Dealers disappointed with Dometic recall
Several months ago, Dometic announced a recall on some RV refrigerators built between April 1997 and May 2003. While the company says a serious problem resulting in a fire may occur in an exceptionally small fraction of Dometic two-door refrigerators, others suggest the issue could affect up to a million units. Unfortunately, due to a disagreement between the company and dealers who must complete the repairs, some fear the recall will be ineffective.
At the heart of the issue is the amount of compensation Dometic is offering dealers to repair the units. Currently, the company pays a $40 flat rate to complete the repair for what they say is a 10-minute task. Dealers, on the other hand, say the repair takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour once the unit is pulled into the service bay and another 10 to 15 minutes to complete paperwork to order parts and submit the warranty claim. At average current shop rates of $100 per hour, dealers say they are losing $80 to $120 for every Dometic refrigerator they must work on as part of the recall. Consequently, I’ve learned some dealers are deliberately not alerting customers that their refrigerator may be subject to a recall. Unless the customer comes to the dealership specifically to get the recall work completed, the dealers don’t mention the recall.
They rationalize this decision on the grounds that they need not cooperate in a venture that will result in their losing money. If true, this oversight means thousands of RVs may still be at risk for fire simply because their dealers don’t take the time to advise owners of the unsafe situation. I suspect some dealers have a tendency to exaggerate the amount of time it takes to complete a warranty repair. I had one OEM rep tell me a year or so ago that if his company were to pay dealers to go to the bathroom, they would bill the firm 20 minutes to do the job.
The fact dealers would deliberately not tell customers about a recall doesn’t sound right to me. If the units are already in the bay for another repair, technicians don’t have to invest the time to send someone to the lot to pull the unit in and out of a bay simply to complete the recall. That cost would be factored into the other repair. It should be as simple as banging out the repair and billing Dometic for a portion of the service call. However, that brings me to the second point of the dealers’ concern. Several have noted that the proposed recall does not truly fix the problem. According to a master certified technician I spoke with, installing steel panels around the refrigerator compartment do little other than contain a fire when it starts.
Dealers fear this creates a liability issue for them now because the customer believes he is bringing a unit in for repair and that the dealership corrected the problem to PREVENT a fire. If the unit later catches on fire, the dealers fear they will be left hanging in the wind for not completing the repair “correctly.” It becomes a sort of “who touched it last” scenario. According to Brad Sargent at Dometic, as long as the secondary burner housing kit has been properly installed in accordance with step-by-step video instructions available online, dealers and service centers should incur no liability.
Sargent said the company hired a team of industrial scientists who invested thousands of man-hours into developing and testing an appropriate solution to address the one out of every 1,000 refrigerators that could, eventually, develop a fatigue crack in the burner area. He said the solution involves creating a secondary burner housing of galvanized steel to provide a buffer between the burner and the propane coils. A double-redundant set of fuses is also installed so that whenever an unusual amount of heat is detected, the fuse trips and shuts down the refrigerator. In order for dealers to protect themselves, the master certified technician I spoke with said they need to check for propane leaks on the system before releasing it back to the customer. Yes, that important safety step adds more time to the recall portion of the work order. But, it also decreases dealer liability if they can show that such a test was successfully performed.
Some dealers have tried pawning off all recall work on one technician on the grounds that after completing a few work orders, he would be able to do the job far more efficiently and thus reduce the financial hit the dealership will incur. That seems to make sense. Dometic admits that up to 926,000 refrigerators could be affected by the recall. A smart service center would figure out a way to get the job done quickly and accurately, then advertise that fact to generate a lot of traffic from customers who may not visit the dealership for any other reason. If just one work order could be converted into a trade-up, would that make the whole process profitable?
