Airstream Service Post-Sale is a Borderline Scam
First, I want to shoutout great individuals working for Seattle Airstream Adventure (SAA). Amanda, thank you for being such a great representative on the sale of our consigned Flying Cloud 20' (with an extended warranty) roughly 16 months ago. Theresa, thank you for being such a fun (sassy), kind person to work with in the service department. Natasha, thank you for bearing the brunt of my frustrations and doing your absolute best to find a solution within your control. You're kind, hard-working and I apologize for the times I may have been short with you. To say the least, I was frustrated!
With that said, I caution anyone considering purchasing an Airstream to avoid SAA all together! Sadly, many of these systemic issues likely come from the monopoly they have on the NW market, so that may be hard.
I attempted to schedule my first "annual" service in early October 2022. Despite being told at the time of sale that SAA prioritizes customers who purchase from them, I was give a two and a half month waiting period before I could be seen. This was frustrating, but acceptable given all the typical covid-related excuses we've all heard.
The real frustration began when it finally came time for my reservation on Dec 21, 2022. I arrived with a detailed punch list of items for replacement or repair. First, my goal was to get an estimate for parts and labor prior to approving the work. I was informed that the trailer would be looked at in the coming week or so, but to bear in mind it was the holidays so there may be small delays. I felt that was reasonable and left.
Come January 7, I have not heard from Airstream. After calling, I was informed that there were still quite a few trailers in front of me. Bear in mind, all I wanted was a parts and labor quote, this was not the timeline for any actual repairs. Also bear in mind that I had a reservation for Dec 21. What was the point of the reservation?
Friday January 20, I finally receive a quote for the work, one month after checking in the trailer and 3 months after making a reservation for service. The labor prices bear no concept of reality. Their shop rate is $185.00 per hour for labor. I work in corporate aviation, and have never seen a shop rate in Seattle that high... for a jet. It is borderline fraudulent! Clearly they're gouging their customers because they have a Monopoly on Airstreams in the area. They're also swamped in work, so basic supply and demand says they can increase rates. It's still morally wrong!
Anyway, we come to an agreement on which items to fix and at that point I'm informed it will be another 1-2 months to wait for parts. At that point, there's nothing to do but just let go of the situation. I decided to just button up the trailer and take it back. From start to end the whole experience would have bordered on 5 months to fix a fairly simple punch list. ON top of that the extended warranty company was stingy about which items they covered (my bad for purchasing it, do not!).
Here's the real problem I have. Their sales team, headed by the rather arrogant Eric Zeitner (I'll save my breath on this one), is barreling full steam ahead on selling Airstreams and the luxury airstream experience. Yet on the back end, Ron Sawicky, head of service, is drowning in service requests. On top of that he has a rather complacent attitude about it. I emailed and requested a call multiple times, with no success.
I'm fine waiting for a service reservation, I get you're backed up. But when it's my turn in line, I do expect fairly prompt turn arounds within reason and reasonable pricing!
SAA is quick to take your money, but slow to actually provide the so-called "luxury service" after the sale. Do not be shocked if you have to wait 3 or 4 or even 5 months from when you have a defect to getting that problem resolved. read more