a 2003 Sightseer and we had such good luck with our used coach we special ordered this coach in March of this year and took delivery of our new coach on May 19 of this year. We knew up front that we would have bugs to work out in the first year and if you run our VIN number you will see we had our fair share in the first four months of service. That said, we are still loyal customers and I just got sworn in as Vice President of our WIT club. The reason for this email to you is that we are part of the baby boomer generation, your future customers. We are the youngest of our club at 52; with our kids through college and on their own, and with our house paid for we bit the bullet and ordered our new coach.
The problem with more of us younger boomers is your warranty is only 12 months. I think you would sell more coaches to us younger customers if you would give a longer warranty. With the way the economy has been, a lot of people have had to postpone their retirement and keep working. I am still working and we live in Ohio. So from November 1st until April 1st we have to put our brand new coach in storage in a building at our local fairgrounds. In essence, we lose 5 months of warranty.
I think that if you want to grow your business with our age group you need to have a storage option like GMAC Insurance. They allow us to put our coach in storage mode and just keep fire and theft until spring when we get it out storage. You could require proof that our coach is in storage or out of service.
This is the letter I sent to him but Customer service got it. I think you should be able to talk or email him and not have Customer service determine what he sees. I wonder how many good ideas that he gets but never sees because some one thinks it is not worth his time.
Wow! After reading all of this, I'm so glad that I bought a 10 year old MH, which so far has been quite good. Sorry to hear all your troubles. But once its all fixed, you'll eventually love it.
1998 Triple E F53 with 460 Ford
1995 Jeep Wrangler toad
I agree there should be a longer warranty for the hundreds of thousands we pay for Winnebago products. Why do we have to deal with all the problems during the first 12 months of service. (We northerners only have 6 months of warranty) I have been to Forest City,countless times,after I bought our new coach and have personally witnessed all the problems people have had with their new units and some of the aggravation they have to experience with customer service. I was a plant superintendent in a manufacturing facility and we had stringent "Quality Control" in place during the manufacturing process.
I believe if Winnebago had "Quality Control" in place and were committed to the quality phrase "DIRTFT" (do it right the first time) they would have a lot more satisfied customers and would definitely save money on service work. I have had the opportunity to talk to some of their employees in a non business environment and they stated the "Quality Control" they have has something to be desired. What they basically said that if there is a problem on the line that problem is ignored and they think it will be fixed at another work station. Winnebago should accept "Zero Defects" as a slogan for their manufacturing process and from their suppliers as well.
Quality starts with Bob Olsen and works its way down. Maybe that's why he didn't receive your letter but instead it went to customer service. Bob is probably to busy to talk to his customers and that is a "big mistake"
Its been stated on this thread that we have come to accept all the intiall problems we experience with new motorhomes. What is wrong with this thinking!!!!
I have 3 comments:
1. The issue with MAx AC closing all fan vents: As they say in the software industry, that's not a bug, that's a feature!
2. When my Chevrolet engine blew up at 50,000 miles, the factory rep told me, "that's what you get when you buy a Chevy". I haven't made the same mistake again.
3. I'd think seriously think about parking outside the Winnie plant with Lemon signs saying "I wish Winnie employees took pride in their work"
BTW, I've heard one reason the Lemon sign doesn't work well anymore is that the CC Lemon guy was running about 35,000 pounds overwight and most of his issues were weight related.
Looking for Free Wifi I noticed SSID " HRM_Police_Surveillance_Van_#2" Think it's safe to connect?
fulltime 6 months/year FMCA 368297
98 Beaver Marquis, one slide, CAT425HP, 2 stg Jake, Allison MD4060, Aquahot, 10KwOnan, 3Kw Xantrex, HWH Air Levelling
A very appropriate option for new MH sales would be an allowance to return it to the factory for a refit after 10 months or 10000 miles. Regardless of the brand,the quality workmanship is highly variable with each unit, components utilized are commercial grade and startup failures are rampant. My Mh is currently getting the factory recall implementation at 11 months and I think it is the best part of the purchase process. The recall is not a result of purchase negotiation but rather inoperable slideout, inoperable level jack, third doorway stair mechanism, stuck windows, topper that has blown out and been replaced twice and misc issues.
The alternative to a planned refit would be to value a one/two year old unit higher than a new one because the bugs would be worked out. Seriously.
oneolddog wrote: The whole industry needs a wake up call. The only way that will happen if the consumer's demand it. Start by stopping defending what you own no matter what brand it is. Just because it puts a smile on your face driving down the road and you love it some of the time does not make it a great RV. I cannot believe how many people will defend the manufacturer of their RV even if it clearly has problems.
I don't think you could compare the RV manufacturing industry to any other industry in the world. I wish the Japanese or German's would come up with something to bring the US manufacturer's to their knees so they would be forced to stop getting away with selling junk with no quality control.
All that being said I can hardly wait to get my next piece of junk so I can go travelling in it!
Adam
I agree. We sometimes are our own worst enemy.
X3
I have seen horrible product and service by Tiffin similar to what the OP states about Winnie and I suspect it is industry wide. Yet people get very upset and come to the defense of these various manufacturers. It makes no sense to me. I wish Honda opened an RV division. Japanese auto industry woke up Detroit and Detroit's product is a LOT better than it use to be.
The combination of cost and stories like these keeps me in my 20 year old motorhome. It's antiquated but, everything works and it's paid for. We were gonna move to a newer, or new motorhome next month but, have decided to keep driving the muppet bus.
I am so very sorry for your troubles with this motorhome. RV-ing should be pleasurable. That's what you paid for. That's what you should get.
Sorry to hear about your problems! I went thru the same in 2005. after the Texas Lemon Law adminstrator got thru, I received a brand new coach and a year later model, plus some $$$$. This did not make up for the year I lost while the lemon law was working.
Quality of a product is the responsibility of the PRESIDENT of the company. Start at the top and keep the pressure on---
the workers can only enforce his policies---if he does not care for a quality product, you will not get one.
At this point I have to stand up and say If you want full customer support, buy an Entegra!!!
The best quality, fit, finish and after sale support for 2 years+. Tour their plant and you will be amazed at the engineering customer detail that goes into everyone of their motorhomes.
The attitude of the service personnel is like nothing I have ever seen anywhere. I have been through a number of Monaco/Keystone/ Tiffin products and never have experienced the "bend over backwards" customer attitude like you'll find at Entegra.
On my entrance level coach, I've had everything repair or replaced without hesitation, they even pulled their own thorough Post Delivery inspection and fixed a number of item I wasn't aware of.
They moved/rebuilt the Amish built cabinets by request, without charge or challenge. They installed new inverter outlets, additional bathroom lighting, added a full slideout topper without charge, and a whole list of small items.
Entegra is the best! (and no, I don't work for them)
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It makes no sense to me. I wish Honda opened an RV division. Japanese auto industry woke up Detroit and Detroit's product is a LOT better than it use to be.