According to Sargent, the company has prepared an online video that clearly shows how to complete the necessary work by following step-by-step instructions. A timer running on the video shows a standard repair can be performed in 10 minutes and 10 seconds. Time to complete the paperwork is kept to a minimum thanks to a postcard included in every recall kit. The installer simply fills out the postage-paid card with the customer information and drops it in the mail. That seems to be a simple, easy and very reasonable way to get dealers paid quickly. Some dealers are frustrated because, apparently, Norcorld offered to pay dealers their normal shop rate to complete a similar recall on its refrigerators a few months ago. Sargent said if unusual circumstances require a longer period of time to complete the repair, dealers can receive more money by calling a toll-free number and describing the problem.
Dometic’s desire to save money is understandable considering the scope and size of the recall effort. If 926,000 units are truly affected, Dometic stands to lose $37 million to fix the problem at its current reimbursement rate. And that’s just the cost to pay dealers to complete the repairs. It doesn’t include the company’s cost to produce, stock and ship the kits. If Dometic had to tack on any more money to complete the job, soon they’d be looking at about the same amount of money taxpayers spent to send a single congresswoman to Greenland to see if glaciers were, indeed, melting.
Is it too much to ask for dealers to cut Dometic some slack and accept the $40 payment recognizing that doing so will save their customers’ lives and cover most, if not all, of their cost even in those instances when people bring their RVs in solely to get the recall work repair completed?
July 13th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
My experience with this recall is as follows I used a dometic recommended repair facility who installed the recall parts then installed a screw to anchor the new schematic metal plate shorted out the 120 volt element then proceeded to drop off a new element which he did not install found out that the surge had burned out the generator circuit board which he removed to get repaired came back 2 days later and reinstalled the burned board and said he was not required by dometic to repair thi board.Now my RV that worked perfect has no refrigerator or generator and the problem is my problem.Try to find a repair shop that will take over someone elses defective work.
June 30th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Well take this recall seriously - today my friend’s trailer burned down because of one of these fridges.
June 15th, 2007 at 11:59 am
It’s very interesting to read the dealer’s side of this issue. We just purchased a preowned unit and were not advised of the recall/ We are currently traveling in it and will be sure to contact the dealershipwhen we return. Now we are scrambling to find a dealer who will perform the patch repair and still keep our reservation schedule. We own a refurbushed laptop/computer sales and service business and find certain units are subject to chronic [problems of a specdific type. ex. toshiba / tecra /8100/8200 and some satellites has inverter isssues which cause the screen to flicker. Toshiba only admitted responsibility of the 8100 and replaced the inverter for the customer. Many customers have taken their laptops in to other service centers and paid for a very costly full display repair from dealerships who were less experienced at best or unscrupulous at worst. At least these are not safety issues but my point is it happens in all areas I guess. we sold many refurbushed toshiba tecras before realizing this flaw existed and ate the cost of repairs . Well good luck to everyone. Im up in the western NC Mountaions day 2 of a long deserved vacation and afraid to use my fridge.Sometimes Life comes at you fast. My husband is in denial maybe that is easier.
June 14th, 2007 at 10:00 am
Great job on the articles which are very informative. As far as the Dometic recall issue goes you are right on…Our service manager couldn’t agree more. His first replacement took about an hour and now he is down to about 30-40 minutes.
At our morning meeting this morning (before reading your article) he was complaining about the payment being so small for what is required and suggested that we decline to do any more of these repairs. We decided to continue servicing our customers who purchased from us and only do others on a case by case basis.
Then in the mail today I received a notice from Dometic stating that if any dealer charges a customer for the repair kit or installation they can be charged a $5,000 fine per incident. They also state that any dealer can decline to do these warranties by calling Dometic and having our name removed from their service list.
I seems to me is that they are really saying “we know we are not paying enough, but if you charge the customer you could be fined”. AND “if you opt out of this recall repair we will take you off our service list”. Big corporations like Dometic seem to have No Fear.
June 7th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
In the 18 years of being in the RV industry on the service side one thing rings true through the majority of Techs I have talked to. Dometic takes care of Dometic, hands down. If only the Manufacturers would wake up and realize that they should be loyal to the Dealer and the Customer who pays their salary and and be sensitive to their safety both physically and financially.
