Hi folks, just thought I'd write this to congratulate Elddis on their customer service. You read on here and various other caravanning forums about other peoples problems when they try and claim for things under warranty, only to have nothing but hassle. As a nation we are all too quick to criticise, but not so quick to praise when necessary. I have an Elddis xplore 546 bought new 2 years ago. I have in the last month had the second front window fitted due to the dreaded marks where the two panes rub together. Never had a problem in getting them changed, all done under warranty. Then on our last outing about a month ago, the battery charger decided to pack up. Took the van to my approved service centre, who quickly diagnosed the fault and submitted a warranty claim to Elddis. I left it for about 10 days and then contacted my service centre to find out what was happening, because we are off to Cornwall in a fortnight and I wanted it done before we go. They told me that Elddis had approved the claim and they were just waiting for them to send the charger, but if I contacted Elddis and explained that we were going away, they might rush it through a bit quicker. I then contacted Elddis on Monday and explained the situation, and they were very very helpful, I then received a phone call off my service centre yesterday to say that the charger had arrived. Now in my book that's what you call service, and it sort of restores your faith in the British caravan industry. Well done Elddis.
Well done Elddis
- Thread starter Pontyboy
- Start date
hi Pontyboy
Good to here some praise at last well done Elddis.I have a Bailey 18 months old had a problem with bathroom tap all covered under warrent,replaced no problem well done Bailey
I hope this feel good factor continues come on everybody lets hear your posative stories.
Good to here some praise at last well done Elddis.I have a Bailey 18 months old had a problem with bathroom tap all covered under warrent,replaced no problem well done Bailey
I hope this feel good factor continues come on everybody lets hear your posative stories.
Hello PB,
I agree that we should note and applaud good service, and I am pleased that you feel satisfied you have received good service.
Unfortunately I can't agree with you about it. Ten days to approve a simple guarantee repair, I'm sorry but that to me that is not good service. It took the person at Eldiss less than a 5 minutes to review the details of the claim and to say yes or no - so where has it been sitting for the other 9 days 23 hours and 55 minutes?
And why didn't the part get sent out immediately?, why did it need the customer to jog the business to move the parts?
This was not hassle free, as a customer you should not have to endure any hassle at all for a product failure under guarantee.
I know I'm being very hard, but if this is considered good service then I can understand why the caravan industry fails to move forward.
Realistically if the dealer and Elldis were on top of their game, from the time the caravan was taken in by the dealer;- (and lets be generous here) - half a day to diagnose and identify the solution to the problem, Phone call to Elldis to report the faulty and to order the parts, despatch of goods in 24 hours. Transit 2 working days, half day to install part and test job done. Should not have taken more than 5 working days tops, its possible to have it done in three if every one gets on with the job when it comes in.
For a real comparison look at Powertouch.
Compared to other experiences it may be good, then that begs the question how bad are the others?). When I worked in a service department frankly if we had been so inactive over a claim we would have been hauled over the coals by our managers and directors. Certainly in my own business one of our targets is to respond to any guarantee claim within 12 working hours and in practice that usually means within one working hour - the claim is either rejected (with reasons) or accepted and the parts being picked from stock ready for next working day delivery, and the dealer/customer informed by email or phone call.
If you had been given that level of service, your caravan could have been ready next day!
Most owners do not realise there is a problem with their caravan until they come to use it. Unfortunately that usually means that time is limited because they are either getting ready for a holiday or or actually on holiday. Time is therefore of the essence, and it should be the goal of every dealer and manufacture to get their customers up and running again as soon as is reasonably possible. A ten day delay means a customer has not been able to use the product for longer than the holiday may have lasted.
Now is that good service?
I agree that we should note and applaud good service, and I am pleased that you feel satisfied you have received good service.
Unfortunately I can't agree with you about it. Ten days to approve a simple guarantee repair, I'm sorry but that to me that is not good service. It took the person at Eldiss less than a 5 minutes to review the details of the claim and to say yes or no - so where has it been sitting for the other 9 days 23 hours and 55 minutes?
