A Good Day with Customer Service.

[jlb27537]

It started with are my steps under recall? Got a guy that has been a Customer Service/NOT rep for 3 months. Gave him my VIN, Nope you are not on the recall. After 20 minutes with this young gentleman, I decided I needed to hang up and take a heart pill or have a large adult beverage. I chose the latter.

I then filed a complaint with the NHTSA and with in about 20 minutes got a call about my steps. We determined that my VIN was indeed involved in the recall.

I then called back to Keystone Customer Service/NOT and got the same gentleman. His voice sounded familiar, but he did remember me. After pulling up my VIN it came back to him. After a few minutes it was obvious he was way over his head.

I asked to speak to someone else.

After close to 20 minutes on hold a gentleman, whose name has been mentioned on the forum came on the line. We had a nice conversation and I expressed my concerns.

I was asked to contact a "Dealer" and have them order the "recall kit" for my steps. We'll see how that goes tomorrow.

The Emergency Window Latch that is going on for months is a different issue. They are going to contact the dealer and try and determine why it has taken so long to get a part.

The gentleman I spoke with has the wheel base to make something happen, I hope he does.

PS: He said he does read the forum on a regular basis, so he is aware of the folks with "issues". But actions speak "volumes"

Jim

[1retired06]

Not a customer oriented responsive conversation with Keystone. Unfortunate. "Recall kit" is a handful of bolts.

[DQDick]

Keystone keeps saying they don't want that to happen, but it doesn't seem anyone is monitoring what happens when someone calls in.

[richfaa]

Remember the service center now has the responsibility for both Keystone and Dutchman lines.That is a huge number of models and employees had to be added.It would not be reasonable for us to expect a individual service center rep to be knowledgeable on all models of both brands. There are many new faces at the service center.We have had conversations with those in a position of authority at the service center and they do understand the issues related with rapid expansion and are attempting to resolve them.

[Irlpguy]

quote:Originally posted by richfaa

Remember the service center now has the responsibility for both Keystone and Dutchman lines.That is a huge number of models and employees had to be added.It would not be reasonable for us to expect a individual service center rep to be knowledgeable on all models of both brands. There are many new faces at the service center.We have had conversations with those in a position of authority at the service center and they do understand the issues related with rapid expansion and are attempting to resolve them.

Rich we really must put blame where it belongs, the new additions to the Service Center are not brought in off the street and thrown into the fray without a trial/training period. They are instructed in how to deal with customer issues by someone who one would hope has worked there for a while. Perhaps that is the problem, these instructors teach new recruits a less than admirable way to deal with customers, they are taught pat responses to certain issues, so the problem is not the new additions it is how Keystone teaches them to deal with customer issues and those they seek advise from in order to respond to customers they are trying to assist.

My most recent contact with Keystone Customer Service was with a young lady who was on her very first day on her own, she had completed her 2 week training period and obviously was cleared to operate on her own. She was great, professional, not pretending to know something she did not know and after recording my complaint asked me to send in pictures of my roof.

I sent the pictures, and had a response in a just over a week, she quoted someone in the "service team" who had viewed the pictures and had determined my issue was due to temperature related expansion and contraction and was not a warrantable issue. After several days I sent another email to this young lady accompanied with one of the original pictures and thanked her for her assistance and assured her while there was no reflection on her I would prefer to be contacted directly by the named person on the Service Team. The main reason was to eliminate her from being a middle person because it was not her who had made the determination on my roof, and it might expedite my concerns.

This last email was sent 2 weeks ago and I have heard nothing from either this young lady or the Service Team person who made the assessment.

I don't blame her in the least, she did her job and did it admirably, I however definitely blame the process after this issue is out of her hands and this other person cannot find time to respond.

I was not expecting much help from Keystone and as with my microwave and axle issues they have lived up to my expectations. I will continue to pursue the issue but we must put the blame directly on the management and supervisors, not the new recruits.

In Jim's case he obviously got someone who was in way over his head as Jim indicated he felt was the case.

[richfaa]

The change over at the service center happend very quickly.The entire Dutchman brand had to be asorbed.One rally we knew most everyone the next rally big changeover. There are still reps there that are excellent and recently others who are learning and reading from a script.

All I am saying is we had conversations with the level of management responsible for the service center and they are fully aware of the problems and attempting to resolve them This was a huge organizational makeover with a lot of moving around in the organization and organizational changes. If it does not improve I will be ths first to post it.

[Irlpguy]

With all due respect Rich I would think that although the actual changeover happened quickly the knowledge that this was going to happen was not an overnight decision. Therefore upper management appears to have completely missed the boat in preparing for that changeover.
Although such a move will further affect all Customer Service, the opinion of many is that it was seriously lacking before this took place, that is not only my assessment but that of many Montana owners I have spoken to, most of which are not members of the MOC.

Try to view this from the perspective of the 80% or more Montana owners who have never attended a national rally, who are not a member of the MOC and therefore do not benefit from the knowledge of it's members, but without question encounter the same problems we do.

Those folks normally start with their dealer, if the dealer is unresponsive/uncaring, they may then make a call to Customer Service, often they will be told "oh we have never encountered that problem before" and many other statements to avoid accepting responsibility for their product, this from both dealers and Keystone. If these same folks don't have a really good dealer who is willing to go to bat for them, they are lost in a void like the Bermuda Triangle and are helpless to get anything done.

I don't expect any help from any members of the MOC, I have started a process and I will continue that process as if I did not know anyone's name that is in "management" that could assist me. By doing so I will darn well put Keystone's Customer Service to the test. I have not asked for a commitment from Keystone to repair my roof at this point, I am asking only it be assessed by the local dealer and that I be given the consideration of communicating with the person who determined my roof was "just fine" and was not a warrantable issue. I have put myself alongside the "other" 80% of owners, however unlike some I will not be fed garbage as to why my roof looks the way it does and it will be "just fine".

Jim I sure hope the promised call gets made and after this ridiculous length of time you get your answers and parts. Now I will also have one of those adult beverages.

[richfaa]

I do not disagree with you Ed. In my 40 years of work life in the same organization we experienced several organizational changes and have been involved in the planning in some of those changes. There is always a learning curve no matter how well it is planned.

We know enough about organizations and the Keystone organization that we can take care of ourselves. The MOC once a valuable resource but now is viewed as more negative than positive to report problems.

Just my opinion but it is clear to me that the service center has undergone many changes has rapidly expanded and the quality of service has degraded. I see this as a normal situation in large organizational change.My concern would be does the management team understand this and are they taking step to correct and improve. IMO they do understand and time will tell if they correct and improve.

No doubt there is a great advantage in attending the fall rally as you get to meet the management team and get a better understanding as to how the organizations works.Knowing how a organization works give one a better understanding of how to deal with it.

We have spent 4 months dealing with our two failed tanks. Phone calls, E mails.understanding the organization helped us deal with the issue and achieve a satisfactory solution.