Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Keystone RV Forums > Keystone RV Customer Comments > Keystone RV Service & Warranty Issues
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 01-06-2011, 07:09 AM   #1
LarryD
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 22
Keystone contacts/support?

As a prospective customer, I have called Keystone several times seeking information and the operator transfers my call, of course all I got was voice-mail. So far, no call back. This time I tell the operator, either the person is still gone for the holidays or has way too much work to properly meet customer needs and can she transfer me to someone else. Now I get a message saying the individual is out of the office for most of January on business, but providing a cell phone number. So, I call it and finally get some of my questions answered. Hopefully I will get a call back soon with the remaining answers.

My real question is this, what names and phone numbers have worked best for getting general questions answered? Same question for warranty issues? And what about purchasing parts when the unit is out of warranty? With my existing brand (which is smaller than Keystone), I can call the parts dept, order over the phone, pay with a credit card and have the parts shipped directly to me w/o going thru the hassle of a dealer.

I would stick with existing brand if they had a floorplan/features that would work. I expect that Keystone support will be less, but I'm wondering how much less and I'm looking for solutions/techniques that have worked best for others.
LarryD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-06-2011, 07:37 AM   #2
66ken
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Plymouth,Ia
Posts: 109
I think these questions should be directed to your dealer. Most companies rely on there dealer network to support there products.
__________________
2010 2500HD LTZ Duramax
2010 Cougar 327RES
66ken is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-06-2011, 09:02 AM   #3
Seann
Permanent User Ban
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Saskatoon Sk CANADA
Posts: 119
This also gives you an idea on how Keystone will deal with customer problems.
Seann is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-06-2011, 11:06 AM   #4
LarryD
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 22
Quote:
Originally Posted by 66ken View Post
I think these questions should be directed to your dealer. Most companies rely on there dealer network to support there products.
And I disagree that everything should go thru a dealer which is why I'm looking for feedback about Keystone. First, in this economy, the local dealer could be gone tomorrow, and then some other dealer comes into play, maybe. Second, Keystone's website will show a maximum of three "local" dealers, in my case 1st is 60 miles away, 2nd is 120 miles away and I don't even know how far the 3rd is. Point is, pretty hard to establish a close working relationship with a "local" dealer 120 miles away and know what kind of support they will provide, especially in advance of a sale. Third, since the RV is intended for long distance travel and in this economy, many RV owners are following jobs, changing states, etc., factory support can be critical when the RV is not near any dealer, let alone a dealer where a relationship has been established or is likely to continue over the long haul.
LarryD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-06-2011, 11:36 AM   #5
Jim W
Senior Member
 
Jim W's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Oswego Il
Posts: 820
Sorry, I disagree with you. I worked for forty years for a large Midwest manufacturing concern and 90% of our users had to contact the dealer. All of our machine and parts sales were to the dealer. The dealer would then turn around and sell to the end user. I believe this is the case with Keystone. Keystone does not own the dealership but has reached a franchise agreemnet with the owner of a said dealership. To me this means Keystone must sell through a selling dealer and the end user must purchase goods and service from a dealer.

In fact the only enite who we would sell to other then the dealer was the US Goverment.
Just my $0.02
Jim
__________________
Jim & Jill
2010 318SAB Cougar
2008 Dodge 6.7LCummins the original 6.7L engine, w/68RFE Auto
Jim W is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-06-2011, 04:04 PM   #6
Outbackmel
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Dacula, GA
Posts: 620
Dealer Network

Having retired from Ford, I too understand the need for manufacturers to have a network of dealers...unfortunately, not all dealers are either consumer friendly or are on good terms with the mfgr. There are dealers out there who are willing to work with consumers to rectify issues as they arise. Find one and try to use them. I do believe that Keystone needs to invest in improved customer service and definitely a committed return response, positive or negative. Our RV's are a MAJOR purchase. We "deserve" this type of mfgr commitment if they hope to stay in business to serve the generations following this group....
Outbackmel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-06-2011, 05:28 PM   #7
LarryD
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 22
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim W View Post
Sorry, I disagree with you. I worked for forty years for a large Midwest manufacturing concern and 90% of our users had to contact the dealer. All of our machine and parts sales were to the dealer. The dealer would then turn around and sell to the end user. I believe this is the case with Keystone. Keystone does not own the dealership but has reached a franchise agreemnet with the owner of a said dealership. To me this means Keystone must sell through a selling dealer and the end user must purchase goods and service from a dealer.

