Thanks to all the pointers on the PDI folks.
wyo, that's hilarious. It's brand new! But alas,
she must be happy for the universe to be in fine order. I get it. (She does realize the bigger RV will have a smaller bath? lol )
As for the PDI, when I got a call yesterday from the gent who wanted to schedule my walkthrough and delivery, I didn't recognize the number and let it go to voicemail. No worries though since I drive right by the place on the way home every day. (Still can't believe they built that HUGE dealership in the middle of nowhere. I've lived out here in the boonies for 20 years) So I stop in and ask the sweet lady in the service department if I could talk to some fella named Steve. She fetched him. I explained that I had missed his call and that I was stopping by to see if he was ready for me?
He smiled. Said "come with me" and I followed him to his office. There, I learned more stuff that I didn't know. They weren't ready. Not even close. But he was pretty sure next Thursday would be ample time to finish fixing everything he found needing attention.
I asked "You found?".
He smiled again. Looked at me for a second and then seemed to make a decision to explain. He looked at a stack of paper on his desk and grabbed a small bundle and handed it to me to look at. He asked me to look at it for a second and tell me what I thought.
It was about 3 sheets of single spaced writing paper that was completely filled top to bottom with hand written notes. The handwriting was cursive, but really very legible and well done. It only took seconds for me to see that it was a list of RV related items. Lengthy and precise.
I handed it back to him and asked...."OK?"
He said (I am paraphrasing) "that is my list on another RV that was sold that I am prepping for the customer. That list is for my shop. I have no intention of waiting for the customer to find out what one of these RV needs fixed while I am giving them their walkthrough. That would be too late. They would have to leave it with me instead of getting to take it home. That has to be one of the worst experiences for a customer. But even worse is for them to leave with it and actually discover what is wrong while using it the first time.
Then he explained to me that RV manufacturing is not done by the most skilled folks. They aren't real carpenters and plumbers and electrician like those that would build your home. They are assemblers. There is nothing anyone can do about that. But the good news is that you didn't drive to the factory to get this. (he said some folks do to save money but they will likely regret it because....) Instead, you let someone actually tow that thing all the way down here to Texas. They may have even pulled it through bad weather or over bad roads that you would avoid. As a result, someone has already given this thing a pretty good shakedown. And that makes it far easier for someone who knows what to look for and make sure everything is in order.
He also stated that there is no cheap or expensive RV that gets delivered without issues. They all warrant a lengthy list.
One other thing I recall is he said it is far easier to get the manufacturer to cooperate with "the list" before the unit has ever left the lot. At that point the customer isn't even part of the equation.
The whole time he was explaining these things to me, I knew that HE thought he was explaining to me the reason I have to wait so long to get my new RV.
What he didn't realize was that it was music to my ears. (After reading what you folks have told me about this industry)
I asked him if he would be offended if the walkthrough took longer with me than most because I might be really thorough and have lots of questions. He replied "Hey, you are the customer. You don't take the keys until you are ready"
Only other thing I remember him mentioning is that no matter how much effort he puts into getting it ready, there is no guarantee that I won't have warranty claims. And he will be there if\when it happens. But he warned me that since I have never done this before I should know that their shop is 7 weeks backlogged for drop-off work right now. One more reason to fix everything BEFORE it leaves the lot.
Sounds like I at least have a fighting chance of getting off to a good start?
I hope so. I'll have my list and will report back how it all goes.