Mail Order Stihls

[jokers]

I was just visiting a new Stihl dealer who informed me that Stihl doesn`t specifically have a policy against mailorder, just advertising prices below MSRP or ongoing promos. I find that very interesting because I have heard so much about dealer territories and so forth with Stihl. He told me of a price that he just got for an MS460 with 24" bar that he just shipped to Alaska and I`m wondering if he has just exposed a loop hole for people looking for a better price on a new Stihl. He showed me his dealer pricing on the MS260 and 260 Pro and his cost is $10 higher than what midwest dealers pay. What do you guys know about this? Russ

 

[jokers]

Realized that I left out some important details. This dealer claims that he sold the saw for nearly $200 less than what the buyer would have had to pay in Alaska, and that the buyer was able to find him, and presumably other dealers who may or may not dicker, by using the dealer referal posrtion of the Stihl website. I`ve know this dealer( of many things other than saws) for several years and he`s never given me the feeling that he was BSing me before, so I take him at his word. Oh yeah, in typical Stihl fashion with all the new dealers popping up on every street corner lately, his distributors rep didn`t evengive him any idea what parts are consumable and what parts he should be stocking other than bars and chains, then they`ve got the stones to charge him a grand for a Stihl sign with his name on it and another grand for a chain grinder, of course it does say Stihl on it. LOL. Russ

 

[stihltech]

mail order

Still says in dealer's book that there are no box sales. Think he better read it.

 

[jokers]

Hi Stihltech, He fully assembles and test runs the saws apparently, then drains and removes the bars before shipping. I agree that this may be a back door method of dealing with Stihl`s policy, but I doubt that he is alone. BTW, this guy is a new dealer and not one of the two I mentioned in my reply to you at that other site. Russ

 

[stihltech]

mail order

The reason for the no box policy is customer instruction, it is a liability issue. You can knock Stihl for this, but when yousee the saw accidents each year, I hope I am doing my own little part to avoid just one by instructing the customer personally.

 

[confused]

Customer instruction ?

When i bought mine (not that im complaining) the guy went to the back fired it up made sure it ran right and i was out the door. No instruction on the method of starting it, the decompression valve (useless as hell), or the care and cleaning for the air filter.

 

[don]

Stihl Dealer Relationship

The main concern my local Stihl has is to make sure the expiration date on my Visa card isn't expired.

 

[StIhL MaGnUm]

AMEN

 

[lostone]

Originally posted by confused
Customer instruction ?

When i bought mine (not that im complaining) the guy went to the back fired it up made sure it ran right and i was out the door. No instruction on the method of starting it, the decompression valve (useless as hell), or the care and cleaning for the air filter.

Same here, had him get rid of the safety chain and i was out the door.

 

[thompson1600]

The last Stihl I bought from a local dealer had the chain on backwards when I got home. Looked at the saw when I got home and realized the dealer put the chain on backwards. What do you expect for a hardware store clerk I guess. Also, I received no instruction on any type of usage or anything and the clerk (about a 15 year old kid) didn't know a thing about chain saws.

Tom

 

[jokers]

MAN! You guys are all over the country and you`re all having the same basic experience that you get when you go into the average Stihl dealer around here. Since there seems to be a Stihl dealer behind every tree around here, I`m sure there must be good ones but I think that I`ve found most of the crappy ones, in this area anyway. I`m thinking that Stihl would do themselves a favor and give themselves an advantage over Husky, ala HD and Lowes, by being more selective when taking on new dealers. Russ

 

[confused]

O i forgot one thing, I did get 2 loops of semi chisel chain (24") for free. At least i got that going for me.

Like i said though im not complaining because i knew what i was going to by before i hit the door. Im sure that some of the guys working just understand that when someone picks up the bigger saws there is a certain amount of assumption that they know what the hell they are looking and doing with the saws.

