ATF: MPG - I want answers about our new MPG 185!

My husband and I decided after several months of researching trailers that we liked what we saw in person, in photos and what we read in your 2011 brochure about on the MPG with the Platinum pkg. In February, we ordered an MPG 185 with the Platinum pkg from RV Wholesalers, but unfortunately, we did not get what we had specifically ordered!!! We drove all the way to WY this weekend (May 6th) to pick it up to save on shipping charges. When the driver arrived with it, right away we noticed the windows were NOT the same MPG windows that are shown in your brochure and on all the photos we have seen on the web, these were just plain square windows that slide open! Not the nice ones as shown in the brochure. When we went inside the trailer, we also noticed the flooring was NOT the upgraded (wood look) Beau Flooring that we were told it would come with in the platinum pkg, it was the same cheaper vinyl flooring that you put in your basic cheaper mpgs. and it also did not have the Day/Nite shades, just mini blinds! SO WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FACTORY IS WHAT I WANT TO KNOW??? It looked like only parts of the trailer were upgraded to the Platinum pkg and other parts of it was not. It did have the platinum color exterior, tank covers and two-toned raised cabinetry but that was all. I want what I ordered; the Platinum pkg with the upgraded Beau flooring, day/nite shades and the nicer windows that you can open even when its raining!!! I sent the driver back to Ohio with the trailer and wrote down all my grievances (and there were other problems as well) for him to take back to the owner at RV Wholesalers. I could not believe that it would even pass inspection at your factory let alone the dealership before it was delivered to me. Your new 2011 brochure offers all these features in your Platinum pkg and I watched your MPG video by Heartland and how heartland is proud of all it's great upgraded features so it just doesn't make any sense why I did not get all of those features in my new MPG. I want answers.

I'm sorry for the confusion but what you saw is the way the MPG is being built today. Sometimes things change from our suppliers that are out of the manufactures control. Suppliers run us out of windows, Microwaves, blinds etc... all the time.... The windows for instance were specially made windows that nobody uses and because of that, supplies have no extra stock, in case ships get held up from China. This happens alot, so we made the decision to switch windows. Again, I'm sorry for the confusion. The windows, blinds and flooring were all changed for different reasons....So please don't take it out on the dealer, they didn't know those 3 changes were being made.... Mike

So your telling me Heartland had downgraded the MPG Platinum Pkg! That info should have been passed down to the dealer and we the buyer should have been warned about that at the time we ordered it! The whole reason we went with your MPG instead of the R-Pod was specifically because of those nicer features. We wasted three months waiting for this trailer thinking we were going to get the same unit that is shown in your brochure and throughout the internet, including your own MPG video. We wasting time and money driving all the way to WY to get this thing that wasn't what we were told we had purchased. Our annual camping trip at the end of this month is also ruined. With these poor low grade changes, you guys had just given the MPG a death sentence.

Welcome to the "Running Line Changes" at Heartland.
We also got a few suprises when we went to pick up our special order.
I guess thats the advantage of buying from dealer stock...what you see is what you get

Very true Riverman! and Mcreech, the dealer should have had the decency to inform me of these huge changes once they received it and definitely before they shipped it out! I had been emailing them for the past several weeks to make sure everything was as ordered and they did not respond. We ordered our first trailer from RVW back in 2008 and everything went well. I guess now they just got too big and careless. I put the blame on RVW for having such poor customer service. Never again will I order from them unless they are able to make this right and give me exactly what I ordered but I guess that won't happen according to Heartland. I will definitely be passing on that info to all our military friends who are looking to buy a new trailer.

I think this unfortunate situation shows a possible downside of buying on-line and not seeing the unit before going to get it. If I were to do it again, it strikes me that it would be a good idea to ask the dealer for a series of pictures, inside and out, to show it's what was ordered.

My impression of Heartland has been it is a company that tries to have great customer service.

As a VP of a company, we are always reviewing our processes so at the end of the day we do not have angry clients.

I would be curious to know that when Heartland received the custom order and knew that items had been downgraded (or the perception of being a cheaper quality), when did Heartland contact the dealer or the customer directly to notify them of the change. Well we know the answer. It did not happen.

I feel bad for the author of this post as such a simple notification could have gone a long way.

I do not think the customer should have to think "hey, send me photos of what you build just so I can make sure you did your job properly."

Finally a question for the author: Has anyone from Heartland called you personally or are you just getting a "I'm sorry" posting in the forum?

-Bruce

Well no, you shouldn't have to ask for photos but I know in my case it would have been a reasonable idea before hopping in the truck and driving 10-12 hours. As they said on X-Files, "trust no one".

Geodude, unfortunately I agree with your reference to "trust no one." I say "unfortunately" because isn't it a shame that we end up with the attitude of "I expect you will not do your job correctly?"

After seeing her their experience, I would now ask. And that's sad.

I am thankful that I did not have to go through the same experience when I purchased my latest trailer last month.

Maybe "trust" or lack of is too strong. Perhaps "confidence" is a better way to look at it. I say that because in my own case I got answers along the way that gave me the confidence that I would get what I ordered, so I had no problems in my own mind setting off on a 12 hour, one hotel stop trip. I am sure it would have been different had my confidence not been in that happy place.

So does anyone have pictures as to what the windows or cosmetic changes look like now? I am also looking to order either a 183 or 186T and wondering if I would have the same issue. I am up in the Northwest and none of the dealers up here have the specific combination of options that I am looking for, so was really hoping I could have one built rather than settle for something that is just not quite what I want.

