New Warranty - Boo, Hiss

[cwit]

When I bought my 5er a 6 month check would of been great. I bought it in Oct. it was covered in snow in late Nov. and we couldn't use it untill May. If I count right that 6 months went by by way before I could even hook up. Yup bring it to the factory at about 1300 miles at 4.15$ at about 8 miles to the gal. Get real. I have been here sence sept 07 so I'm no newbe to Crossroads either. I could go on but I know that no matter what we say it won't get better and we won't get the 2 year back.

[tmontague]

I appreciate all the information we are getting regarding our new 12 Point Promise and our 1 Year Warranty. I can assure you I'm listening and we will take these suggestions under advisement.

Please also know that we are growing faster than any other RV company in the business. We have WAY out grown our facilities and are building new plants as we speak to handle the increased volume and to improve the working conditions of our employees. In addition, we are taking steps to improve, quality, improve, dealer relations, improve our customer service, and our customer relations. These things don't happen overnight - the good thing is that we as a management team are not hiding from the issues. We are facing them head on and doing our best to make it positive experience for all.

I'm sorry if I've offended anyone on the site with my posts. I work very hard to make sure I improve CrossRoads every day. When people attack without the facts, or without having reasonable dialoge - I like anyone else who cares about their company, get defensive.

We truly are trying to be something different, something better than what the rest of the industry is offering. Please be patient as we continue to grow...

[fhenn]

I guess I will chime in here. Number one taking my unit back to the dealer is out, Why because Both my Zinger Dealer and My Cruiser dealer are no longer in Business. You have no Dealer in Mississippi that I can find. To upgrade I was going out of state, but your new system makes this a none happening event. You are dumbing down on what we have come to expect and require. Your arguement that You will take care of the appliances makes no sense. Most of the problem come from the dealers. Every RV out there uses the same furnaces AC Microwaves ect. I am not buying what you are saying. As to the falling quality of your units, there is a simple solution to your problem. You have had a great growth period started by the previous admin. Thee is only to ways to get more production out Number one add floor space and more people. number two which indicates this is the direction you have gone is change the piece work rate to create a need for you production workers to increase their production. Having been there, what happens is that they are so goal interested (Because of their paychecks) that the hurry too much and put out a inferior product, because some one else will catch it. The only way to correct this is to have realistic rates, that they can achieve. There should be no fine for a worker pointing out a defect instead a reward. In the long run you will lose some production a first but will gain it back, because the units being produced are a higher quality a happier work force that is not burned out. I have been there and had it happen in front of me. Our quality went out sight when I made those changes. All most all of the people that you have heard from have had two or more of your units. I have Attended the Texas Rally, and with the exception of one year your company was not there of seemed to be interested in being there.
Some other things that have bothered me, is you have removed the pricing from the site, so when we built it we have no idea what we are buying. This is like the old days when you went into a new car dealer and wanted a pick up there was no MSRP sticker dealer stuck it to the buyers. You have now moved into this area. Also this site with your color graphics I can no longer on either one of my computers get a clear picture of what I am looking at. Your company needs to go back to the basic get a good product stand behind it and rebuild your customer base






Edited by: fhenn

[pegger]

Dear Tmontague,

Now that sounds more like a Senior Executive. An answer stating the lofty Company Goals, Including an apology to Hunter11. In striving to attain these lofty goals I urge you an your colleagues to add a sub goal, and that is, to correct the warranty misstep and the PR harm it has done.....

Edited by: pegger

[Captain Mike]

Sounds to me like they are having quality issues thus they cut their liability in half with the new warranty. Sorry Crossroads or Thor (not really sure who owns who). When we update and we will, a Two year warranty will be a minimum requirement. All manufactures want loyalty but some forget you have to earn it.

[salda01]

Frequent poster, 4 year CR owner. A 2 year warranty was a key in our decision making for our Cruiser. Residing in an area that limits the camping season a 2 yr warranty was really only a 1 year warranty. The 2 year warranty held value and was a great differentiator.

Though I do wonder how much less a Hyundai would cost without the 100k warranty. You're paying for it in the price.

