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Suncoast window repair story
Recently I had a bad experience with Suncoast Designs glass company. Here is the transcript of the conversation with their manager. You can draw your own conclusion. I’ll only upload one photo because of size. The compound will not come off the paint without further damage
The photo turned 90 degrees. You can see the same compound on the blind in the background. Obviously, there is no way to get three quotes.
Please start reading from the bottom (the start of the correspondence).
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We are concerned with the quality of work coming out of our facility. If you desire us to look at the work, then you will have to bring the coach back to our facility. We do not have a mobile team of any sort and therefore only work out of our facility. We are also aware that Marathon produces a quality product, however we have worked on many Prevosts and this is not a typical issue. We are not accusing Marathon, it is whomever is responsible for the paint, whether it is Marathon or someone else. Regardless of whether it was raining or not, you signed off on it, it is not our fault that you did not more closely inspect your coach. In regards to the blind, we will require three quotes from three separate companies.
Thank you,
JEFF HEYEN
General Manager
SUNCOAST DESIGNERS*Custom Windows*RV Window Repair727-868-2773 Office727-862-4732 FaxAMERICA’S #1 RV GLASS SPECIALISTS
Subject: Re: Lousy workmanship
From: bottieri@me.com
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 10:43:08 -0700
To: jheyen@ccwindow.comJeffI didn’t ask you to repair the paint. I’ve brought this all to your attention because It was my impression that you are concerned with quality and would be interested in seeing some of what leaves your business if it wasn’t top quality.Your comment about my touching up stone chips has no relation to peeling off paint, and Marathon Coach does not put out shoddy paint jobs.I don’t know what the technical term is for the compound that is on my paint and blind, but it’s also on the glass. I called it cement, but regardless of what you call it – it’s there and got put there by your people. Take a good look at the photos and you’ll see it smeared on the glass and down onto the paint.Yes, I signed off on the job – in the rain which made it impossible to see the problems.I’ve invited you to come see for yourself. If you really care about what your shop is producing, you should take that offer before claiming it wasn’t done by your people.I’ve contacted Marathon about a new blind and will get back to you with the cost.Joe BottieriSent from my iPad
On Dec 18, 2014, at 10:12 AM, Jeff Heyen jheyen@ccwindow.com> wrote:First, i want to inform you that it clearly states in your warranty about the responsibility for paint damages, which you signed stating your understanding of this warranty agreement. In addition, you signed our checklist stating that you were satisfied with the work done prior to you leaving our facility. Due to the damages to the paint, it is clear that you have a very shotty paint job, which is an issue to take up with those responsible for your paint job, not us. In addition, the fact that you touched up the paint yourself, you have already admitted that you had damage to the paint, prior to ever entering our facility. Therefore we are not responsible for any of the damages mentioned. In lite of this, and the fact that we do not use cement, nor anything like cement, we have still offered to replace those blinds, despite the fact that it is not our responsibility.Thank you,
JEFF HEYEN
General Manager
SUNCOAST DESIGNERS*Custom Windows*RV Window Repair727-868-2773 Office727-862-4732 FaxAMERICA’S #1 RV GLASS SPECIALISTS
Subject: Re: Lousy workmanship
From: bottieri@me.com
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 14:59:39 -0700
To: jheyen@ccwindow.comFirst, I’ll inform Marathon about their paint quality. Second, the paint chips weren’t there before you worked on the coach as I had personally touched up every nick and chip the weekend before heading to Hudson. Third, the cement on the blind is exactly the same as what is smeared on the paint below the window. It’s not caulk. It won’t come off either place.I plan to be in Clearwater at Parliament coach the afternoon of the 8th of January. You are welcome to come see the job in person. There’s more mess than visible in the photos.Joe BottieriSent from my iPad
On Dec 17, 2014, at 9:57 AM, Jeff Heyen jheyen@ccwindow.com> wrote:Mr. Bottieri,I want to apologize for the damages caused during the repairs. I do want to inform you that based on the picture, it looks like it could be black caulk on the blinds, there would be no reason for cement to be in your RV, however I brought this to my managers attention and he has informed me to request that you go ahead and send us the bill for the blind replacement. In regards to the paint, what we use for the window template is painters tape, if your paint job was done correctly it wouldn’t remove any of the paint. Therefore, unfortunately, there is nothing we are able to do for the paint. If there is anything else i can help you with, please, do not hesitate to ask.Thank you,Taylor
JEFF HEYEN
General Manager
SUNCOAST DESIGNERS*Custom Windows*RV Window Repair727-868-2773 Office727-862-4732 FaxAMERICA’S #1 RV GLASS SPECIALISTS
From: contactus@suncoastdesigners.com
To: jheyen@ccwindow.com
Subject: FW: Lousy workmanship
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 10:10:48 -0500Suncoast Designers, Inc.
Subject: Lousy workmanship
From: bottieri@me.com
Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 17:19:17 -0700
To: contactus@suncoastdesigners.com
Cement on my blind, peeled paint, chipped paint, sloppy finish on the sealant, etc.
