Lack of dealer support and Heartland's inability/unwillingness to deal with it

StevieWonder

Well-known member
I bought a 2013 BigHorn 3570RS in the first few days of December, 2012 ... just over 3 months ago.

Multiple warranty issues including a bad living room TV (Sony), cracked bottom in the fiberglass shower pan, pocket door for bathroom where the hardware for retaining the door open during travel was ripped out of the door rendering the door beyond repair, porch light that never worked, rips in the backs of both recliners from being transported from the factory without being properly secured/protected, a folding chair for the dinette that collapsed the first time someone sat on it and a smattering of other smaller issues.

The pocket door was allegedly ordered the day the trailer was delivered. A month later, no news on availability as per the dealer. At the end of January, on the third call, the door was supposedly ordered. A call to Heartland revealed the door had never been ordered and was then ordered that same day. The service manager at the dealer admitted that he had lied about ordering the door because he forgot about it (two times apparently). I take the rig into the dealer for this same service manager to look at the unit, assess the issues and order the replacement parts necessary to make the trailer right. We have a very civil heart-to-heart where I tell him that I've owned multiple businesses and people make mistakes; that the lie was worse than the failure to order the part because now my trust is damaged. He agrees, states he's sorry and will jump right on it. We take photos for warranty verification purposes. We shake hands and depart on a friendly basis thinking we are now on track.

Three weeks later a call to Heartland reveals the parts once again have never been ordered. The service manager states that they had an RV show and an outdoor show and had been really busy. Verse 2 of the same song. Apparently potential new buyers are more important than actual existing buyers.

So I go to the dealership again, in person, to try to rectify the issues and get the ball rolling ... 3 months of ownership and not one single warranty item has been addressed. Heartland goes Pontius Pilate on me and washes their hands stating that they have no control over the dealership while advising me that other BigHorn (not Heartland, but BigHorn) dealers are not obligated to perform any warranty work. Then they further tell me they have no leverage (such as pulling a dealership if the dealer doesn't comply with warranty work).

So I buy a Chevy at a considerably lower price but I can get warranty work at any Chevy dealer in the country. GM will yank a dealership if they think a dealer is damaging the Chevy brand by refusing to do warranty work. But not Heartland, where apparently the attitude is that "we just make 'em and ship 'em, after that you're on your own ... sorry, but there's nothing we can do with our dealers".

I'm a short time and maybe one more phone call away. That is not my preference nor my choice, but I'm about out of alternatives if Heartland can't at least provide leverage and exercise some rational control over its dealers.
 
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wrgrs50s

Well-known member
Hopefully your post will get the attention of someone who can step up and offer you some relief. I read so many posts of persons praising Heartland for taking care of the customer, but for the ones they drop the ball on it's really discouraging. I have had my share of dissapointments with Heartland and the dealers, but no need to go there. Just hoping to hear back that someone has stepped up to help you. We all understand your frustration. Hang in there !!!
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi StevieWonder,

It sounds like you want Heartland to either force this dealer to do better, under threat of pulling Heartland's business. Here's a thought. Heartland might ultimately pull their business, but even if they do, it's not likely to help you get your trailer fixed in the short run.

A lot of people like Ron Hoover RV in the Houston area and have had very good experience with them. A bunch of us met their Houston General Manager, Joe French, and one of their master techs at last year's rally in Spring, TX. They have a great attitude about customer service and I'm sure they'd take care of your warranty problems.

And if it happens that you've been dealing with the service manager at Ron Hoover RV, I'd suggest you speak with Joe French and ask him if he would be willing to personally oversee getting your repairs done correctly and expeditiously.
 

StevieWonder

Well-known member
I appreciate the enouragement and support. I did visit with Heartland about Ron Hoover. They may or may not do it because they are not a BigHorn dealer and are not required by Heartland to (1) do warranty service on a unit they didn't sell, and (2) do warranty service on a line of Heartland they don't carry as a dealer.

They do sell other Heartland models (I had a lengthy consideration of a Heartland Big Country before I elected to go for the BigHorn). Under Heartland's rather bizarre dealership model, Heartland dealers pick and choose which models they elect to carry. It would be as if you went to a Chevy dealer and they said "we don't carry Chevy Silverado or Impala, all we carry is Corvette and Tahoe".

