Living on Tiffin Time…

We left Natchez Trace RV Park and continued on Natchez Trace Parkway for about 60 miles to our destination which is a well known RV park to Tiffin Motorhome owners.  We checked in and were assigned site number 37 at the Allegro Campground in Red Bay, Alabama. For non Tiffin owners the Allegro Campground is a campground adjacent to the service center for Tiffin Motorhomes. We now find ourselves literally in a sea of Tiffin motorhomes…

We pulled in on Tuesday, June 16th and we have no idea how long we will be here because once parked here you become on “Tiffin Time.” Again for those that don’t know, having service at Tiffin is done on a first come first serve basis… or so they say.

After checking in and filling out all of our information including our list of requested repairs we turned our packet back into Judy at reception. She explained she in turn  would communicate to scheduling our list of requests. The next morning Norris stopped by to discuss our list of requested repairs and to see first hand what exactly needed to be done.  His job is to give a vague idea of when you might possibly be seen. After our key items  were discussed we happened to mention some lesser priority items and that's when Norris said if we wanted all of the items completed we would have to wait 3 weeks or more for a full service bay or we could have our top items addressed in what is called an express bay which would be available in much less time. We, of course elected to queue on up for the express bay knowing full well we are now  on Tiffin Time meaning we will never know when exactly we will be seen.  We also know this means we must wait in the ever-ready position with our phones at our side so that we are available to pack up and go quickly whenever they call.

The next day a few guys came by to try to figure out which parts we might need explaining this would save time once we were called to our express bay. Since they will fix everything they can in three hours we reiterated the priorities on our list. We know we could (if we wanted to) get back into the queue for another three hours for repairs but who knows how long that takes? Anyway, our experience with the express bay  in the past has been that they really seem to get a lot more done than we expected, so for us, it is the way to go. We have talked to a few people who have been here several weeks.  Our goal is a week to less than ten days.

With a weekend coming up we are free as the shop is closed on weekends so we plan to explore a few spots nearby we haven’t explored before. After our express bay service we will have to wait around a bit more as we our also having our radius rails replaced and Tiffin will do this on a Goodwill Warranty (in other words free). So we will for sure hang around to get that work done.

While hanging out in the parking lot called Allegro Campground at least we can try out some recipes we have been wanting to try. How long will we be here? Who knows, as we are living on Tiffin Time…

Bob Tiffin and Tiffin Motorhomes…

As I stated in an earlier blog I had heard and read many stories about Bob Tiffin going way above and beyond necessary to make his customers happy.I assumed most of these stories were maybe a bit exaggerated.  As you may recall last month, after we paid to have three of our four fogged up windows replaced in Red Bay, Alabama Bob Tiffin instructed the service manager to give us a call to tell us we were going to get a refund for the cost of the windows they just had installed thus saving  us $690! Mr. Tiffin extended this courtesy despite the fact the warranty had expired.  He did so because the windows did fail while under warranty but the previous owner was unable to have the repairs due to unexpected ill health.

We were very grateful for the generosity of Bob Tiffin who has built Tiffin Motorhomes into the best RV manufacturer in the USA – in my opinion. And we left Red Bay as very satisfied customers.  When we got to Mississippi we had time to reflect upon our experience.

We originally really wanted to replace all four of our faulty windows but when we got an estimate for the total cost of replacement it was financially prudent to only replace the three worst windows.  We decide this especially since the least fogged window was the most expensive window at $405.00 not including installation labor. We decided to write a letter to Bob tiffin to thank him for his generosity and exemplary customer service. We also asked that since he authorized Tiffin Motorhomes to replace all of fogged windows if there was any way we could have them ship the fourth window to us here in Texas at our cost.

About 10 days passed so we thought that maybe this was the end of our hope for obtaining that.fourth window.as a warranty replacement. Then one night I got a phone call from Mr. Bob Tiffin himself!!! He asked me where I wanted to have this window sent!!! After some small talk and a cordial goodbye he agreed to have our fourth window sent to us and astoundingly he wanted to absorb the shipping cost!.

Once the window arrived, I contacted Ricky Johnson in the service shop and he sent me directions on how to replace the window myself. So with a bit of assistance from Sharon and a friend I replaced our last fogged window as per the instructions below:

Unscrew all the screws but one inside the window
Have someone score the caulk outside then hold the window as the last screw is undone inside.
Clean the old caulk off and clean the area for attachment of the window seal
Apply the window seal to the inside of the frame
Insert all screws and tighten down sequentially
Re-caulk top half of window

Actually this really was a simple do-it-yourself task but there is definitely a ill need for assistance in making sure the bulky window doesn’t fall.

Now we have no fogged windows and we can thank Bob Tiffin and Tiffin Motorhomes… A company that truly does put the customer first!!! So all those stories that many of us have heard about the “magic” of the customer service of Mr. Tiffin are true… Afterall how many of you have heard of Mr. Newmar or Mr. Winnebago?

Thanks Mr. Bob Tiffin,  for all that you do…

The Red Bay Saga Continues…

Well the “service guy” showed up as our first contact with the service department two days after we got here in Red Bay, Alabama. He pulls up in a beat up old red station wagon and rolls down his windows and asks a question?

“Are you in a hurry?” We said what do you mean? His reply was “Well, if you are in a hurry we can put you in the express bay and if not we can get to you in about two weeks?” We say enthusiastically- “The Express Bay!!!!”

The off he went without even coming into the RV to see what specific issues we wanted to address. I had several items I wanted to ask a technician about but I guess we will have to wait till later to speak with one.

Then we didn’t hear anything from anyone again…We are definitely on “Tiffin time”.  I finally decided to visit nearby Bay Diesel to see about getting some preventative engine maintenance done and have them look over my front driver’s side brake that had overheated when we drove through Birmingham Alabama.  The were able to set me up an appointment for Tuesday morning.

Back in the land of the Tiffin Service Center another day rolled by without any contact so we initiated contact with the Service Department Friday afternoon after the bays had closed for the weekend. I asked if they had any idea where we were in the queue since we had a diesel appointment for Tuesday. After shuffling through some papers on his desk he said we were next and would be seen Monday at 7:00 am… Great we thought!!! Then we wondered when they were ever going to tell us that since they had closed for the weekend??? Strange way to do business… but at least we are likely to be seen Monday and may still be able to keep our Tuesday appointment also. After these plans were made at last, we decided to make the short half hour drive northeast to Tuscambia, Alabama to visit the Rattlesnake Saloon. This place was said to be a cave with a bar built into it so we just had to check it out. Once we found our way to the entrance had caught the “taxi” down the hill to the saloon we finally saw what all the hoopla was all about… we had found another Road Treat! To read more about this place check out our blog about it on Road Treats.