Very sloppy and damaging workmanship!
Joe
Sent from my iPad
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19 Replies
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Usually responses of this type come from employees of companies who have no skin in the game.
Employee needs training in customer service as he chooses to challenge you in a message war.
Pictures are worth a thousand words.
FWIW;
Picture shows poor lay down and probably cheap tape used.and uneven line next to paint. With the tape available in the market today it should be razor sharp with a perfect curve right on the crown of bus panel. The rough texter of the sealant shows the installer used the final smooth out both ways which gives you a lumpy surface and bleed under tape line.
Proper tape lay down starts with a 100 % clean surface. Bleed can be caused with just the normal dust on a paint surface. That’s all it takes.
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This is how I see it, the work in the pictures is shoddy. There is no doubt about it. Everyone who owns a Prevost bus is a “high end client” and I would think their business would be of the utmost importantance. The internet can destroy your business and what I mean when I say internet I am refering to sites like Prevost Community. I am sure they have a facebook page, Google page, and web site where customers who are looking for services like theirs are looking them up and would rather not have negitive comments made there. Bad reviews will KILL a business. Today is a different kind of day, and people look you up before ever doing business with you.
This man who has the title of General Manager needs to re-think his stand on this. I am a business owner, I have 25 employees and they are very good at what they do but they are human and make mistakes. When my company makes mistakes we just take care of it right then. No shirking of my responsability, no B.S. excuses, I just fix it and now. I have tons of competitors and I have to stand out from the rest and quality service and workmanship is what differentitates me from them.
So with that said and me reading your situation created by Suncoast would keep me from ever doing business with them.. Ever.
If you can not get this resolved maybe a reminder of how many prevost owners are going to read you post.
Steve.
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I had the same exerience as Grizz and posted it a few years back. Anytime someone asks me about Suncoast, I tell them they only do flat glass, their attention to detail is lacking at best and they don’t care if you set there a week. In fact, most of the plastic and trailer folks plan a week to get a couple windows done.
I was there 4 days and came away with scratched paint and less than perfect windows when the job was done.
No going back for me….
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Glass replacement of the type shown is quite easy, and there is no excuse for the lack of care shown. All Prevost owners should consider if they want to risk the same experience.
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the members of PC should send an email directly to the sender of these emails from Suncoast, if that person got almost 1700 emails I bet he would be scratching his head, and might realize what he is doing to his paycheck or company.
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Maybe my expectations are too high because like was previously posted when we messed up in our business we went to the customer and told the customer to tell us what he wanted to make it right, and then we jumped through hoops to do what was asked. No excuses, no negotiating. We just fixed it.
So when I see reports about places like Excalibur and Suncoast I just shake my head because from what I have seen they don’t get, they never will get it, and it is a waste of time trying to make them understand.
We all have seen the posts from members about experiences they have had where something was not right and the service provider went to great lengths to make it right. Those are the folks that I want to support and patronize.
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I just received an e-mail from the above company that pretty much told me I had no dog in the fight so keep your comments to yourself.
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That just about sums up Jon’s comment. These kind of businesses wouldn’t know customer service if it beat them about the head with a 2 by 4.
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Hmm, interesting BA, must be Suncoast is on the forum and if so, it would be nice if they responded.
Or, there is a member that is sending them copies of the posts. Again, would be nice to step up here instead of hiding in the weeds.
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I’m sorry about what happened to Joe. I made an appt last year with them to do the 2 windows at the frt and rear of the slide. Then I kinda remembered something happening to Truc there and dug up his post and cancelled the appt. Disaster averted thank you very much. I think some of us should post on FMCA along with the company’s response to both Joe and Al. That might hurt them where they live….in Plasticland. Geo.
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Whether the work is done on a $800,000 Prevost motorcoach or $65,000 plastic/sticks & staples motorhome, the general quality of work and attention to detail should be the same. It should be done right, accurately, and without screwing something else up.
Speaking of laying back in the weeds, I should search the PC archives and see what the resolution of the mirror issue was. I must have missed that.
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Ramco is hiding in the weeds. No resolution. That’s another company on my list of folks to avoid. I wish Prevost would avoid them, but until they do there are a whole bunch of mirrors whose chrome plating is failng and whose mirrors are shaking.
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Sounds like a business opportunity for a mirror manufacturer!
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We stopped in Hudson at Suncoast on our way to the PC Tampa Rally in th Vantare hoping to get 3 windows de-fogged… the place was jammed with “plastic coaches” and luckily they couldn’t get to us right then.
Later on at Coachworx we mentioned it to Ken Robertson and he told us that they usually remove the windows themselves and take them to Suncoast for repair then Coachworx puts them back in and I remembered it being very reasonably priced and faster too… maybe that would be a good option…. that way no contact with Suncoast at all.
Ken said they do that all the time.
Just saying !!
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I watched Jeff’s crew take out a window on the drivers side on a XL window out and new one in about two hours great job no marks on paint all done I would not take windows any were else , I have watched Prevost take all day to do one of those windows and I am sure the cost is way more
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