four wheel camper customer service

[RickNV]

i have been doing online research on pop-up campers and am getting closer to a purchase. Although I haven't been in a four wheel camper I thought it would be a good choice for my 2006 tundra so I sent them an email many months ago and got no response. Being patient and not in a hurry to make a purchase I sent another email and again no response. My interest grew as I saw on their website they had made some recent product improvements and moved to a larger location. I called them several times and got the busy signal. I noticed that a guy named Stan was posting online so I emailed him and got a response several weeks after I sent him my email and was told I could see a camper at their Reno install facility- that feel threw becasue the buyer supposedly rescheduled the install. Anyways, I sent another email and asked Stan to call me after I was told I could see a camper install again- long storey short I again have no call / no response from four wheel camper. On tuesday I sent Stan an email asking him to call me and as yet have not received a call. I guess I'm answering my own question while venting on this forum. Why would I invest in a camper when I can't get anyone to call me back or get anyone to answer the phone. I understand that when your busy and have a hot product that you have to be patient but my personal experience has been very poor to say the least. Maybe I just have bad luck hopefully they are doing good but I sure feel like they don't want my business. Anyone with better luck who can convience me that the quality of the product outweights having no customer service ?

 

[HMR]

Maybe I just have bad luck hopefully they are doing good but I sure feel like they don't want my business. Anyone with better luck who can convience me that the quality of the product outweights having no customer service ?

Hmmm... Interesting first post.

I've sent emails to FWC before, during and after the same time period you mention and have received a prompt response from Stan every single time. Stan and Tom (the owner) have also been very generous with their time while answering my questions in person at multiple events. My experience has been the opposite of yours.

 

[pods8]

I have a used rig and still get responsive info from stan (usually on wtw though more so). Never talked to the actual factory. Sounds rather uncharacteristic of him honestly.

 

[teleturns]

I have had no problems with FWC customer service

I have ordered stickers from Stan and received fast service and I also ordered a new door from the factory for my Grandby and also received excellent service.

But if I was in the market for a new camper I would buy a Phoenix, so why don't you give them a call......

 

[Overland Hadley]

Hmmm... Interesting first post.

Yeah, not a great way to introduce yourself, whoever you are.

Over the last ten months I have received dozens of emails from Stan answering my questions. He has gone out of his way to answer my barrage of questions.

 

[Martyn]

I do know that Four Wheel Campers moved into a larger facility during the time period you had issues with e mails. From experience I can tell you moving from one shop to another while still carrying on with production is a huge undertaking.

For Wheel Campers has a solid reputation for both the product they make and their customer service, you'd be making a mistake to write them off as a company due to a few e mails that fell through the cracks or disappeared into the ether.

My suggestion would be to call them on the phone and set up an appointment to view their facility in Woodland California. It's only a two hour drive from Reno and it would be well worth the trip.

 

[Overland Hadley]

I do know that Four Wheel Campers moved into a larger facility during the time period you had issues with e mails. From experience I can tell you moving from one shop to another while still carrying on with production is a huge undertaking.

For Wheel Campers has a solid reputation for both the product they make and their customer service, you'd be making a mistake to write them off as a company due to a few e mails that fell through the cracks or disappeared into the ether.

My suggestion would be to call them on the phone and set up an appointment to view their facility in Woodland California. It's only a two hour drive from Reno and it would be well worth the trip.

You are a good guy Martyn.

 

[ExpoMike]

Sorry to hear about the lack of response from FWC. It is definitely your luck. Stan and FWC has been very responsive to my emails, phone calls and even posts on other boards. About a month and a half ago I was thinking of buying a used Grandby from a guy in Redding. I contacted Stan about what I should look for and he gave me a detailed list of things to check, ask if I could send pictures that he could review and even called back to ask about some things in the pictures, which I had noticed and asked the seller about. As it was I ended up finding one much more local to me which I bought and Stan has been great answering a bunch of questions I had. He even figured out that mine was a one year only model call the "X" model. He gave me the history about this and what was changed after this. The install/tech guy (can't recall his name) sent me out the detailed instructions on where to mount my bed tie downs and promptly sent me the bed side power outlet to connect to the FWC plug for 12 volt power when no one local even had a clue what I was looking for (shipped for $14).

