The service writer is the voice of the customer at a service center, so developing a strong relationship with this individual can be the difference between receiving good and great service.
By Steve Froese, F276276
May 2021
I have mentioned many times in my articles the importance of RV owners reaching out to qualified service centers when they need help. In this month’s Tech Talk, I want to discuss how the relationship between an RV owner and the service center or dealer should evolve.
I’m sure the majority of you have dropped off your RV at your local service center or dealership in the past, but let’s walk through how good service centers should operate. (And for the remainder of this article, I’m assuming your servicing dealership is the same as your selling dealership. While I realize this may not be the case, it is usually the most convenient for warranty purposes.)
First, you should be greeted at the service counter by a service writer. Like a good mechanic or health-care provider, a quality service writer is worth his or her weight in gold. Ideally, the service writer at your dealership possesses these important qualities: outgoing, friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable about RVs and systems — most importantly yours! A good service writer makes you feel as though you are his or her most important customer.
On your end, the better equipped you are to describe your issues to the service writer, the smoother the process will go, and the more efficient the repair will be. Arrive at the service counter ready to report all problems in as much detail as you can. Be specific about why, where, when, and how the issues occur.
As a service manager, I do not allow RV technicians to write “No Fault Found” on their service reports, but sometimes they are unable to reproduce the problem and, as a result, initially are not able to fix it. In those cases, I have the technicians report back to the service writer, who either provides clarification or calls the customer to gather additional information. In the case of an intermittent or very specific failure, detailed reporting from the customer to the service writer certainly helps.
Details that may seem insignificant can have a major impact on whether and to what extent the failure occurs, etc. One common example would be the report of a water leak. The service writer should ask whether evidence of the leak appears on the ceiling or walls as a result of an external rainwater intrusion; occurs on the floor or at a hose fitting when the water pump is turned on or a faucet is opened; or is seen around the base of the toilet when it is flushed, to name just a few possibilities. Cases could exist when the owner may not be certain whether it is a fresh water or drain leak, such as when water is found under the sink. So, the owner should report that water was found under the sink and describe exactly what conditions led to seeing the water.
In most cases, I would advise the customer to wipe up the water, then try to observe what causes a recurrence, if anything. Does it occur when connected to city water as well as with the pump running? Does it happen with the tap running or not? Is it hot or cold water, or both? Are there any other areas where water can be found? For instance, while feeling along the cold and hot water lines leading to the faucet? These questions are especially important in the case of intermittent or hard-to-reproduce problems.
It is fundamentally important to provide as much information as you can, so the technician has a better chance of reproducing the issue. As an example, in my coach I had an issue where the energy management system (EMS) mon-itor panel often would go blank and the EMS would cease working. The problem seemed nonrepeatable (not able to reproduce it repeatably), as it seemed to occur frequently but completely randomly.
One evening I woke up in the middle of the night and noticed the panel and EMS system were functioning normally, and as I observed it, it did not fail. After some thought, I realized it must have something to do with the lights in the coach. It suddenly hit me that the ceiling lights were fluorescent and utilized noise-emitting EMI (electromagnetic interference). Sure enough, turning on the ceiling light caused a repeatable failure of my EMS system. Fortunately, my ceiling lights have individual switches on them so I can turn any of them off when the main switch is turned on. Since it’s likely a technician would have turned on the interior lights upon entry into the coach, the EMS system would have failed, and the tech probably would have gone down the wrong rabbit hole immediately.
Consider if the above scenario occurred with an average RV owner. He or she may eventually have noticed that the EMS system worked late at night when people were in bed but did not work during the evening. This information should be relayed to the service writer. If that level of detail were not reported, the technician could spend hours hunting for the problem, likely swapping out several parts in the process. With these observations from the owner, though, a savvy technician likely would identify the problem quite quickly. Granted, the RV owner may not notice the connection between the lights and the EMS system (it took me some time to notice it).
The quality of information is inversely proportional to the amount of time a technician must spend diagnosing issues. There is no such thing as too much information in the realm of RV owner and service writer relationships.
After listening to your story, the service writer should escort you to your RV so you can point out the problems. This allows the service writer to observe the issue so he or she can better articulate it on the work order or show the technician. Service writers are the “voice of the customer” for the service department, and the more they know about your RV issues, the more efficient the repair is likely to be.
Keep a detailed list of any problems you have with your RV. When it comes time to address the concerns (winter is a good time, as most service centers are less busy), make an appointment and bring your list. Take as much time as you need with the service writer. Present him or her with each issue, discuss them in detail, and then show the writer each issue during the walkthrough. The writer may mark each location with masking tape for the technician.
When the walkthrough is complete, the service writer may rewrite sections of the work order for clarity and then ask you to review and sign it. Read it thoroughly to make sure what you discussed and pointed out is properly and clearly reflected. If you believe the work should be done under warranty, be sure to inquire about that to minimize the chance of billing surprises on pickup. This is important, because sometimes issues you believe to be covered under warranty may not be. Take all the time you need during the check-in process, and don’t be afraid to call later if you think of more issues.
The service writer will contact you when your unit is ready for pickup. When you arrive, the service staff will bring your RV to the pickup area (and assist with hookup if needed), and the service writer should discuss each repair so you understand what the technician found and how it was fixed. Feel free to ask questions, because it’s important you are clear on what was done. If you find quality issues with the repairs, now is the time to bring them to the attention of the service writer. You may choose to leave the RV so they can remedy the issues. This shouldn’t happen often, since the service writers usually are responsible for quality inspection of your unit after the technicians have finished their work.
I hope this article gives you some clarity about the importance of a strong relationship with your service writer. You invested a lot of money in your RV, so you definitely want to deal with a service provider that respects you and your vehicle.