Winnebago Customer Service & The Lodge

Alfred622 · 10-30-2006, 02:09 PM

We just got back from Forest City. More than ever, I'm glad we got a Winnebago! There was a line of folks waiting to register for their appointments at 6:45am - and the doors opened promptly at that time. There were three service writers behind the counter (appointments to the left, walk-ins to the right). We had an appointment so we saw Angie on the left. She asked our name and immediately found all of our paperwork. (I hate it when they have to spend 5 minutes looking.) In addition, she reviewed each of the items that I felt needed attention with me and, after verifing nothing else had happened, asked me to wait for our technician. The whole time, she treated me with respect and seemed very knowledgeable. About 10 minutes later, Denny (the technician assigned to us) came out. I liked him the minute I saw him. This guy loves RVs. We walked out to the coach and he verified each item with us. I felt certain he knew exactly what I was concerned about. Then he put plastic over the driver's seat and carpet on the floor. He drove our coach into the shop and we went back to wait.
Here is where the Lodge comes in. I found out that the Lodge (a motel/restaurant across the street from Winnebago) has an indoor pool. There have been multiple notes on RV.NET about their good food. So, silly as it sounds, we drove to Forest City on Sunday afternoon, got a room at the lodge, and left our coach in their parking lot! Well, the pool was nice and all fo us enjoyed that. However, the rooms (while nice) did leave a bit to be desired. The beds were extremely firm and the pillows extremely wimpy. The pull-out sofa bed had seen much better days. Even so, we got a good nights sleep. (Did you know the Lodge was built as a private residence, then owned/operated by Winnebago as a restaurant/motel for many years, then in April 2006 it was sold to a private investor?). We drove our coach from the lodge to Winnebago early Monday morning & walked back. Later (after more swimming) we had a fine lunch in the Lodge restaurant (and met Jill, the delightful waitress that everyone talks about). With a good lunch under the belt, we walked back to Winnebago to take a tour when my cell phone rang - "Your coach is ready". We met Denny about 1pm and he reviewed everything he did, what he found, and how it was fixed. I was very pleased.
Then we dashed up to the WIT Visitor Center to catch the 1:00 tour (Charlene at Customer Service called the Visitor Center to say we were on our way!). They were waiting for us - I remember saying "You all are treating me like I'm the King of Siam!" to which they replied, "Well aren't you?" and smiled.
We're home now, but we had a most positive experience in Forest City. I know not everone has such a great experience, but I bet a lot of folks walk away from Winnbago in Forest City feeling just like I do - Glad & Happy we have one of their coaches!

Alfred622 · 10-30-2006, 02:09 PM

We just got back from Forest City. More than ever, I'm glad we got a Winnebago! There was a line of folks waiting to register for their appointments at 6:45am - and the doors opened promptly at that time. There were three service writers behind the counter (appointments to the left, walk-ins to the right). We had an appointment so we saw Angie on the left. She asked our name and immediately found all of our paperwork. (I hate it when they have to spend 5 minutes looking.) In addition, she reviewed each of the items that I felt needed attention with me and, after verifing nothing else had happened, asked me to wait for our technician. The whole time, she treated me with respect and seemed very knowledgeable. About 10 minutes later, Denny (the technician assigned to us) came out. I liked him the minute I saw him. This guy loves RVs. We walked out to the coach and he verified each item with us. I felt certain he knew exactly what I was concerned about. Then he put plastic over the driver's seat and carpet on the floor. He drove our coach into the shop and we went back to wait.
Here is where the Lodge comes in. I found out that the Lodge (a motel/restaurant across the street from Winnebago) has an indoor pool. There have been multiple notes on RV.NET about their good food. So, silly as it sounds, we drove to Forest City on Sunday afternoon, got a room at the lodge, and left our coach in their parking lot! Well, the pool was nice and all fo us enjoyed that. However, the rooms (while nice) did leave a bit to be desired. The beds were extremely firm and the pillows extremely wimpy. The pull-out sofa bed had seen much better days. Even so, we got a good nights sleep. (Did you know the Lodge was built as a private residence, then owned/operated by Winnebago as a restaurant/motel for many years, then in April 2006 it was sold to a private investor?). We drove our coach from the lodge to Winnebago early Monday morning & walked back. Later (after more swimming) we had a fine lunch in the Lodge restaurant (and met Jill, the delightful waitress that everyone talks about). With a good lunch under the belt, we walked back to Winnebago to take a tour when my cell phone rang - "Your coach is ready". We met Denny about 1pm and he reviewed everything he did, what he found, and how it was fixed. I was very pleased.
Then we dashed up to the WIT Visitor Center to catch the 1:00 tour (Charlene at Customer Service called the Visitor Center to say we were on our way!). They were waiting for us - I remember saying "You all are treating me like I'm the King of Siam!" to which they replied, "Well aren't you?" and smiled.
We're home now, but we had a most positive experience in Forest City. I know not everone has such a great experience, but I bet a lot of folks walk away from Winnbago in Forest City feeling just like I do - Glad & Happy we have one of their coaches!

rebelsbeach · 10-30-2006, 03:15 PM

Alfred, sounds like you had a GREAT experience in Forest City!

My only addition was the fact that I left the Lodge Restaurant with two pictures I bought right off the wall!
A local artist,a gentleman by the name of Andy Sinnen, has been allowed the opportunity to decorate the walls of the Lodge with his art work.
I purchased a painting of Labrador Retrievers that looked REAL!
The hostess at the Lodge took the time to call him on the phone and he was gracious enough to come up and not only take care of the purchase,but personalize the works as well.

Anyone interested in seeing some really good local talent would do themselves justice to take a look at the walls.

John_Canfield · 10-30-2006, 04:08 PM

Angie, Charlene and Betty behind the counter are all efficent and personable. They were sad when we left and they didn't have have two kitties to pet that were in carriers behind the counter.

Glad you had a good service experience and had a chance to meet our Jill at The Lodge. We would have stayed at there but they don't do pets - we had to stay at the Super8 when we were there in April (we had more tile added.)

TXDrifter165 · 11-22-2006, 11:10 AM

There are a lot of us that are unable to go to Forrest City. It was good to read your experiences. I hope we see more. Thank you.

Pubtym · 12-03-2006, 12:28 PM

Just returned from Forest City stop for a few warranty items. Very impressive tech service and customer care.

rebelsbeach · 12-03-2006, 05:31 PM

Glad you had good fortune in Forest City, I'm planning on stopping on my way through in March...
There are some real nice folks there and some good food too!