Happiecamper, I'm sorry you feel that we down graded the MPG platinum Pkg. I wouldnt agree with the statement downgraded. Changing the style of window from angled to stright isn't a downgrade to the window and changing the wood plank Lino to a tile look Lino is not a down grade either...I understand that you personally like the other look better but he materials are the same quality.... As someone mentioned already, running line changes happen in this business all the time at least in my 14 year experiences. Again, I'm sorry for the confusion. Mike

You can always tell them to take the MPG and keep it if it is not what you ordered you don't have to take it. I have ordered one new RV in the 30+ years of Rving and was lucky the Newmar we had was just like we ordered it. The rest of the RV's we had was on the dealers lot. Good Luck

Mcreech said:

Happiecamper, I'm sorry you feel that we down graded the MPG platinum Pkg. I wouldnt agree with the statement downgraded. Changing the style of window from angled to stright isn't a downgrade to the window and changing the wood plank Lino to a tile look Lino is not a down grade either...I understand that you personally like the other look better but he materials are the same quality.... As someone mentioned already, running line changes happen in this business all the time at least in my 14 year experiences. Again, I'm sorry for the confusion. Mike

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As the customer who thought they were buying all the nice features that were shown in the brochure and on Heartland's MPG video, the unexpected changes certainly were downgrades. The windows were obviously cheaper, the flooring was the same flooring you are putting in your lower grade model units even though I was told by my sales person that I would be getting the "special" Beau Flooring , and you replaced the nite shades with mini blinds, again just like what you are putting your new basic model units. So in my view and my husbands as customers from what we originally saw and thought we were getting to what they delivered to us were most definitely downgrades, or would you prefer I say very poor changes! I should have been contacted by the dealer to see if I would still want it, or have been offered a discount on the price!!!

jpdoggett said:

You can always tell them to take the MPG and keep it if it is not what you ordered you don't have to take it. I have ordered one new RV in the 30+ years of Rving and was lucky the Newmar we had was just like we ordered it. The rest of the RV's we had was on the dealers lot. Good Luck

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We did just that, the driver offered to take it back if we were not satisfied. He said it wouldn't be the first time he would have to return a trailer. He also said if he were us, he wouldn't have even bothered looking inside after seeing the damaged/missing heating pads. He tried calling the owner of the dealership (RV Wholesalers) first to let him know but the guy never called him back so he just took it, along with our statement of why were were returning it. (Did I also mention the delivery was on Sunday, Mothers Day and we drove to WY to pick it up?) A few days later I then had to deploy with the Red Cross down South for the floods and at the same time my husband who is military had to also deploy out of the country. Since I didn't hear back, I decided to email the owner, (since he never accepts phone calls from customers), to see if he would be able to get us the one we wanted and he said "no" and that "this was the end of it, and for us to never contact them again". When we emailed him back to request our $1000 deposit back, he said we would not be getting that back because there was no driver damage to the unit and also because we did not call him before it was sent back. BULLSH#T! I reminded him that when the driver first pulled up with the trailer, one of the heating pads and wiring were dragging on the ground and the other one flew off in transit. The driver tried to duck tape it back on without success. My husband and I consider this to qualify as "driver damage" because this happened during transit. The driver told us that RVW waited till the last minute to install them and glued them on right before he took off with it. I also told him we did have the driver call the owner directly before he left but there was no answer nor did he return his call while we waited. Anyway, when I called my credit card company to file a complaint I also found out that they had charged our card another $3950 without our authorization!!! Both my husband and I were away from home at that time and extremely upset. I did save all my original emails that asked them to please call us before delivery because we wanted to make sure that it would be delivered with everything we ordered and as we expected and they never bothered to inform me of these changes. I don't think they are going to win this one.

One more thing, I think I had already mentioned that we had once before purchased a trailer from RVW back in 2008 and everything went well, we even referred a friend to them and their experience went well too. Now, according to their driver, they have now gotten way too big and careless and this has resulted in very poor customer service. They are no longer customer friendly. Our experience is living proof of this . Before we ordered, they would email us instantly and return our calls to answer questions right away, but once they got our deposit and order, they rarely replied to our emails and sometimes not reply at all, nor did they return our multiple calls. This whole ordeal has ruined our annual Memorial Day weekend camping trip with our friends. I wouldn't even recommend this company to my worst enemy now.

Geodude said:

Well no, you shouldn't have to ask for photos but I know in my case it would have been a reasonable idea before hopping in the truck and driving 10-12 hours. As they said on X-Files, "trust no one".

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Yes, I wish I had asked them for photos, but I never expected to not get what was in the brochure and to this extent.

Shawnrv said:

So does anyone have pictures as to what the windows or cosmetic changes look like now? I am also looking to order either a 183 or 186T and wondering if I would have the same issue. I am up in the Northwest and none of the dealers up here have the specific combination of options that I am looking for, so was really hoping I could have one built rather than settle for something that is just not quite what I want.

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You will no longer get what is shown in the brochure or on Heartlands MPG video! I would see if your dealer has one on the lot that was made before the changes.

I have purchased 3 different new campers over the internet. I've always had them e mail me pics of the unit I was buying, no problems yet.

Steve

caokgafamily said:

I have purchased 3 different new campers over the internet. I've always had them e mail me pics of the unit I was buying, no problems yet.

Steve

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Steve, I agree that this was smart of you. I wish I had done that, but I don't think they would have sent me pics even if I asked, because they barely replied to my emails or returned my calls when I asked for updates and for them to contact me to make sure that everything was good to go before they delivered it.

I may add here that Rvwholesalers are also a mess to order parts from if you need to do any kind of return. They give you a hard time, make you do all the work, and charge you extra for it.