The Back of The New Motor Coach
(The below was written by Brenda on July 22 and I did not want her to post it was I did not want to make issues for Winnebago as we were trying to work with them. After what has now taken place, it feels so right to allow this post to be made. After all, they made her cry enough.)
Well…Yesterday would have been the day that we would have rolled into Forest City, Iowa to the WIT rally. That’s the Winnebago-Itasca Traveler’s Club to you who do not know.
Yup…we were supposed to be parked right up front so everyone could see our wonderful coach. Winnebago wanted us there to showcase our coach. David was going to shoot the rally with the quadcopter. Showcase our enthusiasm with living full-time in said coach at such a younger age than normal. Showcase the awesome custom paint job.
But alas, we had to leave the coach behind.
Refuse delivery of it because of all the Winnebago quality control issues.
That’s what it all boils down to anyway. Quality control.
You’re only as good as your employees. I don’t care if you make lollypops or million dollar coaches. Your employees are the people that make or break you. But we feel this has more to say about the corporation, than the employees themselves. For after all, they are trying to make a living. But they also should be concerned with what they are producing.
In this case, the employees and the lack of pride they took to put together the coach is what really got us. The carelessness. The lack of attention to detail. Now don’t get us wrong. I’m sure their are some good hard working employees at Winnebago. It also falls upon the shoulders of corporate. Wanting the employees to push push push. Get it done quickly so the next one can be started. Get them out as we have more to make.
You know you have a problem when our new motor coach was supposed to be delivered the first week in June, as it was ordered in March. Then the delivery date got pushed back to the 24th. Then it was pushed yet again. And then to receive the coach in the shape that it was in was just baffling. So…was this rushed to get out the door? I’m not so sure “rushed” is the correct word. I think the employees are overwhelmed by the increased productivity and the QC is showing it.
Increase productivity to the detriment of QC and the consumer. The “we’ll fix it later” corporate attitude. And I think you all can agree, a fixed coach is not the same as a well built right off the line coach.
In our humble opinion.
Yes, Winnebago has been getting lots of press as of late. They are growing exponentially. Their profit’s are way up. Their production has increased due to increased demand.
But at what cost? Well, the consumer cost and this can then end up hurting the company as the web is FAST and now the first place people go to research before spending.
The consumer suffers with a “less than” product. Just to increase production and profit. To push a product out the door. To make the numbers look good.
This is wrong. So wrong.
In our humble opinion.
We were not going to put our lives on hold any longer. Waiting for these items to be fixed. Items that should have been done correctly in the first place. Winnebago says the repairs could take weeks. So we did what anyone in our situation should do. We refused delivery of an inferior product.
We as consumers should not accept inferior products of any kind. Just to turn around and say, “Oh well, that’s the way it is”. This should never be “the way it is”. Manufacturers should step up and increase their QC and pride. Take more pride in “Made in America”.
But this will never happen. Manufacturers are more interested in profit over product it seems. (Some, not all mind you. Some actually do care.)
In our humble opinion.
Winnebago will have to take this coach back and fix what needs to be fixed. What should have never been let out the door in the first place. (How many inspectors let this out the door?)
However…this raises the question…
If we saw all this just on a quick walk through and not yet living in it, then what else has been missed and improperly installed that we have not found? What are we going to find while living in it? How can we be sure that what’s behind the walls, under the floor and in the ceiling are done correctly? We’ve only seen what’s been on the surface. And we are not impressed. Actually a little scared.
We have knots in our stomach. We’ve been excited for so long and now feel the rug has been yanked out from under us.
Everyone that has owned a coach knows, their is always a “shake down” period. Let’s face it, you are driving a house on wheels down the not so smooth US highway. Things will come loose. Things will happen. However, the things that were wrong on this coach, straight from the factory, go way beyond the typical “shake down” issues.
Don’t get me wrong. This is not our first class A, diesel pusher new coach purchase. We knew their were going to be issues. We went into this with our eyes wide open. We’ve gone through issues with our current coach. What we found however totally disappointed and shocked us and went way beyond.
What has happened here, we feel, is totally unacceptable and should never have happened.
We as consumers should demand better QC. Whether it be on a new motor coach or something else.
We certainly would have paid enough for the product. But in this case, I don’t care if you have a pop-up camper or a million dollar coach. You should expect things to work and be installed properly.
Right now, it seems Winnebago will be stepping up to the plate and fixing what needs to be fixed. As I would hope they would. We shall see as time goes on what that will en-tale. Will they be fixing things properly or slapping a band aid on the situation to get it out of the service area as quickly as possible, only for it to break further on down the road. Maybe we’re just weary at this point. Slighted even. But can you blame us?
