Prestige Trailer Collapsed under a Tige 2200i

[TigeDuner]

Very well written Ray. I agree with you completely, and I did sell tires!!!

[Tige M.D.]

customer service "period". that is why i'm on here, and most of y'all are not even my customers

[knelems]

This is my first post,my wife Karen posts from time to time and she showed me this thread, so i wanted to respond. First off,I do not know the details of this sutuation,there are always 2 sides to every conflict. I have owned our dealership for 39 years,we sell Formula and Tige. In those years I have dealt with just about all of the major and minor trailer builders,seen lots of them go out of business,seen many big names bankrupt,then come back with a similar name with no debt,lots of stories out there. Years ago,when a major builder pulled that trick,we got involved with Prestige. They are now our exclusive trailer supplier,except for the saltwater customers that must have aluminum trailers. I have never been disappointed with Prestige customer service,they have always gone the extra mile,even with trailers long out of warranty. I have had many frustrations with other builders that hide behind the fine print of the warranty,but Prestige has never done that. Again,don't know the details of this situation,butI put my money,and my trust,with Prestige. Our Formula buyers demand the best,and they are very happy with Prestige,as are our Tige buyers. There are lots of good trailer builders out there,Prestige is one of them. I have my pick of any of the builders,I use Prestige. Anyone with any concerns,please call me at 205-221-3072. If you have the time to listen,I can tell you lots of stories about things Prestige has done for my customers that they really did not have to do,but just wanted to. Nuff said. Robert Nelems,Nelems Marine,Jasper,Al

[Original Wing Nut]

Customer Service

I think if prestige could go back and revisit this issue prior to it going public I'm sure they would have gone the extra mile to make it right. That is the proper business decision. How much would that original repair have costs. I don't even know anybody with a prestige trailer and I would be skeptical about one after reading this. That is trouble for anyone wanting word of mouth customers. I have built homes for 18 years and have had my issues with home owners, in the end it is far less expensive to just fix the problem. I still build homes and am now in the restaurant biz as well. My employees all know if someone is not happy with anything, we offer something else at no charge and take off the original item and still at that offer free dessert or appitizer. The goal in any business is getting more happy customers than you now have. With my construction company we build for people that come in from word of mouth and have at times had people waiting for us to build them a home with no regard for price because we are known for always being fair. Customer service is everything and anyone that won't relize that is not worth working with period.

[Tequilasun]

I have a Prestige trailer, and the thing is Rock Solid. Judging from some of the other trailers I've owned, this one is pretty well made.


That does not mean they all were though.


As far as customer service, I don't think that every manufacturer should just take back a product because someone mis-used it (and I am certainly NOT saying this is the case here)

I mean what if I bought a trailer for my 22v and parked some big cruiser on it for years, I certainly wouldn't expect the manufacturer to replace it because it collapsed.

Just playing a little Devil's advocate

[Original Wing Nut]

There is a little devil in all of us.

I wouldn't expect the manufacturer to replace the trailer. Just try to make it right. There are people you just can't make happy. That may be the case here, I don't know. I just know that a happy customer is ten times better than a dissatisfied one.

[raythompson]

Originally posted by draginass
I have a Prestige trailer, and the thing is Rock Solid. Judging from some of the other trailers I've owned, this one is pretty well made.

I am sure that most of their trailers would be well made. If they were not the duration of the business would be short.

That does not mean they all were though.

Yes, every once in awhile all the little problems that by themselves do not matter, all come together at once and the sum of the problems is usually large.

As far as customer service, I don't think that every manufacturer should just take back a product because someone mis-used it (and I am certainly NOT saying this is the case here)

Customer service is everything in many industries. You could have a superior product and lousy service when there is a problem and the product then means nothing. Things happen. And with as many welds and joints as there are in a trailer, it is possible that one is not quite up to standards. It is even possible to get the incorrect steel in the trailer. What is important is that the dealer/manufacturer stand behind the product.

I mean what if I bought a trailer for my 22v and parked some big cruiser on it for years, I certainly wouldn't expect the manufacturer to replace it because it collapsed.

Even then, it should be up to the manufacturer to prove this was the case, otherwise take the customers word. The base cost on a single trailer can get quickly get eaten up in lost sales because of bad word of mouth from one dissappointed customer. We have no way of knowing how the trailer was actually used. But I doubt that someone would trust an expensive boat to a trailer they did not think was up to the task.

I think what Prestige should have done is simply given the customer a new trailer and taken back the old trailer. The old trailer could have been wholesaled out making up some of the cost of the new trailer.

I would guarantee that the customer would have been well pleased and would have spread the word. In this case many people would then be seeking Prestige trailers rather than avoiding (or heavily inspecting and worrying about their current) Prestige trailers.