So, at least for now, I am in limbo with this Houston BigHorn dealer.
 

wdk450

Well-known member
Stevie Wonder:
It is really sad to hear about poor service from Heartland dealers. The good news is that you can take your warranty issues to ANY RV servicer of your own choosing, call Heartland Service to get their authorization, and get your repairs done. I would suggest you find a local INDEPENDENT RV repairer, either from a list that Heartland Service keeps, or consulting RVServiceReviews.com online. An independent RV repairer relies on repair work only (not sales profits) to keep his business going. He depends on satisfied customers and word of mouth for continuing business. Also, he doesn't get paid until the job is done, so he has incentive to get the job done as quickly as possible.

I would also make the time to post your experience with the Heartland Dealer on RVServiceReviews.com.

I would advise all prospective buyers to check out their selling dealer on RVServiceReviews.com and put this into their factoring of which dealer to buy from.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
I did visit with Heartland about Ron Hoover. They may or may not do it because they are not a BigHorn dealer and are not required by Heartland to (1) do warranty service on a unit they didn't sell, and (2) do warranty service on a line of Heartland they don't carry as a dealer.
I'd suggest calling Joe French at Ron Hoover and explaining the situation. My bet is that he'll be very sympathetic and helpful.
 

StevieWonder

Well-known member
I'm going to give these guys a chance to redeem themselves. If that fails I will move to other options. They are on a very short leash at this point.
 

aatauses

Well-known member
I am sorry you are having issues with your new investment. I have had issues with dealers, but I can only praise HL corp. for their great customer service, from receptionist/admin, to a VP and all in betweeen. Hopefully, the suggestion from Dan will work out for you. After you get this all settled I think you will enjoy your BH.
al
currently in Kenai, AK
 

StevieWonder

Well-known member
Just off the phone with the contact at the dealership. The current story is that all the items have been ordered and will arrive within the next two weeks and that they will schedule me in for a priority warranty service appointment at that time.

Now we will see if this story, unlike the other prior stories, actually comes true. I'll keep you posted.
 

kowAlski631

Well-known member
We had a few items needing warranty work and had absolutely no issues. It's really hard for us to understand why both the dealer & Heartland have not been responsive to your issues. I could understand one, but not both. That's what's confusing. I'm sure everyone would like to know the end of your story.

Martha
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Martha, heres the deal. HL will not send parts to anyone withour pics to prove whats wrong. That is stated in the warrenty. That would be like me calling a dealer and telling my engine went bad and send me a new one. Even Steve understands that that wont happen...EVER. You take the vehicle to the dealer, they inspect it and fix as needed. Thats the dealer responsibilty or the owner having the problem can do it they wish to. Steve, comparing Chevy dealers to RV dealer is "oranges and apples". That leverage does not exit. It has happened to a dealer here in Socal....but. I have not heard of many.
 

way2old

Member
Stevie Wonder:
Snip/way2old The good news is that you can take your warranty issues to ANY RV servicer of your own choosing, call Heartland Service to get their authorization, and get your repairs done. I would suggest you find a local INDEPENDENT RV repairer, either from a list that Heartland Service keeps, or consulting RVServiceReviews.com online. An independent RV repairer relies on repair work only (not sales profits) to keep his business going. He depends on satisfied customers and word of mouth for continuing business. Also, he doesn't get paid until the job is done, so he has incentive to get the job done as quickly as possible.

I would also make the time to post your experience with the Heartland Dealer on RVServiceReviews.com.

I would advise all prospective buyers to check out their selling dealer on RVServiceReviews.com and put this into their factoring of which dealer to buy from.


That is good advise, buttttt why is it not part of the Heartland Customer Services process to advise owners that have complaints like this that they have the option to have "ANY RV servicer of your own choosing" when the customer is on the phone already talking to them/Heartland Service before getting their authorization"?
 

kkamshop

Well-known member
That is good advise, buttttt why is it not part of the Heartland Customer Services process to advise owners that have complaints like this that they have the option to have "ANY RV servicer of your own choosing" when the customer is on the phone already talking to them/Heartland Service before getting their authorization"?

I can't say in this particular case, but early in our ownership we had some work done at a dealer which was not done to our (or Heartland's) satisfaction. We asked to go to another dealer - we were asked by Heartland service to return to the first dealer for this issue because they were going to ask the dealer to make it right without paying more in warranty service. If we had gone to a different dealer, Heartland would have been paying twice for the same repair.
 

dave10a

Well-known member
I too have had a bad dealer experience, but Heartland did help by sending me the parts and I installed them sending to failed part back to Heartland for credit. Heartland will also honor warranty to allow other service organizations to perform the work. Heartland is interested in selling RV's and are not about to step on any dealers toes, but they will work with you personally. So do not expect them to act like an automobile manufacturer that has better control of dealers. Also, remember this forum is a Heartland owners forum that is very supportive of Heartland products regardless of how you may have been treated.
 

way2old

Member
I can't say in this particular case, but early in our ownership we had some work done at a dealer which was not done to our (or Heartland's) satisfaction. We asked to go to another dealer - we were asked by Heartland service to return to the first dealer for this issue because they were going to ask the dealer to make it right without paying more in warranty service. If we had gone to a different dealer, Heartland would have been paying twice for the same repair.