I remember being involved in two refrigerator recalls in the 80s where Norcold on both occasions stood behind their product in a fair and reasonable manner to all involved. Thats why my dealership displays and sells Norcold refrigerators three to one over Dometic units. We prefer doing business with companies who don”t try to nickel and dime you to death over everything you do with them.
June 7th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
It’s simple, really. We “take care” of those who purchased their RV from us. That’s just the cost of doing business. If they did not buy their RV from us, they can wait a VERY LONG time (hint, hint!) or find someone else to do their recall.
I received a packet from Norcold offering a “Spiff” to any Service Advisor if they sell a Norcold Refer to replace specific (read “recall”) Dometic units. Guess what my SA’s are pushing now?
June 7th, 2007 at 10:38 am
Sean is on the money in his response. As a forty year veteran of the automotive service business who moved into full-time motorhome work 4 years ago, I’ve been amazed by this industry. Some good; some bad. All the mfrs. and component suppliers put on a customer service oriented face for the public and their tech support is generally pretty good too. But woe is you if you get stuck with warranty work and as a one man band working independently, I don’t very often. Dometic has proven so arbitrary and time stingy that I absolutely refuse to do any warranty work for them, the refrigerator recall included. The final straw was when the company stiffed me completely on the last warranty job I did for them, this after giving me an authorization number beforehand for the work. “Incorrect paperwork” on my part. Okay, ‘bye, see ya’, Dometic. It was a loser even if they had paid me and the lesson was worth the cost.
I have to say I’d hate to be a selling dealer and have to play the game with daily warranty work. Mebbe it’s better from the mfrs. if you’re buying new vehicles, but I can’t see how that would help with suppliers like Dometic. Frankly, the only warranty job I’ve done in four years that was handled in a timely manner with very fair labor allowance was for Workhorse Chassis.
June 7th, 2007 at 8:52 am
This is a symptom of larger industry problems that, unless I’ve missed it, hasn’t been addressed here.
Where are the MANUFACTURERS of the actual coaches in all of this? Why aren’t they outraged and forcing Dometic’s hand to support the dealers and service centers? Are manufacturers and dealers partners (I have to chuckle as I ask this last question)?
There is a pervasive lack of trust that runs through this problem. Dometic doesn’t believe that they will be charged accordingly and the dealer thinks they are being low balled. The man holding the purse strings wins unless everyone refuses to do the work. But, as we all know, there is always someone willing to bend over and do the work for little money (pun intended).
Dometic is approaching this like 99% of the industry approaches their brand. They are treating it as a PRODUCT problem. If someone there had half a clue they would understand it is a stakeholder (Manufacturer, Dealer, CUSTOMER) problem.
Will Dometic be damaged by this? Probably not because the coach manufacturer will continue to use the Dometic product. It’s obvious from their approach they don’t have a clue about supporting a brand. I haven’t heard otherwise.
June 6th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Dometic is not considering the RV Customer, and will pay
in the future with lost sales/customers.
We are doing the recall for our customers, but making it
clear to them that most of the cost is on us.
Paper work on most warranty work is becoming a nightmare, not just this recall. Maybe it’s time the manfacturer allows an additional charge for the paper work, packing and returning of defective parts!
June 6th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Personally I think the recall is a good idea. I actually like doing the work involved because of the quick turn around and the new customers it brings in. You just have to ensure that a positive experience is had by all.
Having said this, I must also add that many customers will bring in units that have problems thinking they will be repaired at no charge during the performance of the recall procedure. Be sure to ask the customer when was the last time they used their refrigerator, and tell them that you will be checking it both before and after the work is performed. Make sure to check the Amp draw of the element as well as visually verify LP operation. It doesn’t hurt to make sure it switches automatically to gas when the AC power is unplugged also.
You should do this both before and after installing the recall kit. If you don’t and the unit doesn’t work afterwards, you will more than likely hear these words from the customer… “IT WAS WORKING WHEN I BROUGHT IT IN”. I know this sounds familiar to some of you.
10 minutes, …. GET REAL. Oh yeah, did anybody see the guy in the video smash up the thermal fuse in the holder?