But there are morons that think

"this BIG tree (20" dia) fell down during a storm and i need a saw with a 24" bar to cut it up, so let me have that 066 you have over there"

 

[stihltech]

dealers

Guess it is like most things. The bad ones get all the attention and the good ones barely get recognized. Makes you feel good when the customer comes back and tells you what a good job you have been doing for them. Do a bad job and SOMEBODY will blab it all over the internet. Just keep trying harder I guess.

 

[treeclimber165]

Most Stihl dealers around here only carry the safety chain, 'yellow' link chain is special order. The largest (and my favorite) Stihl dealer won't even offer me safety chain, they have all the pro chain and accessories for the pro users. Most dealers cater to 'Harry Homeowner', this shop caters to pros as well. I always get frustrated whenever I stop in any other Stihl shop and they treat me like it's my first chainsaw.

 

[Methoss084]

This is pretty scarey stuff. No instructions on how to operate the saw before it leaves the store? I mean if it's a tree guy or a Landscraper that you usually do business with then OK. But Stihl dealers sending a saw out the door without instructions!(Being sarcastic) Our dealer rep practically freaked a couple years back when he was leaving our shop and saw a Landscape "helper" using an FS76 without the grass sheild. He came back and reemed us out about that! HOW STUPID! We can't police Stihl's safety guidelines nor any other companies safety guidlines once the equipment leaves the store. However we will not let the machine leave the shop once it has been worked on without having all the necessary factory installed safety devices properly functioning. This pisses people off, but hey, they aren't paying our insurance. Well yeah technically they are. :blob5:

 

[sedanman]

My local dealer has a log on horses to let new saw owners try out their new saw. Chaps helmet etc. or you don't cut on his property. Also, all safety equipment operates or the saw doesn't leave the shop, one customer refused to pay to have safety items fixed so he dis-abled the saw and handed it back to the customer-no charge.

 

[tundraotto]

can i come over there to saw on his log with my saw and see if he wants to give me crap about what safety measures im taking to protect myself - its none of the jackasses' business!!!!! i want to dropstart that f*(&(*&

what an a$$

oh yeah - i guess its his log, hope he holds on to it and .... a brick

 

[confused]

Ah the sweet banter of Otto. Man am I glad to see you back and posting, can’t have near as much fun without you.

 

[jokers]

Hi Otto, hate to side with the woosy masses,LOL, but on the issue of PPE and safety features working on saws from the dealer I have to. I believe that 99.9% of people have no intentions of looking for a settlement when no injury has occured, in fact most peolple probably imagine that they are above such actions and wouldn`t accept any money if it were thrown on the table in front of them. Now as soon as most people get injured or sustain some loss they want to be made whole, and they typically don`t care where recompense comes from, they just want it now! Even worse yet is if you are dealing with survivors of the injured and every personal injury lawyer worth his sheepskin knows that you need to stack the jury in a personal injury civil suit. This commonly leads to massive awards from sympathetic jurors who have been made to "feel the pain" of the injured by an astute lawyer. So what this amounts too is an almost anal need for preemptive self defense from the perspective of the saw dealer, eliminate any possible potential for injury, whether mandated by government law or standards such as chain brakes that do not work on a saw that comes in for repair, to common sense items like not letting anyone demo equipment without the proper PPE. These huge settlements lead to at the very least, huge insurance premiums meaning less income for the dealers and their families, and at the worst, bankruptcy or dissolution of the business. There have been business owners who were even incorporated, who ended up personally bankrupt from wrongful injury suits. I say that if you like your dealer, extend him and his family the courtesy of considering his risks and interests in doing business. Wear the PPE and don`t complain if they charge you a reasonble fee to repair non-working safety features on your saw when you bring it into the shop. Russ

 

[Newfie]

Go Russ!!!

That is the sad commentary. We have become a society of risk taking, know-it-alls, "mind your business, don't tell me what to do". But as soon as "it" hits the fan all of a sudden its someone elses fault. My dealer has the same approach to safety features and even skip chain, needs a legal waiver signed to protect himself from these morons out there.