Leisure Sales service centre, Sandbach

[judsley]

Hi
Just a quick one, has anyone had any dealings with Leisure Sales in Sandbach for caravan repairs?
I've got to take my 9 year old caravan in for sorting out a damp issue and was considering using LS.
I note they are part of the Approved Workshop scheme but wondered if they were on a par with other workshops I could use.
I know the repairs are going to cost me a few quid and obviously want value for money.
Thanks
Jon

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Jon,

It is rather telling that despite the fact the company is part of the "Approved Workshop scheme", you do not consider that to be sufficient to instil confidence in the company.

Have you heard something adverse about the company? and consequently are you looking for excuses not to use them? Let me add, it would be wholly inappropriate (and against forum rules) to repeat any adverse unsubstantiated gossip about a company.

I think you will find that even some of the most respected companies will have some customers who are unhappy about some aspect of their work, and they are the ones who are most likely to voice their opinions.

Part of the difficulty of garnering this sort of information from a public forum, is you have no way of verifying the validity of any claims (good or bad) about companies. In customer service circles, it is a well known and recorded fact that an unhappy customer is far more likely to air their views than a happy customer, but also an unhappy customer is more likely to repeat the report several times and to far more people (e.g. friends and relatives) thus giving a wholly negatively biased view of the issue even if its or is not a justifiable position.

In some extreme cases customers have been known to carry out a vendetta against a company and actually spread inaccurate and malicious rumours, that is of course illegal.

If a company has been long established, then they are very likely to be doings something right, but unfortunately it is human nature not to report satisfactory or even good service. It's usually only extremes that get people going mostly bad news, and less frequently exceptionally good news.

And just because one person had a particular issue, does not mean you would experience the same difficulties.

I suggest you take the "Approved Workshop scheme" as something that's far better than nothing. It does at least indicate the workshops have the necessary equipment and hopefully competent personnel, and thus are capable of doing a good job

 

[judsley]

Gosh Prof John L,
Looks like I've hit a nerve with you by posting that question.
From the outset, I would like to make it perfectly clear that I have absolutely nothing bad to say about Leisure Sales and I certainly have not heard anything adverse about the company. I have used the shop on a number of occasions and found the staff to be more than friendly and helpful.
My caravan requires some repairs to it and as a result I'm in the market of shopping round. I have looked up the Approved Workshop Scheme on the internet and there are several places that I could go to. I have had one experience with a repair service that came under the scheme (who I am not going to name) whom I had asked for a quote for repairs following a service. I spent 3 weeks chasing them up for a quote and when I eventually got it, the quote was very vague and for a fair amount of money. When I eventually got a break down of the quote, my messages to book the caravan in for repairs were never replied to.
This was my first experience contacting a company under the scheme, and unfortunately, it wasn't a good one. I am more than aware that not every one can have a happy experience with any person / company, whatever the nature of the business, when the other 99.9% have had nothing but a good experience.
My question regarding Leisure Sales was a general enquiry, as my caravan is normally stored nearby and it would be convenient for me to take the caravan to them whereby any repairs can be fully explained.
If I have a bad experience with a company, I would take it up with them, and not use a public forum to "drag them through the mud".
I have only had my caravan for a year and am very new to it. Like every walk of life, there are good and bad experiences. I am very much a "glass is half full" person and as such, having one (or even several) bad experience isn't going to put me off.
I'd like to thank you for your comments and am glad to be able to clarify that my question was made purely in an attempt to instill confidence in someone who is very new to this wonderful hobby.
Kindest regards
Jon

 

[Martin24]

Possibly worth having a little drive around the workshops you are considering and talking to them about the what work needs doing and getting a feel for them. In some ways they may all be a bit vague in quoting because they won't know the extent of the damage until they delve deeper whilst working on the van but they may be able to give a worst case scenario for you. At least by visiting rather than phoning you'll perhaps get a better feel for each place and see what facilities they have and even learn a bit of the background. The workshop I use is just a workshop set up by a chap who was made redundant when ABI ceased manufacturing touring vans and so I knew his history was in manufacturing vans.

 

[seth1]

After various encounters with poor dealers i understand Jons concerns,do people use a builder with out recomendation?Ive used Leisure sales for a long time now for consumable items and like and they,ve been really helpful.It seems they,ve expanded just lately maybe something to do with Harringtons shutting the doors.Another decent company in the area is Goodwin caravan services in Haslington.Ive used this company for my servicing and repairs for along time.Cant fault them,they even ring you back.

 

[Parksy]

Gosh Prof John L,
Looks like I've hit a nerve with you by posting that question....................

Don't worry Judsey, you haven't.
All that the Prof is trying to say is that on caravan forums such as this people are more likely to discuss their bad experiences, we rarely see posts full of unanimous praise for dealers, caravan manufacturers etc.
No matter what dealers workshop you asked about there would be mixed reviews because that's the nature of internet forums.
Another factor to consider is that, wrong though it may be, dealers usually give preference to customers who bought their caravan from them which could be why your experience from the other dealer was negative.
Even if someone wanted to tell you of a bad experience with a dealer they wouldn't be allowed, under forum rules to name them on the forum (see Rule 4 Forum Etiquette), which was another thing that Prof John was trying to tell you in his own inimitable way

Martin has given you good advice, go along and speak to the service manager, explain your situation and satisfy yourself that LS is the workshop that you want to use. If you can build a good relationship with the dealers service dept so much the better, this usually pays dividends in terms of customer care and good service in the long run.
Let us know how you get on.

 

[Raywood]

Have a look at this site to compare repairers as it does show customer satisfaction. As Parksy says yoou do need to be a bit wary but Leisure Services do look good.

 

[judsley]

Thanks for all your comments.
I have spoken to the servicing Dept at Leisure Sales who have told me to bring my caravan to them any time for them to have a look at. That way, they will be able to explain in person any issues they find and give a good idea at the extent of repairs i'm looking at.
I think the initial problem I had was that I had my caravan serviced by a mobile company and as such never had a face to face contact with them. That was compounded by being new to caravanning and not appreciating what was involved.
I'll take it to them, hopefully, next week and will let you know how things went (fingers crossed).
Jon

 

[Parksy]

I'm sure that LS will be ok Jon, as a forum mod I read every forum post and I browse most internet caravan forums from time to time to keep abreast of what's happening in the caravan world. I can't recall reading about any real horror stories concerning Leisure Sales otherwise we'd have found a way to warn you on the q t

 

[judsley]

Thanks Parksy

 

[Raywood]

Not sure why but the address is missing from my previous post. http://www.approvedworkshops.co.uk

 

[judsley]

Thanks Raywood,
That's the site I found too.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello again Jon,

Gosh Prof John L,
Looks like I've hit a nerve with you by posting that question.

No not a raw nerve, well perhaps a slight twinge: , but I stress not with a caravn related matter. I was just trying to make you aware that forums are not necesarily a reliable source to indicate levels of customer satisfaction.