And why didn't the part get sent out immediately?, why did it need the customer to jog the business to move the parts?
This was not hassle free, as a customer you should not have to endure any hassle at all for a product failure under guarantee.
I know I'm being very hard, but if this is considered good service then I can understand why the caravan industry fails to move forward.
Realistically if the dealer and Elldis were on top of their game, from the time the caravan was taken in by the dealer;- (and lets be generous here) - half a day to diagnose and identify the solution to the problem, Phone call to Elldis to report the faulty and to order the parts, despatch of goods in 24 hours. Transit 2 working days, half day to install part and test job done. Should not have taken more than 5 working days tops, its possible to have it done in three if every one gets on with the job when it comes in.
For a real comparison look at Powertouch.
Compared to other experiences it may be good, then that begs the question how bad are the others?). When I worked in a service department frankly if we had been so inactive over a claim we would have been hauled over the coals by our managers and directors. Certainly in my own business one of our targets is to respond to any guarantee claim within 12 working hours and in practice that usually means within one working hour - the claim is either rejected (with reasons) or accepted and the parts being picked from stock ready for next working day delivery, and the dealer/customer informed by email or phone call.
If you had been given that level of service, your caravan could have been ready next day!
Most owners do not realise there is a problem with their caravan until they come to use it. Unfortunately that usually means that time is limited because they are either getting ready for a holiday or or actually on holiday. Time is therefore of the essence, and it should be the goal of every dealer and manufacture to get their customers up and running again as soon as is reasonably possible. A ten day delay means a customer has not been able to use the product for longer than the holiday may have lasted.
Now is that good service?
Hi Prof John While I agree with some of your comments, and yes 10 days may seem a long time to some people, I won't blame Elddis for that due to the fact that the service centre might have sat on the warranty claim as they were too busy. When they fitted my replacement window they were extremely busy, what with servicing etc. They also had the side off an expensive German caravan due to damp and it was only 4 years old. My point is the service I received from Elddis themselves, only twice I have contacted them and on both ocassions the outcome as far as I am concerned has been very satisfactory. There is far too much doom & gloom written these days so I thought it would make a change to write something positive, and as Kopite says lets hear some more stories of positive outcomes.
Hello PB
Point taken, but even so, someone in the process chain delayed the outcome for much longer than was necessary, your OP did not make it clear where the hold up was.
Point taken, but even so, someone in the process chain delayed the outcome for much longer than was necessary, your OP did not make it clear where the hold up was.
I agre with John's views. Why do we have to chase dealers and manufacturers to get a job done? Basically 10 days is far too long and spares should be available within 48 hours and fitted within 72 hours. This should applly across the board to caravans, cars, TVs etc.
I know the caravan trade dislikes being compared to the motor trade, but if while your car is in for service it is found that it needs a part not already in stock at the dealers, that part is ordered immediately and usually arrives at the dealer next day.
So if the motor trade can supply that sort of service, why can't the caravan trade? The simple answer is that it's not a case of it can't, but that it won't. And so as long as the caravan trade continues to operate as if it's in the 20th or even 19th century, so the complaints will keep coming!
So if the motor trade can supply that sort of service, why can't the caravan trade? The simple answer is that it's not a case of it can't, but that it won't. And so as long as the caravan trade continues to operate as if it's in the 20th or even 19th century, so the complaints will keep coming!
Looks like I'm in the minority here. Personally I don't think that 10 days is that much of a wait, especially when I know of quite a number of people who's cars have been off the road for anything up to 6 weeks due to waiting for parts, and it's not particularly 1 make of vehicle either, it's various makes. I think sometimes people's expectations are too much, and I personally wouldn't compare caravans to the motor trade, because I think most people would put having the car on the road of greater importance than the caravan. After all the caravan wont go anywhere without the towcar. As I said in my previous post I think the service centre sat on it for a while because they were extremely busy so I don't see that's Elddis's fault. And lets be honest here, one phone call from me late on monday to Elddis, to the part turning up on wednesday morning is pretty quick.
