6/5/2013 Our Big Meeting

(Tucson, AZ)

We had expected our meeting to take place early in the day since the head service guy for Lazy Days was to arrive this morning.  That wasn’t the case.

Time was dragging waiting for him so Bob decided to go to the store for a few things and I headed to the pool.  Finally at 1:30 he called my cell phone.  He was onsite and would be over in ten minutes.  I asked him to give me fifteen because I was at the pool and Bob had run to the store.  He suggested we meet at three giving me time at the pool, Bob to finish up at the store and get home and he had some things he could do.  That worked for all concerned.

Right on time he and Dennis, the head service tech arrived at our camp site.  Now Bob had seen Dennis around before and had a nodding acquaintance with him but I had never seen this guy before.

I was inside the first two minutes they were here so Bob was in the full swing of things explaining our problem when I arrived on the scene.  They patiently listened and then the smoke and mirrors started.  Mr. Tickle, from Tampa, started with how sorry he was we were having these problems but sometimes, try as they might. they just can’t duplicate it.  What????  You don’t have to duplicate the problem.  It’s ongoing.  Every.  Day.  It’s a LEAK for heavens sake.  Just go LOOK,,,FEEL,,,it’s there for you, in living color!  See the reservoir Mr. Tickle?  It’s near empty.  Bob went on to explain that after the last day it was in for service he had to add one and a half quarts of hydraulic fluid.  Dennis spoke for the first time at this point and defensively said, “What are you trying to say?”  We had the feeling he thought Bob was saying it was neglect on their part by not adding the fluid.  That wasn’t the case at all, we knew it was filled because if you know Bob you know that he looked at everything when we got the rig back.  Bob said to Dennis, “I’m not saying anything, I’m asking where did the fluid go?”  They both looked at us blankly.  Actually, they looked like deer caught in the headlights.  They were now between a rock and a hard place and they knew it.  I spoke up at this point and told them that the very first tech we had, Dan, told us that there were two leaks.  Dan quit a few days after we got there so this was never followed up on even though it was brought to the attention of our service writer and our new technician, Eduardo, on several occasions.  No one listened to us.  Yes, there were leaks at the hose connections but that is a slow drip and certainly not a quart and half’s worth in 16 hours!  We kept saying, “Drop the belly, pull the insulation down and you’re going to find wet insulation.  They wouldn’t do it.  We get that no one wants to work with insulation, especially in this heat, laying on your back and working with your arms extended for what could be hours.  We get that.  But darn it, we have a leak and it needs to be fixed!

It was suggested that Lippert, the designer and the manufacturer of this hydraulic system be called for suggestions on what to do next.  WHAT????   All this time you couldn’t fix it and the manufacturer was never called?  Bob and I just looked at each other.  I spoke up again.  “That’s an excellent idea!  In fact, I think a mechanic from Lippert should fly in and work on this now because I no longer have any confidence in the service techs here.”  Well, that didn’t go over very well as you can imagine.  

I wasn’t liking the silent attitude I was getting so I decided to go in for the kill.

“Mr. Tickle, while I have you here, I think there is something else you should know.  Though it wasn’t said directly to us, it was overheard by one of the friends we’ve made here and it got back to us.  Since we have spent considerable time in your parking lot before moving to the campground, Bob and I have been referred to as SQUATTERS by some on staff here”  Need I even tell you that Mr. Tickle’s eyes got as big as saucers?   Bob got a glance in at Dennis and he said the blood just drained from Dennis’ face.   “Oh, Mrs. Quinn, that is totally not acceptable and I can assure you we certainly do not think of our guests that way!  I will be sure to talk to the entire staff about this.  No ma’am, this is NOT acceptable and I apologize on behalf of Lazy Days.”  I went on…..  “Mr. Tickle, its not bad enough that someone, or some people, refer to customers who stay in your parking lot as SQUATTERS, but they said it about someone who writes an RV travel blog!”  I thought we were going to have to call an ambulance.  Dennis’ entire upper body was now devoid of any blood at all and Mr. Tickle looked like,,,,well, he looked like he just wanted to say, “Oh please, just shoot me now.”  Needless to say tunes were changed in an instance.  The next sentence we heard came from Mr. Tickle.  “Mr & Mrs Quinn, you are our top priority!  Dennis, you call Lippert first thing tomorrow morning and if you can’t get anyone call Tampa and we’ll call the higher ups to get the ball rolling.”   My, my, my, how tunes have changed.

Dennis assured us he would call us as soon as he talked with the Lippert Company to let us know what the next step is.

Bob and I thanked them both for their time, waved goodbye, went inside,and high-fived!

Things are gonna change now!