RE: Oh what we did!!

[MPTDAT]

Well, we haven't heard from the Federal Trade Commission yet. We have to see what they are willing to do. If nothing than we will be filing a law suit against them. On the bright side, I received my missing valances and curtains directly from Viking via UPS. Walt Michal's told us that it would take a minimum of six weeks to get them. We got them in less than 3 weeks after calling Viking directly. I was also told that I should make a police report about the damage to my trailer. I was told by a policeman friend from the county sherriff's office that if damage is done to any property and the people responsible are not willing to fix it or pay to have it fixed, it is considered reckless vandalism, accidental or not. Well, it hasn't come down to that yet, but it is nice to know it is there.

-Debby

[MPTDAT]

Well, my DH decided that we waited long enough for McGlinch to catch up on their repairs after the RV show. When we called them to set up an appointment, they told us that they do not want to be involved in any dispute either. The man DH talked to said they were sick of doing Walt Michal's warranty work because they refuse to service people. They told us that Walt Michal's has already been paid to do warranty work and that they won't see a penny of it unless Viking goes after them for the money. When DH told him we were thinking about sueing Walt Michal's, he told him, "Get in line." Now we have NO ONE to service our trailer.  DH then called Viking and told them that he is sick of this and just wants his money back or a brand new trailer. They said they would have someone call him back when people get back from lunch. This is never going to end is it??

-Debby

[campingboaters]

Looks like this is Viking's chance to make this all right.  If they give you a new unit and make you happy, look how many people will know about it and give Viking the respect they deserve for making a horrible situation good.  They should also revoke any rights Walt Michal's has to sell Viking products!
 
If they ignore you, then they are just as bad a manufacturer as the dealer and even MORE people will know about them not standing behind their products and dealers.
 
Good luck and keep us informed!

[birol]

Looks like this is Viking's chance to make this all right.  If they give you a new unit and make you happy, look how many people will know about it and give Viking the respect they deserve for making a horrible situation good.  They should also revoke any rights Walt Michal's has to sell Viking products!
 
If they ignore you, then they are just as bad a manufacturer as the dealer and even MORE people will know about them not standing behind their products and dealers.
 
Good luck and keep us informed!

I hope Viking makes you happy. happy might not necessarily mean a new unit, but you getting what you wanted, or reconditioning your unit to that status or any other compensation you both agree that it is fair.

[tlhdoc]

I hope Viking will make things right for you.  I also hope they will pull the franchise from Walt Michal.  If I was a manufacturer I would not want a dealer selling my product that wouldn't make things right if there was a problem or that did not do what they said they would.  If Viking does step in, it will show just how good of a manufacturer they are.

[angelsmom10]

From everything you have gone thru, I'd first demand my $$$ back, if that is not an option, then a "NEW" PU and a NEW DEALER to work with.

[MPTDAT]

We got two phone calls yesterday. One was Charlie from Viking. He is also the Viking rep. for Walt Michal's RV. He enlightened us on two things. One - Walt Michal's service department is not owned by Walt Michal's. Most of our problems are with this other company. Two - McGlinch RV will service our trailer because they get paid extra from Viking to take care of Walt Michal's problems. Now, if they have so many problems with Walt Michal's that they have to pay another dealer to take care of them, why don't they just not let Walt Michal's sell their product??
The second phone call was from McGlinch saying that they would be servicing our trailer. We take it in tomorrow. We have a list of at least a dozen or so problems.

-Debby

[angelsmom10]

We got two phone calls yesterday. One was Charlie from Viking. He is also the Viking rep. for Walt Michal's RV. He enlightened us on two things. One - Walt Michal's service department is not owned by Walt Michal's. Most of our problems are with this other company. Two - McGlinch RV will service our trailer because they get paid extra from Viking to take care of Walt Michal's problems. Now, if they have so many problems with Walt Michal's that they have to pay another dealer to take care of them, why don't they just not let Walt Michal's sell their product??
The second phone call was from McGlinch saying that they would be servicing our trailer. We take it in tomorrow. We have a list of at least a dozen or so problems.
 
