Here is irony for you

[norma]

I see a lot of posts that are less than favorable to Dolmar dealerships. Here is a story going the other way.
Last September I was going out to get my deer stands ready, I had been eyeballing a Stihl KM85 with a pole pruner,extension and a brush blade. I didn't get a chance to get there earlier and I arrived as they were walking to their truck. I told them what I wanted, the reply was come back on monday! I ended up going to Gander Mountian, a Stihl dealer(not too good of service tho) and spending $500+
The other dealer that turned my buisness away has a realy good service department.So I figure I will give them another chance.
Skip to October. It is leave season and cleanup is in full force, I'm running a Sh85 blower and the wife is baging with the mower. She goes insideand I go to make a few swipes with the mower, I make it 15 feet tops then the mower dies. Trace it down to a bad magneto the mower is a pos yard machine 4 years old, wheels have a good bit of camber to them. Time for a new mower, the Stihl dealer is also a Cub Cadet dealer. I show up twenty minuites before closing, tell them, I want a self propelled rear baging mulcher. Reply was " They are $400" I said sold. Reply back was the mechanics have leaft, and all of the riders are parked in front of them now, it will take over a half hour to get it out, come back on monday. I left, went to Northern tools, (NO serice support) and spent the same amount of money on a Honda mower. I have not nor will not return there.
Now I am looking to replace my MS250 and my 039 with a more quality saw. I see the Dolmar saws are getting some pretty good reviews, but the dealer issue needs a lot to be desired. I am concidering a 5100 and a 7900, the first dealer I call says"no problem, I'll get you a 5100 and a 7300 demo, if you like them, you can buy new or we'll thak $50 of each demo." They said they would call me when they were in. Recieved a phone call today, "saws are in you can have them for a week"! Hopefully this is an indicator of the quality of service they provide. I'll probably buy the 5100 but buy a 7900 vrs the 7300 demo, bought a boat with a too small motor once, learned my lesson, buy as much power as you can afford, cause you won't have enough anyhow.
Sory to say Stihl lost a good customer, to top it off, the dealer mentioned is a family operated buisness. Lokks like Dolmar won this round.

 

[musch]

Dolmar has a GREAT reputation DESPITE their dealers.
Congratulations on finding someone who apparently knows a thing or two about customer service.

 

[spacemule]

Seems like you've got a habit of showing up at closing time. Salesmen do have their own lives apart from the workplace.

 

[RiverRat2]

Seems like you've got a habit of showing up at closing time. Salesmen do have their own lives apart from the workplace.

My best friend of twenty + years is a (Sucsessful) local Marine dealership, He has a Philosophy about those Last Minute late comers who want to spend their hard earned cash.... He goes out of his way to take their MONEY........He rotates the duty amongst his staff to do what it takes to try to oblige his customers especially on the weekend, However once the doors are locked no one else gets in,,,and the ones who you go out of their way for usually have a high occurance of repeat buys and that word of mouth advertising from a happy camper pays big dividends......in the Marine industry Weekend warriors is what keeps the doors open............

 

[DOLMARatOs]

I agree. Late arrival customers are usually in a mood to buy something.

I have no problem with the guy who shows up 5 minutes before quitting time unless he is there for 20 minutes and doesn't spend a penny, not even on a return trip.

I have made more big sales and bigger service contracts / contact at closing time or even on sundays when we aren't normally open.

My philosophy is that my shop is my life. It pays the bills and gives me something to do besides post on AS. HAHA. My customers both present and potential are the most important driving factor in the success of my business. These people allow me to eat, heat my home and buy more chainsaws. I treat every customer as a VIP unless they become a PITA but they still get absolutely fair treatment. When dealing with the public it is not our job to have strong opinions on a lot of topics. These people are in my shop of their own free will and they deserve respect for being potential long-term customers.