There are two sides to every story. For Prestige to say that they will not respond and provide their side is odd. There is no diginifying or justifying involved. Just present the other side. To dodge the issue is an indication of not wanting to reveal something.

Without both sides an informed decision cannot be made and judgements will be made on what was presented. It's sort of like not showing up in court to defend a lawsuit. It's automatic victory for the complaintant.

[Cheeky]

Perhaps Byron would have been best served not to post at all. First, the thread went without a post for a month, then when he posts he tries to give the we are taking the high road approach. Why even go there. If you have specifics as to why the trailer failed and why you chose not to work something out, spill it. IT saves your face and lets others know what not to do to their trailer. If you do not have enough info to post it here, do you have enough info to deny this person a new trailer, or at least one at significant discount.

[Tequilasun]

Originally posted by Cheeky
Perhaps Byron would have been best served not to post at all.

This might be the most enlightened statement in this thread!!

Funny how we think we are doing ourselves/our company service by responding, but it can turn around and bite us pretty quick.

Man I'd like to know the whole story behind this one.

That being said, Prestige probably should have ponied up.

[raythompson]

Re: There is a little devil in all of us.

Originally posted by Original Wing Nut
I wouldn't expect the manufacturer to replace the trailer. Just try to make it right. There are people you just can't make happy. That may be the case here, I don't know. I just know that a happy customer is ten times better than a dissatisfied one.

There may indeed be no way to fully please some customers. Consider it from Prestige's perspective if they did replace the trailer. Prestige would have taken the high road. Then regardless of what the customer said, it would have little to no weight. If I know someone else had a problem with a trailer, and the manufacturer replaced the trailer (even out of warranty) I would value that manufacturer. They would have done more than could be expected and that says a lot about their customer service.

I, and my family have owned VW auto's since the mid '60's and swore by the vehicles. Then I bought a 74 super beetle. That car had many warranty repairs. After about two years it started getting worse and the dealer refused to do any more about the vehicle. I contacted VW and was told that the dealer had the final say.

I sold that car. Guess what? I will never own another VW regardless of features or price. That one car completely turned me off to VW. My family will also never own a VW. My friends know about the car and they will never own a VW even though one of them use to own a VW.

Had VW gone the extra distance and taken care of the problems, such as at a minimum repair all the problems, or better yet replace the car or credit the purchase back towards the purchase of a new vehicle, I would probably have been a VW owner for life. They chose the low road and will never regain mine or many others trust. Several vehicles later and VW has never been on the radar.

The problems with the car were so bad that one week after I sold the car (to a dealer fortunately) the car caught fire and burned up. The cause was indeed one of the problems that I had requested that they fix under warranty that the dealer said was not warranty and refused to do the repair.

With a boat trailer you are not talking about the higher cost of an automobile. The goodwill would have been worth the money to simply repair, or better yet, replace the trailer.

[raythompson]

Originally posted by Cheeky
... If you have specifics as to why the trailer failed and why you chose not to work something out, spill it. ...

It may be valuable information to the rest of us and keep us from having problems. It would at least have shown that the manufacturer took the time to fully understand the issue and provided an informed response.

[Original Wing Nut]

Don't you wish all dealers had a Tige MD. He seems like he gets it. I'm having the dealer that sold my boat get it right if it kills me and then I'm gone and there will be no referalls from me. I will have someone else take care of my baby, someone who cares. That is really all it takes is someone that cares about the product the sell or service.

[Original Wing Nut]

Originally posted by raythompson
It may be valuable information to the rest of us and keep us from having problems. It would at least have shown that the manufacturer took the time to fully understand the issue and provided an informed response.

I was watching Byron with prestige trailer was reading this thread and then he signed off. So I gues that is the rest of his story, he has none.

[Tige M.D.]

why haven't we heard anything from bcskypilot lately? he's the one who started this thing.
i agree with everything everybody has said here. yes, there are 2 sides to every story. yes, the manufacture should step up and help. and yes, 1 unhappy customer is very expensive to the manufacture and dealer. but, what is the problem with the trailer? i see one side of the story everyday and sometimes you have to say "here is your part you needed" you freakn liar sometimes you just get tired of these certain poeple tacking advantage of a good company with good poeple trying to do a good job. wing nut, how many homes can you build if you gave it all away because of a whinning customer threating to bash you on-line? we all have them and we all have to deal with them. and by the way, i am glad you see that i get it, i just wish more poeple would take notice. i am just taking this with a grain of salt. i would really like to here the whole story though. there is always room to move, a little help goes along way.

[smendez]

The customer is always right -
The customer is always right -
The customer is always right -

Sam Walton figured that out a long time ago. It was the cornerstone to his success.