How Important is Dealer Support?

[tony marks]

hows that chainsaw on a stick go with u morning coffee. ill have to see if my wife knows how to fixit. chainsaw on a stick ,,i mean.
hey stumper we ll have to get togather and have a traveling old chainsawshow.
most people wouldnt know the show was about nothin much. we ll make a million. hope that 634 is still cooking good for u. until i decided to have a few more cc as my quick use saw ,it was the one setting in the front seat ,every morning.

 

[jokers]

I agree with Frank that paying in advance shouldn`t be a big issue, unless of course the dealer is adament that you come into the shop to pay. I can call any number of places and order using a credit card or some form of open account so I expect the same from a dealer.

Paying freight is a bone of contention if the item needed is something that should be stocked like a commonly broken part or consumable. I also shouldn`t have to pay freight above the list price if the dealer doesn`t get the part ASAP. If I end up waiting for him to place a stock order, he should not expect me to pay the customarily high transportation costs that a single item would bear.

Since we are talking about ordering through a dealer, I feel that it is essential that a dealer inform a customer if he is not going to order the part ASAP. I recently encountered a problem like this when I ordered a Windsor bar that was not a stock guage for them to carry. The bar was finally delivered to it`s destination about 5 weeks after expected because they were waiting to get a minimum order for Windsor. Had I been told upfront that the gauge I wanted for that application was not their standard and would have to be ordered, I would have chosen a different make.

I wish I could assemble a team of saw pros from this site to establish a chainsaw and OPE supercenter, whose knowledge and interest would pulverize the customer service offered by most others. It`s hard to find employees who are interested enough in saws and related equipment to really educate themselves and then to ingrain in them the basics of exceptional customer service is a whole other realm.

Russ

 

[rbtree]

Oh sh!t is right...

and I had to wake up to that....What in heaven's name are you doing to that saw...you bugger.


Call me....I'm doing five crane jobs today, you should come watch!
206 909 2644.

 

[z4lunch]

Dealer parts orders

Russ,
Steve here... You nailed it!! I ordered a saw bar for a friends Dolmar.. It came in.. Not only did I pay full retail, I had to pay sales tax of course and shipping.. What a smoke job.
Last weekend my wife and I went to a local Stihl dealer, to look at the SH85 blower vac. The parts guy instantly got an attitude when I asked him to get one in the box and open it up...He didn't have a floor model out. When he came back with it he dropped on the ground and proceeded to rip open the box with an attitude.. And I still bought it...Nobodys that stupid!!
Steven

Tried to find Maxima K2 locally last summer... Called a bunch of local cycle shops, either i ended up on eternal hold, or they didn't stock it and would not order it for me. I by it now off the net, from some joint in California.

 

[Bill G]

I needed a rim sprocket for an 066 so I stopped by the dealer figuring I would be on my way in a few minutes. I told him I needed an 066 rim. My jaw dropped when he got out the parts book. To make matters worse it took him about five minutes and then said he would have to order it. I got a little frazzled. The owner came out and I told him I could not believe he did not have a simple rim. He went in the back and came out with a small container of mixed rims. He looked at me and said "is it one of these". I never did get one from him but I still keep taking him my business.

Bill

 

[tony marks]

i think just because a dealer sales stihls or whatever saw doesnt mean hes going to have pts for pro type saws.
one dealer i know doesnt have an pro stihl saw on the place. he says his market just doesnt buy them..
he is an admittedly new,, small revenue shop,, so i understand where hes coming from... my dealer pinkstons,, has most any pt for the pro saws,, they sell in this area,, in stock most everytime.id like to help the small guy but time is money,,and the less i have to spend getting pts or service the better.

 

[Tony Snyder]

In defense of the dealers that do not carry many parts, think of the independent auto shops and even auto dealers today; they mostly order parts as they need them.

I keep many bars, all types of chain and most sprockets, air filters, fasteners, oils, files and that is about it. Every thing else is usually next working day. I try to keep enough things on list to order to divide out the shipping.

I also keep 3 or 4 demo loaners, and I am also not beyond taking a piece off a new saw (within reason) if they need something for a current model.

 

[Marky Mark]

I wonder how John's dealer support is coming along.

 

[Gypo Logger]

Hi Barky, thank's for bringing up an old post. Things were getting dull after Joe got repremanded for his terse behaviour and rightly so.
Anywho, in the last 4 years I have bought over 250 Stihl and husky powerheads and maybe had 5 recalls. But as far as general mantainance, it is far better to do our own wrenching, unless our time is more valuable elsewhere.
It's just a matter of knowing our place in the whole scheme of things.
Mainly, not over estimating our abilities nor underestimating the customer we are dealing with. A bird in the hand is always worth two in the bush.
Knowing our place and the ones who excel are the ones we want to align ourselves with. This only happens when we know our place.
Not knowing ones place goes against the grain and causes a backwards plummet where no one wants to help us any more.
More importantly, knowing our place is when we understand what it means to know when we should be the student and when we should be the teacher as well as acknowledging those who have helped us along the way, but God forgive the ones who have fooked us, for they know not what they do. It all comes down to paying your money and taking your chances and learning from it.
John

 

[Crofter]

gypo, I thought you quit smoking! Can you run that by us again.