On the other hand, if you show up EVERY time just before closing I'd ask that you try to bump your schedule or call a half hour before with an agenda so we can get you in and out and not have supper get too cold.

my $0.02

 

[Butch(OH)]

Now, from the other side of the door. I ran a small business for 10 years, part time after work. In that week you most likely were not the first person to come sliding to a stop as he locked the door since in the modern world being late is a lifestyle (I call it fashionably rude) and people seem to think their time is more important than anyone else's. I am not trying to classify you here but running shop, no matter what it is selling and how well the owner like his business, becomes just another job and when the whistle blows he wants to go home to momma and the kids and maybe a hobby. I don't condone the shop owner being nasty to you myself, I would simply tell late people that I was off work, just like them, and wanted to see my family. If they had an emergency or didn't know my hours I would open back up, if they were late just because,, well, tough luck. I guess I was lucky to be in the position of having all the business I could stand ( I am a gunsmith) and didn't have the need to cater to others personal time scheduling problems..

 

[Hard Knocks]

In a well run shop all employees should have the same attitude as the owner. One of the biggest challenges for an owner is to educate all employees on the fact that every sale and happy customer directly effects their wages and earning power. Sometimes this means that "miller time" has to wait a few minutes while you finish an after hours sale or repair. A profitable business has happy customers and happy employees. Too many times a top notch mechanic with poor people skills does more harm to the business than good. Customers want to be treated fairly and with respect. They don't forget the time that the mechanic or parts person was pulling out of the parking lot after closing and stopped to ask them if there was something that they needed right away.

 

[computeruser]

I agree. Late arrival customers are usually in a mood to buy something.

I have no problem with the guy who shows up 5 minutes before quitting time unless he is there for 20 minutes and doesn't spend a penny, not even on a return trip.

I have made more big sales and bigger service contracts / contact at closing time or even on sundays when we aren't normally open.

Exactly! If I'm just looking to browse the inventory and daydream, I'll usually do it mid-morning or early afternoon on a day when I have nothing to do. But when I make the point to go there after work or on a Saturday afternoon, it is usually because I truly NEED something.

An anecdote:

This past summer I needed to buy my father a new handheld blower. I knew this but was waiting until he killed his old one, but one day when I was visiting one of the muffler bolts backed out and he was having a fit (truly) because he couldn't blow the grass clippings off his deck. I called every single OPE dealer around and not a one was open on Sunday. I ended up buying an Echo blower at HD, and though it is OK it cost more than it is worth and was not what I wanted. Had a local Stihl dealer been open I would have bought a BG85 for pretty much any price that it was stickered at. I wonder how many sales are lost in the course of a year to the box stores on account of them being open 15 hours per day, seven days per week. I suspect it is a fair number of sales.

I understand that being open all the time is burdensome to the small business owner who wants to spend some time with his family in the evening and on weekends. My extended family consists of a lot of small business owners, realtors, and attorneys, and we are all familiar with the challenges in balancing the needs of clients/customers and meeting our personal and family needs. It isn't easy, and sometimes a nice 9-5 job looks really appealing.

A question for dealers: what would convince you to extend your hours beyond the usual 8-6 (M-F) and 10-5 (Saturday)? What currently discourages you from having longer hours - additional labor cost, low anticipated sales volume, or some other factor?

 

[amdburner]

One time I went to a dealer to buy a snowmobile. I went right from work and got there 5 min before closing. I was told to come back another day. The next dealer I went to not a single sales person attempted to even sell me a sled. I sat on the sled I was interested on, opened the cowl, spent at least 20 min looking at it. Ok, not intersted in selling sleds I guess. The third dealer I went to didn't sell me a new one. He had a holdover demo with 124 miles on it that was in excellent shape and was what I was looking for. He gave me an excellent deal and I left with the sled. To this day I have not set foot in the other two locations and never will.

 

[Hard Knocks]

A question for dealers: what would convince you to extend your hours beyond the usual 8-6 (M-F) and 10-5 (Saturday)? What currently discourages you from having longer hours - additional labor cost, low anticipated sales volume, or some other factor?

For us it is labor shortage. If we had an extra person or two that we could rotate hours I would extend hours and open Sunday. Currently I have to give my guys two days off per week and try not to burn them out in the busy times. We seem to have a hard time in our area finding good people with a positive attitude. I refuse to hire out of convenience just because I need a warm body.

