Broken down @ Marathon - Jon to the rescue!

[ajhaig]

This morning as we were leaving Marathon FL, I noticed that the bus was not airing up properly. After having spent nine days and mucho denaro at Marathon, I couldn't subject myself to dealing with them any more. We were literally broken down in the Marathon driveway and I was prepared to have the coach towed 180 miles to Prevost Jacksonville (yes, it was that bad)! So, I did what all good POGer's do, I called Jon.

After 15 minutes, Jon had the problem pinpointed to a bad part (I'm not sure what the thing is called) in the leveling system and he walked me through the procedure to replace it.

I went to the parts counter at Marathon and they didn't have what I needed in stock. On my way back to the bus I ran into one of the techs and I told him what was going on. The tech (this guy is a rose among thorns) went rummaging through an old parts bin in the garage and found the part I was looking for and gave me a few pointers as to how to install it.

Within 30 minutes we were on the road, THANKS JON!

The Marathon service department knew that we were having a serious problem and they made absolutely no effort (with the exception of the one tech) to offer any assistance. I felt like road kill in their parking lot. More on that horrible Marathon experience in my next post.

[garyde]

AJ. Was this a burned up Solonoid and did Marathon work on this system while you were there? I'm not understanding why they wouldn't help.

[ajhaig]

Gary,

Indeed it is a burned solonoid and Marathon did extensive work in that area. The solonoid was oozing brown stuff and stunk which made it relatively easy for Jon to diagnose over the telepone. I'm at a loss as to how they overlooked it.

It seemed like we had a different problem each day. They'd fix one thing and another thing would break. By the time this last problem arose, we just wanted to get out of there, and clearly the feeling was mutual. Needless to say, it was a very frustrating experience.

AJ

[jimshoen]

When I bought my 1997 Marathon last Winter I drove it directly to Coburg to have some equipment upgraded and serviced. The coach had not been to the factory since new. I spent over 40K in Coburg and unfortunately was treated like a nuisance by Marathons' Sevice Manger Pat Sprenger. I spoke to Steve Schoellhorn (President of Marathon) on two occasions about the situation and his comment was that he (Steve) 'deals with lots of rich people'. I got the message real fast that all these coach owners must be made of money and use to poor service. I shut up, bent over,($85 to have a license plates installed,four bolts) and paid to recover my coach. Then last summer on a trip from Reno to Portland I had a big leak in the air system, Norgen valve at drive axle. I pulled into Marathon (Coburg) on a Monday (after I begged Pat to look at it) and they diagnosed the problem and Pat scheduled me to have the problem repaired the next Friday at 1 PM. I arrived on Friday at 12:45 and unloaded my family (7 children, wife, codriver and myself). As usual, Pat greeted me with a scowl and a cigarette. The coach was pulled in and two hours later the Tech told my driver that he had not worked on any of the air suspension valving in over 5 years and had no idea how to hook up the valve and make it work. I walked in to see Pat, and in my most humble posture ask if Pat could get the Tech some additional help. Pat became very angry, told me and my driver that he was going to pull the coach out and we could get the hell out of there. At this point the vehicle was undrivable. Then he suggested leaving the coach until Monday when they could look at it again. Oh, they seem to close up early on Fridays. At this point my wife was so mad that I was looking at loosing half of everything I own. Finally the Prevost rep showed up and helped the tech hook up the Norgen Valve.
We finally escaped about four thirty and had a late night arrival into Reno. Marathon was in such a hurry they did not bolt the valve back to the frame and used a nylon tie to hold it in place. In any case, my wife has forbidden me from ever taking the coach the Coburg facility again. Twice burned is enough. As Pat is the Service Manager in Coburg his temperment could be telegraphed to the other facilities, I do not know. One thing is for sure, you will pay top dollar for any work done by Marathon and Pat is mean.
Sadly this experience was my introduction to Marathon. I very much like my coach and it was well built in 1997. The parts people, the tech support people, and the sales people at Marathon are absolutely great to work with. The disparity in the treatment I received between Pat and everyone else is unbelievable. All I can figure is that Pat must be related to the Schoellhorns.
Thanks to everyone responsible for forming and running POG, you are terrific. Finally, Marathon builds a great product, there is no doubt about that. Building and selling coaches is their strong point. It appears servicing them after the sale is much lower on their priority list. The money must be in the sales, not the maintenance?

[Jon Wehrenberg]

AJ....you are welcome. I am glad to have helped.

I think that stories about poor service are going to get more frequent, and I think owners of coaches are going to be provided with only three choices. The first option is to bend over and let the service facilities have their way with you. I can assure you that owners that do that will not be long term owners.

The second option is to find service centers that know and understand the coach, and that treat you fairly and with respect. They are out there, but a good one today may not be so good tomorrow because the real problem is hiring and retaining skilled personell. Those that do a good job need to be recognized and supported.

The final option is for the owner to learn his coach. He does not have to be able to spin a wrench, but he does have to have enough understanding to be able to guide or manage the repairs or maintenance on his coach.

I get phone calls, emails and PMs from owners with problems and almost every time the owners are literally sitting at a repair facility and the techs or managers are taking advantage of the owners, not necessarily because they are fraudulent, but because they do not necessarily understand the coach or its systems.

Rarely have I spoken or communicated with someone when the problem was insurmountable, serious, or really expensive. Those situations, such as a failed engine are obvious and the solution is very clear. Almost all of the time the problem in question is as simple as a failed circuit breaker (not a bad inverter), a leveling system valve (not air bag leaks although they do leak), or a misplaced wire. It is my opinion that as our coaches age they tend to have a lot of little problems that are annoying, but not crippling (shame on the owners for not dealing with the details). A mechanic or tech tends to see the big picture instead of addressing the single isolated problem that brings the owner there.

