Stihl dealer - not to knowledgable

[jack-the-ripper]

I stopped at a Stihl dealership on my way home from work today to see if by some miracle they would have some square ground chain. The guy behind the counter did'nt have a clue to as what I was talking about. Another fella comes out of the back and says he has it in precut lengths in the back of the store. I'm thinking great! So he puts the chain on the counter and I took it out of the package only to find it is round chisel. He tells me to buy the file for filing square chain . I put the chain in the package and told him that Stihl DOES make a square ground chain and left. I won't be doing business there, ever.

 

[TDunk]

Ya can't fix stupid. It would be one thing if they said " oh, my bad" instead of treating YOU like the dumb one.

 

[Wood Hick]

The Stihl dealers around here have a man, maybe two that actually know the products, the rest of the employees are useless. The very best one in this part of Pa. has two branches. His wife has been behind the counter for 25+ years and you cannot stump her. She can go to the rack and sell, or talk you through a rebuild on the phone, anything Stihl made in the last 3 decades she knows it, thats why I do business with them.

 

[spacemule]

When such a small demographic of chainsaw users use square ground, you can't really fault the dealer for not knowing about it.

 

[Cedarkerf]

Spoiled here even the gals know about square ground chain. Advantage of living in an area formerly known as Logging capital of the world:greenchainsaw:

 

[spacemule]

Sounds to me like you went into the place looking for an excuse to put them down. I've ran into customers like you before, and you're doing them a favor by not going back, trust me. There are plenty of real customers who need help.

 

[SmokinDodge]

Not carrying squareground is hardly a reason to dismiss a dealer. But you were there and caught the "vibe" of the shop.

However if you walk into a dealership as I did today and ask for an impulse hose and they reply, "We don't carry those, they don't give trouble." :jawdrop:

We can order you one though.

I won't be going back any time soon, if ever. Damn shame too they are only 15 miles away.

 

[Lakeside53]

Square ground is not necessarily available in all Stihl regions... I can't get all chain shown in the Stihl Chain catalog out here.

 

[PA Plumber]

The Stihl dealers around here have a man, maybe two that actually know the products, the rest of the employees are useless. The very best one in this part of Pa. has two branches. His wife has been behind the counter for 25+ years and you cannot stump her. She can go to the rack and sell, or talk you through a rebuild on the phone, anything Stihl made in the last 3 decades she knows it, thats why I do business with them.

Is there a chance this shop would be close to Harrisburg, PA??

 

[andrethegiant70]

That's always a tough one and you find it everywhere you go.... well intentioned people who simply haven't been around long enough or are educated well enough to be experts in their field. It just takes time no matter who you are. I've got some super Stihl guys around here who have been working on the saws for a long time and REALLY know them well. They also know tillers, lawn mowers, snowblowers, and every other piece of mechanized outdoor equipmment you can imagine. It's pretty amazing, actually. But even THEY stop short because they don't USE all the stuff they fix... so as good as they are, they don't know much about milling, felling, stump removal, etc. Hey, every time time I've found a guy who seems to know everything he's either jaded and tired of the whole thing or he a bit of a fossil and he's retiring next year!

I don't really mind it when people don't know, that's no crime. What I can't abide is some one who knows better and is just fibbing to me. THAT'S when I walk. I say if they're good guys and honestly tried to help you, give 'em a break. Let's face it, it couldn't pay that much to do counter duty at the lawn and garden store.

 

[clearance]

I stopped at a Stihl dealership on my way home from work today to see if by some miracle they would have some square ground chain. The guy behind the counter did'nt have a clue to as what I was talking about. Another fella comes out of the back and says he has it in precut lengths in the back of the store. I'm thinking great! So he puts the chain on the counter and I took it out of the package only to find it is round chisel. He tells me to buy the file for filing square chain . I put the chain in the package and told him that Stihl DOES make a square ground chain and left. I won't be doing business there, ever.

You ain't no pro, just a weekend warrior wannabee, if your profile is true. So why is this chain such a big deal? I have been in many saw shops over the years, seen good and bad. Spacemule is right, bad customer, see ya.

 

[zopi]

Guy I bought mine from hadn't a clue...even commented that I knew more than he....thanks to this forum..prolly did...opcorn:

he did right by me though...was s'posed to get a 16" bar, asked for an 18,
they didn't have them (30 miles from the factory no less!) so I left with a 20..charged for 18...:greenchainsaw: will buy the cheaper short bar later..

