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

[Fish]

Yes, most dealers resent the big box stores, especially when the manufacturer
has made them jump through hoops for many years.

I dropped Shindaiwa when I got a flyer with my invoice from one of my after-market suppliers, It was offering Shindaiwa saws way cheaper than
I was getting them from my Shindaiwa distributor, to anyone that wanted
them.

On some brands, Sears also has agreed to handle the service and warranty
of units sold through them, and the dealer cannot file a claim.

 

[turnkey4099]

No, he should be pissed about it. He offered to pay the shop for their time, and they turned him down. I wouldn't piss on the store to keep it from burning down with an attitude like that. He's also not fullfilling his contract with Husqvarna--I would contact them directly.

Well, yes but...

Complain to Husky, he deserves it, but don't ever take another thing to that dealer. Pay backs are h***.

Harry K

 

[jokers]

........why not see this as an oppertunity to be proactive about the future of sales and hire a part time teenager or someone similar to work on the Poulans, and box store saws?

What kind of reputation is the part time teenager going to build for anyone`s shop? I think a corollary exists between not hiring a part time teenager to do service work and not "open(ing) your mouth and remov(e)(ing) all doubt that you are a fool". I used that quote of the old axiom only as an example Dan, you are far from being a fool and I don`t mean to infer that you are one.

Set up of the saw is not warranty work even if there is no such contractual clause regarding where the warranty work can and can`t be done. The small cost incurred by a dealer to spend time properly setting the saw up is covered by whatever profit the dealer makes on the initial sale, in other words, if I didn`t sell you the saw, I don`t make one red cent to set it up for you. If you don`t concern yourself with my financial well being, why would I care about your happiness with a product that you bought on the cheap from a big box retailer? Why would I care about the circumstances of how you got it so cheap? Would anyone expect to bring a used saw to a dealer that they didn`t buy from and get him to tweak it for free? I agree that it would be good PR for the dealer but that doesn`t make it just or reasonable.

On the other hand, were a person to come in and offer to pay for a set up on a new saw bought elsewhere, I would do the set up for free but I would make them leave the saw for atleast a few hours and tell them when they came back for it that "it`s on the house". No shop offering decent service has slack or "free" time. Why should a non-customer get the A-list customer service of freebies and head of the line priority? The message would be clear, you buy here and I`ll take care of you.

Anyone who disputes my last statement isn`t being realistic.

Russ

 

[turnkey4099]

<snip>

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.

<snip>

.

Very good point. Being a Harry Homeowner, I never expect preferential service, make a point of telling them that I would like to have it by the weekend but to put it after all the pro business. I also like to take my stuff in for routine service or delayed repair during their slack season.

Harry K

 

[sedanman]

I only get real uppity when someone says "You have to". The only I have to do is die one day, everything else including taxes is optional. When I boought my house I told all of my friends that I had waited a long time to be able to tell anyone that walked through the door "This is my house, I make the rules and if you don't like it, get the hell out!" I wouldn't keep many friends if I actually said it too often , nor would I keep customers if I said it at the shop, but it IS my right so say it from time to time. I do tell all my sales customer that part of what they are buying is prefferential treatment over those who purchased elsewhere. The dealer in question may have made a descision not to service any Sears bought Husqvarnas no matter the circumstance. Husqvarna has been harsh to their dealers in the last several years. Husqvarna insisted that many saw only delaers either drop the line or take it all, trimmers, blowers, mowers etc ,etc, then the let Sears and Lowes only have what they wanted and made no requirement that sears and Lowes actually set up and service the stuff they sold. This left a very bad tastes in a lot of dealers mouths. Now Husqvarna is looking for dealers again because so many dropped the line. They told me I could have the line for 5 saws! NO THANKS!

 

[fbh31118]

I've also had a similar experience with a dealer. Some of it is just plain arrogance, the rest of it is foolishness. I'd been doing business with a dealer, bought some equipment and accessories, in all a couple hundred bucks nothing earth shattering but was all I had needed at the time. I go to take in my old Mac and an dusty batch of new chain I had laying around to get a few loops made and they proceeded to tell me that it was bad chain (how convenient) which I might have believed but they went on to tell me that it was 1/2 pitch! Strange how it seemed to fit snuggle around my sprocket stamped .404. I was'nt even trying to get service just a few chains built, they could have told me it was bad chain and sold me there's. I'll never do business with them again, rude stuffy dealers can cram it!

 

[Fish]

You brought in old, loops of chain? Wanting to make loops to fit your saw?