[Captain Mike]

Depends on if they build a quality product or not.
High quality will equal low warranty claims thus less liability on extended warranty terms.

[artgpo]

In 2005 my wife decided it was time to buy herself her first new car, not one of my hand-me-downs. We test drove the Tucson, Sportage and CR-V. All three were almost equal except for the warranty. Her choice was the Kia Sportage with a 5 year/60,000 mile bumper to bumper and 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranties. Now, 7-1/2 years and almost 87,000 miles later her car is going strong with its warranty still in effect. The car has been almost totally free of problems aside for the leaking sunroof being replaced within a month of purchase. Hyundai and its corporate sibling, Kia, can offer such warranties because they are building quality products. Yes, the warranty cost is built into the price which, at the time of its purchase, was several thousand dollars less than the higher rated Honda product with its lesser warranty.
What I am reading here from the CR spokesperson is corporate mumbo jumbo. If the present CR quality is as good as it was three or more years ago then there would be no reason to shorten the warranty. When someone says "it isn't about the money" it IS about the money. You cannot, with a straight face, come on here and tell all of us devoted CR owners anything to the contrary. I have sat here for the past year or so and read with a heavy heart how poor the quality at CR has become. We have been your #1 fan club spreading the word throughout the RV kingdom through posts, word of mouth and at rallies. As a workcamper living in our Cruiser for almost eight months this year, my wife and I are very happy with our Cruiser. Would I buy another CR product? Probably not. If we were buying another towable RV it would probably be something from KZ, the company where the previous CR management now works. My second choice would be Jayco. Both of these companies have enough confidence in their products to back them with a two year warranty. Open Range would also fall on my short list.
None of what the new warranty offers are of any significant value as to negate the second year of the former warranty.
I think it was VERY poor PR to basically say you were taking your ball and going home. Essentially you told us that CR has no interest in listening to present and prospective owners. I would hope you take these postings to the CEO of CR and show him his (your?) mistake. You cannot maintain the growth you claim with the corporate attitude you have displayed on this forum.

[wenzdong]

Mr. Tom:

Two(2) time Crossroads Cruiser customer.

Love my unit, butlike others, we will upgrade as newer things comes

along. Like the idea of having CR doing all the support/warranty instead of the

dealer having to work back and forth with different vendors ( like Major auto

makers )BUT, like others when it time to upgrade and Brand X has two year and CR

as only 1 year warranty. SORRY but Brand X would most likely win.

[anaro]

Mr Montague- thank you for coming on and listening to us. I think you got a little overwhelmed and thus the posts striking out at your current owners. I understand being defensive, but you are not really in a position that allows for that kind of response. As I read through the posts, I thought "wow, is this how CR is going to start treating their customers?" I was happy to see your follow up post but you do need to understand that you have become the face of crossroads just like Marcus Lemonis has become the face of camping world. Coming on here was a positive thing and I applaud you for taking the time to do it. Now hopefully you can turn all of this into something positive and listen to your customers suggestions. I am not asking you to do anything unreasonable like create a 5 yr warranty or anything like that but just sit back and read the posts for what they are, customer feedback. No-one likes to have negative feedback but sometimes it is just what we need to get back on track to being where we really wanted to go.


Your post talking about growing fast and expanding etc, tells me that maybe crossroads got in over its head a bit and doesn't know how to fix the problem. You are trying but sometimes when a person (or in this case a company) is overwhelmed they try to fix things with what they think will be a quick fix. Often times the first attempt at a quick fix in this type of situation does not succeed but it helps you find out what needs to happen in order to succeed. This is what we,your customers, (and many of us are your loyal cheerleaders) are trying to help you with. We want to see CR succeed and continue to build high quality trailers. I can tell you that I love my zinger and have no current plans to trade it soon but someday it will be time (just like a beloved old car) and we will be looking. I would love to be able to say that CR is high on that list but with the current warranty plan and the current quality issues, I can tell you that it is not. Thank you again for listening and I hope that CR listens to it's loyal consumers.

