Dealer is really poor sport!

[proudestmonkey]

I was just going to say that Bob--about the thread "hitting a nerve." When I posted my original post, I wasn't sure it was even worth a reply of any kind, but it is interesting that the thread has had so many replies and so many different opinions. I'll stick with my first take, which is that I think he was a poor sport for not getting my tractor business. Nothing else makes a lot of sense (he offered to work on my JD last year, he treated me way differently when I wanted a tractor than he did the other day, he didn't say anything about why he didn't want to work on my tractor, etc.). Anyway, like others have said, if there's a particular reason he doesn't want to work on Kubotas, you'd think he'd have said what it was. And, even if that's the reason he said it, that still doesn't change his whole demeanor toward me when I walked in the door (see my previous post).

Anyway, I don't plan to go back there. I had no sense that he wanted my business now that I bought someone else's tractor. If that's the case, I work too hard for my money to give it to someone who isn't interested. If I am wrong, and he was just having a bad day, and doesn't like orange, and was in a hurry, and I am small fry cause I am not a farmer buying the expensive stuff--if all of that is true, then big deal, I can't know that, and there is no reason to believe it either. I'll believe what I saw and heard, which is nonchalance about my business at best, and even a hint of disdain and dismissiveness. My Kubota dealer seems pretty good, so that's where I'll be going (though it is 20 miles away).

Very interesting points being made though.

Oh, and Tom H, just so you know, i am not feeling sorry for myself at all. I love my tractor. I have no doubt I made the right decision with Kubota. And, now that I've seen what you get treated like at the other dealer, man am I glad I bought my tractor where I did.

 

[proudestmonkey]

I was just going to say that Bob--about the thread "hitting a nerve." When I posted my original post, I wasn't sure it was even worth a reply of any kind, but it is interesting that the thread has had so many replies and so many different opinions. I'll stick with my first take, which is that I think he was a poor sport for not getting my tractor business. Nothing else makes a lot of sense (he offered to work on my JD last year, he treated me way differently when I wanted a tractor than he did the other day, he didn't say anything about why he didn't want to work on my tractor, etc.). Anyway, like others have said, if there's a particular reason he doesn't want to work on Kubotas, you'd think he'd have said what it was. And, even if that's the reason he said it, that still doesn't change his whole demeanor toward me when I walked in the door (see my previous post).

Anyway, I don't plan to go back there. I had no sense that he wanted my business now that I bought someone else's tractor. If that's the case, I work too hard for my money to give it to someone who isn't interested. If I am wrong, and he was just having a bad day, and doesn't like orange, and was in a hurry, and I am small fry cause I am not a farmer buying the expensive stuff--if all of that is true, then big deal, I can't know that, and there is no reason to believe it either. I'll believe what I saw and heard, which is nonchalance about my business at best, and even a hint of disdain and dismissiveness. My Kubota dealer seems pretty good, so that's where I'll be going (though it is 20 miles away).

Very interesting points being made though.

Oh, and Tom H, just so you know, i am not feeling sorry for myself at all. I love my tractor. I have no doubt I made the right decision with Kubota. And, now that I've seen what you get treated like at the other dealer, man am I glad I bought my tractor where I did.

 

[radair]

You did the right thing. The fact that they were trying to pass off a 2004 tractor as a "new" demo tells me their integrity is questionable to begin with.

 

[radair]

You did the right thing. The fact that they were trying to pass off a 2004 tractor as a "new" demo tells me their integrity is questionable to begin with.

 

[proudestmonkey]

Yeah, it seemed odd to say the least. He didn't ever actually say it was a 2005, so maybe it was a dealer trade or something. Also, I should say I "think" it was a 2004 because the 2005 models shown on MF's website had some changes that indicated that the one I had was older than a 2005. For all I know it was a 2003 (rust seemed to also indicate it had seen quite a few rain showers).

 

[proudestmonkey]

Yeah, it seemed odd to say the least. He didn't ever actually say it was a 2005, so maybe it was a dealer trade or something. Also, I should say I "think" it was a 2004 because the 2005 models shown on MF's website had some changes that indicated that the one I had was older than a 2005. For all I know it was a 2003 (rust seemed to also indicate it had seen quite a few rain showers).

 

[proudestmonkey]

</font><font color="blueclass=small">( By making the statements about what I seem to have forgotten and telling me that my whole take is mistaken, you certainly seem to have the attitude that your opinion is ultimate truth no matter what. In my opinion (and yes, it is an opinion) the one who's mistaken here is you, you have bought in to a "poor is me" story without hearing the dealer's point of view.

