Important Update about Oliver Service

[Jason Essary]

Oliver Travel Trailers is excited to have our new dealer partners onboard to work with our Oliver owners as we strive to improve your Oliver Experience. We will be working directly with our dealers so that you receive the same quality service closer to home.

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 our service team will be working with the dealer's service departments on location, we feel it is prudent to discontinue most service work here at our location in Tennessee. However, we will continue doing major repairs, including fiberglass and aluminum, at our Plant Facility. At this time we plan to phase out the service department no later than the end of July and we are no longer taking on new appointments.

As you continue reaching out to us with your questions and service needs, rest assured that we will help answer them and coordinate you with a dealership partner nearest to you.

Whether on the road or at home, we are working to ensure owners receive the same excellent customer service you have come to trust here at Oliver Travel Trailers.

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.

Warm regards,
Oliver Travel Trailers Team

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Of course, my team is still here to help support you as we always have with any technical and service questions as well as facilitating services for your Oliver.

Thank you!

 

Jason Essary

Customer Service Director

888-526-3978

 

Important Update about Oliver Service.pdf

[aaronorange]

Have you posted a list of authorized service centers? Been looking around online. It would be good to keep a list handy as we travel around the country. Thanks

 

[Patriot]

I am extremely disappointed to read this news for so many reasons. This has really caught us by surprise. 😕

Edited March 27 by Patriot

[HDRider]

This is disappointing.  I feel betrayed.  I bought from the manufacturer as it was represented at the time, with the service being provided at the factory.

 

I am asking myself now if I made a costly mistake.  There is no dealer closer to me than  Holenwald and I do not expect there will be.

 

I also question how responsive a dealer will be to me since I did not buy my trailer from them.  Dealers care more about selling than they do service. 

 

Does this also include warranty work?  My clock is ticking...

[Steph and Dud B]

5 minutes ago, HDRider said:

I also question how responsive a dealer will be to me since I did not buy my trailer from them.  Dealers care more about selling than they do service. 

This could be a concern. Stories about SOB poor dealer service experiences are legion. No sale/no service, wait times measured in months, etc. For now, I'll hope that the dealers that OTT chose (or the other way around) will be better.

On the larger picture, Oliver trailers are arguably one of the most expensive per square foot on the market. To us, direct factory sales and available factory service were part of the justification for the pricing. 

[Patriot]

25 minutes ago, aaronorange said:

Have you posted a list of authorized service centers? Been looking around online. It would be good to keep a list handy as we travel around the country. Thanks

 

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/dealers/

[johnwen]

4 minutes ago, Steph and Dud B said:

On the larger picture, Oliver trailers are arguably one of the most expensive per square foot on the market. To us, direct factory sales and available factory service were part of the justification for the pricing.

Ditto.

[theOrca]

Swell, just swell !

[GreenFlash]

The beginning of the end.  One of the reasons I chose an Oliver - no dealers. Before I bought my Oliver I owned three Airstreams.  I still have nightmares about every Dealer and service experience with them. Who better to fix them than the one that builds them?

[Rivernerd]

On 3/27/2024 at 4:17 PM, JEssary said:

Whether on the road or at home, we are working to ensure owners receive the same excellent customer service you have come to trust here at Oliver Travel Trailers.

I expect it is not realistic to believe that our closest dealer (in Orem, Utah) will employ a Service Manager of as high a caliber as Jason Essary. 

The only thing constant is change......

Edited March 31 by Rivernerd

[Ralph Mawyer]

So happy I had AC replacement and Lithium upgrade done last year.  

I think losing Q&A voice and email service  support will be the biggest impact. No way local dealer is going to match that, though the allude to that still continuing. 

[aaronorange]

Thanks, Patriot for the link.  https://olivertraveltrailers.com/dealers/

Hopefully, I can do most of my own maintenance. I'm finding as I get older there are some things I can't do as easily but I seem to have more time. So here we go, life is an adventure. 

 https://olivertraveltrailers.com/dealers/

[Steph and Dud B]

58 minutes ago, Ralph Mawyer said:

I think losing Q&A voice and email service  support will be the biggest impact.

 

3 hours ago, JEssary said:

Of course, my team is still here to help support you as we always have with any technical and service questions

Sounds like they'll still be there for us.

[Gliddenwoods]

1 hour ago, GreenFlash said:

The beginning of the end.  One of the reasons I chose an Oliver - no dealers. Before I bought my Oliver I owned three Airstreams.  I still have nightmares about every Dealer and service experience with them. Who better to fix them than the 

I was mislead by Oliver Inc when I was considering a purchase. I thought Oliver Inc was different than the other trailer venders; I was wrong.

[SeaDawg]

14 minutes ago, Gliddenwoods said:

I was mislead by Oliver Inc when I was considering a purchase. I thought Oliver Inc was different than the other trailer venders; I was wrong.

 

When we bought our 2008, there was no Oliver Setvice department.  We took a fly, anyway, after literally looking at hundreds of trailers, dozens of brands, for our "last" trailet.

It has grown to be the best of the best.

Jason and crew aren't going anywhere,  they're instead expanding the knowledge base to the hand-picked, quality, small dealers. And,expanding the radius, for now, so people can get quality service much closer to home than Hohenwald. Imo. That training takes time, and face to face.

Support will always be there.

Even during the hiatus, we always got support. This is not your average company. Heart is there.

 

Edited March 28 by SeaDawg

[Steph and Dud B]

12 minutes ago, Gliddenwoods said:

I thought Oliver Inc was different than the other trailer venders; I was wrong.

That remains to be seen. My faith is shaken but I'm hoping they can still be better then the others. They need to be.