June 6th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
We agree with many of the comments here, we equally disagree with others.
We are the only service center in our area that is providing our customers the Dometic Recall service. Our goal is QUALITY for our customers in all that we do. We can see that as many have said, this recall kit is only a bandaide. We also know that it takes longer to install this kit on some units than it does on others. The $40.00 does not begin to cover all of the steps. 1.) Talking with the customer, educating them of the problem and the solution Dometic has provided, getting all of their information required by Dometic, and getting them scheduled. 2.) Ordering the kits, checking them in when they arrive 3.)Paperwork 4.) Installing the kit, and in some cases, having to remove the refrigerator and reinstalling it. 5.) Running the unit (which takes electricity though a minor amount, it all adds up) to make sure it is working properly. Then checking it on the gas side. There are times that 3 people are involved from beginning to end.
During the time we are working on the recalls, we are not working on other things. However, we want our customers to be safe and we feel that we are “paying it forward”.
We have run into a situation though. Service techs, LOOK FOR THIS!!
We have seen, so far, three types of covers on the wires of the heat elements. One is a hard plastic. Not a problem, as far as we know now. Another, the wiring is covered by metal, again not a problem. The other is a soft piece of rubber. THIS IS A PROBLEM. The recall kit has a piece of metal that goes over this rubber piece. As the RV goes down the road, the metal cuts into the rubber covering, then cuts into the wires on the heat element. This shorts out the heat element and the refrigerator shuts down.
Dometic did not want to cover the cost for a new heat element or the labor. On one, we had to remove the refrigerator to get the heat element out. More time involved, more labor costs. The customer doesn’t feel they should have to pay this. We don’t feel we should we pay for it, and Dometic didn’t think they should be responsible either. We convinced Dometic otherwise.
Then there is the issue of responsibility if this kit doesn’t stop a fire. Who is liable, Dometic, Us? There are many issues that we face that Dometic doesn’t seem to have considered. The time invovled especially, even if the kit could be installed in 10 minutes, that’s only a small part of the process. We feel that if it can be done that fast, the quality goes out the window. Speed is not the important issue here, safety is.
This leads to Dealers and Service Techs obligation to be responsible enough to tell the customer they need a recall. We agree, if you don’t want to do it, at least take the time to give the customer Dometic’s phone number so they can be directed to someone who will.
Best of luck to you all. May your customers find truth and safety from you and your services.
June 6th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
I totally agree with the madness of this recall but be careful because i also recieved a notice from dometic that if you bill a customer for the additional time needed to install these recall kits the dealership could be fined 5000.00 per incedent. Boy dometic really jammed it to us this time. Maybe we should push Norcold products fo a while??? Just my opinion and gratitude from a dealership servicemanager.
June 6th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Greg.
We are a service center for Dometic and have been doing the recalls daily and have been selling items in our store and have met and made customers of RV owners who have never been in our area. We feel the money paid is fair since it takes our tech’s about 20 min while the customers wait. We have not had to break into a lp system yet. We also lined up two campgrounds and did all the rv’s in them that were needed and the campground owner filled out all the info before hand. Had no problem making a profit on those. Most were done prior to our season really taking off . ( due to weather delays) In all We feel the program is fair. I came from the automotive field and I remember the auto companies telling us the recalls were for customer safety and retention NOT TO MAKE A PROFIT. With Dometics recall we ARE making a profit. Unusual I guess .
June 6th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Greg et.al;
As a mobile RV service, this is killing me. I have to travel TO the unit to do the recall. I’m not an engineer, but I am a professional firefighter and fire investigator as well as an RV technician and business owner, and I have a hard time believing this is an adequate fix. I *need* to be able to have Dometic on my side for warranty work, otherwise I would drop them like a hat. I upgraded my liability insurance to help cover this… I hope it isn’t needed.
