My local dealer just refused service to me, any recs?

[Bob Wright]

I would take it to another dealer, he prob will bend over backwards for you. I used to sell saws and always got saws from the other guys. I don't care who sold them as long as i got paid for my time working on it. Sometimes i did it for free if it just was a little job. Everyone always came back and bought oil and spare chains from me for the other guys saw...Bob

 

[George2]

Hit a garage sale tomorrow and buy the worst piece of junk chainsaw you can. Walk into his shop with it, say you just moved to town and your pride-and-joy stopped running. Tell him your name is Hubert Jones and you want him to make your chainsaw as good as new no matter what it takes.

 

[bouden]

I'm surprised, but look in the Yellow pages, there are lots of dealers. My Husky came from outside the area, but my money was still green.

 

[Banjoec]

In my town I have 2 options. Go to the established dealer and deal with his attitude, and high prices. Or go the little shop and wait a week for chains to be sharpened, because he's so busy. So when it was time to buy a saw, I bought it online. In the mean time I'm trying to learn to maintain the saw myself. I still stop in the little place when I can because he's a really nice guy, but ultimately I hate being dependent on anyone.

 

[Jackman61]

My two cents: Poor customer service for whatever "reason" is still poor customer service. The owner of the shop where you sought service made the decision to treat you poorly. Take your business elsewhere and forget that shop even exists. Enjoy your new saw and move on with life. As someone else has posted, the next dealer you walk into may greet you with a smile and service your saw to your complete satisfaction. I think you got a great deal and should not let the poor attitude of one individual wreck your experience.

 

[Fish]

When I get ready to mow my lawn, and I see a big pile of dog doo in the middle of the
yard, I do not run over and step in it before I start.
Reread this thread, and look deeper than the surface.
The original poster is pushing all of the right buttons. Why would someone that got a great deal on a nice saw, want to pay a "Husky" dealer an extra $50 to "look" at it,
and "check" it out?
This sounds like a troll post trying to start some crap, after all it will be a long winter.
Personally, if some one brought this saw into me, and the same circumstances,
I would walk outside and have him fire up the saw. Let him run it for a minute, and say
it sounds good or not, not charge him a dime and let him leave promptly.
If the "dealer" was to perform backflips for this "customer", then find out that
Sears had a seperate "agreement" for warranty work, and the dealer would then be
stiffed for labor and parts. Sears has done this with many companies.
But since this thread stinks to high heaven, It is not even worth going in that
direction. Let us be careful about whatsoapbox we jump on, OK guys?

 

[Husky372]

I say if you afford to pay for service and he acted like that you are better off not even bothering to try and deal with him. I bought my saws about 30 miles away got them 80 dollars or so cheaper. But have taking them into local dealer for lttle things. Never once did he complain. Heck he even knows my name even though I don't go there ofton. Sometimes just to get bar oil or other little things. I bought my truck from one dealer but have my service done at another (warrenty work) First time i brought it in service manager says oh you didn't buy from us I said no got it 8k cheaper there. He says I don't care as long as you have it serviced by us. So in short (or long) screw him find a good dealer.

 

[spacemule]

Point taken Fish. I admit the $50 thing from someone who can't afford a Husky 55 didn't make sense.

 

[Fish]

So can we be friends now?

 

[Fish]

I will be your little chainsaw tramp, just bring a $5 bill and that tongue!

 

[Billy_Bob]

May not be that you did not buy the product from the dealer...

Having been in the service business myself (not chainsaw), I can tell you that some brands of products are just a pain in the you know what!

They are difficult to take apart and service due to poor design, impossible to get parts for, impossible to get service manuals or parts manuals for, etc.

And I say, if I can't fix it right, then I'm not going to fix it at all.

My neighbor had a lawnmower from such a company. She wanted me to fix it. I said I would not touch it with a 10 ft. pole! (I also knew that I could get the replacement part, install it, and she would have the same trouble in a year because the part was poorly designed.)

But this is just *my* opinion. May want to read what others have to say...
http://groups.google.com/group/alt....the+exception+of+Craftsman+hand+tools"&hl=en&

 

[Elmore]

It could be worse...you might have bought a Makita and only had one Dolmar dealer within several counties and he has terminal hemorrhoids. Play with your saw. Use it. Learn it. Do your own service/tuning and stock up on some Preparation H to offer should you really need his service.

 

[eyolf]

I almost can't believe that story; many, many dealers sell product as a sideline to their main business...parts, accessories, and service. I also know that Husky and Jonsered dealers have fretted off and on about which line would be sold in the box stores; for a long time in the '90's it was assumed to be Jonsered, but a dealer that used to sell both told me he thought it was a rumor propogated by the Husky rep to "poison the well" for Jonsered.

In any case, this shop is foolish to throw away your (good) money, and the likely idea that you'll be back from time to time for other needs. Is this a full-line shop...lawn, snow, etc? The Chainsaw shop that specializes in serving just the forestry industry is probably starving to death in Wisconsin anyway, and won't be around a lot longer.

For what you need right now, any good small-engine shop can help you. They'll probably have no trouble getting chains, bars, sprockets, and consumable supplies; the only thing you could possibly need in the medium term would be an air filter, and they'll likely know how to get that too...