 

[DOLMARatOs]

A question for dealers: what would convince you to extend your hours beyond the usual 8-6 (M-F) and 10-5 (Saturday)? What currently discourages you from having longer hours - additional labor cost, low anticipated sales volume, or some other factor?

At this point I do not have regular Sunday hours. Luckily for me I have no family (wife, kids etc.) and nothing better to do. Sundays will usually find me at the shop from 10-4pm.

All my customers know that I can usually be found on Sundays and I check the messages at the shop remotely. Eventually I will have the shop phone transfered to my cell phone automatically after hours. This might be a PITA but my customers will appreciate the extened service.

In 2007 I will be entertaining the idea of 10-6 & days per week!

If I get the support from my customers on Sundays, of course i'll keep the hours. If the support isn't there then those hours will be cut back accordingly.

A good rule of thumb though, unless it's a repair situation...if you NEED it on Sunday, you needed it the whole week prior.

 

[computeruser]

A good rule of thumb though, unless it's a repair situation...if you NEED it on Sunday, you needed it the whole week prior.

A very good point!

 

[spike60]

Pretty much nothing will ever get me to extend my hours or open on Sunday. The only exception was a 20" snowstorm that happened on a Saturday night, so we opened the next day. That was basically an emergency situation and as corny as it might sound, a dealer has some civic responsibility to help people in such situations.

Reasons for not changing? No need to. We have a very succesful business and don't need to be here 7 days. We are pretty much a 2 man operation, so in order for the store to be open, we have to be here. We will hang around for a commercial guy who is running late. Commercial customers, which are the most important part of our business, aren't interested in weekend hours anyway.

But the most important reason is that we both have lives and families outside the store. Customers are important, but I've yet to meet one who is more important than a family member. This is a business, not a prison. We put in a lot of hours, especially in the spring, (60 to 70), and when it's time to go, it's time to go. You must balance the needs of the business with your own needs. It's unhealthy if you don't. Except for april, may and june, when we are open a full day on saturday, we close at noon. We enjoy and look forward to our weekends, just like anyone else. And believe me, we earn them.

As far as the last minute people go, we never toss them out. We may speed them up if we have something to do, but we try to be polite. But what I don't like is the people who call every saturday to find out when we close and then show up with just 5 or 10 minutes to go, and say "I made it!". That's kind of inconsiderate.

 

[bump_r]

I'm a last-minute-er, myself. I get out of work at 4:30, shop closes at 5. I gotta bust it to make it by closiong time. My dealer never rushes me, actually relaxes a bit when off-hours and adds some ****-chat. I try to be prepared (know what I want or what to look into) so as to not overstay my welcome. I try to make it on Saturday mornings, but that's not always good, either. So far my dealer welcomes "non-standard" business hours to a degree, and he has my appreciation for it.

I'm salaried - I get paid for the job, not by the hour. I understand that times will be slow, times will be hectic - I have to adjust my work habits and hours to compensate. I would expect a shop owner (not just OPE) to do the same. Owning and running a small business is not an hourly-wage job. With the benefits of being your own boss, you gotta remenber that you're also your own employee. My boss pushes me when job demands require it, why shouldn't yours? That's not to say you should accommodate every schlong that wants to wonder in at all hours, but if a guy can't come in during your "normal" hours, just remember that he still wants to come in. That's not a bad problem to have.

 

[stihltech]

hours

Sure, HD and Lowes can stay open 7 days, lots of employees. LARGE business.
Mom and pop are there 6 days because they need 1 day to recuperate.
8:30 to 8 m,w,f; 8 to 5 t and thurs; 8:30 to 3 sat.

But, 20 minutes to closing time is not late. 2 minutes to closing time is late. Unless you are buying, then it is a necessary part of the small business.

 

[musch]

The reason I am not in retail anymore, (one of them)
is that people want to come in when they are not working.
That means lots of evenings and weekends.
When you have your own shop, you practically have to live there to be successful. Just the way it is.
It would be nice if everyone took more time off, and had the understanding like Space was talking about, but the big boxes have changed all that.
If someone tries to buy something at your store, and you are not there for them, or worse yet, run them out because its closin time, you are going to lose a customer.
I always kept the store open past posted hours for "browsers".
People realize that you are doing it, and I hate to say it, but that little bit of guilt gets a lot of folks to spend extra.