Not wanting to start anything, just trying to understand your post. Did you buy the chain new from them? Why did they tell you your chain was bad?
If your old chain was of a defunct brand, their tiestraps might not have fit your old chain.

 

[Sizzle-Chest]

Maybe someone already said this, but simple words, if the saw shop is acting like that then you dont want to give him your business anyway.

 

[spike60]

Dan;

Thanks for the input, but you might need to use a little Windex on that crystal ball so you can get a clearer picture. Would you like the "part time teenager" to work on your saw, or everybody elses?

We are not a small dealer; we are a million dollar operation and growing every year. I don't resent the box stores; I resent the double standard I mentioned in my earlier post. I understand why some OEM's sell to them. Heck, I'd like to write one of those orders myself!

The real change that is occuring among dealers who plan on being around is to raise your game and leave the low end of the business behind. The reality is that our time is better spent selling and servicing our commercial customers and loyal homeowners. I have more important things to do than work on Poulans; no diss intended to the guy who owns it.

The idea that a dealer has to accomodate every single person who walks in the door is just as silly as suggesting that a pro cutter has to do every job that someone asks him to do. All of my tree guys and landscapers routinely turn down jobs that they don't want, can't make any money on, or haven't the time to do. It's really the same for a dealership if you think about it. None of us want, or can afford to get bogged down with junk jobs, can we? I realize that a lot of people don't see it this way. A lot of end users seem extreamly put off buy a dealer "refusing" to work on something. Do you guys feel that your potential customers should get all pissed off and indignant if you "refuse" to do a job for them? The rules should be the same for all of us. Bottom line: We all need to manage our limited time wisely.

Before someone points it out, I know that there is a mathamatical possibility that the Poulan guy would buy a $20,000 tractor from me. There is also a chance that a UFO will land in my backyard this afternoon.

Again, we've worked hard, payed our dues and cultivated a very good customer base. So, I feel that to a certain degree we have earned the right to be selective, as many of you have.

A lot of the anger I sense from these posts is probably due to too much "Screw you if you bought it somewhere else" from the dealer side, and too much "You HAVE to work on it" from the end user side.

I'm sure that we all agree that those two attitudes don't mix very well!

spike60

 

[Luke]

After reading most of these posts I feel even better about my decision a year or so ago about dealing with dealers. Never met a Husky dealer that knew anything about his products, they just display some inferiority complex about not selling Stihl, and of the dozen or so Stihl dealers I've been to at three different parts of the country, only one knew anything about his products and a little about his competitors. All have been very arrogant about selling premium priced products that, with only a couple of exceptions, are not class leaders. With the exception of a few Stihl weedwacker parts, and a Makita dealer closing out, I have only bought brands with parts that are available via mail order or from one this sites sponsors. I will do all possible maintenance myself or send it to one of the sponsors if I get in a real mess. I really can appreciate what Stihl is doing (staying out of big box and internet) but I have found the dealers to be very very dissapointing. Like the strategy, poor execution. Now that I think about it, kinda like BMW. Getting them to put in two transmissions under warranty (never did work correctly) was a PITA. Finally, they admitted to a machining problem in Germany which I'm sure they knew about all along. Following the logic of some of these posts, maybe if I bought a 7 series and an X5 they would take care of me. Unfortunately, I know many ppl that only purchase at big box because you don't have to deal with a dealer,,,, they will take anything back,,,, and charge it to the manufacturer. But that's another problem.

 

[twistedtree]

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.

Sales is sales. Service is service. Purchasing a saw is not a purchase of service, and vice versa. If the customer is looking to pay for the same service as anyone else, at the same rate as anyone else, then they should not be denied service. It doesn't matter where the saw was purchased.

 

[stihltech]

service

A sale of a saw is not a sale of service? Guess that depends on the area and reputation. They buy a saw here because they KNOW they will get good service. That is how we built our reputation.

I know, more profit, more sales. The more saws a dealer sells, the better the dealer. BULL!

If so, then why am I selling saws< and repairs come in from a 50 mile radius.

You won't convince me that service won't sell saws. The proof is in the shop and my customers. Loyalty both ways builds a repeat customer base. And that equals longevity.

 

[16:1mix]

Fellas,

This has been a most interesting thread!
I can add only this...

My father (1923-1999) raised his family of four kids by selling automobiles in a small town. Today the dealership that he was employed by is long gone but I still recall the slogan that they had on all of the stationary, invoices, etcetera:

"After we sell we serve"

 

[Whiteindustries]

Thats just poor Business!