 

[stihltech]

square grind

Up until 5 years ago, no one in this area even asked for it. Even now, it is bought off the reel, then round ground. Just to never go back because they are not into the square ground is a little unfair.
If I figured the amount of time the reel has sat here, the profit is most likely gone. Last I knew, no profit eventually means no business. If someone starts asking for something, we try to stock it. If it just collects dust, or you have to sell it at a loss to get rid of it, was it worth it?
If you like square ground, great. Ask if they would get it in. You may be the first person that wanted it.

 

[chainsawjunky]

I never realize how lucky I have it with my dealer. He repairs sometimes but he's mostly the counter guy that knows all the parts buy heart and exactly what you need. Any question you have he can just about answer them all. It's a vermeer midwest dealer and with a stihl shop(carries everything, augers, trimmers, weedeaters, chiansaws), sells all the climbing harnesses too. It's the place where all the local tree guys go. But anyway, he knows all the equipment since he goes out and uses it for the guys that don't have it, he'll go grind stumps, bring the 880 along whenever it might be needed, bring along a shredder and he knows how to use it all. I'm just lucky that they have most parts in stock. There's anther dealer about 10 minutes from my house and I went up for gaskets and they didnt stock the crank gaskets as they usually had to order pistons since crank gaskets would mean a major repair. This guy is about 45 minutes from my house and I went out there for the gaskets and he had them in stock. Boy do I have it good. Evan

 

[Poley4]

You ain't no pro, just a weekend warrior wannabee, if your profile is true. So why is this chain such a big deal?

I'm not at all saying that Jack-the-ripper's attitude was correct, but what does being a pro or a weekend warrior have to do with buying something that you want or trying something different?

 

[hornett22]

sounds like Weingartz

i was in clarkston michigan visiting family last october and my brother decided he wanted some trees down.they were the only stihl dealer in the area and they are idiots.the lady that tried to straighten out the mess was nice but the one moron should not be dealing with customers or breathing as far as i'm concerned.not sure who the HR coordinator is there but they should both be fired.i'm usually the nicest guy in the world but i was seeing red that day.

gave me the wrong chain three times.the third time i brought them the chain and they still couldn't match it up.i figured that was foolproof until i got back to the house,go figure.and why wouldn't you not stock an air filter for a 192t? especially if you sell the saw.

stihl needs to revamp their SE michigan dealer selection.pathetic!

 

[spike60]

That's always a tough one and you find it everywhere you go.... well intentioned people who simply haven't been around long enough or are educated well enough to be experts in their field. It just takes time no matter who you are.

Total agreement here. Just because a Stihl or Husky sign is on a building, it doesn't mean that the place is automatically up to speed on everything. Takes some time to earn your stripes and learn the ropes. Also, some dealers are more lawn and garden oriented and don't necessarily make good saw shops. A friend of mine is a Stihl dealer who rarely sells a mag bodied saw, let alone a big one. Sells lot's of small saws and plenty of trimmers. My best selling saw is the 575XP, and we sell more pro stuff than homeowner saws. Even though we sell the bigger stuff, we maybe get one person a YEAR who asks about square ground chain, so obviously we aren't going to stock the stuff.

 

[bound]

There's a Stihl dealer only maybe four miles from my house. I wandered in there the other day, just checking it out. They seem to carry every model of Stihl saw, and a heck of a lot of replacement parts. The repair guy that I talked to seemed like he was on the ball. The thing that got me, though, is with all these saws, and parts, there was no protective gear at all. No helmets, and no chaps(which is what I went in there for, need a new pair). Did have gloves, though.
Thought that was a little irresponsible.

 

[spacemule]

There's a Stihl dealer only maybe four miles from my house. I wandered in there the other day, just checking it out. They seem to carry every model of Stihl saw, and a heck of a lot of replacement parts. The repair guy that I talked to seemed like he was on the ball. The thing that got me, though, is with all these saws, and parts, there was no protective gear at all. No helmets, and no chaps(which is what I went in there for, need a new pair). Did have gloves, though.
Thought that was a little irresponsible.

I'm a little surprised that Stihl hasn't started requiring their dealers to carry ppe to be licensed.

 

[NovaMan]

I stopped at a Stihl dealership on my way home from work today to see if by some miracle they would have some square ground chain. The guy behind the counter did'nt have a clue to as what I was talking about. Another fella comes out of the back and says he has it in precut lengths in the back of the store. I'm thinking great! So he puts the chain on the counter and I took it out of the package only to find it is round chisel. He tells me to buy the file for filing square chain . I put the chain in the package and told him that Stihl DOES make a square ground chain and left. I won't be doing business there, ever.

Sounds like the first guy admitted he didn't know what you were talking about, but the second guy was either bluffing, or hoping you'd settle for his ridiculous solution. I understand about not keeping stuff in stock if it doesn't sell, but if you don't have something, just say so!