Are CUT Manufacturers Smart Enough to Follow TBN?

[Rmart30]

You might get a little feedback from here back thru dealers but as far as big corp watching this site I doubt it.
Ive been around construction equipment of many brands for 30 years. Feedback even we as dealers send or convey directly back to manufacturers Ive rarely seen implemented. "Most" engineers imo seen to think they know better how to design or build things which is absolute hogwash. Anyone who designs something should have to use that product and work on that product, or get a lot of feedback from real world users. What looks good on paper or the bottom line isnt always best for the consumer.
Just as someone else posted about having to remove a tire every time backhoe on and off. You make a engineer do that 3 or times out in the field and I guarantee ya he will find a way to make it where thats not a issue.

ALL manufacturers should send out a owner survey 1 yr after the sale, 3 yrs after the sale, and 5 yrs after the sale. Not 30 days after the sale, and not just with ck boxes of 1-10 to rate. They need a large comments section for suggested improvements, what you would like to see etc.

 

[milkman]

First one's already an option and has been for awhile, second one should happen, third one...does Hodge make a kit?

I know I said suggestions, but I should have said suggestions to make the items standard equipment on all BXs.

 

[dnw64]

So when TBNrs are discussing new models that aren't even listed on the Company website, or errors or omissions for specifications persist for months, that is not useful for the manufacturer to know?

If they have enough people walking into the local dealership and getting the info in person to keep their production schedule full, in a word - no.

We tend (speaking for myself) to think that the internet is the be-all end-all of information, but I know (intellectually) that there is an awful lot of commerce that happens completely outside it.

 

[4570Man]

ALL manufacturers should send out a owner survey 1 yr after the sale, 3 yrs after the sale, and 5 yrs after the sale. Not 30 days after the sale, and not just with ck boxes of 1-10 to rate. They need a large comments section for suggested improvements, what you would like to see etc.

Based on what I see most people are happy with the tractor they have. You have to come here to find out how much transmission X sucks, how bad tire choice X is, that you have to have a grapple, SSQA loader, that the turn buckles suck, and your Farm boss Stihl isn't the best thing ever. Most of the above is opinion, but fact is the turn buckles are terrible at least the way they're set up on my L3800. The little dinky end pins are responsible for holding the entire side to side load of the implement.

 

[RickB]

Boom, two reps in the house! Awesome

More than two, my friend.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Its the pallets that scares them away.

 

[dnw64]

More than two, my friend.

Man up!

 

[RickB]

Man up!

What’s that supposed to mean? My profile is available for your viewing.

 

[AxleHub]

When used in the right context it can be somewhat helpful but as I mentioned it's a faceless complaint so compared to actual end user face to face contact it needs to be treated as somewhat anecdotal information as it is not measurable across a known spectrum of buyers. Not trying to tear down tbn, it's a great site for the end user.

Morrison,

I would disagree. I'm not claiming TBN has a big impact. However, there is a tendency of "blind leading the blind" in technical issues of websites and ease of discovery etc.. Face to face commentary on website confusion or etc. etc. doesn't happen in real life with users but it's quite noticeable in the written format. Written commentary on ease of website use or confusion on manuals or discussing video instruction is much different than face to face.

Here's why: management in face to face doesn't verify it, but in written format they can when it comes to all the many issues of website access or website content, or website clarity.

One other thing to consider. Face to face gets you to "sales" and dealers may have input to engineers, but written gets you to any potential area of the manufacturer like management or
I.T. or sales or marketing . . . . . Because the written can be transferred to one dept. to another to another where face to face doesn't have that power.

Again I'm not saying TBN makes big impact on companies. What I'm saying is it has the potential to do it from time to time because one person seeing it from the manufacturing side can send it many directions.

If we could influence just one thing. - just one thing from TBN to the makers of equipment or to their U. S. management teams of those makers it would be this: do owner written surveys after 60 days and again after 3 years of ownership. If it's written it will produce some considerable ideas that verbal will not do (nor does check box give the same answers). I think manufacturers would be stunned how much resistance they put into the marketplace - that would not need to be the case. As just a single example - Yanmar - a company I think highly of - made a great scut in the 2400 series. But when they were going to introduce their new products several years ago they came out with the 211 (I think that was the number). It was pretty - but instead of Yanmar asking customers what they needed - they surveyed the public for the design. That caused numerous shortcomings that any tractor person would have not agreed with (they didn't keep position control, they didn't keep diff lock, they downsized the engine hp, they went from 2 pumps to one etc. etc.).

Jmho

 

[farmeratheart]

Well said AxleHub! As I mentioned in my earlier post this activity by the manufacturer can be easily automated and sent to marketing, engineering, dealers, etc.

Frank