upset with Stihl dealers

[X Man]

We are in the Gulf Coast region, that was hit by Hurricane Rita. There is so many trees down, it is unreal. County officials estimate that up to 80% of all trees in our county, are down or damaged.

Now, the aggitation. All the Stihl chainsaw dealers are snowed with people trying to buy new saws. There are literally mountains of empty boxes outside of the shops. Now, get this, the dealers are so busy selling new saws, they cannot find time to do any service work on saws that they sold us. I have been a Stihl saw owner for 30 years, and a loyal customer of my saw shop. All of that is out the window, as they bend over backwards to sell a small saw to someone that just wants a saw to clear their yard. My point is this, I ned my saw just as much as the others. And if I am going to have to do all my service work, I might as well buy a Husky off the internet, at a cheaper price.

 

[spacemule]

It's a bad situation all the way around any time there's a natural disaster. Sounds as if the dealers were understaffed for something like this, and getting enough help in such a situation doesn't happen overnight. I'm sure they're doing all the service work they're capable of--this will be the same with any dealer.

 

[timberwolf]

Not defending stihl, but is the situation any different at the husky shop, Likely not it's the situation not problems isolated to one brand I would think.

If you had of bought off brand service could well be even more of a problem.

 

[stihltech]

hurricane

The dealers, and ther employees must be in the same area as you are. Was there any damage to their business or home? If so, they may be in the same, or worse, situation as you. I am sure they are overwhelmed by the amount of saws and repairs coming in.
OK, so they tell the homeowner, "sorry we can't take time to sell you a saw because we need to fix others". Is that fair to the person that is trying to clear his lot up also?

It is a fine balance between being a bad guy and a hero in this situation.

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

I don't see this as an issue with the dealer's lack of service-he's just trying to address the need at the moment and that's new saw sales, because that's what everyone needs. And if saws are flying out the door that's good for him and he's not intentionally ignoring service on the saws he already sold, he's just doing the best he can and taking care of the need at hand. I say give him a break and understand that these are not normal times and that he's swamped right now, and he's probably doing the best he can to get things done. Now maybe he is just a lazy, deadbeat dealer, but I'd guess that with saw sales and demand being what they are down there right now, I'd attribute all of this to that.

And I entirely agree with timberwolf that you'd not be any better off buying off the internet, in fact probably the opposite.

Jeff

 

[DirtTroll]

We are in the Gulf Coast region, that was hit by Hurricane Rita. There is so many trees down, it is unreal. County officials estimate that up to 80% of all trees in our county, are down or damaged.

Now, the aggitation. All the Stihl chainsaw dealers are snowed with people trying to buy new saws. There are literally mountains of empty boxes outside of the shops. Now, get this, the dealers are so busy selling new saws, they cannot find time to do any service work on saws that they sold us. I have been a Stihl saw owner for 30 years, and a loyal customer of my saw shop. All of that is out the window, as they bend over backwards to sell a small saw to someone that just wants a saw to clear their yard. My point is this, I ned my saw just as much as the others. And if I am going to have to do all my service work, I might as well buy a Husky off the internet, at a cheaper price.

Sounds like a knee jerk reaction that he will regret when things get back to normal. If he expects the same type of service when these things happen, then he deserves what he will do to himself. Even though it would feel good in the short run, cutting off your nose to spite your face is stupid at best. Just realize that they are doing the best that they can with the resources that they have available.

 

[Chris J.]

X Man, what experience do you have working on saws? Maybe you could post the problem here, and get the experienced (that excludes me ) saw repair guys to help you out. I have to agree that these are not normal times, and maybe your stihl dealer is doing the best that he can. Or he could be laughing all the way to the bank. I'm in Houston, what town are you in?

 

[West Texas]

Its not fair to jump into this mud puddle with no more 'first hand information' than I have on the situation. BUT, if I had owned Stihl chainsaws for 30 years, you just gotta believe I could do more service to my saw than re-fuel it and change the bar and chain. I'm a Senior Citizen; but, I bought the manuals and got with it. I've only owned Stihl saws for about five years and I can rebuild one now from scratch;and, can maintain it just like we used to take the old M1 rifle apart and put it back together in the dark. I guess living 160 miles from the nearest Stihl dealer puts more pressure on guys like me, to do the obvious. And maybe this situation will put a little pressure on XMan to do more of the maintenance and care of his saws too. Hope he is not afraid to ask for help on this Site; cause, if he does, he will get lots of it.

 

[jokers]

The dealers, and ther employees must be in the same area as you are. Was there any damage to their business or home? If so, they may be in the same, or worse, situation as you.

This might be irrelevant, the Stihl shop people are obviously at the dealership, not at home coping with catastrophe, or they wouldn`t be able to sell new saws.

I am sure they are overwhelmed by the amount of saws and repairs coming in.

No doubt.

OK, so they tell the homeowner, "sorry we can't take time to sell you a saw because we need to fix others". Is that fair to the person that is trying to clear his lot up also?

That`s a cop out that I don`t believe you would take with one of your established customers stihltech. Is it fair to the pre-existing customer to hold him off for the sake of selling a new saw to someone else, or is it an example of the situational ethics of modern business where you do anything to snag the new customer, to hell with the existing customer? Isn`t that counter to all the happy back slapping pro Stihl propaganda regarding the HUGE advantage of their "servicing dealer network".

Don`t get me wrong, buy from a dealer.

I know that you mean well in attempting to illustrate some of the issues that dealers in that area must be facing, I`m just not convinced that you even believe what you are saying to Xman without qualifying your statements.

I don't see this as an issue with the dealer's lack of service-he's just trying to address the need at the moment and that's new saw sales, because that's what everyone needs.

Sorry Jeff....I don`t agree with you either. Obviously a new saw is not what everyone needs. Some, including Xman, need support for their prepurchased saws.