 

[Marco]

I like custumers with jobs, you stay open later if you want employed people to do business with you. One advantage and drawback of having a shop where you reside is you can be in hover mode to catch little problems for folks with a tight schedule.

 

[DOLMARatOs]

This is one reason we open at 10am. It allows us to stay open till 6pm or later and not get burned out. Plus, not many people in this area want to come in at 8 or 9am during the week but most places let out between 3:30 and 4:30pm allowing a little time cushion for after work errands and purchases. The majority of the summer I am in the shop 14+ hours per day. Yes, I have slept there. I've actually considered making a small "apartment / bedroom" for snow season, etc. Luckily, most people with snow equipment don't expect you to be open 24 hours. And like I said earlier or in another post, if they NEED it at closing time on Saturday, then they needed it all week.

 

[spike60]

We are open 8-6, april through the end of october, then we switch to 9-5 for nov through march. We need to open early so the landscapers and tree guys can get to work, and they are often there at 8:00 to meet us. We do know when we have to hang around. In fact tonight, we stayed a couple of hours to finish putting a plow on someones truck. (Not that there is any snow in the forecast here in the northeast)

Funny thing about Sundays. A lot of times when people ask if we are open on Sunday, and we say no, they respond with "but don't you lose some sales"? And our answer is "Certainly, but who cares"? At the end of the week, I don't want more sales, I want a day off. We are at the point where the time off is far more valuable than whatever business we would do on Saturday afternoon or Sunday.

If a doctor told you that you had 6 months to live, you wouldn't think: "gee, I wish I spent more time at work".

Also, If someone had to be open 7 days a week to stay in business, then the business is too close to the edge and will probably fail anyway.

 

[THALL10326]

I see a lot of posts that are less than favorable to Dolmar dealerships. Here is a story going the other way.
Last September I was going out to get my deer stands ready, I had been eyeballing a Stihl KM85 with a pole pruner,extension and a brush blade. I didn't get a chance to get there earlier and I arrived as they were walking to their truck. I told them what I wanted, the reply was come back on monday! I ended up going to Gander Mountian, a Stihl dealer(not too good of service tho) and spending $500+
The other dealer that turned my buisness away has a realy good service department.So I figure I will give them another chance.
Skip to October. It is leave season and cleanup is in full force, I'm running a Sh85 blower and the wife is baging with the mower. She goes insideand I go to make a few swipes with the mower, I make it 15 feet tops then the mower dies. Trace it down to a bad magneto the mower is a pos yard machine 4 years old, wheels have a good bit of camber to them. Time for a new mower, the Stihl dealer is also a Cub Cadet dealer. I show up twenty minuites before closing, tell them, I want a self propelled rear baging mulcher. Reply was " They are $400" I said sold. Reply back was the mechanics have leaft, and all of the riders are parked in front of them now, it will take over a half hour to get it out, come back on monday. I left, went to Northern tools, (NO serice support) and spent the same amount of money on a Honda mower. I have not nor will not return there.
Now I am looking to replace my MS250 and my 039 with a more quality saw. I see the Dolmar saws are getting some pretty good reviews, but the dealer issue needs a lot to be desired. I am concidering a 5100 and a 7900, the first dealer I call says"no problem, I'll get you a 5100 and a 7300 demo, if you like them, you can buy new or we'll thak $50 of each demo." They said they would call me when they were in. Recieved a phone call today, "saws are in you can have them for a week"! Hopefully this is an indicator of the quality of service they provide. I'll probably buy the 5100 but buy a 7900 vrs the 7300 demo, bought a boat with a too small motor once, learned my lesson, buy as much power as you can afford, cause you won't have enough anyhow.
Sory to say Stihl lost a good customer, to top it off, the dealer mentioned is a family operated buisness. Lokks like Dolmar won this round.

Great post there. Yup those dayumm Stihl dealers aren't working overtime to dig out a mower for someone that shows up near closing, nope not them. I know just how they are. I see your sorry to say Stihl lost a good customer
but if I were you I wouldn't be sorry at all. Are you really sorry? come on you can tell me, LOLOL