Dometic has become an extremely poor partner in the RV business. They do nothing to support the dealers and service centers. When they have “training sessions” they charge a fortune for them. They used to have a subscription CD with all the tech and sales info on them, which are no longer available. When I’ve called to inquire, I get “the guy designing the online version died, and now there’s no-one to do it.” Amazing, considering how much of this industry depends on their products, and that an international company can’t get someone to do this for them…
I do very few of these recalls, and only ones close to home, although I’ve gotten calls from 3 neighboring states (MA,CT and PA) requesting the recall… needless to say, I turn them down.
We may have to put up with this one, but I encourage RVT Digest, and every shop owner and manager out there to make a big stink about this… write articles, letters to the editor, and most importantly, hound Dometic to improve their service to their dealer partners.
Carrier, Norcold, RVP, Atwood, etc. TAKE NOTICE… this could be an opportunity for you!!!
Write:
Dometic
P.O. Box 490
Elkhart, IN 46515
Email:
CustomerSupportCenter@DometicUSA.com
Chris Dougherty
June 6th, 2007 at 10:15 am
Greg, thank you for the forum to talk about this. This is another example of the manufacturer pushing their inability to do things correctly onto the dealer, Dometic has always been a bully, the other responses have been right on and need no other discussion.
I hate to waste time going on and on about something we already know, unless there are solutions, and thanks to those who have offered some.
Our solution has been to put this into a speed lane, if we take the time to unhitch and re-hitch everyone we loose our shorts, though it is still bad we offer anyone who has us do this to come at certain times and we will do the upgrade while they wait, we leave them hooked up. This does not allow us to up-sell but if they do have other problems we are able to have them schedule and come back.
This has allowed us to only loose about $25.00 several times a week to finance Dometic. I guess they must be in real financial trouble if they need us to finance their problems.
Bret
June 6th, 2007 at 8:36 am
We have done over 70 recalls already. $40.00 is not enough however, we’re doing it as a service to our customers. My concerns are the liability issues for this band-aid fix. We did not design the refers, build the refers, or have anything to do with engineering the so-called fix! Yet we may be held responsible for damages down the road? Where is RVDA? It seems to me that this is something RVDA should be involved in demanding liability disclaimers be issued to every dealer that is willing to help Dometic with this problem. RVDA needs to go to bat for its dealers !!!!!! RVDA, CAN YOU HERE US NOW?
June 6th, 2007 at 7:50 am
I can’t imagine how Dometic can presume that a mere $40 reimbursement is sufficient to compensate dealers for fixing their problem. You would think they know how the RV service industry works, and all the intangible costs associated to repair work, but apparently they don’t. Or is it they choose not to?
There’s no question this is going to cost Dometic a ton of money. Without attempting to sound callous; so what? The bottom line is they have a problem they need to fix fast, regardless of what it costs them. And let’s not forget that peoples lives are potentially at stake. Personally, I think it’s deplorable that they’re trying to nickle and dime dealers with such a critically important issue, essentially creating a terrible conflict of interest.
A dealer should not have to count on selling parts or new RV’s in order to compensate themselves for money lost fixing someone else’s problem. It seems to me that Dometic is setting themselves up for some MAJOR problems by not handling this in the appropriate manner. Let’s all hope no one pays the ultimate price for it…
June 5th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
Well, maybe Dometic did not do all they should have done. Time will tell. In the mean time, our dealership will try to lead by example. We want to do the best for our customers that we can, and pray that God will bless our customers and us for having tried. Yes, I agree there is alot wrong with this industry, but the solution starts here, right in our own shop. I challenge all you dealers to do the same.
June 5th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Well said, Bob.
I had to find out about this whole fiasco through the rv.net forums- then I spent a bunch of money attending a Dometic seminar, so that I could be ready for the recall (even then I found out that kits were being issued before the date Dometic had given).
I do the recalls to keep the customer happy- the same reason I do not mention that it’s simply a band-aid.
More and more people are talking about simply putting household refrigerators in their rigs, which is fine for a few, but disastrous for the majority (though they by the $300 construction gensets to run them).
The old joke about the circular firing squad comes to mind quite often.
