Keystone Is Dishonest

[JandC]

Refresher: Our 2014 experienced the broken rear emergency window latch within the first 3 months while out on the road. Telephoned Keystone Customer Service and they said it was covered. They said I would have to take it to a "authorized" Montana dealer for repair. Told them we were in the middle of a long extended trip so they said they would "open a file" on the latch and we could get it repaired later.

Several months later while at a Montana dealer in central Illinois they attempted to order the emergency window latch and could not get one. Then, immediately prior to our warranty expiring we were back at our selling dealer (Lazy Days) and they ordered one.

After waiting for over 2 months the handle never came in. Filed a complaint with the National Traffic Safety folks. Right after that Lazy Days received a replacement latch. They sent me a photo and it was the long one with one mounting hole (wrong part). Then they received a full box of short replacement latch handles that seem to be the correct ones.

On at least three different occasions I talked with Keystone Customer Service about these emergency latch handles. They just told me what I wanted to hear and always indicated that notes were being entered into either "a" file or "my" file about my broken one.

Then after the investigation gets started on this matter I get a call from Keystone Customer Service and they are just so shocked that I have a broken emergency window latch handle. I confirmed with an email the next day just so I could prove what was actually said. Of course this is the first they have ever heard of my problems!

Good Morning Mr. Spidle,

Yes, that is correct, there is no order that was ever placed by any dealer for a window or window parts.
If we can get the window info and a picture of what they are requesting I will be able to advise on the part but I am unaware of any window latch that would not be available.


Jamie V. Salazar
Owner Relations

Here is my point to this extremely long post. They either never entered anything in the files, or they entered it and then once the investigation started they erased it. I will never correspond with Keystone Customer Service again verbally, everything will be in writing. In addition, I will never purchase another product from a company that treats their customers with such dishonesty. I am done.

[DQDick]

Unfortunately, if you go to a large national rally like the Escapee Rally in Tucson recently, you'll hear this said about many companies, dealers and types of rigs. You would think if you paid $400,000+ for a class A things would be different. Based on some of the stories, it isn't. I deal with almost everyone these days in writing and those that chat and allow the chat to be printed are my favorites. Dish and Verizon both have had to honor promises when I pointed out I had it in writing, so it's not just the high dollar folks trying to weasel out of what they should be doing.

[TLightning]

JandC...surely you kept a detailed log of names, dates, times, places and all actions that transpired (or what Keystone said transpired).

To say Keystone is dishonest is a rather harsh accusation unless you have documentation to back it up.

[richfaa]

Someone is not telling the truth. Dealers that ordered it would have the documentation that they did. Lazy days should have the order documentation. Keystone would have the order documentation/Simple lazy days orders the part and has the order documentation????, Keystone says it was never ordered. Case closed.

[JandC]

I can not speak for Four Winds actually ordering the part on my behalf, they simply got back to me and said it was not available. Which led me to believe that they had in fact attempted to order it. I know for a fact that Lazy Days ordered it and I can only assume since it was a warranty issue they ordered it from Keystone RV. I can only further assume that Keystone did in fact respond by sending them the wrong past last month because they (Lazy Days) did in fact receive the wrong part and sent me a photo of it.

I have only my word that I discussed my window issue with Keystone Customer Service on more than one occasion, and everyone here can take that for what they think it is worth.

You can believe that Keystone Customer Service would not be honest about this issue or not, but I know 100% that after they found out that an outside agency was looking into this matter as a safety issue they started playing stupid and represented to me that they had no idea there was an issue with these emergency handles breaking or that the parts have not been available for over a year.

I don't have a lot of experience with different types and brands of RV's. I guess the bottom line here is as a customer purchasing a product that costs over $70,000 I refuse to be treated like an idiot and lied to. If that is the "norm" then I want no part of it.

[richfaa]

We have shared some of you Experiences with both dealers and Keystone customer service. We learned long ago to get a copy of the order invoice from the dealer that ordered it. The dealer will have a Order number or a hard copy invoice. We have also learned to contact Keystone Customer service to confirm the part has been ordered.

We always tell the customer service rep to log our problem under our VIN number and when calling the Service center on any issue ask them to call up our VIN for reference. That has been working for us and at times I feel we should be working for the dealer or Keystone because we are doing their job but that is the way it is.

The service center has been undergoing a lot of change and that is no excuse for poor service but IMO the service is not what it once not so long ago. We have also seen IMO a Improvement as of late. Taking on Dutchman and the resulting management changes has taken its toll on customer service.

[mlh]

What ever happened to, I'm sorry this happened we are going to fix this for you. If I can treat my customers like that Keystone can to.
Lynwood

[Tom S.]

Whenever talking to someone about a warranty issue on the phone, always record who you spoke to, the date, time, and brief description of what was said. That's why I prefer email to phone calls, because it gives you a record with all that information and makes problems like this one disappear. This applies to every business you deal with.


BTW: I don't care for the title of this thread as there is no proof that Keystone is dishonest, but rather someone failed to record the original problem. To that person's defense, since they were told the OP would be taking the unit in for servicing in a few months, well within the warranty period, they may well have thought there was no need to record the issue. That's not dishonest, it's a judgment call that unfortunately didn't work out well.

[DarMar]

Of course from the info we have been given one or more customer service reps messed up and didn't do their jobs properly which leaves a very sour taste in one's mouth.

Certainly Keystone is not a dishonest company nor do they promote dishonesty but the actions of their employees does reflect on them. At the same time one cannot paint all employees nor the whole company by the actions of a few.

[Rondo]

Well said DarMar!!!

[1retired06]

Yup, well said

[Phil P]

I have been lied to by Keystone starting from the bottom up and the top down. When they were presented with the name of the fellow that refused me access to the service center and threatened with arrest if I went there and told I had to go to the selling dealer when I was in Shipshewana and the dealer was in Florida they told me that conversation was not in the record and the gentleman didn’t remember ever talking to me.

I have been Lied to Lied about and cheated by Keystone.

Then there is the issue of trying to get information that would help correct maintenance problems not warranty and they tell you the information isn’t available.

My previous RV was an SOB that I purchased use and was 10 years old when I needed help. The manufacturer provided all information and a person by phone that was extremely familiar with the unit.

Try getting this kind of help from any of the Thor companies.

Phil P

[richfaa]

As many may know we have had a few problems with both our Montana's over 9 years. We have talked to some great Customer service reps and some not so great. We did not always get our own way but we always had our issues resolved. Sometimes it was not easy and sometimes I had to bite my tongue or end the conversation. Perhaps it is just luck but we seem to be able to talk to the right people with the right knowledge to help us.

We have had 4 previous RV's all different brands and the only one that we had excellent customer service from was the worst Rv we ever owned....Coachman.

J&C and PhilP have had some terrible experiences with Keystone. I know both these guys and I fully believe what they have shared.