Hello

Two completely diff matters in my view.

First post in the first post starting this thread .......the owner went back to the same dealer multiple times to have the same repairs completed .....called Heartland multiple times and at no time did Heartland Customer Services advise him in these discussions that there was an option to have any RV servicer do repairs that were pre-approved by Heartlands..........so not mentioning this option to the owner was a procedure/process error by Heartland Services.

Now in your case the repair actually attempted once by a dealer with no success and if you went to another dealer and Heartland actually paid for the same repair twice............this was simply another company procedure/process error by Heartland Services which should not be happening with any company paying dealers to do repairs.

This all assumes I understand both circumstances......and admittedly I often can not do with just one matter, but in the end I think Heartland based on what I have read that Heartland has good customer service, but as we all know with humans involved anything can and will happen

Thanks for your reply


Mike
 

JanAndBill

Well-known member
I too have had a bad dealer experience, but Heartland did help by sending me the parts and I installed them sending to failed part back to Heartland for credit. Heartland will also honor warranty to allow other service organizations to perform the work. Heartland is interested in selling RV's and are not about to step on any dealers toes, but they will work with you personally. So do not expect them to act like an automobile manufacturer that has better control of dealers. Also, remember this forum is a Heartland owners forum that is very supportive of Heartland products regardless of how you may have been treated.

I know this is probably getting off track on thread, but I've made this comment before. We the people that "BUY" the products, tend to associate quality with the experience with the dealer, because in most cases they are the first people we deal with. While RV dealers and automotive dealers may be different, it is still in the manufacturer's best interests that their ultimate buyers have a good experence.
 

StevieWonder

Well-known member
Just to be clear, I have not asked Heartland about non-BigHorn dealer support. I only asked about approved BigHorn approved dealers. Just wanted to make sure that everybody understood that Heartland hasn't stiff-armed me. They only indicated that they have no true control and little influence over their dealers regarding warranty support/performance. I still don't understand the logic of a business model that doesn't give the manufacturer some direct influence in warranty related repair issues. The only thing I can say is that it was apparent Heartland did not want to jeopardize the dealer's ability to sell new product and they were not at all interested in tieing warranty support performance in as a condition of a non-compliant dealer retaining the ability to sell Heartland product.

IF the dealer folds up this last time, then I will touch base with Heartland to figure out where to go and what to do to reach a solution.
 

dave10a

Well-known member
I still don't understand the logic of a business model that doesn't give the manufacturer some direct influence in warranty related repair issues. The only thing I can say is that it was apparent Heartland did not want to jeopardize the dealer's ability to sell new product and they were not at all interested in toeing warranty support performance in as a condition of a non-compliant dealer retaining the ability to sell Heartland product.

IF the dealer folds up this last time, then I will touch base with Heartland to figure out where to go and what to do to reach a solution.

The business model is to sell sell sell and sell. That means to not p--- off any dealer because they sell stuff-- I think manufacturers call that building good dealer/manufacturer relations. Remember most dealers sell many different brands at the same facility and the manufacturers want priority for their stuff. It is up to the buyer to figure out the best dealer and brand. Unfortunately the buyer is at a disadvantage---- unless they are very good at investigation and negotiating which most people are poor. so "buyer be ware" :))
 

StevieWonder

Well-known member
The problem with that business model is that eventually you anger enough people that you preclude repeat buyers and the reputation spreads to affect potential new buyers until finally there aren't enough buyers to keep the doors open. The idea that there is an endless supply of buyers no matter how you treat your customers (or your dealers treat your customers) has been repeatedly proven to be the pathway to doom. From the customer's perspective, the dealer is the manufacturer's representative and a bad dealer poisons the manufacturer whether you're making RVs or coffee makers. The part of the model I don't understand is the part where the dealer is essentially autonomous from the manufacturer; that the manufacturer has no control over the quality of dealer experience. As a manufacturer, I don't want to micromanage the dealership, but I want some degree of consistency so a bad dealer or dealers can't wreck my reputation as a dealer, e.g. "those guys make a great trailer but the dealers are awful so you need to buy X brand".
 

sengli

Well-known member
So did you buy your coach from this same dealership, you are trying to get the warranty work done at?
 
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