What would you guys do? take a minute to read.

[indiansprings]

I'd take the advice of going to talk to him personally. I'd sure go over the issue with your Dad's piece of equipment. I'd take the angle of maybe he needs to check his compression tester, that you checked it out after your dad picked it up and it blew 130 and the piston and jug sure looked ok after pulling the exhaust, that it turned out to just be the coil. But I'd also let him know your pop was pizzed at the situation, also I let him know how your friend is feeling about his saw.
Surely he's smart enough to know that unhappy customers on average will tell 13 people about their bad expierence, in turn those 13 tell over 125 and the number just keeps growing. It's the fastest way to ruin a good business, poor customer service.
Tell the guy you understand that **** happens, but you sure want to help him keep his reputation by letting him know of the two unhappy customers, chances are their are many more. The guy just has taking a liking to you and you are the exception to the way he normally runs his business.

 

[Madsaw]

I am gonna go up there Saturday. Id go sooner but he closes at 4, when i getout of work. To answer some questions.
1. He's in his late 40's not old.
2. As far as I know hes healthy
3. He's an organized, responsable business man, at least always seemed to be.
A year or so ago his jackass kid got into some trouble (beat on his girlfriend) and he (the shop owner) had to bail him out. Now the kid works there, I try to avoid him. Any man who hits a woman is of no use to me.
But, even when this happened the guy was on the ball and not trying to pull a fast one.

Well, here is another take,
Late 40's does not mean he is healthy. Also another side is a illness in his family. Things change alot when a family member is very ill. I myself am still trying to cope with this last march.
Also he maybe good at his books now, but maybe a misshap with the irs years ago is knocking. Yes go talk with him. Go easy till you get a feel for whats going on. A good friend of mine was short shop help. He done the only thing he could one day. Denied a customer a easy fix on a saw. Yes it got him a new saw sale, but that could have easlliy turned the customer away too. He also gave the customer a very good trade in for his broken saw too.
Just don't fly off the handle till you know the score.
Bob

 

[andrethegiant70]

Tough deal, Joe, you must be very disappointed. There is no right or wrong here. It would be good to try to decide what your goal is in this and whether you can really achieve it. Do you want to just express yourself? Get the shop back to the way it was? Get an apology? Of course the answers are unique to you. You might want to also consider what the shop owner is to you. If he's a friend there's something to be said for trying to reclaim your relationship with him. If not, well.... I know what I do when someone tries to sheister me. Look them in the eye, thank them for their time, and never come back.

It's too bad folks sometimes make these choices but, IMHO, life is way to short to bother with folks like that.

 

[stubnail67]

just talk to him.

just talk to the guy better to do that then ruin a good thing trust me my hot temper always makes it hard for me cooler heads always seem to prevail! good luck!

 

[joe25DA]

Tough deal, Joe, you must be very disappointed. There is no right or wrong here. It would be good to try to decide what your goal is in this and whether you can really achieve it. Do you want to just express yourself? Get the shop back to the way it was? Get an apology? Of course the answers are unique to you. You might want to also consider what the shop owner is to you. If he's a friend there's something to be said for trying to reclaim your relationship with him. If not, well.... I know what I do when someone tries to sheister me. Look them in the eye, thank them for their time, and never come back.

It's too bad folks sometimes make these choices but, IMHO, life is way to short to bother with folks like that.

Those are good questions. And that's where I'm at. I not looking forward to going out there, mostly because I think he will confirm his lie to my face. Im not that mad about the 3 months wasted on the saw and 1 month on the trimmer. But he broke my trust. I know I wouldn't lie to a good customer.

 

[masculator]

It sucks when they go like that! At least I know my local stihl dealer is that useless and don't expect anything more than that attitude from them. Today I had to go to the tools and ask for an oil cap for one of my saws I just rebuilt, he came back with the matching one for the fuel cap and I had to explain to him I had rebuilt an 034 on a late model ms360 case(flippy caps.) His reply was "you can't do that they use different crankcases" he didn't like it when i put the new flippy cap on poured some oil in and started it up. I still had to explain it was the same case.

