Having trouble with Casita parts department

[Tim in AR]

After reading a thread here lately about the right way to fix missing domed caps on the rivets I ordered a dozen complete sets of the rivets. That was two weeks ago. Nothing showed up so I called Casita parts again and left a message with the receptionist that my order didn't show up. She said someone would look into it and call me. Two days have passed and still nothing. This isn't what I expected from Casita. I've left my number again this morning and the person I talked with did not leave me with any confidence that the message will be delivered. Am I having a run of bad luck or have others experienced this? The original phone call to place the order went smoothly and that person seemed to know what he was doing but that did not result in product being delivered.

[steve dunham]

From my experience Casita is very inconsistent with their customer service.
One day it seems like you are their favorite customer and the next day it seems like the only one there is the answering machine .
I finally gave up and went to LHC & Larry Gamble
LHC answers their phone. . Has what you need , usually ships the same day and fairly prices their product
We live in Northern Wisconsin and LHC is in Quitman Texas . My last order was on my door step 3 days after placing the order
LHC sell a bag with 100 snap caps and 15 plastic sealing washers for about $6 . Plus they sell a kit with all the necessary sizes of pop rivets for your Casita

[gordon2]

I can't answer your question about their parts dept, but I can suggest an alternative:

https://littlehousecustoms.com/store.html

[clairemr1]

as others have suggested, i would order from LHC & save the factory sales for items that Larry Gamble doesn't stock. the factory stays crazy busy producing the trailers themselves & i would guess a bag of rivets/snap caps isn't high on their priority list. good luck

[Tim in AR]

Thanks to both of you for the advice. I guess that is the route I will go once I find out that the parts I ordered aren't lost in transit. I'm really beginning to regret having given them my MC number and I hate feeling that way. We are quite pleased with our 17' Casita and its a 1985! To me that speaks for their quality and to blow that company reputation over something so simple is goofy.

[ShelbyM]

I agree this is the sort of thing I would order from LHC. You don't even have to call anymore, order via the website and IIRC you can pay with Paypal. O/P, if a charge for you order hasn't shown up, I'd just move on. If someday you end up with some extra caps, you or someone else can use them eventually....

[dmad1]

Have experienced similar things. Several times I have ended up just driving to Casita, since I only live an hr. away.

[thrifty bill]

I gave up on phone orders and finally stopped by the factory on a trip. That or LHC are your best options.

[Rzrbrn]

Use LHC exclusively, unless Larry does not carry what you need, or says he cannot fix it in his garage.

Went to Casita at Rice for a screen door. I have a 2013 Casita. Door they sold me did not fit. Returned it on the spot. They don’t make my door anymore.

[johnwen1]

Tim, you cannot go wrong with LHC

[Tim in AR]

I was able to reach Casita again and explained the situation and was told someone would contact me. Nothing again. I guess I'll use the alternate source. What a shame this great trailer does not have better support. Wouldn't you think they could assign one person to these orders so that they don't create angry owners?

[gordon2]

I think if I were in your shoes I might take what I have already written in this thread, organize it in a letter and mail it to:


John Lang, President
Casita Enterprises, Inc.
5029 SE Mckinney St Building 1
Rice, TX 75155

Mention to him that the story of this poor customer support has been shared online and already has 419 views. That could be 419 people who might be less likely to choose a Casita.

[Jon in AZ]

So do I take it that you have already paid for some parts and they have not been delivered? Was your credit card ever charged? Sounds like it's been about 3 weeks and 4 phone calls?

My next call would be to cancel the order. If your card was charged, insist on a full refund. Check your card over the next few weeks to make sure all is well on that end.

It is very disappointing, but I'm guessing they aren't used to handling small items like rivets. At one time I compared a few similar parts and found that Casita prices were very steep compared to Scamp. If that's the case, most owners probably buy these commonly-available small parts elsewhere. You now have a well-recommended source, LHC.

I agree that a letter to the owner is in order. It may be a case of one employee not doing his/her job, and the owner would probably want to know. It's a "horseshoe nail" problem that should be addressed.

[ShelbyM]

It's been awhile since I looked at the Casita site and it now appears to have a proper online "store" with PayPal and all the mod cons. If I wanted to order something from Casita, I'd use this route to avoid confusion. I wonder if anyone has feedback after using their preferred method of ordering.

[dmad1]

Did I hear correctly that LHC has closed their shop part of their store?

[WizWid]

Originally Posted by dmad1

Did I hear correctly that LHC has closed their shop part of their store?

No.

Mail order will continue after the workshop closes at the end of the year.

Jim

[Tim in AR]

As of this morning, still nothing from Casita. I am going to take the advice I've received here and purchase from LHC and cancel my order with Casita. I am concerned that I left my credit card info with them and wonder where that ended up.

I'm not sure that I will be successful getting a cancellation any more than getting the order itself. What a disappointment to see how this was bungled when the trailers themselves are so good.

[thrifty bill]

Part of the problem with the molded fiberglass business is all the manufacturers are sold out. So they can have mediocre service or worse and still survive. If/when the business moderates, they will need to step up their game.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Tim in AR

....I am concerned that I left my credit card info with them and wonder where that ended up. .....

No worries. Even if someone there was not honest, you are protected against unauthorized charges using a credit card. With many cards / banks you can set up alerts to let you know when suspicious charges occur also. And if you are really worried, just call the CC company or bank and tell them to cancel the card and send you a new one (with different number).

Frankly I might not even spend more of my time trying to contact them. Just send a cancellation, then dispute any charge with the CC company telling them you were getting no response to multiple inquires.

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

Part of the problem with the molded fiberglass business is all the manufacturers are sold out. So they can have mediocre service or worse and still survive. If/when the business moderates, they will need to step up their game.

But poor customer service is remembered long after the tide turns, and by then is might be too late to salvage the companies reputation. Companies that fail to support customers in good times are often the first to go belly up in bad times.

[clairemr1]

Originally Posted by dmad1

Did I hear correctly that LHC has closed their shop part of their store?

LHC is closing the "installation/labor" portion of their business next year (2019). OMW/perfect casita will take over that part of the business. OMW is located in Lewisville, Tx. Konrad will continue LHC-Arizona services. LHC will continue their online parts sales portion of their business