Well like I said in my last post I happened into a local Sears retail outlet, this store was the size of say, McDonalds. The owner had just found out Sears was closing her store, and she put everything 40% off. One of my purchases was a 455 Rancher with 20" bar for $240.

I had wanted a saw for a long time but didn't want to buy a crap saw and couldn't quite justify the expense of the Husqvarna I wanted. Now, all was good!

However, I found this site and read the last post about dealers vs. box stores and learned it would be good to have a dealer look the saw over before and/or after running it for awhile.

So I called my local dealer and he essentially refused to look at it. I said I would happily pay him for the time to run it, test it, whatever they normally do. I just wanted to know the saw was running properly after break-in etc. Also I figured this would be a chance to build a relationship for future service, parts, chains etc.

Well anyway he told me straight out that since I bought it at Sears he wouldn't touch it.

This seems exceedingly dumb to me. I understand he wants to sell saws, but there is NO way he would have come close to the lucky price I got. He's throwing away future business when I buy another saw, not to mention hurting his own name. Even from a safety standpoint I would have paid him for his time going over safe handling etc, and I stressed that to him.

That is poor business on his part.
I used to be a service manager for Honda and we had to do warr work on any Honda covered under warr no matter where it was purchased!So all those Home Depot Hondas came to us.Didnt matter, money is money as far as I was concerned,It was also a chance for us to win over a customer for life.

 

[zimmy]

what is this dealers problem i have jonsered, oleomacs,stihls,and a cheap crappy mtd saw, these are all serviced by my local stihl agent he never says a bad word about any of the saws just gets on with it and pockets the dollars,lesson to be learned here i think

 

[Marco]

You where free to to choose buying the saw from Sears, can't the dealer have the choice not to service what he didn't sell. It could be he is worried that if he works on it everbody will buy a saw from Sears, Fleet Farm, Menards, Lowes, Home Depot, Northern and not even bother to check prices with him first becacuse NATURALLY he'd be higher. Then you all expect this guy to have parts on hand, waiting for you. If you are buying saws elsewhere how do you expect this guy to pay for the parts so they can be in his parts bins waiting for you? Should he be required to keep parts on hand for a model that he possibly never sold? Take it back to Sears, they claim to have a service department...........somewhere........with those teenagers mentioned earlier....who where out to late last night.....wondering where they're going tonight....because he's going to celibrate getting promoted from housewares....earlier that day.

 

[jokers]

That is poor business on his part.
I used to be a service manager for Honda and we had to do warr work on any Honda covered under warr no matter where it was purchased!So all those Home Depot Hondas came to us.Didnt matter, money is money as far as I was concerned,It was also a chance for us to win over a customer for life.

What makes you think that your experience with Honda warranty work has anything in common with dealer service on a saw bought at Sears?

I stand by my original statement. I would have accepted the saw for adjustment on a cash basis and put it in the cue to be worked as time permits, no on the spot service. Then when the guy comes back for the saw, don`t charge him but let him understand that continued minor freebies are for customers, not some guy who bought the saw at Sears expecting to take advantage of the dealer`s investment and commitment in establishing a service department rather than taking it back to Sears and dealing with them.

Atleast gixxerjim alledges to have offered to pay for the service.

Russ

 

[pbtree]

Me thinks the dealer is a Jer* with a capital J...

You got a great deal on a good piece of machinery, and come heck or high water I would not spend 2 cents in that losers store...

I also agree with the comment to contact Husky directly - tell them the facts and ask them what they suggest as you expect high quality service from a high quality product... etc etc etc...

 

[Fish]

Hopefully someday I will become a good mechanic, so I can move up to something
harder to work on.

 

[Nbrcrnchr]

I've run into a similar situation with the local camera dealer. They had a lens that would fit my camera, at almost twice what I could buy it out of a catalog. I had been a somewhat regular customer of his buying film and processing, somewhat higher than walmart and mail order. I wanted to buy the lens from him, but he would not come off of suggested retail and acted offended that I would try to buy it for less than listed. I told him I had seen it for a lot less out of a catalog and would rather buy from him if he could get close. He would not budge, said that they would get full retail from it. Left a sour note in the way he treated me. He not only lost that sale from me, he lost my film and processing purchasing. I realize that unless you have the volume of the big sellers, you have to make more on each unit to survive. But I have to watch how much I spend as well. Especially on items that are not considered a Necessity, but a nice to have.