End of (most) factory service

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, HDRider said:

I took my trailer to a off brand dealer for service, with Oliver's approval, on the first of October.  It took them two months to do two hours of work...

Years ago, when owning a Class-A, I called our local RV dealership (with 3 nearby locations). After They told me they were 2-3 months out, I replied no thank-you and have never again called an RV dealer for service. And for us driving to OTT for service is not practical.

Fortunately for us, I can do everything we need to service our Oliver, though understand many owners cannot. I will job out fiberglass gelcoat, with a local detailer, not having these tools or expertise. I strongly suggest that most of you acquire a good local trailer shop, or owner-operated automotive repair shop you can count on. Most "annual service" can be worked by any reputable mechanic. Except for the fiberglass shell design, the mechanical systems are the same as any other TT or RV.

[HDRider]

23 minutes ago, jd1923 said:

Years ago, when owning a Class-A, I called our local RV dealership (with 3 nearby locations). After They told me they were 2-3 months out, I replied no thank-you and have never again called an RV dealer for service. And for us driving to OTT for service is not practical.

Fortunately for us, I can do everything we need to service our Oliver, though understand many owners cannot. I will job out fiberglass gelcoat, with a local detailer, not having these tools or expertise. I strongly suggest that most of you acquire a good local trailer shop, or owner-operated automotive repair shop you can count on. Most "annual service" can be worked by any reputable mechanic. Except for the fiberglass shell design, the mechanical systems are the same as any other TT or RV.

No doubt we will all find a way to deal with the reality of it.  We always do.

 

That said, this move by Oliver does not serve my best interest and rubs me the wrong way.  No amount of spin can change that. It was handled very poorly.   It needs  a rethink.  I hope the pride of the owners does not stand in the way of making proper adjustments. 

Edited April 1 by HDRider

[topgun2]

4 minutes ago, HDRider said:

No amount of spin

What "spin" and by whom?

You're entitled to your opinion and so are others.

Bill

[HDRider]

3 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

What "spin" and by whom?

You're entitled to your opinion and so are others.

Bill

There have been many comments, mostly by moderators it seems, that this change is good for Oliver owners.  Judging by the overall consensus of comments by non-moderators it is not a good move. 

[jd1923]

33 minutes ago, HDRider said:

No doubt we will all find a way to deal with the reality of it.  We always do.

That said, this move by Oliver does not serve my best interest and rubs me the wrong way.  No amount of spin can change that. It was handled very poorly.   It needs a rethink.  I hope the pride of the owners does not stand in the way of making proper adjustments. 

I had to take a step back, to better see this from your point of view.

For me, I bought an older hull, half of new, thinking I could get all M&R up to date, add a few mods, and given sweat equity and a few more dollars we'd have a really nice TT! I had no expectation of warranty or dealer service. Just like the 40+ used cars and trucks I've bought in my life. In fact, on the many other forums where I am a member (Goldwing, Toyota, Cummins, etc.) we call them Stealerships which we only frequent at last resort.   

You just made a considerable purchase, less than one year ago. You still have warranty, and you made the purchase based on the ideals set by OTT, being a custom shop, building TTs to order, personal factory service not offered through dealers, making your new OTT purchase rather special in the RV industry. Seven hours from home was also a great benefit that I imagine played into your purchase decision. If I were in your shoes, I would place a call or two into OTT management. Best wishes, JD

[Mike and Carol]

50 minutes ago, HDRider said:

There have been many comments, mostly by moderators it seems, that this change is good for Oliver owners.  Judging by the overall consensus of comments by non-moderators it is not a good move. 

I’ve been quiet about this issue, I don’t like it and wish it wasn’t the path forward.  I don’t know of any of the moderators that thinks this is “good for Oliver owners”.  I’ve missed the “many” favorable comments by my fellow moderator team.

I think it’s being blown out of proportion by some.  In 8 years I’ve been back to Hohenwald for service work just once, a two day drive.  Everything else was done by me or a local RV repair shop.  We’ll still have technical expertise that we can access from Oliver.

I’m going to watch and see how this plays out.  Oliver management is not abandoning owners, my experience over the years is that they go out of their way to ensure owners are taken care of.  Mike

[John Dorrer]

11 minutes ago, Mike and Carol said:

I’ve been quiet about this issue, I don’t like it and wish it wasn’t the path forward.  I don’t know of any of the moderators that thinks this is “good for Oliver owners”.  I’ve missed the “many” favorable comments by my fellow moderator team.

I think it’s being blown out of proportion by some.  In 8 years I’ve been back to Hohenwald for service work just once, a two day drive.  Everything else was done by me or a local RV repair shop.  We’ll still have technical expertise that we can access from Oliver.

I’m going to watch and see how this plays out.  Oliver management is not abandoning owners, my experience over the years is that they go out of their way to ensure owners are taken care of.  Mike

Well stated. Thanks. I think people have been a bit more reserved here on the Forum. 

[GeoffChapman]

I’m new to the Oliver community, just 7 months into my new-to-me LE1, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. I offer them with some humility, honestly.