Honestly I have never seen a company go out of there way to answer questions, send info and be a great resource for a product that was 7 years old and I did not buy from them. About the only other companies I have this level of service from as have Adventure Trailers and Sierra Expeditions.

As for getting a busy signal, I have been using the 800 number and have always gotten through without problems. Only once did I call late on a Saturday, I got voicemail. Left a message and Monday had a voicemail at home responding to my call.

Good luck and hope your luck changes.

 

[RickNV]

OK- I did a very poor job of introducing myself on my first post- mybad.... my post was not meant to be a slam on Stan- Im sure he is a good guy- and for the record he did respond to an email I sent him on March 31st- that by the way was my third email and it was answered on April 17th- my first two emails were to the general email box not directly to Stan so that is not a negative reflection directly on him. In his email he did let me know that they were very busy.

I see by the posts that my experience is an exception and I will take the advice and visit them directly when Im ready to purchase a camper.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

Hello Rick

I first wanted to start out with an appology for the delayed replies in getting back with you.

The last 6 months has been totally crazy down here (busier than I have ever seen it).

The last 2 or 3 months were even worse because we were finishing up the trade show circut, packing the offices & warehouse, and then moving our offices and factory to a new location.

Computers were only down for a couple of days, but we are still having phone problems. The phone company is having a hard time getting all of the phone lines sorted out with the phone system. Arg!



We try and reply back to any and every e-mail we get. So I'm not sure why you did not get a reply on the first e-mails you sent? Strange. But unfortunatly I do know we lose some e-mails here and there because they get trapped in spam filters or get lost in cyberspace, but we try and sort through those as well the best we can.

Visting us here at the factory is the best way to get your questions answered and see the many different camper models we offer. I probably should not have offered the Reno camper showing (that was my mistake), but because you are so close to our Reno install location I thought it could be a good way for you to see a camper for a few minutes without making the drive down here.

I feel your pain too.

I have been asking them here for quite some time to hire another sales person so our response times can get better. With the internet growing (e-mails & forums) and with FWC offering more models & options these days, the camper education process is taking longer and the e-mail questions are getting longer and more detailed to answer. I'm finding myself with not enough time to get it all done. We are interviewing to hire another sales person right now, but we should have done this at the end of last year (IMO).



I have to juggle the forums, our website, our US and Canadian dealers, walk-in customers, phones, e-mail, used camper stuff, new camper stuff, camper installation, etc, etc. Example: I had a customer that came in Monday from 9:30am - 3:30pm. Really nice customer, but bam, one customer and my day was almost over. (sad face).

Again, I appoligze for the slow response time.

Would you like me to have Steve (our other sales guy) give you a call to see if he can better help you ?

Or if you like, I would be glad to call you myself.

Our next Reno delivery won't be until Friday June 17th (Eagle Model).


PS: I don't take your posting as bashing us. This is feedback we need to hear so we can get better. My e-mails we delayed due to the craziness around here. I hope we can get another sales guy in here so we can better help our customers. I will personally try and do my best to improve our replies back and forth.

Stan


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[Desert Rancher]

I recently received a replacement door for an older Granby.

My phone calls and e-mails over a two month period were all returned within the hour.

I'm sure the move was painful, they usually are.

 

[RickNV]

Stan- thanks for your reply - I appreciate your explaining the situation

 

[Finatic Angler]

I have contacted FWC in the past

Nothing but good to say about how there customer service is

J

 

[greg mgm]

A few years back I bought a used and beat to he** FWC. Called and ordered siding, a door, and bunch of other stuff. Can't remember who I dealt with, but their customer service was excellent. Received my order promptly also.

 

[greg mgm]

Sounds like a dealer problem. I'll bet Stan would solve whatever problems you had.

If you are buying a camper on the East Coast, you may want to read and understand, carefully, the very fine print agreement, and the implications it can have for the potential customer. I didn't, and it may cost me the loss of my deposit, but so be it, right will always be right, and wrong will always be wrong. I personally am finished with FWC. The dealer they referred me to, is anything but customer service. Your views aren't totally without merit