atfulldraw
Texas is home
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Joined: 08/29/2010
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I can tell you without a doubt that they do NOT read these forums.
They are way too busy with quality control to spend any time here.
2011 Voltage 3900
2009 DRW 3500 4x4 Chevrolet
2 Lacy Dogs, Kayaks, Polaris Ranger, Fishing rods, kitchen sink
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jbeletti
Crossville, TN
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Joined: 06/29/2004
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I can say with certainty that some manufacturers not only follow this forum and others, but also respond/react (privately) and take ideas and criticisms to heart.
Jim
Jim & Nancy (Ruby & Emme)
2013 Heartland Landmark Key Largo
2012 Ford F450 / Classy Chassis Hauler Bed
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ChopperBill
Colo
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Joined: 03/22/2002
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SH wrote:I believe that many manufacturers monitor brand specfic forums. I know for a fact Heartland does this with their Heartland Owners Forum As an example I posted a question on that forum to another owner about a small leak issue. That same day I got an unsolicited phone call from a Heartland tech offering some helpful advice on cause and cure. Doesn't take much to impress me but I thought that was great Customer Service especially since my rig was out of warranty!
Yep, have seen several changes to Heartland RV's that have come from the Heartland owners forum. They look, read, listen and DO!
AKA Retired4fun
"11" 3610RE
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davelinde
Lake Nona, Florida
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Joined: 11/02/2003
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ChopperBill wrote:SH wrote:I believe that many manufacturers monitor brand specfic forums. I know for a fact Heartland does this with their Heartland Owners Forum
Yep...They look, read, listen and DO!
x2 on knowing first hand that Heartland reads their forums. I had a problem with my Cyclone and posted to find out if other people had seen it and what they did. The next morning I got a call from a Heartland service rep who encouraged me to get a warranty claim on record asap so they would have a note it happened during the warranty period.
Dave Lindemulder
Tammy, Mark & Kirsten
04 Dodge 2500 4x4 SLT QC/SB HO-CTD/48RE
01 Volvo VNL660 singled VED12
09 Heartland Cyclone 3210
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bikendan
Napa, Cal.
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Joined: 11/21/2005
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EgorKC wrote:bikendan wrote:because this forum isn't associated with any brand, i doubt many of them are monitoring this forum.
but i do know that some Forest River reps do monitor the Forest River Forums.
there are a number of commercial members there that answer questions and help out owners of that particular FR brand.
Glad to know that. I have been unable to get any kind of current contact information for their marketing dept. On another forum several owners indicated that Forest River did not want contact from the general public, just dealers. I can only assume that is correct since there is no contact info on their site. There is a specific Wildcat model we are interested in and none of the other Forest River brands have that floor plan. Last year there were 2 dealers in the Kansas City metro area. 2012 there are none. I wanted to contact them to see what the odds were they would set up another Wildcat dealer in KC. We are now looking for alternatives in other brands since floor pans seem to be universally copied. We contacted a dealer within 2 hours of us and that did not pan out. Hopefully some Forest River employee will read this and toss it up the chain. Relying on dealer contact only is sort of like fixing a broken crutch with duct tape. It might work........then again?
Greg
well, there are at least 2, maybe 3 Wildcat reps that are members of Forest River Forums. they answer Wildcat questions and provide assistance, all the time.
i know because i've been asking about a particular Sterling Edition model.
and FRF is NOT a part of the Forest River company. it's an owners' forum.
Dan- Firefighter , Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur , Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever , 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
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ol Bombero-JC
USA
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Joined: 06/24/2004
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missmy5ver wrote:
"Do you suppose that RV manufacturers . . .
read this site . . . (etc.)??
No.
~
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Luke Porter
Not on the road :(
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Joined: 10/03/2000
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Home Skillet wrote:There's no "watch dog" group like JD Power to rate RVs.
Back in the old days The JD Power survey had several pages of questions about how I liked the vehicle.
The last one I got had one question---are you happy with the vehicle? And several pages of questions about magazines I read.
Yep, actually drove to all of these places---in the last eight years. Missed Rhode Island and New Jersey.
.
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pompomgirl
Edmonds, WA
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Joined: 10/02/2011
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Apparently Blue Ox is a savvy marketer, because all savvy marketers now know that social media is their #1 friend if they perform well and their #1 problem if they don't. It's easier for them to fix customer service than product quality, but if poor quality is harming sales because the word is spread through social media, eventually they will figure it out. It's just that there are some vendors who don't want to bother with quality and are satisfied to skim the bottom segment of the market. Those will probably always be with us.
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Robin'n'Marian
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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Definitely at least some manufacturers do read the forums - I have had a conversation about something I had said on a forum, (not their own forum)with a manufacturers rep that he contacted me about. So he was reading the forum.
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JayWalker2009
USA
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Joined: 08/11/2009
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pompomgirl wrote:Apparently Blue Ox is a savvy marketer, because all savvy marketers now know that social media is their #1 friend if they perform well and their #1 problem if they don't. It's easier for them to fix customer service than product quality, but if poor quality is harming sales because the word is spread through social media, eventually they will figure it out. It's just that there are some vendors who don't want to bother with quality and are satisfied to skim the bottom segment of the market. Those will probably always be with us.
Very true. It seems younger companies, and older companies that continue to be on the cutting edge, know what is relevant and current in the marketplace, and they know how to use venues like social media to their advantage.
Most all companies have a facebook page for instance, but only the companies who know how to remain current actually MONITOR that page and also UPDATE it. It is far worse for a company to have an unmaintained social media page or website that is not monitored than to not have one at all. It makes the company look sloppy and uninterested if they are not up to date and listening/responding to customer feedback. They'd be better off removing the page or site than just leaving it out there untended to. But the companies who are very engaged and have relevant content, and an admin who will readily respond to questions end up with a much better reputation.
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