Here’s my thought: I'm surprised at the negativity about the developing Oliver sales and service model.

My own service experience is quite limited to a week in Hohenwald a month ago - we’d timed it to launch our current 5 week camping trip. Our planning went back to a service request 4 months ago. When the date came, we traveled 2 days to get to Hohenwald, and then had to find accommodations for 4 nights for me, my spouse and our dog to wait out the 3.5 days our upgrades and annual servicing would take.

We were happy with the results and the knowledgeable team we met, but would have been much happier if a regional Oliver dealer was available for a “drop it off and come back in a few days to pick it up” kind of servicing last winter. The jobs we had done (lithium & Truma AC upgrades & annual servicing) would have been well within the ability of a competent and well trained regional dealership.  
 

When the dealership expansion was announced, I did contact such a regional Oliver dealer in lower Va. They told me they had not yet been trained for servicing, so I kept my March appt at Hohenwald in place. I thought, “Training dealerships has got to take some time. Check back with the regional dealer in a year and they should be up to speed.”  That seems (to me) a reasonable expectation for the Oliver community, with widespread benefits for Oliver owners like me in the years ahead. From what you all are repeatedly saying about the Oliver family and team, I’d have a high confidence that they share that goal.

If everyone’s experience with the Oliver team in the past has been so widely appreciated, why not give them the benefit of the doubt? 

In the meantime, I feel confident that I have a backstop if I get caught - you all. I’ve been a regular reader (if an infrequent poster) in the Oliver forums over the last half year. I’ve seen you all step in again and again to help people like me, who are trying to make something work better, or fix something broken. The generosity, creativity, competence, and enthusiasm of the Oliver owners was a factor in my purchase. Were I in Oliver management, I would hope for your partnership in making this expansion as seamless and fruitful as possible.
 

i suspect as a newcomer to the Oliver community I’m  missing something here - maybe it’s the longstanding friendships that have developed in the Oliver community. Maybe it’s something else. I just hate to see a much loved team with a first class product and a devoted family of owners fracture like this when some (well deserved) trust and some months of patience and a “let’s do what we can to make this work” attitude could make a good thing even better. 

[Geronimo John]

Geoff:

I support your well written post above.

Sadly, the change of direction was NOT communicated well to those of us who are also fully invested in the OTT System.  Further clarifications for OTT have been slow to seep out and that has obviously been more than a bit disruptive as a result.  

I support our Monitor's insightful thoughts and suggestions.  After all this group have been with the Oliver's from the beginning. I strongly believe that OTT is hearing our concerns and will address them more clearly in information sent to us all DIRCTLY.  That way all of us get the  message intended and a better understanding as to where this great organization is going.   I too am in this for life, and I look forward to working with Jason on Tech Services issues, but hopefully never for major rebuild and frame issues.....

But knowing that OTT is there for us for these major problems and the what I call Technical Services is a wonderful start.

Again, well written.

GJ

[John Dorrer]

9 hours ago, GeoffChapman said:

I’m new to the Oliver community, just 7 months into my new-to-me LE1, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. I offer them with some humility, honestly.

Here’s my thought: I'm surprised at the negativity about the developing Oliver sales and service model.

My own service experience is quite limited to a week in Hohenwald a month ago - we’d timed it to launch our current 5 week camping trip. Our planning went back to a service request 4 months ago. When the date came, we traveled 2 days to get to Hohenwald, and then had to find accommodations for 4 nights for me, my spouse and our dog to wait out the 3.5 days our upgrades and annual servicing would take.

We were happy with the results and the knowledgeable team we met, but would have been much happier if a regional Oliver dealer was available for a “drop it off and come back in a few days to pick it up” kind of servicing last winter. The jobs we had done (lithium & Truma AC upgrades & annual servicing) would have been well within the ability of a competent and well trained regional dealership.  
 

When the dealership expansion was announced, I did contact such a regional Oliver dealer in lower Va. They told me they had not yet been trained for servicing, so I kept my March appt at Hohenwald in place. I thought, “Training dealerships has got to take some time. Check back with the regional dealer in a year and they should be up to speed.”  That seems (to me) a reasonable expectation for the Oliver community, with widespread benefits for Oliver owners like me in the years ahead. From what you all are repeatedly saying about the Oliver family and team, I’d have a high confidence that they share that goal.

If everyone’s experience with the Oliver team in the past has been so widely appreciated, why not give them the benefit of the doubt? 

In the meantime, I feel confident that I have a backstop if I get caught - you all. I’ve been a regular reader (if an infrequent poster) in the Oliver forums over the last half year. I’ve seen you all step in again and again to help people like me, who are trying to make something work better, or fix something broken. The generosity, creativity, competence, and enthusiasm of the Oliver owners was a factor in my purchase. Were I in Oliver management, I would hope for your partnership in making this expansion as seamless and fruitful as possible.
 

i suspect as a newcomer to the Oliver community I’m  missing something here - maybe it’s the longstanding friendships that have developed in the Oliver community. Maybe it’s something else. I just hate to see a much loved team with a first class product and a devoted family of owners fracture like this when some (well deserved) trust and some months of patience and a “let’s do what we can to make this work” attitude could make a good thing even better. 

