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View Full Version : BEWARE!! Performance Trailer Lake George NY



Woodsy
04-24-2002, 04:00 PM
Hola Compadres...

I need to post this to warn others of the bad business practices I experienced over at PERFORMANCE TRAILER in Lake George, NY. Last May I bought a trailer from them for my '97 22 Classic. I drove from Chelmsford, MA to Lake George, NY to pick up this trailer. Its a standard dual axle steel frame trailer, painted black with yellow pinstripes to match the boat. But I digress. When I picked it up and plugged it into my 97 Dodge Ram 2500 with the factory towing package the brand new trailer had a ground fault. When you stepped on the brakes, everything else lit up dimly, except the brake lights they went out. Well, the owner of Performance Trailer, a very gruff individual named Bill, swore up and down that the fault was with my truck, not his trailer. Well, I wasn't satisfied with that response as I had just towed my '89 18 Classic to meet her new owners the week previously. He promptly backed up one of his trucks to the trailer and plugged it in. Same result. Now I am getting more than a little ticked off. Billl & his assistant then proceeded to rewire the trailer right in front of me. Guess what? Same result. Bill is back to swearing up and down that this problem is with my truck, not his trailer... although he can't explain why his truck didn't work either. Well, time was running short if I wanted to go & get the new 22 Classic before the marina closed, so with no lights, I hooked up the trailer and left, with Bill's assurance that once the problem was discovered, that IF the problem was with his trailer he would make it right, although he was pretty darn confident (smug would be more like it) about the problem being with my truck. Well, about a month later, after not being able to find this problem myself, the truck & trailer went to my mechanic. My mechanic proceeds to look at everything and it all looks right, right color wires to the right connections. I told him what Bill said, about it being in the trucks wiring. He agreed it was a possibility and proceeded to check the wiring harness of the truck. 4 hourslater, still no luck finding the problem. He replaces all of the connectors on the truck, thinking maybe a connector is shorting out somehow. Still the problem persists. He hooked up his snowmobile tralier to my truck, and all the lights worked fine. That brought him back to looking at the trailer again. He starts pulling the lights off one by one and looking them over really closely. He found the problem when he got to the tailights. The wires were the right colors molded into the wrong spots. My mechanic, cut the wires and swapped them around and PRESTO... the lights worked properly!! Finally!! So then the mechanic hands me the bill $250, $200 in labor, $50 for the connectors etc, that he replaced. I called Performance Trailer the next day and spoke with Bill. Of course, being the arrogant person he is, he did not believe me. I told him to go to the stockroom and get a BRAND NEW set of lights. He begrudginly agreed to do so, commenting that in his 14yrs of making trailers, this has NEVER happened. Well, he pulled the lights and they were molded wrong. He claimed he had produced about 80 trailers since I had picked up my trailer. He also told me had to go make some phone calls so all of his dealers would be aware of this issue. I asked him about my mechanics bill, and he told me he would get in touch with WesBar ( the MFG of the lights) and get back to me. I have called PERFORMANCE TRAILER every few months or so, trying to follow up on this issue. I did not want the $50 in parts covered, just the $200 in diagnostic labor costs. My close friends here know how busy & hectic things have been with my dad's accident etc. Well, today I call PERFORMANCE TRAILER again. The receptionist answers the phone, and I asked for Bill. When I explained the situtation to her to refresh her memory, and asked for Bill, she told me the following message.... The lights are NOT covered by our warranty. If I have a problem with the lights I should take it up with the manufacturer. I was furious to say the least. Nor would Bill come to the phone. What type of customer service is this. You need to remember that this trailer is still under the 1yr warranty and it was defective when I picked it up. I also saved them a ton of aggravation & warranty claims when I discovered what the cause of the problem was. But I guess thats not worth my $200 labor claim to PERFORMANCE TRAILER. I called WesBar today, and have already heard back from one person. I am expecting a phone call from thier QA engineer sometime today or tomorrow. They are at least making an attempt to resolve the issue. Too bad about PERFORMANCE TRAILER. I have recommended them in the past to several people who ended up buying one for thier boat. I will no longer recommend them, and quite frankly, I will be negative about them to anyone who cares to listen or who is searching for a trailer. Although the trailer itself is well built, their customer service sucks!! So to Bill, I hope you read this here or over on OSO.. feel free to respond! Though I seriously doubt you will. If this cosat him just one lost sale, then I will be happy.

Woodsy

PS: Those of you who know me, know its not about the $200. I have spent that picking up a bar tab.... its the principal of the issue, the promise to make good on something, then the REFUSAL to do so...

PSS: Sorry for the LOOOOOONG RANT!! I'll make it up to you all at AOTH!!

mjpcowboy
04-24-2002, 04:24 PM
I feel your pain! I had a similar situation with Loadmaster trailer that had a break that was not tightned properly blowing off the hub and destroying the wheel and tire. When I called Loadmaster I gave them the option of 3 trailer repair shops in my area. They authorized one of the repair shops and I proceeded to have the trailer fixed. When I went to pick it up the shop asked me to pay the bill since they were not aware of this company that was located over 1500 miles away. I had no problem paying the $170.00 bill since I was certain that loadmaster would honor their warranty. I sent the bill in and received no response for weeks. When I called their customer service department I was told that the breaks were made by someone else and I would need to contact them. I would not expect that if I bought a new GM or Ford that I would need to go back to the facility that made the part, I would take it to the representative and they would honor the repair. After 5 months of phone calls and threats I finally got reimbursed for my repair bill, however I still have a bad tire. Why does a business get away with treating customers like this. If I tried to run my business like these two organizations I would not have to worry about working very long. You are right it is not the money it has to do with treating your customers fairly. If you don't want to service your product don't offer a warranty. This kind of hassle needs to end. Pay close attention to the businesses you support.