 

[twistedtree]

I'd contact Husqvarna and complain. If it were warranty work, the dealer (assuming they are an authorized service depot) has to do the work. It's the law in the US. I guarantee it's also required in the dealer's dealership agreement with Husqvarna. Dealers in other industries pull this crap all the time. Since you were looking for service, but not warranty work, the dealer may have more latitude, but I'd be surprised if the Husky dealership agreement doesn't require the dealer to service the product.

 

[jp hallman]

scottr, nothing in the manual as I recall (read it last week) about after break-in service. I read on a post here that a local dealer will tune a saw they sell before sending it out so I was looking to pay a local dealer to do so with my new saw, hour's labor what's that $50 or so. Seemed like a good investment. The local dealer then told me he likes to get them back after they are run for 30 hours to recheck them. I thought that all sounded good but he followed up by denying me any service since I didn't buy the saw from him. I repeated that I wanted to pay him for his time (in case he thought I expected this free since he was under contract with Husky or something), but he still didn't want my business.

BTW, I did buy the saw from a privately owned Sears retail store, and the owner did make her regular commission on it even though Sears discounted it 40%...

I won't go into details but I garan????tee you after 20 hours(or so) Husqvarna requires you take your saw back to A dealer and have it tuned after break-in. I know this because I've run Huskey's, professionally, for years. I'm a faller by trade and a "C" certified faller for USDA wildland fire crews(casual hire). I know Huskey saws, I know Huskey policy because I've been there, done that with dealers already. I don't have the luxury of flying back to Oregon if the saw breaks in Colorado. I called Huskey and told em' a similar story. Local dealer didn't want to honor the warranty. They(Huskey) took care of it, and mighty fast. Last thing Husqvarna wants is a confrontation with a loyal customer. They know who the profit is and who the overhead is. If the dealer in your area is any count(unlike "Jerry" locally) he won't give you any lip because Husqvarna's gonna pay him for his time.
Sheesh, I get all worked up on this subject because my local, and only, Huskey dealer is the worst I've ever dealt with(with any product).
Final word. If your local dealer gives you a ration of grief...without cracking a smile, and very politely, ask him to provide contact information for the regional sales rep.

 

[sawdawgz]

I doubt the dealer wants to sell the 455 ranchers anyway, probably more profit in the bigger saws pricier saws.

 

[stihltech]

dealer

OK, now let's look at this from the dealers perspective.

If he signed on with Husky years ago, how do you think he felt when his brand showed up in the big box store for less than he pays for them? Of course he is pissed, you would be too. Then you walked out his door to buy the saw cheaper at Sears. You just then told him his service meant nothing, and to some of us, that is a very big deal.

HOWEVER, I would smile and say that I am backed up with my customers work, which is no lie in this shop most of the time. I would work on your saw, but if my pro guy comes and needs repairs before tomorrow, yep, I will do his saws first. As for making profit on extras, the pro is buying much more all year.

The dealer should be a bit more diplomatic. There is no need to be rude.

 

[okietreedude1]

Is there any truth to the rumor I'd heard that the box store saws are watered down versions of what you'd buy from an independent dealer? If so, that would be a reason for the price difference.

As for me, I recently bought a stihl 460 mag online for more that $100 less than my local shops price. sure I havent had any problems yet, but I told one guy there Ive known for years and he basically congratulated me on a good deal. As for service, im not worried. They are good people and know Ill be in for other things.

 

[spike60]

Another perspective

A couple of items that many end users seem to be unaware of. First, there is no contractual obligation to work on stuff from the box stores. Since the box stores are not required to offer any service at all, there is no service requirement, as such requirement cannot be enforced selectively. You can't give one dealer a (sears) a free pass on service and then require the dealer down the street to fix it. This double standard is what really irritates us dealers. If the OEM's want to look the other way while the box stores choose not to offer service, that's up to them. But the responsibility for servicing that product doesn't land in my lap.

Did the dealer handle it right? Not if he was rude and arrogant. My store carries a couple of brands that are sold in Home Cheapo and Slowes. We will not work on any of that product, as we only work on what we sell. It is not really necessary to get into a philosophical debate with either the customer or the OEM. Very simply, our hands are more than full taking care of the units we have out there and we don't have the time or resources to get involved with anything else. If my shop is clogged up with stuff from the box stores, then my customers have to wait longer than they should have to, and I won't allow that. If explained politely, most people understand this. It can even generate sales.

We do take our service very seriously. A customer satisfaction survey done by our commercial mower line ranked us 7th in the US out of 1300 dealers. That kind of service is reserved for my customers, not Lowes or Sears customers. We have a great reputation and a very loyal customer base, however I'm sure there are a some box store customers who feel we have blown them off. Can't please them all.

Lastly, a lot of people like to debate about whether dealers make their money in sales or service. If there's so much money to be made in the shop, then there would be shops in the box stores. They don't miss a chance to make a buck.

 

[scotchguy]

A load of crap

Reread this thread, and look deeper than the surface.
The original poster is pushing all of the right buttons. Why would someone that got a great deal on a nice saw, want to pay a "Husky" dealer an extra $50 to "look" at it,
and "check" it out?

I agree with Fish. My dad used to have a service business and over the years you tend to be able to recognise 'a certain type of customer' as they are walking up the street towards your store. Dad took no crap. Remember one day he sent a surgeon packing out the place ... the guy got so mad he started shouting '...you better hope I never get you on my table.' How we laughed that day.