I don't accept the maxim that the customer is always right. Some customers are not worth the hassle of having as customers. The way the original poster himself portrayed things, the dealer calmly stated that he'd rather not work on the tractor made by and warrantied by a different company. The customer could have asked why. Even if he did speak calmly, (and I have real doubts that he was as calm as he portrayed himself) his words and actions still come across to me as provocative. None of us has even had a chance to hear the dealer's side of this story. Even from hearing only the plaintiff's point of view, it very much appears to me that the dealer showed the coolheadedness to walk away from someone who wanted to be contentious. )</font>

As much as I hate to admit this, you do make (at least) one good point: that we are hearing only my side of the story, which implies that the dealer has a side of the story that might make my whole point wrong. That's true. Neither I, nor anyone else on this forum, really knows why he treated me the way he did, or said what he said. We also don't know what the owner of the dealership might say if he heard that his sales guy acted the way he did. He might say, "big deal," or he might say, "I'm sorry, what can we do to earn your business." I tend to think that businesses know, or should know, what their customer representatives are saying and doing. And if they don't, its not my responsibility to tell them.

On the other hand, I have to say I find your post unnecessarily judgmental of me and actually offensive. Even if I am wrong about the dealer's thinking (which is possible), to imply that I am somehow lying to this forum (about my demeanor, tone, behavior, etc.) is, well, unfortunate and unreasonable. Why would I do that?

Also, to suggest that my behavior was provocative is just silly. I went in there with the sole intent of checking out whether we could have good relations, to re-establish a good business relationship, and oh, by the way, to see if they had some stuff I need for my tractor and yard. My decision to pick up the hardware as we were talking was to let him know I was interested in giving them my business, if he was interested in having it. He made it pretty clear that he didn't care to have my business, or didn't care much either way. And, just so we're clear on this, I didn't say anything in front of anyone else. You know why? There wasn't anyone else there, no other customers in the showroom or the yard.

One last thing, by referring to me as the "plaintiff" I am guessing you are either a lawyer or think in terms of litigation, disputes and conflict. I am a lawyer (but have left the practice of law in part because I got sick and tired of people using the legal system to create problems rather than solve them), and that is not how I am or was thinking. This is not lawsuit stuff. This is not a "dispute." This is a simple conversation that left me feeling disappointed and a little offended. That is hardly the stuff of "plaintiff" and "defendant" for me, even if it might be that for you.

 

[proudestmonkey]

</font><font color="blueclass=small">( By making the statements about what I seem to have forgotten and telling me that my whole take is mistaken, you certainly seem to have the attitude that your opinion is ultimate truth no matter what. In my opinion (and yes, it is an opinion) the one who's mistaken here is you, you have bought in to a "poor is me" story without hearing the dealer's point of view.

I don't accept the maxim that the customer is always right. Some customers are not worth the hassle of having as customers. The way the original poster himself portrayed things, the dealer calmly stated that he'd rather not work on the tractor made by and warrantied by a different company. The customer could have asked why. Even if he did speak calmly, (and I have real doubts that he was as calm as he portrayed himself) his words and actions still come across to me as provocative. None of us has even had a chance to hear the dealer's side of this story. Even from hearing only the plaintiff's point of view, it very much appears to me that the dealer showed the coolheadedness to walk away from someone who wanted to be contentious. )</font>

As much as I hate to admit this, you do make (at least) one good point: that we are hearing only my side of the story, which implies that the dealer has a side of the story that might make my whole point wrong. That's true. Neither I, nor anyone else on this forum, really knows why he treated me the way he did, or said what he said. We also don't know what the owner of the dealership might say if he heard that his sales guy acted the way he did. He might say, "big deal," or he might say, "I'm sorry, what can we do to earn your business." I tend to think that businesses know, or should know, what their customer representatives are saying and doing. And if they don't, its not my responsibility to tell them.

On the other hand, I have to say I find your post unnecessarily judgmental of me and actually offensive. Even if I am wrong about the dealer's thinking (which is possible), to imply that I am somehow lying to this forum (about my demeanor, tone, behavior, etc.) is, well, unfortunate and unreasonable. Why would I do that?

Also, to suggest that my behavior was provocative is just silly. I went in there with the sole intent of checking out whether we could have good relations, to re-establish a good business relationship, and oh, by the way, to see if they had some stuff I need for my tractor and yard. My decision to pick up the hardware as we were talking was to let him know I was interested in giving them my business, if he was interested in having it. He made it pretty clear that he didn't care to have my business, or didn't care much either way. And, just so we're clear on this, I didn't say anything in front of anyone else. You know why? There wasn't anyone else there, no other customers in the showroom or the yard.

One last thing, by referring to me as the "plaintiff" I am guessing you are either a lawyer or think in terms of litigation, disputes and conflict. I am a lawyer (but have left the practice of law in part because I got sick and tired of people using the legal system to create problems rather than solve them), and that is not how I am or was thinking. This is not lawsuit stuff. This is not a "dispute." This is a simple conversation that left me feeling disappointed and a little offended. That is hardly the stuff of "plaintiff" and "defendant" for me, even if it might be that for you.