Sounds like a knee jerk reaction that he will regret when things get back to normal............Even though it would feel good in the short run, cutting off your nose to spite your face is stupid at best.

This statement could be equally applied to the dealer.

How many of those homeowners rushing in to buy a saw only due to a catastrophe are going to be repeat customers? A very small percentage. The regular customers won`t forget how they were treated.

Russ

 

[Al Smith]

A similar occurrence happen here,after the biggest ice storm in 50 years hit this area,with one difference.There are 2 Stihl dealers in this immediate area,within 10 miles of each other.One is an old established dealer that inherited the business from his father.He would rather sell saws than repair or order parts.
The one I deal with worked his way up from being a general gopher,while a teenager,to the largest Torro- Wheelhorse dealer in the USA.During that storm time,they sold 3 semi trailers full of saws.They opened a 6 in the morning and stayed open til 10 at night,during that time.
I had ordered a few parts just prior to the storm.In spite of the fact they were very busy,they still found the time to call when the parts arrived.Now that is what I call good dealer support.

 

[X Man]

These dealers should take care of each person, as they come through the door, in that order. People are waiting in the line, for up to 2 hours or better, but normally over an hour. Many people need a saw, not just the ones who want to buy one right now.

I have much mechanical experience, having worked on everything from bicycles to 18 wheelers. I normally pay to have my saw repaired, simply because I do not have the time to do it myself. I am not one of the ones being turned away though, it is other members of my family, who have turned to me, to borrow my saws.

There are not any Husky dealers within 20 miles of here, hence my statement that if a dealer is not going to service what he sells, then seeing that people are going to have to service it themselves, they might as well buy it off the internet, as cheap as they can. OH YEAH! I just remembered this one, a co-worker went to buy a new 290 from a dealer in Orange, TX, and they wanted $470, while a Beaumont area dealer wanted $349! Is that taking advantage of the situation or not?

After lifting my 19 lb Stihl for a couple of days, I decided to buy a lighter weight saw. I did not stand in line for the Stihl though, I ordered a Husky 350, with extra chain and oil, for $277 (including delivery), off the internet, due to the actions of the local dealers here. (And I never thought I'd own anything but a Stihl!)

Thanks for the replies guys!

 

[spacemule]

I am not one of the ones being turned away though, it is other members of my family, who have turned to me, to borrow my saws.

Hmmm, you're not being turned away, but your family is and that's why they want to borrow your saws? I don't know your family, mister, but sounds a little convenient for them to me.

 

[spacemule]

One other question, have the members of your family who <b>were</b> turned away been loyal customers for 30 years? Were they buying parts or new saws or service?

 

[jokers]

Hmmm, you're not being turned away, but your family is and that's why they want to borrow your saws? I don't know your family, mister, but sounds a little convenient for them to me.

SM,

.

Russ

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

Sorry Jeff....I don`t agree with you either. Obviously a new saw is not what everyone needs. Some, including Xman, need support for their prepurchased saws.

I should have elaborated so as to avoid this confusion. No, everyone does not need a new saw. I in no way meant that. What I should have said was that I suspect every employee at the dealership was on the showroom floor, or working the counter. Here it's firewood season, so in addition to the normal, professional timber guys, my local dealership is swamped with every Tom, Dick and Harry who uses his saw once a year to cut wood for the winter. You walk into my dealership today, and every tech who's normally back in the shop, is up front selling new chains, files, starter ropes, mix, and yes new saws. When a new saw is sold, then the seller will go in the back, tune it, tension it and get it out the door. Meanwhile, there are saws sitting in the back not getting worked on. If they left the two or three counter folks up there by themselves, there would be even longer lines in there, and people would complain about that.

I rocked out a chain the other day, and instead of cleaning it up myself with a hand file, I decided to take it in and have them knock it out on their grinder. What would normally be done same day is going to take a week they said. No problem, I understand. They're busy this time of year, and they've got maybe one guy in back turning a wrench, when it's normally two or three. The other two guys are up front answering phones and just trying to keep the lines moving.

I don't know what's going on down in Texas or the Gulf, I'm just saying that what I see here is a similar situation, and it comes down to them being only able to do so much, and when you've got people standing in line for twenty minutes, they take priority over my chain getting touched up. Those guys say they've been staying late to work on saws every night the past week, and they're still behind.

Now like I said in my first post, if X Man's dealer is just a lazy piece of crap who's after the quick buck of a new sale, then shame on him and X Man did right by going some where else.

Jeff

 

[Gypo Logger]

One other question, have the members of your family who <b>were</b> turned away been loyal customers for 30 years? Were they buying parts or new saws or service?

Testing 1,2,3, testing 1,2,3

 

[spacemule]

Yup, that's me! Shut heck man. People especially love it when I point out the obvious.

 

[X Man]

Actually, Spacemule, my brother has been a loyal customer, longer than me. But there are others, besides my family, who I know, and have been turned away. A neighbor bought a new saw, then tried to take it back 3 days later, because it was running rough, but was told it would be over a week before any service work could be performed!

This has nothing to do about convienance, and I do not think too much of you making a question of my family's integrity.

 

[Dadatwins]

Did anyone ever get to what the problem was with the saw? I would guess during a major emergency not many dealers would have the time adjust a carb on the spot or sharpen a chain and a week doesn't sound unreasonable. It been a while since I looked at an owners manual but doesn't it describe some simple adjustments?

 

[spacemule]

This has nothing to do about convenience, and I do not think too much of you making a question of my family's integrity.

Well, that's too bad X Man. I don't make a practice of blindly accepting the veracity of every Internet persona's families' alleged statements. If I have a question, I'm going to ask it.

You do see how your story appeared at least, don't you?