Hi PB
I'm not trying to change your mind on this one, you feel happy thats great. It is a matter of personal opinion, and if you are happy that fine. but for others such an unecessary delay on this type of repair it could be teh difference between having a holiday or a holiday ruined.
This should be a worry for the dealrship and Eldiss. If the service centre is so busy it is its own interests to clear as many jobs as possible, as quickly as possible. Whilst the dealer had your caravan, you had lost the oppertunity to use it (wether you intended to use it or not is imaterial), but it also means the dealership has to store and protect your caravan, which if it's like several dealerships I know it means moving it daily to clear the workshop or to make way for another job, or it was stored in a yard where it might be exposed to vandalism or mishap from moving other caravans around it.
This means more lost time for the workforce, and the increased potential for damage to ocur to your property whilst it is in the dealers care. these are business risks and inefficienceis that any good company actively seeks to reduce.
Eldiss may not have been the main culprit in this case, but why on earth did they not despatch the required parts as soon as they had given the job the go ahead? It should not requie the end user to call them before goods are sent out. If they can do it in response to a telephone call, they can do it just as quickly without any propmting. The question is why didn't they?
Your feeling good now but just think even how much better you would have felt if the dealer had told you the job would be completed next day! - now thats good service, and it is is possible for the repair you had done.
It might be intersting to hear from dealers and manufactures about this topic. - its open to you.
I'm not trying to change your mind on this one, you feel happy thats great. It is a matter of personal opinion, and if you are happy that fine. but for others such an unecessary delay on this type of repair it could be teh difference between having a holiday or a holiday ruined.
This should be a worry for the dealrship and Eldiss. If the service centre is so busy it is its own interests to clear as many jobs as possible, as quickly as possible. Whilst the dealer had your caravan, you had lost the oppertunity to use it (wether you intended to use it or not is imaterial), but it also means the dealership has to store and protect your caravan, which if it's like several dealerships I know it means moving it daily to clear the workshop or to make way for another job, or it was stored in a yard where it might be exposed to vandalism or mishap from moving other caravans around it.
This means more lost time for the workforce, and the increased potential for damage to ocur to your property whilst it is in the dealers care. these are business risks and inefficienceis that any good company actively seeks to reduce.
Eldiss may not have been the main culprit in this case, but why on earth did they not despatch the required parts as soon as they had given the job the go ahead? It should not requie the end user to call them before goods are sent out. If they can do it in response to a telephone call, they can do it just as quickly without any propmting. The question is why didn't they?
Your feeling good now but just think even how much better you would have felt if the dealer had told you the job would be completed next day! - now thats good service, and it is is possible for the repair you had done.
It might be intersting to hear from dealers and manufactures about this topic. - its open to you.
Hi Prof John Thanks for your comments they are appreciated, and I do agree with you. One of the reasons why I did contact Elddis is we are going away in 2 weeks. As for your question about dealers and manufacturers responses to this, I won't hold my breath for any replies.
John
Your comments are well founded but imo the missing link is coming.
I think on this occasion Elddis did perform even though some back stage pulling of strings was necessary. And yes 10 days is nothing to write home about.
It is now well documented that the major producers have been pathetically slow in supplying spares to customers.
Swift , via their Swift Talk web site have tried hard to reduce timescales.
Bailey have now opened a specific parts facility promising , almost , 24 hour turn round and delivery of parts.
Nothing is for nothing and I have to say the Bailey prices do seem on the high side to me, but then maybe that is the cost of almost next day delivery.
I am certain with pressure from the consumers, Dealers and us guys on here we can encourage the manufacturer to deliver by return.
But as the Prof said when did the Dealer place the order??????
Your comments are well founded but imo the missing link is coming.
I think on this occasion Elddis did perform even though some back stage pulling of strings was necessary. And yes 10 days is nothing to write home about.
It is now well documented that the major producers have been pathetically slow in supplying spares to customers.
Swift , via their Swift Talk web site have tried hard to reduce timescales.
Bailey have now opened a specific parts facility promising , almost , 24 hour turn round and delivery of parts.
Nothing is for nothing and I have to say the Bailey prices do seem on the high side to me, but then maybe that is the cost of almost next day delivery.