In fact the only enite who we would sell to other then the dealer was the US Goverment.
Just my $0.02
Jim
You miss the point, it is not about who the manufacturer sells to. During those 40 yrs, did any dealer ever go bankrupt? If so, what did THEIR customers do? If the dealer was doing a bad job of servicing the end customer, what did the company you worked for expect the end customer to do? Go crawl in a hole? Find a new dealer? Find another manufacturer of the product? Or elevate their issues to the manufacturer? If so, the manufacturer should have had someone to respond to customer issues. That is the info I am seeking for Keystone.

A really good company knows who ultimately is key to their success. It is the end customer and solving problems for the end customer produces a better product. For my existing RV I have probably had about as much direct contact with the manufacturer as with the selling dealer over 7 yrs. By the way, in this tough economy, the RV dealer and the manufacturer are both still in business. But guess what, that dealer no longer sells my brand and HE no longer has a strong relationship with the manufacturer.

Here is a real world example for why everything SHOULD not go thru the dealer. When I was on a long trip with existing fiver, I discovered a tire problem that could have been a safety issue. Being about 200 miles from the factory and 900 miles from the dealer, I didn't hesitate to call the factory directly. Didn't think about driving 900 miles to let the dealer handle it, didn't even bother to get the dealer's permission. No problem talking to the factory and no problem getting approval for an immediate visit. They fixed the problem, they got some real knowledge that might have been dropped via the dealer. Latter, more units had the same problem and other brands also due to a problem with the axle supplier. While getting this problem resolved, I also mentioned a minor non-safety issue, something that could wait for the dealer to fix. the actual fix took about 5 min., yet the factory techs dug into the problem and found an error in wiring diagram labels. So the documentation was immediately fixed, other units avoided the same problem. If the dealer had fixed the 5 min. problem, would he have informed the factory?
LarryD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-07-2011, 07:02 AM   #8
Jim W
Senior Member
 
Jim W's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Oswego Il
Posts: 820
If the end user who bought a $500,000 to $1.5 million dollar machine had an issue and called our service department /engineering office with the problem. The first thing we would do ( and instructed to say) was to ask them have you contacted your selling dealer with this issue. Our service department was structured to work with the our dealer network, not the end user. In fact there were/are contractual issue that prevented us from working with the end user. We have and do close down dealers all the time. In my forty years when working at this company, I know of at lease fifteen dealers that were closed and consolidated as I worked there.

We basically had to inform the end user that they need to work with the selling dealer to resolve this issue. If they were out of the selling dealer territory then they needed to see another dealer of our product.

The company did have representatives that called on the dealer to resolve customer selling and service issues with the end user, but they were assigned to the territory and lived in the area.

In fact when I traveled to a end user of our product, I was always accompanied by a dealer representative. We would either be contacted by the dealer and or we would contact the dealer to set up the meeting with the end user.

The only time we would directly contact the end user was if a safety recall was in place. They would get a certified letter telling them to contact the dealer to help them resolve their safety issue.
Jim
__________________
Jim & Jill
2010 318SAB Cougar
2008 Dodge 6.7LCummins the original 6.7L engine, w/68RFE Auto
Jim W is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-07-2011, 07:28 AM   #9
Ruffus
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Fulltiming
Posts: 423
Wink Another Perspective

Here's another way at looking at the idea of contacting Keystone direct with questions and answers about buying one of their units.
Lets say that your going to become a naturalized citizen of the USA (no offence to my Canadian friends). You contact the White House and ask to speak to the President because you have some questions about purchasing a home and want answers from the top. Do you think with all that is on his plate that they are going to return your calls or tell you to contact your local lawyer or Realtor (dealer) that you are purchasing from?
Come on guys, we all have a pecking order or chain of command. Try talking to people with respect and do a little home work on your own to get the answers you need. Hey here's an idea, join the Keystonerv.org forum, there's a lot of good knowledge and perspectives there and the moderators have a great deal of insight to these units.
If that doesn't work, then by all means, keep calling the White House, maybe someone will return your call, NOT.
Oh yeh, just my 2 cents worth.
__________________
Jim, Sharon & Riley
2018 Keystone Alpine 3500Rl
2016 Ford F-350 Dually
Curt Q24 hitch for in bed puck system
Fulltimng.
Ruffus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-07-2011, 01:47 PM   #10
LarryD
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 22
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruffus View Post
You contact the White House and ask to speak to the President because you have some questions about purchasing a home and want answers from the top. Do you think with all that is on his plate that they are going to return your calls or tell you to contact your local lawyer or Realtor (dealer) that you are purchasing from?
So where have I asked for the name and number for the President of Keystone? Here have been my questions.