Geoff. Well written. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.

[Jim and Frances]

I would like to add that the value of this forum is as great as factory service in helping me solve occasional problems.  For example, this past weekend I ran into what I thought was a serious issue but quickly found that someone else had experienced the same issue and provided the solution on this forum....and poof!  Problem solved.  Interestingly, the original problem while reported to factory service was only solved by the owner himself.  Given the outstanding expertise of our factory service folks, this was a rarity but proved once again the value of this forum.

Do we have RV tech shortages? Yes.  Are RV techs typically paid poorly by dealerships with lack of training? Yes.  Are there risks with the new service model? Yes.

But, do we still have each other and this forum?  YES!

[Geronimo John]

4 hours ago, Jim and Frances said:

 

But, do we still have each other and this forum?  YES!

But what I, and I bet 90%+ of the owners need to hear from OTT Leadership, not our moderators, is that OTT pledges to continue supporting this forum as well as our and dealership access to Jason and his Tech Services team.  

Communication is of the essence for any quality organization.  

[Ollie-Haus]

7 minutes ago, Geronimo John said:

But what I, and I bet 90%+ of the owners need to hear from OTT Leadership, not our moderators, is that OTT pledges to continue supporting this forum as well as our and dealership access to Jason and his Tech Services team.  

Communication is of the essence for any quality organization.  

............ and all of that was stated in Jason's message to the owners. I must be missing something. 

"Our customer support team will still be available to assist with any questions and work with you and our dealer partners to get any services you need resolved."

"However, we will continue doing major repairs, including fiberglass and aluminum, at our Plant Facility."

"If you have any questions or require further information regarding this update, please do not hesitate to contact us or call us at 1-888-526-3978. We are always here to assist you."

[Geronimo John]

54 minutes ago, Ollie-Haus said:

"Our customer support team will still be available to assist with any questions and work with you and our dealer partners to get any services you need resolved."

As an engineer, I interpret written words precisely.  I can read the above to mean that they will assist an owner to get a problem fixed at one of the OTT Dealers.

Does the future CST/Tech Services role include the following:     

• Assisting with the research necessary to assess the owner's problem?  
• Gathering the necessary build info to do so? 
• Understanding the cause of the problem so that the DIY owner can fix it? 
• Up-channeling critical failures (Ex.  Spring and Bulldog) to QC and OTT owners?
• That the CST front office staffing be reduced or diluted as a result of their new dealer support activities?

These are likely just some of the concerns that remain from the DIY owners. 

I hope that you are correct, and that I'm at the bottom of my favorite rabbit hole. But frankly, it seems to have gotten  crowded down here. 🙂

GJ

 

[Ollie-Haus]

13 minutes ago, Geronimo John said:

As an engineer, I interpret written words precisely.  I can read the above to mean that they will assist an owner to get a problem fixed at one of the OTT Dealers.

Does the future CST/Tech Services role include the following:     

• Assisting with the research necessary to assess the owner's problem?  
• Gathering the necessary build info to do so? 
• Understanding the cause of the problem so that the DIY owner can fix it? 
• Up-channeling critical failures (Ex.  Spring and Bulldog) to QC and OTT owners?
• That the CST front office staffing be reduced or diluted as a result of their new dealer support activities?

These are likely just some of the concerns that remain from the DIY owners. 

I hope that you are correct, and that I'm at the bottom of my favorite rabbit hole. But frankly, it seems to have gotten  crowded down here. 🙂

GJ

 

Get over yourself "engineer". Your condescending intros always prefacing with your "credentials"  that make you smarter than the rest are overbearing. I'm no engineer and this is all very elementary to me. And I think the large majority are taking it all in stride. There's probably well over a thousand who have not chimed in on the topic because they are level headed folks that are just rolling with the process, or just don't care. The sky's not falling and the Oliver managers are still running the company with the same integrity they always have. What's up in the air right now is the character and integrity of a few people that are throwing a hissy fit cause they aren't getting their way.  Oliver management could choose to fold the company and cash it all in, and they would still be within their rights to do so. Either way I would still shake their hands and thank them for making me one of the best campers ever built. 

[Geronimo John]

My "Engineer" comment was to frame my perspective, never to be condescending to you or anybody, nor or to offend.  For that please accept my sincere apologies.

I have no special part to play in any decision OTT makes.  Your comments are well intended and worthy of note.

GJ

[Steph and Dud B]

Ok. Enough. I started this thread and I think it should end now. Everybody has a different level of comfort doing their own work, assessing cost/benefits, etc. Nobody seems to know for sure exactly what's going to happen. Nobody's been proven right, nobody's been proven wrong. We'll all just have to wait and see what comes next. There's no need for besmirching anyone's character or integrity. MODERATORS, can you lock this thread?

[ScubaRx]

This thread is locked per OP request.