Discussion Group on Dealers

[Rose]

This site is extremely helpful and I've learned a lot from it, but I wish you would start a discussion forum that would be concerned only with individual dealers, so that people could post comments both pro and con. As I understand it, the dealer can make your experience great or terrible and the choice of a dealer is just as important as the choice of the home's manufacturer. (I've already encountered 4 dealers that I absolutely will not do business with for various reasons). If I've zeroed in on one particular home and I have a choice of several dealers, it would be very helpful to check references on each dealer at one central location, like this web site. It would be like a Better Business Bureau for Manufactured Homes dealers only and I'll bet lots of folks would refer to it. Is that something ya'll might consider?

Thanks, and Happy New Year!

[Randy Eaton]

Hello Rose,

Not a bad idea the problem is there are over 7,500 retail centers through the US. It would be too difficult to keep track of all of them. The BBB is your best resource to finding this type of information out. Happy New Year.

Randy Eaton

[George]

when I post something if GREAT INTEREST Randy will pull it

[Rose]

thanks for your response. I don't think it's that complicated though. The forum would start out very slowly. For example, say that I go to Joe Blow Homes and get treated badly (or extremely well). I would simply write about my experience and post it to your site. This is not to say that your website would start a file on every single dealer - no. But as people shopped for their home and had a particularly good or bad experience, they could post it to your site. Or if somebody was about to sign a contract with a particular dealer, they could go to the dealer forum and ask for references on that dealer. I'll bet after a few months or a year, you'd have lots of information on lots of different dealers. I also think that something like this - once word got out that your forum exists - would make dealers more aware of the damage done by bad customer service --- and also the increase in business that could result from positive comments from satisfied customers on your site. The trouble with the Better Business Bureau is - only the problems are on file with them. If they have no file on a certain company, it doesn't necessarily mean that the company is good to deal with - it just means that nobody has complained yet. We all know that most of us don't bother to write letters of praise or appreciation, yet we're very quick to complain in writing when things go badly. Your site would provide a forum for both bad AND good comments, and since posting an e-mail to one central place is so easy, I think lots of folks would participate. I hope you'll reconsider my suggestion.

[Randy Eaton]

Hello Rose,

In my book I explain many ways to shop for a honest retailer. One way of course is to check with the BBB. Another important source is your local lenders, they will know which companies have a good reputation. If you haven't pick up yourself a copy of my book you can order it on-line through this web site on main page. Just click on, "Buyers Guide" Happy New Year!

Randy Eaton

[Randy Eaton]

Hello Rose,

In my book I explain many ways to shop for a honest retailer. One way of course is to check with the BBB. Another important source is your local lenders, they will know which companies have a good reputation. If you haven't picked up yourself a copy of my book you can order it on-line through this web site on the main page. Just click on, "Buyers Guide" Happy New Year!

Randy Eaton