June 5th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Why do we (the RV industry) always put the final burden of customer satisfaction on the dealer, and pray that it works? Just look at the varied responses this posting has garnered from the men and women in the trenches that are asked to solve everyone’s problem and fix every manufacturer’s defect, poor quality, recall, and on-the-road service situations?
I think Dometic should have identified qualified and pre-screened dealers and service operations that they felt comfortable assigning this work to. They should then pay these dealers a fair and equitable rate to make sure the work was done right the first time around and not leave lingering questions about the repair or future liability issues because of the situation Dometic has created with this policy.
Ultimately, this is a customer satisfaction and quality issue, like many of the other things we discuss on this blog. At what point does this industry figure out that business-as-usual just doesn’t work anymore and that the manufacturers and dealers must figure out how to resolve these issues with fair compensation to the dealers while instilling customer confidence in the major investment they have made in our industry?
June 5th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
A response to Tim-
I’ve only had to break the LP lines on the single unit that took 1 hour. Grated, I’ve only done a handful, but…
For that one unit (the refrigerator was mounted below the access door), I called Dometic, explained the problem, and without question was given $80.
For those dealers that do not want to do the job, simply inform Dometic, and you will not be given a referral, but if you see a unit that is under recall, tell the customer, and give them the recall phone number, so they can find someone who will do it.
It’s not rocket science.
June 5th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Greg,
Every dealer and service center should be outraged at the $40. stipend offered by Dometic. Let’s look at the facts.
1.) Take the customer’s call, write the RO, Schedule the recall, order the parts. .25 hrs.
2.) Park the customers RV upon arrival, greet the customer at the service counter, tag the RV, attach the keys to the RO and hang in the key locker. .25 hrs
3.) Assign the repair to a tech, locate the customer’s unit, drive or tow it into the shop, complete the recall. .50 hrs
4.)Park the customer’s unit, complete the dealership and warranty paperwork, call the customer, greet the customer when they return, review the repair with the customer, submit the waranty claim. .25 hrs.
Total time spent is 1 hour.
Based on our hourly labor rate of $89.00, Dometic is reimbursing us for only 27 minutes. That’s a lot of work for forty bucks. Cheap, cheap, cheap.
June 5th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
Dometic should be paying the shop’s posted shop labor rate based on the 20 minutes they say it should take to do the job. Many automotive dealers have gone to their state legislatures to pass laws mandating this practice. This will be more ammunition for RV dealers to get the same type of protection for themselves.
On the other hand I agree with the comment that if a RV dealer does not do a repair because of the cost unless a customer insist they do the work, is setting himself up for a major potential problem down the road if he does this. Dometic can show that the dealer who is his their agent willfully neglected their respondsibility and the dealer should then assume all of the liability.
June 5th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Up to this point we have done around 60 of the recalls. We have sold 2 units while the customer browsed through our lot waiting for the repair.
We have been able to complete most of the recalls in less than a 1/2 hour, with a labor rate of $89.50 we are running a little short … but have more than made up for it in the sales and parts departments.
The customers who bought had never visited our dealership in the past … so far we are coming out ahead in this situation.
Our only concern is the liability. Dometic should step up to the plate and provide in writing a liability disclaimer for dealers who are willing to perform this service.
June 5th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
It scares me to think that dealers are only taking 10 - 20 min to do this recall. Our shop policy is that every time we work on any propane system we do a leak test with a low pressure tester. Dometic says check for leaks but with the time alloted I guess they should supply soap. I dont feel sorry for Dometic. I feel they are making the dealers pay for the short cut and cost cut they originally took. I just recieved a letter from Domitic stating it is a crime to charge the customer for the repair which is something I would never do in the first place. We just dropped Dometic service and warranty over this issue. When I talked to Dometic the attitude was they didnt need us as a warranty department.
June 5th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
I am saddened when we (the RV industry) are not collectively taking care of “our customers”. The bottom line has to be the well being of these valued persons by manufacturer and dealer.
As to the flat fee, it originally seemed out of line to me, given the average hourly rate. We are performing the repair in 30-35 minutes. The paper work is a little time consuming, but we are using this as an opportunity to offer other services to the customer to create revenue for the dealership.
