jrzygrl64
Active Member
I just returned from having repairs done at Precision Painting (who does all Heartland painting) and also some warranty work done at Heartland. Overall, we are very happy with the results but the process could have gone smoother. Let me start at the beginning.
We needed to have some body work done on our rig. I called our dealer, Crossroads Trailers in NJ, and asked them where to go. They told me who did their repair work in NJ (we were in eastern PA) but strongly suggested we consider taking it to Elkhart IN to Precision where it was originally painted (I should mention at this point that we have a Landmark with Chocolate full body paint). After much consideration, we decided to follow the dealers advice and drive the 600+ (each way)miles to have the repairs done. We had an insurance adjuster do an estimate which included at least 20 pictures of the damaged areas, which he forwarded to Paul at Precision Painting. We scheduled the repair for Monday Sept 29. I was told by Paul we would be out by Friday. We are full-timers with 3 pets, so having our home back ASAP was a huge priority. We booked a pet-friendly hotel for 4 nights.
We arrived on time and Paul came out and looked quickly at the rig. He had other rigs checking in and didn't spend a lot of time with us.
We had also arranged for John Hawkins from Heartland Customer Service to come to Precision to look at a spot of possible delamination and our slide topper that was not working properly. He gave Paul the go-ahead to repair the spot and said we should bring the rig to Heartland to have one of his techs look at the slide toppers.
To make what is becoming a long story a bit shorter, work on our rig didn't even get started until late Wednesday. This was because parts had not been ordered. We were told this was b/c they do not order parts until the rig arrives and Paul does his own estimate. He did his estimate from pics his receptionist took b/c we had taken the rig to Heartland after we were told he wouldn't start it until the next day. I don't understand why the pics and very detailed and thorough estimate my insurance adjuster did wasn't enough to get obvious parts ordered. We did not get our home back and ended up spending Friday thru Monday night in the rig in the shop. Monday and Tuesday we had to be out very early so they could work on the rig. Our 2 cats had to spend both days in their crates in the truck, and also our dog. Thankfully it was not hot at all and we didn't feel too bad leaving them in the truck while we did a bit of sightseeing. It was difficult staying in the rig while in the shop and on the lot. They do have electric and a dump station that was blocked by "preferred" customers. We had gotten the hotel to avoid all that.
I do want you to understand that Paul, in the end, made it right for us, helping us out with the final costs, offering us consideration for the inconvinence. My hope in writing this short novel is that others can learn to ask more detailed questions, like "when will parts be ordered" etc. If we had done that, our expectations might have been more realistic. I also want to state very clearly that the guys who did the work did an excellent job - we could not be happier with the result. We actually got small glimpses of them at work - they are true craftsman that take pride in their work and it shows.
When we were finally able to bring the rig to Heartland - what a completely different experience. John Hawkins and his tech, also John, were ready for us with all they needed right there. John Hawkins communicated with our dealer to have the slide awnings replaced (the dealer installed the incorrect ones and they were not working right and damaging our trim). They also did a few minor adjustments inside. It was a great experience dealing with Heartland. I would not hesitate to bring my home back there again if need be.
Thanks for letting me share this experience with you, I hope it might help someone in the future.
Kelly
We needed to have some body work done on our rig. I called our dealer, Crossroads Trailers in NJ, and asked them where to go. They told me who did their repair work in NJ (we were in eastern PA) but strongly suggested we consider taking it to Elkhart IN to Precision where it was originally painted (I should mention at this point that we have a Landmark with Chocolate full body paint). After much consideration, we decided to follow the dealers advice and drive the 600+ (each way)miles to have the repairs done. We had an insurance adjuster do an estimate which included at least 20 pictures of the damaged areas, which he forwarded to Paul at Precision Painting. We scheduled the repair for Monday Sept 29. I was told by Paul we would be out by Friday. We are full-timers with 3 pets, so having our home back ASAP was a huge priority. We booked a pet-friendly hotel for 4 nights.
We arrived on time and Paul came out and looked quickly at the rig. He had other rigs checking in and didn't spend a lot of time with us.
We had also arranged for John Hawkins from Heartland Customer Service to come to Precision to look at a spot of possible delamination and our slide topper that was not working properly. He gave Paul the go-ahead to repair the spot and said we should bring the rig to Heartland to have one of his techs look at the slide toppers.
To make what is becoming a long story a bit shorter, work on our rig didn't even get started until late Wednesday. This was because parts had not been ordered. We were told this was b/c they do not order parts until the rig arrives and Paul does his own estimate. He did his estimate from pics his receptionist took b/c we had taken the rig to Heartland after we were told he wouldn't start it until the next day. I don't understand why the pics and very detailed and thorough estimate my insurance adjuster did wasn't enough to get obvious parts ordered. We did not get our home back and ended up spending Friday thru Monday night in the rig in the shop. Monday and Tuesday we had to be out very early so they could work on the rig. Our 2 cats had to spend both days in their crates in the truck, and also our dog. Thankfully it was not hot at all and we didn't feel too bad leaving them in the truck while we did a bit of sightseeing. It was difficult staying in the rig while in the shop and on the lot. They do have electric and a dump station that was blocked by "preferred" customers. We had gotten the hotel to avoid all that.
I do want you to understand that Paul, in the end, made it right for us, helping us out with the final costs, offering us consideration for the inconvinence. My hope in writing this short novel is that others can learn to ask more detailed questions, like "when will parts be ordered" etc. If we had done that, our expectations might have been more realistic. I also want to state very clearly that the guys who did the work did an excellent job - we could not be happier with the result. We actually got small glimpses of them at work - they are true craftsman that take pride in their work and it shows.
When we were finally able to bring the rig to Heartland - what a completely different experience. John Hawkins and his tech, also John, were ready for us with all they needed right there. John Hawkins communicated with our dealer to have the slide awnings replaced (the dealer installed the incorrect ones and they were not working right and damaging our trim). They also did a few minor adjustments inside. It was a great experience dealing with Heartland. I would not hesitate to bring my home back there again if need be.
Thanks for letting me share this experience with you, I hope it might help someone in the future.
Kelly