Honestly I would not take my wheelbarrow to a dealer for servicing, I do my own and honestly the way I view it is that if you can operate a 2 stroke power tool you can learn how to service and tune it.

 

[ZeroJunk]

Sounds like he got burned out somewhere along the way. I'll be interested to hear what he has to say.

You can buy an aftermarket 025 carb and put it on in five minutes. They work fine.

 

[Terry Syd]

An old saying, 'If a man will lie to you once, he'll lie to you twice'.

I suggest you don't cloud a plausible explanation with your wishful thinking.

 

[StubornDutchman]

An old saying, 'If a man will lie to you once, he'll lie to you twice'.

I suggest you don't cloud a plausible explanation with your wishful thinking.

I agree. No matter how you approach it with him, he will be defensive. You will accomplish nothing and loose a resource you may still need/want in the future.

 

[leeave96]

Your Dad's experience and your friend's, I can relate. I am learning - from dealers of all types, not just chainsaws, that it is a crap shoot at best. In my neck of the woods, the dealers are pretty much a joke. Happy as a clam to take your money, but need some savy dealer advice or service, be prepared to be dissapointed. I've got a Shihl dealer that I want to get some parts from and am dreading going in there due to the BS that one has to deal with - including lack of knowledge of product and parts. I don't drop $$$'s on the dealers like the pros, I'm just a homeowner hack that likes to cut firewood and some brush, but I try to support the local guys - but my patience is wearing thin. These guys seem uncomfortable if you just go in to gawk at the saws. They want you to walk-in, grab whatever they have on the shelf, buy it and get the h*%l out!

In my case, the box stores and mail order route is becoming much more attractive. If the @&# saw breaks, throw it out and buy a new one and spare yourself the hassle. I bought a Poulan Pro 4620 on closeout from a Sears outlet. I went online and ordered a regular two bolt-on chain cover to replace the tooless deal, ordered a 16 inch bar and chain combo and a splined screw driver thingy to adjust the carb. So far it has been a heck of a good firewood saw. I couldn't be happier - NO DEALER INVOLVED. I'm starting to like it this way. If the saw breaks, I'll get another one - no problems.

Off my anti-dealer soapbox. I truely hope things work out for your dealer, your Dad and friend's equipment.

Good luck,
Bill

 

[blackoak]

Joe DA25, In reality the situation you described happens everyday in not only the small shops but the large ones as well. I see it all the time. A guy will bring to me his older say , 041, 031, that the Stihl dealer told him was shot and even if he could get the parts, "the saw ain't worth fixing, you would be money ahead to buy a new one". I take a look at it and find a bad fuel line or a simple carb rebuild will have the saw back in service. I'm not saying all dealers are this way, but it happen way more than it should. I tell people that I can fix anything if you got the money and maybe a little time for me to round up the parts, but then again I don't sell new saws either. If someone brings me a $30.00 old Homey Super II that needs $50.00 worth of parts and labor to repair. I will ask them if the 30.00 saw is worth 50 bucks to them to have it repaired. Some do, Some don't.

 

[sawfun9]

That's the first thing my Stihl dealership asks me. How much is it worth to ya? I sure like that a lot better than trying to sell me new stuff. Customer service is rare today but I'll spend a bit more for it, from an honest shop. Even though I can fix my saws, I don't mind giving them some business. I tell myself, its just my part to reward fair service and keep the economy going.

 

[GA_Boy]

When you go over there on Sat. tell him you're there to pick up your buddy's saw who has been buggin the s%^# out of you about it. Now the issue with the trimmer is like what other people have said, if you confront him about it, he's gonna lock up on ya since no one likes getting caught up in a lie.