[truk4u]

A J & Jim,

What an eye opener! All my dealings with Marathon has been in San Antonio, FL and the service there was absolutely first class. You should post those experiences on the Prevost-Stuff Discussion Forum with hopes that it gets back to Marathon. Maybe they have lost site of the little guy with an older bus and want to cater to the rich and famous. Bad move on their part.

[MangoMike]

Trukman, Great idea about the re-post on Stuff.com.

According to Broker Phil Cooper the average guy keeps his bus 18 months (longer sometimes in the 2 bus club). So if you're a current Marathon owner good chance you'll up grade to the same, letting the guys on the top of the heap buy new or close to it. Thereby providing a conduit for new sales for Marathon. All the more reason to keep everyone, with the not-so-new, busses happy, to keep the supply chain moving. Simple economics.

I think everyone should post both their GOOD and bad experiences with all vendors here. Believe me the reports will start to filter to the top.

My experience with Kelly in parts and their service center in Dallas has been superb.

Mike

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Truk, with all due respect....the guys with the older coaches that the repair facilities would like to go away are truly the folks that will spend the most money there and should be at the head of the list. Yes, they need to take care of the new bus owner because they want him to buy another, but in warranty work they piss away money through a 3 inch fire hose. It is the guy driving the older coach that is providing the cash flow to keep the doors open.

And finally, there are more old coach owners relative to new coach buyers. If I wanted to maintain a reputation for customer support I would cater to that group because they are so used to getting screwed, if they have a good experience they will shout it from the rooftops. Right now Marathon is going to get spanked, and it will affect every potential customer when they read it.

[0533]

My judgement day with Marathon will be coming soon. The day I arrived in Coburg to inspect my current coach (PDI) was the same day that Jeff Gorden was to take delivery of his new Coach. Jeff of course was not there, his drivers I guess, but the whole place was a buzz over this event. I was convinced that my inspection and time, and attention would be placed on a back burner. In stead I had most of the day with my salesman (Phil Cornelius) half a day with Pat Springer, Service manager, Mike the forget his role, another employee, whos job was to answer and explain any questions, and generally show me how the coach worked, take me for a test drive. My overall start to my relationship has was very good.

The coach with only 30,600 miles, sat for long periods at the factory when its original owner was back in Switzerland, but it was maintained. I purchased it technically on Nov.1, 2007 and have had everything that was questionable upgraded to be as new, from the paint to the audio, complete prevost maintainance, anything that did not function correctly, had the air, hydraulics, slideout, plumbing etc, upgraded, just wanted it to leave like new if that is possible. Now this experience has been interesting. There have been moments where I had to remind them about quotes, tell them how I deal with people, trust and all of that.

The delivery will be the final word on this subject, everyone has been professional. I also belive that Marathon realizes that a first time buyer if treated well will be a customer again. I think it is important to remind any vendor about the relationship between the customer and the company, and to always ask for, and expect the same treatment that Jeff Gorden gets, even if you are Bruce Harris.

I spent three days in Coburg when I was inspecting, buying and planning on upgrades. The day I left, I was standing in front of a glass case in the lobby with pictures of famous clients, Nascar folks stars etc. As I was leaving, I asked them if they wanted me to send along some pictures of my wife and I, some historical images, accomplishments for their case. I think they got the point.

Bruce

[jimshoen]

Jon, You are spot on again. I purchased a medium size tool box and have been happily collecting tools to work on the coach since last April.
After some fits and starts, I have developed a relationship with Smith Power Products in Sparks Nevada (Allison Detroit Diesel). There is one mechanic there named Arturo 'Arti' who I allow to work on the coach drivetrain and have had good experience with them. The Service Manager is Todd, good guy.
Several times a year I go down to Phoenix (it is both South and down hill from Reno) and have had good experience with Chris Weaver at Desert West Coach, DWC. They are a POG sponsor and I can recommend them. However, as you said, it really depends on the specific tech that lays their hands on the coach. DWC has the ability to service these vehicles and the owner, Wayne Mullis, is almost always there and happy to talk with you. Some of you may know the DWC story, but Wayne was the largest roofing contractor in the US at one time, and after he sold his business he bought a coach to travel in. Soon he discovered there was no one to service the vehicles, so he formed and runs DWC.
Tom, While my coach was at Marathon I spoke to Steve Schoellhorn on several occasions about Pat and had some e-mail communication also steves@marathoncoach.com. I guess I could have called Steves' dad, but that probably would have been way over the top.
Jon and Bruce, Kelly, Phil, Mike, the receptionists, the techs and everyone else at Marathon is great. However, when the head guy in Service is so abrasive, what the heck do you do as a newbie customer? Join POG of course!
Bruce, Best of luck to you with your delivery in Coburg. I am sure you will like the bus. Remember these are machines and are always in need of care and feeding.
I poured a nice concrete pad on the side of my house so I can now work on my bus. This is a major improvement. Sent a check to Jon yesterday for the cool bus stands.
Prior to seeing AJ's post I was very closed mouth about the unbelievable experience I had with Pat. I want to maintain a good relationship with Marathon and was actually in fear of retaliation, black balled or what ever. I have a lot of damn money tied up in this toy.
Buces' comment, "There have been moments where I had to remind them about quotes, tell them how I deal with people, trust and all of that", sums up the problem. As a customer we should not be required to teach Marathon how to interact with their customers. That is the same BS I went through. Steve needs to get down on the floor and see what is happening to his customers and spend less time planning the next most fantastic vacation for the Maritime Club.