-Debby

Glad that you are getting a little more -- hopefully McGlinch will do a lot better job.  

[birol]

We got two phone calls yesterday. One was Charlie from Viking. He is also the Viking rep. for Walt Michal's RV. He enlightened us on two things. One - Walt Michal's service department is not owned by Walt Michal's. Most of our problems are with this other company. Two - McGlinch RV will service our trailer because they get paid extra from Viking to take care of Walt Michal's problems. Now, if they have so many problems with Walt Michal's that they have to pay another dealer to take care of them, why don't they just not let Walt Michal's sell their product??
The second phone call was from McGlinch saying that they would be servicing our trailer. We take it in tomorrow. We have a list of at least a dozen or so problems.

-Debby

Ha ! I knew Viking would come through with this problem ! I hope they work efficently and take care of all the problems you have had ! I also hope that the other dealer will get what is coming their way ! Revoking of their dealership ! They surely deserve it. It is not an excuse that another company is doing the service, I am sure the same owner owns both parts ! Or sub contracted or something !

[tlhdoc]

YEA, something is getting done at last.

I find it hard to believe that a company could be in the selling business and not the service end too.  I think Birol may be right.  On paper they are two companies, but in reality I bet they are one.

[angelsmom10]

Seems shady to me -- gives them an out and blame the other.  That is why at work, I want a company who services from start to finish, then new excuses:eek:

[Jim in Michigan]

One - Walt Michal's service department is not owned by Walt Michal's. Most of our problems are with this other company.

-Debby

Let's see, 1) the service department is physically attached to the showroom, 2) I have personally seen Walt Michals himself talk to people in the Service Department, 3) The idiot who sold me my trailer while in sales was working in the service department the last time I saw him there, 4) all of my invoices from the Service Department say "Walt Michals" on the top, 5) when you call Walt Michals and say transfer me to service, they do and they say they are not owned by Walt Michals?  Now all this is dated back to prior to 2001 when I last visited that place but it certaintly looked like it was part of the same company to me back then.  This sounds like some kind of tax dodge or some way for Walt Michals to separate themselves from service for some quality or customer satisfaction ratings reason.

Debby, I sincerely hope you get all this resolved and go on to many exciting camping adventures.  I know I learned a lesson five years ago and your trials and tribulations reinforce it, shop for the dealer first and then find the best camper they offer that suits your needs.  Good luck with your new dealer, take it easy on them, they get stuck with angry customers off the bat when they had nothing to do with the problem and they don't get any commission on the original sale to boot.  It sounds like others on this board have had good experiences with them and I am sure if you work with them they will work well with you.

[angelsmom10]

Let's see, 1) the service department is physically attached to the showroom, 2) I have personally seen Walt Michals himself talk to people in the Service Department, 3) The idiot who sold me my trailer while in sales was working in the service department the last time I saw him there, 4) all of my invoices from the Service Department say "Walt Michals" on the top, 5) when you call Walt Michals and say transfer me to service, they do and they say they are not owned by Walt Michals? Now all this is dated back to prior to 2001 when I last visited that place but it certaintly looked like it was part of the same company to me back then. This sounds like some kind of tax dodge or some way for Walt Michals to separate themselves from service for some quality or customer satisfaction ratings reason.
 
Debby, I sincerely hope you get all this resolved and go on to many exciting camping adventures. I know I learned a lesson five years ago and your trials and tribulations reinforce it, shop for the dealer first and then find the best camper they offer that suits your needs. Good luck with your new dealer, take it easy on them, they get stuck with angry customers off the bat when they had nothing to do with the problem and they don't get any commission on the original sale to boot. It sounds like others on this board have had good experiences with them and I am sure if you work with them they will work well with you.

They sound even shardier now.  Since Viking doesn't seem to care enough about the problems with this service department, I don't know if I'd ever consider a Viking -

[MPTDAT]

Just thought I would share pictures of what "Walt Michal's" service department did to our beautiful new pop up. All we wanted was the door and the outlets fixed!!




http://home.hpphoto.com/servlet/com.hp.HPGuestLogin?username=mptdat&password=53440064

[angelsmom10]

Goes to main page - need to correct the link