It all depends on how you want to handle it. Me personally, i'd tread lightly since you said he "has given me 10-12 saws including my shelf queen 031 stihl". Don't burn that bridge unless you have to.

I think the guy is trying to keep his head above the water. Times are hard right now. i know that's not an excuse for tryin' to rip somebody off but it is what it is.

If you could care less about freebies then by all means ask him about the trimmer.

 

[Streblerm]

I would go pick up your buddies saw and tell him your there because your buddy is bugging YOU. I wouldn't bring up the trimmer. I would apologize to my dad and friend for sending them there and tell them you thought he was better than that. I would stop referring people to him.

If he has done right by you over time then there is no reason for you to stop doing business with him. You are a different story. You go in knowing what you want or having a good idea of what the repair will take. This makes you less prone to BS problems.

If you think you owe him a lesson on customer service then write him a letter on behalf of your friend and/or dad and send it to him without any obvious involvement. I wouldn't get in the middle of anything. He sounds like what is unfortunately the average or maybe even slightly above average repair shop in my area.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

These guys all have good points. Just remember, like you said, he has given you a dozen saws or so. I would give him the benefit of the doubt, if there is any, because of the past. It's possible he is going through a bad time right now and if he's like my local shop he is super busy and it is confusing. When I worked on chainsaws for my local shop I had to label each one so I'd remember who it belonged to and what I did to it. It was all I could do to work on the saws, let alone all the mowers, trimmers, etc.

 

[jockeydeuce]

I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, so maybe I'll sound too soft here.

I have an equipment repair shop as my main gig (basically a one man show), so I know what it's like to be swamped busy at times and burnt out. It's easy when you're super busy to "push some jobs off"...I'm not saying it's right or condoning it. It just happens.

As far as the trimmer story.....It's easy for a schrader valve in the compression tester to leak and give a bad reading, and there is the factor of the "screw up son" that works in the shop some of the time. (Maybe he checked out the trimmer).....I really have no idea what happened in this case, but there are some more possibles.

Regardless, I would go have a calm, one on one talk with the fellow....

 

[Taxmantoo]

As far as the trimmer story.....It's easy for a schrader valve in the compression tester to leak and give a bad reading, and there is the factor of the "screw up son" that works in the shop some of the time. (Maybe he checked out the trimmer).....I really have no idea what happened in this case, but there are some more possibles.

I'm going with the "kid's running the repair shop now, in over his head and swamped" theory. He put the strimmer on the back burner and had to try to diagnose it in two minutes when the customer finally demanded an answer or his strimmer back RIGHT NOW.

When the trusted mechanic (the owner's own son, no less) tells the owner what's up, the owner is naturally just going to pass the info on to the customer.

 

[ol'homey]

The guy has been busy lately and just didn't get around to "inspecting" the cylinder on your trimmer. Around here you can drop off a piece of equipment blowing 150 psi and when you come back it WILL be blowing 60 psi. I happened to stumble upon this fact years ago when I needed some parts for a BR400. I told the guy up front at the sales counter his price for the parts was more than the blower was worth. Then I went around back to see if I could talk the tech into selling me some used parts which is a no no. I see a pile with nearly a dozen BR blowers. Tech says he doesn't fool with selling individual parts but if i wanted to pick a unit out of the pile and bring it to him he would give me a price for the whole unit. He warned me that none of them were repairable as they all had bad cylinders. So pulled 2 units out that looked pretty decent. He said today's your lucky day I'll take $20 each. I said deal! Then he said they're cleaning up the shop and the junk man will be by in a couple days to haul off the whole pile and a bunch of other stuff. I said are you sure the cylinders are bad and I couldn't just order a new piston and rings? He said set that one up on the bench and let me show you. He takes a flashlight and we look through the spark plug hole. See how the cylinder is all scratched up and gouged, we see that a lot around here. I happen to notice a long thin scewdriver laying on his bench with the plastic handle all mangled. It looked like the end had been beat on with a hammer. I said yea I bet you do see a lot of that! Paid the tech, took the units home, pulled the jugs off. Both jugs were scored ONLY in the area directly in line with the spark plug hole. They are a very good dealer, sell lots of new equipment and do good warranty work. Just don't drop off a piece of used equipment there cuz if it ain't broke too bad when it comes in the front, it will be by the time they're done with it in back.
PS- FWIW the fact that he didn't screw up your cylinder might point to an honest mistake like a bad compression gauge etc.