 

[N80]

<font><font color="blueclass=small">( My take on why the dealer declined to service the unit.

1. Still under Kubota warranty.

2. No Kubota fluid- UDT-SUDT.

3. No Filters.

4. No training on Kubotas

5. The list could go on and on - Who would pay for the mechanic to learn the service procedure? (Customer) - (Dealer) ?
6. Who would pay for the mechanic-parts person to located filters, fluids? (Customer)? (Dealer)?

7. Who would arbitrate, it wasn't doing that before you serviced it?

8. Etc..............

I am a strong advocate of having automobiles, trucks, tractors, motorcycles serviced at place of purchase. Most dealers will sell a unit, car, truck or tractor at a fair and reasonable mark-up price. I check prices before making a car, truck or tractor purchase. I don't tell one dealer what another dealer will sell for. My view on this is I am trying to purchase something not get two or more dealer in a shouting contest. I then evaluate distance for service work, dealer (sales-staff) attitude, service department attitude, etc prior to service. I WOULD NEVER unless traveling have service work done at a dealer other than where the unit was purchased.

I surely would not take my new Cadillac to a VW dealer for it's first service or for warranty work and then get upset when they advised they would prefer if I had the work done at a Cadillac Dealership. )</font>

Well, first off, in the life of a typical tractor, the warranty is very short. So a dealer who sends a _neighbor_ packing because the new tractor is currently under warranty is cutting off his nose to spite his face. Second, _every_ tractor dealer I've ever been to has scores of tractors in the shop that aren't the brand that they sell. A tractor is a tractor and if I can find parts to do my own 50 hour service so can any dealer.

I just can't help but go back to the basic model of this situation that some dealers seem unable to graps. The first thing is that probably the vast majority of these small tractors are owned by people who don't make their living with them. This means that some joe blow like me doesn't _need_ any specific dealer. If my tractor breaks down or needs service its a bummer but it isn't critical. I don't lose money! If I don't like dealer 'A' around the corner then I can see dealer 'B' around the block and it really means nothing to me. The only person it really means something to is dealer 'A'. He loses money. And the issue is, even if as a customer I'm a great big jerk, dealer 'B' still gets paid if he does the job. Some dealers just don't seem to get this.

(And for the record, I'm in a very intimate form of customer service myself so I'm not just looking at this from the customer side of things. In fact, that's the reason I'm at work right now offering a weekend service that people around here can't find anywhere else.)

 

[N80]

<font><font color="blueclass=small">( My take on why the dealer declined to service the unit.

1. Still under Kubota warranty.

2. No Kubota fluid- UDT-SUDT.

3. No Filters.

4. No training on Kubotas

5. The list could go on and on - Who would pay for the mechanic to learn the service procedure? (Customer) - (Dealer) ?
6. Who would pay for the mechanic-parts person to located filters, fluids? (Customer)? (Dealer)?

7. Who would arbitrate, it wasn't doing that before you serviced it?

8. Etc..............

I am a strong advocate of having automobiles, trucks, tractors, motorcycles serviced at place of purchase. Most dealers will sell a unit, car, truck or tractor at a fair and reasonable mark-up price. I check prices before making a car, truck or tractor purchase. I don't tell one dealer what another dealer will sell for. My view on this is I am trying to purchase something not get two or more dealer in a shouting contest. I then evaluate distance for service work, dealer (sales-staff) attitude, service department attitude, etc prior to service. I WOULD NEVER unless traveling have service work done at a dealer other than where the unit was purchased.

I surely would not take my new Cadillac to a VW dealer for it's first service or for warranty work and then get upset when they advised they would prefer if I had the work done at a Cadillac Dealership. )</font>

Well, first off, in the life of a typical tractor, the warranty is very short. So a dealer who sends a _neighbor_ packing because the new tractor is currently under warranty is cutting off his nose to spite his face. Second, _every_ tractor dealer I've ever been to has scores of tractors in the shop that aren't the brand that they sell. A tractor is a tractor and if I can find parts to do my own 50 hour service so can any dealer.

I just can't help but go back to the basic model of this situation that some dealers seem unable to graps. The first thing is that probably the vast majority of these small tractors are owned by people who don't make their living with them. This means that some joe blow like me doesn't _need_ any specific dealer. If my tractor breaks down or needs service its a bummer but it isn't critical. I don't lose money! If I don't like dealer 'A' around the corner then I can see dealer 'B' around the block and it really means nothing to me. The only person it really means something to is dealer 'A'. He loses money. And the issue is, even if as a customer I'm a great big jerk, dealer 'B' still gets paid if he does the job. Some dealers just don't seem to get this.

(And for the record, I'm in a very intimate form of customer service myself so I'm not just looking at this from the customer side of things. In fact, that's the reason I'm at work right now offering a weekend service that people around here can't find anywhere else.)