[ChrisMI]

18 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:

Jason and crew aren't going anywhere

I hope this statement holds true going forward.  The Oliver family would be wise to hold on to Jason with both hands to keep him at headquarters doing what he does best.  Turning trailer problems into great outcomes with a professional smile/demeanor. 
 

So I have to ask… are future buyers going to lose the amazing benefit of having a factory pickup where all the bugs can be fixed by the service department before the trailer leaves the property?

Edited March 28 by ChrisMI

[SeaDawg]

Oliver cental is going to be open for pickup, from my understanding. 

I worked in a dealership network, in a different industry.  To gain extended support (service in wide flung locations), some things must change. Heart doesn't. 

As #12, our factory pickup was actually within the factory.  We had no factory service department til years later. But, we always had support. 

I'm counting on that.

[John Dorrer]

4 hours ago, aaronorange said:

Have you posted a list of authorized service centers? Been looking around online. It would be good to keep a list handy as we travel around the country. Thanks

 

They are listed on the Oliver website

[johnwen]

I'll start off with... Oliver sold us a trailer that we couldn't be more proud of owning.  It's been a little embarrassing for us to reveal to others what we paid back in 2022 (not even fully decked out... just couldn't pull the trigger on the lithium prices). We would most likely not be in an Oliver at todays prices. It's unfortunate the individual dealers didn't offer up a service rep to go train at Oliver instead of breaking up the Oliver team to go train them.  IMO, at the price of an Oliver, a tarnished service experience at one of the new dealers, that Oliver has no way of controlling, is going to have an extremely negative impact on any future buyers.  In my case, the service team at Oliver was the deciding factor that pushed us over the finish line with our purchase.  No possible way for us to go forward if not for that.  I'm hoping for the best but I was really counting on Oliver for service the next several years...I don't care how far away they are.  Their service is unparalleled as far as I'm concerned and I'm almost certain that another company with other interests will not measure up.  It's a reassurance that Jason can still answer questions and help over the phone but I'm going to have to rely on a business that didn't sell us our trailer, to do the work I can't do.  It was indeed a big surprise, for me, to learn of the recent news that Oliver was going to be available at several dealers across the country.  I initially took a somewhat negative view but moderated after thinking it might help the sales that Oliver was seeking and you don't have to travel thousands of miles as a perspective buyer. But to hear of the end of Oliver's service team is a tough pill, so to speak. My position is from an annual maintenance perspective with the option of other work, ie Truma A/C swap out (which was done), possible axle change in the future, install additional awning, etc. I'm not worried...just disappointed. Here ends my rant.

John

Edited March 28 by johnwen

[johnwen]

4 hours ago, Ralph Mawyer said:

So happy I had AC replacement and Lithium upgrade done last year.  

I think losing Q&A voice and email service  support will be the biggest impact. No way local dealer is going to match that, though the allude to that still continuing. 

Ralph,

I'm beginning to wish we had followed suit with the lithiums :)  At least our A/C is now tolerable via Truma!  Oliver did a good job with that.

John

[Steph and Dud B]

8 hours ago, johnwen said:

We would most likely not be in an Oliver at todays prices.

Well stated, John. I've been wondering two things. Would we have bought our Oliver under these circumstances? The next time someone approaches us to ask about the Oliver can we, in good faith, recommend the purchase of one with the new service/sales arrangement and at today's prices?

[Steve Morris]

@JEssary I think this is a terrible decision by Oliver, and a disappointment to us. We took delivery of Curiosity one year ago tomorrow, and have had zero problems during the 7700 miles since. However, there was always that security of Oliver's famed customer service in mind in case something did occur. And that service was a large part of our buying decision. Oliver's reputation was built on the care after the sale, and that set it apart from any other manufacturer. Now, with no factory sales or service, it would appear the same as any other builder to a prospective buyer.

Look at every YouTube review of Oliver, with clickbait headlines of "Is It Worth It", or any RV blog review of Oliver. The praise of Oliver's service is always highlighted and almost as legendary as the quality. Any time a prospective buyer comes to this forum or the two Facebook groups and asks about Oliver, Oliver's quality AND service department are, without exception, heralded as what makes Oliver better than any other trailer.

I think that this decision will have a sizable impact on future sales, and on resale value of current owners' trailers, and trust from those owners. From my reading, many owners look forward to their annual service trip; almost like a pilgrimage. I can't imagine looking forward to a trip to a giant RV store.

Here in northern Ohio, my closest authorized service center is 433 miles away, and has stellar sales reviews on Google. However, the service reviews are fair at best, with typical complaints of long waits and shoddy work. More concerning are a couple claiming no service on trailers not purchased there, or even parts sales. The next closest is 461 miles, only 100 miles less than going to Hohewald.

Color me disillusioned...

 

Edited March 28 by Steve Morris

[johnwen]

My hope is Oliver will reconsider this move, but then again, I don't know the logistics and profit margin considerations concerning the service team's future.  Steve, we are one of those who view it as a pligrimage for our annual maintenance trip 🙂 It is what it is I suppose, and we'll make do, but at today's Oliver pricing this new development seems quite precarious.  This forum is about to become more valuable to me as the time goes by...I so greatly appreciate all the help I've received over the time I've been a member!  Sorry I carried my rant a little further...my old age emotions are getting a little carried away 🙂

John

Edited March 28 by johnwen

[Boudicca908]

16 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

This is not your average company. Heart is there.

I agree.  As a company, OTT is outstanding and they are trying to create easier access across the country to good service for this unique trailer. I will remain positive in my thinking, and be glad if I need service out west and there is someone, somewhere, who is associated with the OTT mothership. My guess is that it will be much better than my experience last year using SOB trailer service (an hour from my location and poor service).