My real question is this, what names and phone numbers have worked best for getting general questions answered? Same question for warranty issues? And what about purchasing parts when the unit is out of warranty?

The manufacturer should have someone to respond to customer issues. That is the info I am seeking for Keystone.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruffus View Post
Hey here's an idea, join the Keystonerv.org forum, there's a lot of good knowledge and perspectives there and the moderators have a great deal of insight to these units.
Let's see, I have joined the forum and have posted my questions here including this, and what responses have I received so far? Basically, NEVER talk to anyone other than the dealer.
LarryD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-07-2011, 02:30 PM   #11
MightyMike
Permanent User Ban
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 60
Wish someone had an answer for the way Keystone responds to customers. It seem either they traet you great or like crap, no in between. Don't know if it's what day of the week you call, time of day or where you call from, but it seems like it's one extreme or the other. For the folks who have had issues with them, seems they never improve. I was frustrated with them from the first time I had to deal with them and it never improved. Followed a thread on another forum where they bent over backwards for a guy with big problems, and he was exstatic with them. Our local news runs a quote every night, and they had one a while ago attributed to Sam Walton (think Walmart) and it always makes me think of Keystone. He said-Every person in our company can be fired from their job, from the CEO right down to the janitor sweeping the floor- All we have to do is neglect our customers and drive them to the competion.
MightyMike is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-09-2011, 02:52 PM   #12
richfaa
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: N.Ridgeville, Ohio
Posts: 18
Go here and look around


http://www.keystonerv.com/

we have called customer service and the service center on many occasions.
richfaa is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-09-2011, 03:52 PM   #13
LarryD
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 22
Quote:
Originally Posted by richfaa View Post
Go here and look around


http://www.keystonerv.com/

we have called customer service and the service center on many occasions.
Super, thanks
LarryD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2011, 10:51 PM   #14
Pennsylvaniasprinter
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: PA
Posts: 30
It is very hard to go further than the initial contact person for their customer service dept. We have had numerous problems (serious problems) with our camper and I have had to contact Keystone directly many, many times. The one time I was transferred to someone above the initial person, got his voicemail and then he had the person under him call me back. I was never "privledged" enough to speak with someone of supervisory position. When you email them, it takes days for them to get back to you.

I would say, like the floor plan or not, read the forums....it SHOULD BE a sign to you that you called and look what/how long the response took just to ask general questions. Imagine what it is like when you have problems!

This I know from experience, WE made a serious mistake when we purchased our Sprinter. When I see the word "Sprinter" I get a pit in my stomach.
Pennsylvaniasprinter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2011, 11:07 AM   #15
kenn209
Senior Member
 
kenn209's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Newport News, Va
Posts: 302
I have sent 2 emails to the customer support email for customer service both were answered by the same individual and usually by the next day. Can hurt to try and ask your question there.

http://www.keystonerv.com/?page=service#changer

I had asked about their wheels, and what load range they were, The dealer never returned any calls, so I asked them and he sent me a link to the company they buy from.
kenn209 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-13-2011, 12:14 PM   #16
KennyBob
Junior Member
 
KennyBob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Littleton, CO
Posts: 2
Cool

I am a new RV owner and i can see yr frustration... I cant offer any phone numbers, but in my experience it REALLY is important to have a STRONG dealership behind you when you have problems.

Often a strong dealer can apply pressure to the manufactrurer that a small dealer cannot. I, personally dont mind paying a little more for a product (any product) for that dealership. In my case I am lucky to have a really strong dealer in Denver (Windish RV) that is excellent in pushing Keystone on support issues. They have assured me that they have a fery good relationship with the Keystone factory and they will handle any and all issues that may come up. (is this a free plug??)

I purchased the extended 6 yr warranty for 2400.00. Whether it is a good value or not (probably not) wont be determined for 6 years, but at least to me, the peace of mind is worth the little bit it adds to the monthly pmt.
KennyBob is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates in any way. Keystone RV® is a registered trademark of the Keystone RV Company.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 11:56 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.