PS- someone above listed the concerns about the website. We all responded to CR about the changes in the website (you can do a search for the thread).CR said they were listening andthat they would change it from the website so many of us said was a turn off but the changes never really happened. This also makes us feel like we are not really being heard.



Edited by: anaro

[tmontague]

Thank you for the kind words and I can assure you we are listening. I was going to share our new look website today with everyone but got side tracked by all the negative feedback. I will post a picture of our new Web 2.0 if you will. When I took over the marketing department I looked at these posts and agreed with most of them and I changed the direction of the site. It isn't ready but I can give everyone a sneak peek. I hope you like it.

Thanks again for your constructive criticism - I appreciate the way you communicated your concerns.

Tom.

[anaro]

yes we would love to see a sneak peak and again thank you.

[Ruck]

Hate to see "it" going the way it appeares to be but, Oh Well, eh? Just out of the shop, pressure test, no leaks, cool. Axle and tire replaced, now have to wait til I put a whole bunch of miles on her to see if that will be the fix.
Now what happens to the issues that arose during the time of the warranty, were addressed but problems with the issues crop up again after the warranty is up. Meaning that the 'fix' was only a band-aide??
I would like to think that I take good care of what I spend my hard earned money on, and have even been to the factory twice for work and annual inspection in an attempt to be in compliance.
Have sold a couple units, Texas and PA, to prospective buyers, wonder if they now hate us??

[martinstwopopfarm]

I have been reading the post but have not chimed in. The one year warranty would have little value if I were buying today. I am on my 2nd year of ownership and still finding quality control issues that need fixed. So far all but two issues were addressed. Both of those issues were not worth the hassle of taking to a service repair center that takes months to get work complete. I bought my 5th wheel after reading all the positive experiences of prior owners, a lot from this web site and the 2/5 year warranty. With the changes my next dealings will probably be with a K-Z if Crossroads remains on this same path of cost saving corporate measures.

[Lloyd]

WOW!!!!
I have not been online for awhile. All good posts. I don't have time to add any thing that would more constructive then what has already been stated. Hopefully you are listening real close Tom.

[gball]

Tom:



I would like to say thank you for coming on the Forum to address Forum members concerns regarding the changes to the Warranty program. I think that you will agree that we are a proud and passionate group. By the most part we are proud of our ownership of a CrossRoads product be it an entry level unit or high end unit. However, the past couple of years have been very frustrating evidenced by the number of posts regarding repair issues (most of which should have never left the factory), radical changes to the website (which the majority really didn’t like as it didn’t really represent a traditional camping experience), and now the warranty issue. I hope that you, and upper management, will take the comments made regarding the length of the warranty into consideration and revert back to the 2/5 year warranty for all units in addition to your 12 step program. The warranty is a value added feature that many buyers take into consideration when purchasing a unit. I know that I did. I have always promoted CrossRoads when asked about my unit. At this time I am hesitant to do so because of the current issues. I sincerely hope that my attitude can be changed in the near future.



I also hope that you will continue to be an active participant on the Forum and provide us with information about what is going on at CrossRoads. Members of the Forum have lots of years of ownership experience and I would think would be a valuable resource to CrossRoads if asked for their input regarding changes to products, warranties, etc. prior to the changes being made rather than getting negative feedback after the fact.

[tator447]

Tom,
I appreciate your listening to the concerns of all your faithful owners. Most of us (perhaps the greatest number) bought our units because of the 2 year warranty, I know I did. I even bought a until that was a brand new model, which many people would have not done. However, based on all I read here, I did buy my unit, and have been to the rally and will attending one in October. I'm sure the topic of discussion will center on the change in corporate policy. There are at least 2 present owners who are considering new 5th wheels, it will be interesting to hear their comments.

I have had my unit to the factory for some repairs, and I am happy with the job done by the team there. I appreciate your new 12 point policy, but it appears as though that should have been put in place just because of the problems by people like "Ruck" or "Hunter11". I love my unit and after our travels next year when my wife retires we will be considering a 5th wheel. Will CR be in the running, I cannot tell you. Much like Ruck I will be looking at a higher end unit, but given his problems, I'm not sure with only a one year warranty I can justify it to myself.