We’re trying to keep a positive attitude. We’re trying not to complain too much. Things could be worse. We are healthy and trying to live life to the fullest. Just not in our new Tour….right now.
We should be singing the praises of our new coach, of Winnebago and their employees.
We should be at the Winnebago rally enjoying ourselves.
Oh, and no, we have not yet published the list of items that we would not accept. You did not miss anything. We are just trying to see where this goes first. It is bad enough for Winnebago that we are already talking about it like this. We already have emails about them loosing some sales over us just mentioning not taking delivery. If we were to publish the current list, we feel is would be very embarrassing to say the least and surly would not be good. So, we are trying to work though it with them. I do think their are some in the company that are very upset about this and do care. As such, we are trying to do the right thing.
Do not accept the coach……………..in the long run you will be very sorry.
Demand you get your order deposit back and I would think some extra money for all the inconvenience you have had…………….
Check out some older upscale luxury coaches like Prevost conversions and Newell.
You might drive down to the Newell factory in Miami, Oklahoma and look at their warrantied used coaches……….also look at their awesome web site.
Holy smokes! This isn’t right at all! “Made in America” used to stand for quality…back when people took pride in their workmanship. Companies used to be loyal to, and value their employees and the employees then valued and were loyal to the company. Then the bean counters got involved and started making cuts to everything but the salaries and perks of upper management. That is when the American economy really started to go downhill.
Winnebago and others should go back to their roots…when companies cared about product quality and happy employees. That is what SHOULD happen…it’s just common sense. Sorry you fell onto the “they don’t make them like the used to” scenario. Companies create victims and not customers and eventually the companies are no more. I know you will not allow yourselves to be victims. I know you were looking forward to moseying around the country in this new home…but John is right. Get your deposit back and find a used, shook down, beautiful coach and get away from the stress they are inflicting on you! Companies will not grasp basic business sense unless people speak with their wallets!
My best friend Sue and her husband Jerry have been talking about doing exactly what you are doing when he retires next year. I am going to call her right now and tell her to stay away from Winnebago. She does not need any more stress in her life…and you sure don’t either.
All together now…WE ARE CUSTOMERS NOT VICTIMS!!! The new mantra of consumers everywhere!!!
we fell your pain.we are up in Elkhart 200 miles from home getting stuff fix on our coach that we pick up in may 2013.lot of thing going on with it that should never left the factory this way.i don’t think the QCs are using all their brain cells.we talk to Thor yesterday voice our opinion.BUT, at what cost!!!!! we will see! we can not drive 200 miles every week for service…. Good Luck tom and nancy…..
We have had good luck with our Tiffin. Yes, there are QC issues with Tiffin as well but they do stand behind the coaches. They are still fixing things eight years after the purchase. I agree with John Sinnar regarding getting your deposit back. I also agree with him regarding getting a used coach. It seems that all the new ones are oriented toward people who use it on weekends to go to NASCAR events. Too many TVs. Not enough closet space. Another approach is to buy an older coach and get the insides torn out and rebuilt to your specs. There are excellent firms in Lakeland, FL and in Mesa, AZ. That is what we did. It is obvious from your other posts that you will modify your coach anyway so why not start with a used Prevost and get it built the way you want it? First step: Get your money back.
We feel for you. I wonder if there is any manufacturer you can trust. As you know Steve Hall purchased a new Endeavor. They have been traveling with us thru Alaska and have had almost no problems, so there are products built with quality. We wish you the best in your dealings with Winnebago.
Hi all…
Yup, it’s sad that Made in America, in this case at least, has gone to corporate greed over the consumer.
Camping World has totally stepped up and stood by us in regards to this coach not being right. They are refunding our deposit as they agreed with us. So yeah for CW!
As of right now, even though we are discouraged and shocked as to what Winnebago has done, or hasn’t done, we are not opposed to looking around at other manufacturers. Yes, their will always be issues, new or used, but we feel what has happened here has gone way beyond the “norm” and we’re trying to move on.
We really did like the coach and we tried to make it work. We are even parked 20 miles from Winnebago right now, willing to take the coach after they repaired it. They just were not willing, nor confident, that they could repair it to our satisfaction.
Sad indeed.
We are setting at Lazydays (1Aug 2013) and they tried to give us our 2014 Journey Winnebago one night at 5:15 PM. We turned on the washer it leaked bad, the hot water heater did not work on LP or electric, one slideout would not go out, the step cover would not work at all, house monitor gauges did n’t work right, two stove drawers were mismatched colors and obvious, the the outside paint had overspray, scratches and just over all poor workmanship, the entance steps sounded like crap going in and out. There’s more……Dennis Hill
You can bet that the workers who performed the shoddy work and the QC inspectors who approved the work would never accept the same quality of work in a product they were buying.