CDMA
04-24-2002, 05:11 PM
Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls Rolls

When they spec the wrong trailer for your boat they take the old one back and give the the correct one at no extra cost. They even paid freight. Then when one of the lights is bad they send you not one but 2 new complete kits ( 4 total tail lights ) with a note "sorry for inconvience".....just got drive to NC to get them....

Chris

Sagbay32
04-24-2002, 05:11 PM
This has got to be my biggest pet peeve (poor service). I have worked in the service industry for the last 12 years and am apalled by the service I receive from companies in both service and retail.
I am sorry that you both had problems with companies that supposedly stand behind their products. I will pass the word on. Make sure you call the better business bureau and the local chamber of commerce so others won't have to be as unfortunate as you .

ps. By the way, I stand behind everything I have done or sold period, and no I am not in the boating industry :D

Stix Magill
04-24-2002, 05:40 PM
Performance trailer just lost another sale. My brother in law is shopping for a trailer for a larger boat (read expensive trailer) and I informed him of the situation. He had them on the list, but scratched them off! I will mention it to my sister in Connecticut as they are looking for a boat. I am in retail/service and I recoil when I hear of this crap.

Thanks for the heads-up!

Bryan Tuvell 33ZX
04-24-2002, 05:44 PM
Man, it seems to be the trailer season.
I pick my new one up next Friday, I know to check the lugs and pressure, hopefully my journey will be trouble free.

Thanks for the info, you guys know me, I will certainly spread the word when ask about trailers.
Bryan

RickR
04-24-2002, 08:18 PM
I'm with CDMA!!!
Rolls!!!!
I had a problem with the Rolls for my 18 Classic and Rolls went out of there way to fix it.
The Rolls under my 22 has over 4000 trouble free miles on it.

Dr. Dan
04-25-2002, 01:38 AM
Woodsy, Are these guys related to Performance Marine at Lake George? Or totally different company's? :cool: ...Doc

Tidbart
04-25-2002, 06:15 AM
If I am not mistaken, Performance Marine is run by a guy named Jason. They have an excellent reputation that I can not disagree with. I had troubles a couple of years ago at the LGDCC outing and Jason went out of his way in the middle of a busy Saturday afternoon to try and help me. I was pleasantly surprised that he would give me the time to try and help. These guys know customer service and I don't believe they are in the trailer business, just the go-fast business. Fast-Eddie knows for sure, he lives there.

Woodsy
04-25-2002, 06:21 AM
Thanks for all the support guys & gals! I appreciate it.

Doc... No they are not the same company at all. Jason Saris runs Performance Marine, and I have to tell you, customer service is priority one for him, even if you are only buying a stooopid thrust washer for your prop. He spent over an hour just talking to to me about the pros & cons of alot of performance myths & realities. Jason is one stand up guy. This guy Bill over at PERFORMANCE TRAILER, needs to go to a customer service class!!

Chris & Rick & Scott.... I know, I know.... next time will be a Rolls.... I know... LOL

Woodsy

Digger
04-25-2002, 07:23 AM
Woodsy thx for sharing that story--what a sad tale

I would make a positive endorsement here for Owens and Sons, makers of the "Aluminum Slide On". Good knowledgeable folks and solid cust service

Does Rolls have a website?

Dr. Dan
04-25-2002, 07:36 AM
Very Cool :D I had always heard such glowing reports on "Performance MARINE" so I am relieved that your experience was not with them!!! I am in Sales and like it or not, if you provide poor customer service, it does not take that long to erode your business client relationships! :p Glad you were able to track down the problem and restore your confidence in both your Trailer and your Truck! :cool: ...Doc

Woodsy
04-25-2002, 08:54 AM
UPDATE...

Just got off the phone with the QA Engineer a guy by the name of Bob Evaston, from WesBar (mfg of the lights). After talking a bit with him, I am pretty confident that WESBAR will find away to rectify the situation. I have to hand to them, they called me within an hour of me leaving a message yesterday, and Bob called me first thing this am from Indiana to find out what exatcly the issue is/was. Maybe I can score a set of those neat LED type trailer lights..... Wesbar knows what customer service is about.

Woodsy :D :D

Steven Cohn
04-25-2002, 09:37 AM
Woodsy,
You can take your case to the Consumer Protection Agency, in your state. Surely, your State's Attorney would be happy to take your case. If you're like me, you paid taxes. Therefor, let them work for you. I've used the Consumer Protection Agency here in Maryland with very positive results. Best of all you don't have to do much of anything and it cost nothing. I'm sure this guy wants to stay in business in your state. Don't let him get away w/crap.

boldts
04-25-2002, 10:05 PM
Anyone looking to put a trailer company that believes customer service is the most important part to selling a quality boat trailer, check out Prestige Trailer, Inc. (http://www.prestigetrailers.com/features.htm)

I'm also happy to announce that Prestige Trailer will be helping The Midwest Donzi Club with the putting on of the "Awakening of the Horses II" gathering at Lake Cumberland Kentucky. When you see them at the gathering, take a moment to say hello and welcome them to the Donzi family. :)