This 4th of July weekend, my family and I took our Crossroads Zinger Travel Trailer on a 280 mile journey to Creede CO. We go on 6-7 of these trips a year to find good fishing locations and enjoy everything that Colorado has to offer. This trip was a disaster, and how Crossroads handled a family crisis is a great reminder of how we as real estate professionals are in a position to help our clients – whether in the middle of a transaction or not.
As we pulled into our RV site, we noticed the rear left wheel on our Crossroads Zinger Travel Trailer was at a roughly 30 degree angle – obviously not a good sign. Since we pulled in late on the night of the 3rd, we didn’t contact a repair service until after the holiday on the morning of the 5th. When the repair tech arrived, he examined the wheel and let us know that our wheel bearing had failed and that the wheel itself had burned through both the break pad and drum. He said we were lucky to have made it our campsite.
He had to order parts and our trip was extended an extra 5 days. But here is where Crossroads comes in:
After the tech left, I contacted Crossroads and informed them that our Crossroads Zinger Travel Trailer was exactly 2 years 1 month and 12 days old – putting us 1 month and 12 days outside our warranty coverage. I stated that I was giving them the chance to make things right.
I received a call 3 hours later from Crossroads. However, their response was: “According to your warranty manual on page 67, you are supposed to have your wheel bearings serviced every 6,000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first.” (Our trailer had less than 4,500 miles on it at the time this happened).
I explained the situation to the customer service rep, and he let me know that he would “talk to a manager, but he knew what they would say.” I never heard from him again. Not a call. Not an email. Nothing.
Over the years, our team has helped thousands of buyers. We’ve received calls, days, weeks, months, and years after closing where a homeowner has a crisis and we go out of our way to help them. I’ve spent countless hours on the phone with warranty companies, plumbers, contractors, electricians and more to fix problems that I didn’t cause so that my clients knew that we were there for them. I cannot imagine referring a client to page 67 of a warranty manual 1 month and 12 days after my contract had expired.
Many of us in real estate are on the front lines of customer service every single day. We deal face to face with our clients and we go out of our way to make sure their home buying experience is a pleasant and successful experience. But this was a reminder to me that the customer service should never stop. My family and I were in a crisis and Crossroads showed us that they didn’t care. Make sure that when a client calls you two years after the sale, that you take a minute, listen to their problems and show them that you care.
Also, never, ever buy a Crossroads Zinger Travel Trailer.