 

[Gypo Logger]

Hi frank, here it is.
John


Hi Barky, thank's for bringing up an old post. Things were getting dull after Joe got repremanded for his terse behaviour and rightly so.
Anywho, in the last 4 years I have bought over 250 Stihl and husky powerheads and maybe had 5 recalls. But as far as general mantainance, it is far better to do our own wrenching, unless our time is more valuable elsewhere.
It's just a matter of knowing our place in the whole scheme of things.
Mainly, not over estimating our abilities nor underestimating the customer we are dealing with. A bird in the hand is always worth two in the bush.
Knowing our place and the ones who excel are the ones we want to align ourselves with. This only happens when we know our place.
Not knowing ones place goes against the grain and causes a backwards plummet where no one wants to help us any more.
More importantly, knowing our place is when we understand what it means to know when we should be the student and when we should be the teacher as well as acknowledging those who have helped us along the way, but God forgive the ones who have fooked us, for they know not what they do. It all comes down to paying your money and taking your chances and learning from it.
John

 

[ehp]

Frank you need to read between the lines, Gypo is getting ready to make a big poem again , i can feel it coming

 

[Gypo Logger]

The Junior God

The Junior God looked from his place
In the conning towers of heaven,
And he saw the world through the span of space
Like a giant golf-ball driven.
And because he was bored, as some gods are,
With high celestial mirth,
He clutched the reins of a shooting star,
And he steered it down to earth.

The Junior God, 'mid leaf and bud,
Passed on with a weary air,
Till lo! he came to a pool of mud,
And some hogs were rolling there.
Then in he plunged with gleeful cries,
And down he lay supine;
For they had no mud in paradise,
And they likewise had no swine.

The Junior God forgot himself;
He squelched mud through his toes;
With the careless joy of a wanton boy
His reckless laughter rose.
Till, tired at last, in a brook close by,
He washed off every stain;
Then softly up to the radiant sky
He rose, a god again.

The Junior God now heads the roll
In the list of heaven's peers;
He sits in the House of High Control,
And he regulates the spheres.
Yet does he wonder, do you suppose,
If, even in gods divine,
The best and wisest may not be those
Who have wallowed awhile with the swine?




--- Robert Service

 

[Crofter]

John, you are one contrary beast, but I guess that is what I asked for! LOL!

Frank

 

[a_lopa]

my dealer support is no existant if you cant read the micro fish your self, repeat your self every time you ask for anything, go to the job to cut stumps off and find full chisel then say ill do you a deal on a 46 how does $1450 sound, most of the big stihl dealers have an old crack addict fixing, tuning out back so your forced to buy new,well maybe the crack addicts a bit far but stiil close enough:angel:

 

[crash/banger]

My dealer says he will cut me a deal on a 100ft roll of chain.........375$ US. No that aint no freagin deal...........thats just sticking me in the ballon knot.............I guess maybe he's the crack addict.............CB

 

[Fish]

As a crack addict, I find these posts offensive.

I charge the labor rates sufficient to support my many vices.


let
those without sin, cast the first rock!

I sell a 100 ft. roll of Carlton for $275. Is that too high?

 

[WRW]

For a crack addict, there is no "too high".

 

[Grande Dog]

As far as parts sales efficiency goes, the most critical link is between the manufacturer and the distributor. Backorders to the factory are customer relationship killers for the dealer and the distributor. Manufacturers like Stihl or Husqvarna have tens of thousands of line item parts. With new products coming in, old products being discontinued, certain parts being improved, and others going obsolete. It's real juggling act. If you try to take the middle of the road, you will get run over. Considering interest rates and profit margins a part that sits on your shelf over 60 days is losing money quickly. If a dealer has to return a part to a distributor there is usually a 15% or higher restocking fee. I hope this doesn't come off sounding like a sob story, and I suppose I just could have said it isn't as easy as it looks.

Grande Dog
Master Mechanic
Discount Arborist Equipment and Tree Care Supplies

 

[TimberMcPherson]

I have had dealing with dealers who really stink, we are talking 8 months to fix a saw, 2 months to get a carb kit, using a benchtop grinder to freehand dress a 40 inch bar, not stocking fuel filters or stihl bar nuts, not believing me when i tell them the saws not fixed, deciding not to open on saturdays without telling anyone.(and me driving 40 minutes to find this out) Not giving the "free" first service of a $1500 ms200 as it was over a month since I brought it.

All my saws im going to get off the net from now on, I currently spend over $5000 a year on saws and I can do without the warrentys, first tune up (got a tach coming from baileys) and paying double the online cost.