 

[zogger]

that's a different story

The guy has been busy lately and just didn't get around to "inspecting" the cylinder on your trimmer. Around here you can drop off a piece of equipment blowing 150 psi and when you come back it WILL be blowing 60 psi. I happened to stumble upon this fact years ago when I needed some parts for a BR400. I told the guy up front at the sales counter his price for the parts was more than the blower was worth. Then I went around back to see if I could talk the tech into selling me some used parts which is a no no. I see a pile with nearly a dozen BR blowers. Tech says he doesn't fool with selling individual parts but if i wanted to pick a unit out of the pile and bring it to him he would give me a price for the whole unit. He warned me that none of them were repairable as they all had bad cylinders. So pulled 2 units out that looked pretty decent. He said today's your lucky day I'll take $20 each. I said deal! Then he said they're cleaning up the shop and the junk man will be by in a couple days to haul off the whole pile and a bunch of other stuff. I said are you sure the cylinders are bad and I couldn't just order a new piston and rings? He said set that one up on the bench and let me show you. He takes a flashlight and we look through the spark plug hole. See how the cylinder is all scratched up and gouged, we see that a lot around here. I happen to notice a long thin scewdriver laying on his bench with the plastic handle all mangled. It looked like the end had been beat on with a hammer. I said yea I bet you do see a lot of that! Paid the tech, took the units home, pulled the jugs off. Both jugs were scored ONLY in the area directly in line with the spark plug hole. They are a very good dealer, sell lots of new equipment and do good warranty work. Just don't drop off a piece of used equipment there cuz if it ain't broke too bad when it comes in the front, it will be by the time they're done with it in back.
PS- FWIW the fact that he didn't screw up your cylinder might point to an honest mistake like a bad compression gauge etc.

--something like that, if I was aware of it, with some good evidence, I'd be down to the local prosecutor doing my best to get those turkeys busted and pulling time. That's serious fraud, ripping people off, it doesn't matter if they do good warranty work or not. A lot of poor people need to get their used equipment FIXED, not be browbeat and defrauded into purchasing another unit. And it really doesn't matter, poor or rich, crookedness is crookedness.

Those dudes need a sting operation run against them.

We should never countenance ripping off the public like that, for any reason. Because there is no valid reason.

 

[Fish]

To be honest, he is probably having a tough time, and is just trying
to turn away work that loses him money, or may lose him money.

Of all of the equipment that you brought him before, what would have happened if you had brought the same stuff to the big Stihl
dealer?

I am not trying to be smart, or anything, but my one man shop,
gets the junk no other "real shop" would even take off the truck.

I have had to be harsh with folks here lately, but if I spend an hour or two on a unit that the guy that dropped it off doesn't want to
spend more than $20 on, then I will tell them up front, or take a quick look at, and give him a quick, 'worst case' scenario, because
if I said I can fix it for $20, it can easily go way higher, as it likely
needs new fuel lines, and a carb rebuild, which that should be
at the very least $40.

I am not trying to fight, but view it from the small shop guy trying
to pay his mortgage. Being nice and giving away 12 saws is nice, but the bank doesn't recognize "nice".

Maybe he has changed his basic outlook, across the board, no favorites, no friends.

In this business, if you work on friends equipment real cheap, or
for free.

You will have a bunch of "friends".

Like I said, I am not trying to fight, but just step back and look at
it all again.