I have been in your position, being an executive all my working life. I sometimes did not like the complaints I heard from employees, or customers. But, I always listened, and I did what I felt was right. And sometimes I was not happy with what the owners wanted to do, and I would tell them so. No one gets paid to be a yes man, and I'm sure from your responses here you are not one of them. Upper management should be listening and listening hard to what is said here. 99% of the comments on here arefrom good, solid owners. I have not even seen the chime in from those who have had lemons and have expressed outright rage with CR.

I thank you for listening to what we have all had to say and I hope you and those above you heed what is being said and do the right thing. Restore the 2 year warranty, show your pride in what you build; moreover build them well and the 2 year warranty will be a moot point.

Yours truly,
Jim Tator

[tmontague]

Thanks Jim for the advice and I will do my best to listen to all the CrossRoads owners who have something constructive to say. ( Good or Bad ) POV - is one of our new philosophies at CrossRoads which means we try to DESIGN, BUILD and SELL products looking at them from the Dealers and Retail customers Point Of View ( POV )Hopefully as we move forward, Quality, Service and the design and function of our products will be the best its ever been in thehistory of CrossRoads.

You have a great looking set-up above. I will continue to monitor the site, respond from time to time, and post new and exciting things in a new section I had developed today called " Announcements " on the home page of the forum. I hope these are considered steps in the right direction which our owners can get behind and support.

Thanks again for the great advice and I hope you have a great weekend.
Tom Montague
GM CrossRoads & Redwood RV

[malojeer]

We have an 08 CF32BL only had 1 warranty issue and it was at the end of the second year. Converter went bad. I have owned 2 crossroads products and have been completely satisfied. I was very interested in upgrading to the Rushmore 5er but if the 2 yr warranty has been eliminated I will look at another product such as Jayco or KZ. The 6 month checkup and 12 point promise or whatever its called does not mean anything to me. As much as we love our Cruiser I will kiss Crossroads goodbye. I canhonestlytell you I am fiercely loyal but when the rules change then I have to also. Crossroads is making the biggest mistake with this discision.

[speedster]

Wow I have not been on the siterecently as I;ve been busy working to make themonthly payments on my 2013CF345which weordered in March of this year. As one who haschanged 5 wheels several times in 6 years or so I spent considerable time on this purchase prior to ordering as we wanted to get it right.
We had severalCougars and never had any significant issues or small ones for that matter, but we liked the 2yr and 5 warranty piece of mind, we liked the fit andlooks of the Cruisers and after much research and advice fromCruiser owners, our local dealerand this forum we plunked downthe money on a Cruiser, we were leaning toward aMontana but the warranty and after sales servicebrought us to our CF345 purchase.

To find out on this forum this morning that I know longer have a 2 and 5 warranty and that instead have a 6 month checkup which I won't/can't possibly use given the distance from Owen Sound Ontario to theCrossroads facilityand due the fact I have yet to get a passport as I still haveto work and therefore don'ttravel south of the border. How am I totake advantage of something I can'tuse, not to mention the 8 - 10hr drive one way.

What a bizarre way to run a business, especially after just recently earning that business !

Usually companies want to keep their old loyal customers while at the same time go out and draw in new customers........ Hey news flash it was working for Cruiser and Crossroads as myself and many others in our area purchased new units and became your customer !

Now you want to change the game 6 months after purchase ?I have had some issues with the Cruiser which left me less than impressed, luckily once I drove 1400 miles home the dealer bent over backwards to fix the issues (as they did when they sold Cougars).

So I can honestly say I'm now not only disappointed I bought a high dollar product from aCompany I was led to believe to have integrityand strong customer support and considerationand finding outthat the Companyhas no integrity andfeels it can just screw theircustomers out of their signed agreements.

As someone who works as an advocatefor right and wrongfor a living as I find it disgusting, having said that I also know that there areways and meansto deal with these issues through legal avenues.

Perhaps now is the time to put together a class action suit, I don't believeCrossroads have met their obligations under the contract we signed when wepurchased our product this year, I wonder how many more of us are affected ?

this has not been a good morning after logging on to read a little bit.....!