June 5th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Greg,
I, like most others, am extremely unhappy with the Dometic recall situation. I have one tech who has done over 10 recalls and his best time is about 25 min. Add the time talk to the customer on the phone, help them when they come in, move the unit around in the shop, and file the claim, then you are way behind. At our current labor rate of $99/hr., the amount Dometic pays just barely covers the technichians time.
Per the recall instructions, if the burner assembly has to be removed, then a drop-test on the LP system should be performed. Now, you could probably just do a bubble check on the fittings, but if you are concerned with the liability that is placed on your dealership, then you do the drop-test. Guess what? They don’t pay you any more time. I’ve called the 800# and tried it. They don’t pay!
With all this in mind, we have limited the amount of recalls we are doing. We tell people who call about the recall to contact their original dealer to perform the work. If we are servicing the unit with other repairs then you have to do the work. If you don’t, then you are liable if something happens.
I don’t feel it’s right for a company to ask us to lose money for their failure. Yes, we might sell an extra trailer and also might not. I think Dometic should have taken some notes from Norcold on this recall process. My stance will not change until Dometic changes theirs.
Sincerly,
Mike
Parts & Service Director
Rick’s RV Center, Inc.
Joliet, IL
June 5th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Imagine this possible scenario. The RV is in the bay for some routine work. The tech notices the Dometic refer is on the recall list but does not advise the customer and does nothing. Some time later the unit catches fire and someone is injured or, worse yet, killed. Enter now the product liability attorney who sues everybody who ever had anything to do with the vehicle from the OEM to the dealer. The Tech testifies he did nothing because it would have cost the dealership $80 to $120. Signing over ownership of the dealership to the plaintif would probably be inusfficient to settle the dealers share awarded by the jury.
June 5th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
I have the *luxury*(?) of working a small “Mom and Pop” shop, so our overhead is below the typical dealership (as is our labor rate of $60hour).
I’ve completed about 15 of the recalls. One took nearly an hour, all of the others have been finished in little more than 1/2 hour, including paperwork. It has also brought in many, many new customers, and generated new sources of income.
That said- I do agree that Dometic should have replaced the out of spec heating elements that are the suspected cause of the failure. I have been torn between advising customers that *I, personally* believe they should install a new heating element or simply installing the recall kit. I’m afraid I have simply been installing the kit, as I feel that even though I am working for the customers benefit, I am acting as an agent of Dometic, and if Dometic feels the kit is sufficient, I will leave it at that. Apparently Dometic is replacing out of warranty units that fail in this way, though a formal policy would be good.
June 5th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
We are completeting most units in twenty minutes not including moving and paperwork and phone time and hand holding with the customers. All of this added up probably does justify one hour minimum. One way we cut our time is to set a firm appointment and never have the customer unhook from the unit. This generally means a .5 hour turn around. At that rate we almost break even. My real concern is that this is not a fix but just a simple patch job. The future liability of this may be where the real problem comes in. Some how the dealers have to be indemified from the liability. We did not create this problem and should not be liable. At this point we are just trying to help our customers. Also it is illegal to charge the customer any difference. Some dealers in our area have been doing this. However a $5000.00 per instance fine can be levied against the dealer. Now you would really be making money. Dometic definitely didn’t advise anyone originally. In this day and age we cannot work for just customer rcognition. Sincerely Lee De Armond Western RV Lemoore Ca.
June 5th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
The repair can be performed in 10 minutes on a certain percentage of units- the ones where you open the back panel and have complete access to stack area. The 45 minute ones are the rest of them. You do have to account for the leak test and a few minutes worth of paperwork. Our dealership has projected we will receive our shop rate in the long run- barely. We have performed the recall for customers who were told by other dealerships that they wouldn’t perform the recall for anyone who didn’t buy their unit at their dealership because they were losing over $100 per recall performed. Though this number is probably exaggerated, it is potentially true case by case but perhaps not true over the period of several customers.