I am certain with pressure from the consumers, Dealers and us guys on here we can encourage the manufacturer to deliver by return.
But as the Prof said when did the Dealer place the order??????
Our Elddis is 6 years old now and have only once had to get spares from Elddis through our local dealer. They were despatched within a couple of days which was excellent. We have nothing but praise for our Elddis caravan which has been trouble free except for sliding door sliders which broke due to the appalling roads in a part of Italy 3 years ago. .
The caravan industry really needs to drag itself into the 21st century. In the section of the motor industry in which I am employed, a major European Truck manufacturer, the dealer makes the decision as to whether a repair is covered by warranty or not and orders the necessary parts immediately from the UK parts warehouse. Parts ordered are delivered FOC at 6am the following day and will be fitted that morning. On the rare occasion that parts have to be sourced from the factory in mainland Europe they will arrive in the UK the day after ordering and be dispatched straight to the dealer. I believe all caravan manufactures should hold stock of spare parts for next day delivery to dealers as required. They’re quick enough to sell you a new caravan and should back up their sales with an equally aggressive parts supply system.
I think 10 days is not too bad,
and as for the motortrade, we wont even go there.
I ordered a new ford focus in march 1st having seen the new model. It was promised delivery April 25th. Had phone call couple of days before ( i was in the lke district), its on its way from Liverpool on the trailer.
It didnt arrive on the trailer, 5 days later they said it was still in liverpool they think. But hte man who knows where its gone has gone missing. Waited some more days. Was told all ford focus` stuck in Liverpool, they have a fault, engineer coming in next two weeks to sort it out. Then they dont know how long it will take as he has to reprogrammed them all, there were over 200 waiting to be reprogrammed. So it could take some time and them when they`re reprogrammed have to wait for a date for it to go on trailer.
They wouldnt release any until they`d all been reprogrammed to see if the reprogramming worked.
I cancelled order mutual consent between us and Ford motor company.
Ordered another make car. No sign of that turning up either. Could be 2012. So had to cancel that and now I`m still waiting for a car. Should be here September sometime.So I`ve had a caravan 6 weeks and nothing to tow it.
All dealers saying the same........due to Japan earthquake cant get parts...blah de blah. But i seen the Japanese rebuild a road in a day and not all parts come from Japan surely
So 10 days is nothing seen as I started my quest for a car in March and i`m still waiting...
and as for the motortrade, we wont even go there.
I ordered a new ford focus in march 1st having seen the new model. It was promised delivery April 25th. Had phone call couple of days before ( i was in the lke district), its on its way from Liverpool on the trailer.
It didnt arrive on the trailer, 5 days later they said it was still in liverpool they think. But hte man who knows where its gone has gone missing. Waited some more days. Was told all ford focus` stuck in Liverpool, they have a fault, engineer coming in next two weeks to sort it out. Then they dont know how long it will take as he has to reprogrammed them all, there were over 200 waiting to be reprogrammed. So it could take some time and them when they`re reprogrammed have to wait for a date for it to go on trailer.
They wouldnt release any until they`d all been reprogrammed to see if the reprogramming worked.
I cancelled order mutual consent between us and Ford motor company.
Ordered another make car. No sign of that turning up either. Could be 2012. So had to cancel that and now I`m still waiting for a car. Should be here September sometime.So I`ve had a caravan 6 weeks and nothing to tow it.
All dealers saying the same........due to Japan earthquake cant get parts...blah de blah. But i seen the Japanese rebuild a road in a day and not all parts come from Japan surely
So 10 days is nothing seen as I started my quest for a car in March and i`m still waiting...
In defence of the car industry there was an issue with chips for diesel ecu's because of the Japenese crisis, they are being made elsewhere now but that all takes time to set up.
The days of having the car you want in manufactures stock piles are long gone,cars are mostly built to order now to avoid having stock that they have to heavily discount to move.8-12 weeks is the norm now?
The days of having the car you want in manufactures stock piles are long gone,cars are mostly built to order now to avoid having stock that they have to heavily discount to move.8-12 weeks is the norm now?
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