I think my John Deere dealer is becoming "lazy"

[J F]

I hope those "single" dealerships can hang around, but it sure doesn't sound like Deere is wanting them to.

 

[scobrado]

I sent a note to JD corporate via their website telling them about this thread, and they responded with an acknowledgement. I hope they are listening to their customers.

 

[bigtiller]

I sent a note to JD corporate via their website telling them about this thread, and they responded with an acknowledgement. I hope they are listening to their customers.

I hope they read about my dealer here. A few years ago I traded for a new lawnmower. The first time mowing with it on a Saturday morning, it broke down. The dealer had just closed for the weekend but I needed to mow so I called the owner and asked if someone with the keys could open the door so I could get my old mower until the new one could be fixed.

The owner showed up and helped me load the old mower AND he gave me money for gas out of his pocket.

 

[RollingsFarms]

I'm still waiting on my front end loader. Monday was 3 weeks and I was told it would be in, in 2 weeks. No call from my dealer, no nothing. Not that surprising as I'm still waiting to get a call about a suspension seat I ordered a year ago.lol This is just frustrating! I'm fine with something not coming in on time, I understand things happen and stuff gets delayed. All I ask from a customer standpoint is you at least call me to say "hey, we haven't forgot about you, it's still not in, we'll let you know when it comes in" or "your loader hasn't come in yet but I called to find out what was going on and.....". That's all I want. I mean why take down my contact info, make a copy of my driver license, etc if you're not going to keep me updated?

 

[fieldman12]

I ordered some parts last week from our local New Holland dealer. They called me this week and informed me my parts are in. When I ordered the parts I offered to go ahead and pay for them over the phone including my Bush Hog rotary cutter parts. They said not to worry about it until I come in. My local John Deere mega dealer rarely calls to let me know a part is in and they always want my credit card number when I order a part over the phone.

 

[RollingsFarms]

I ordered some parts last week from our local New Holland dealer. They called me this week and informed me my parts are in. When I ordered the parts I offered to go ahead and pay for them over the phone including my Bush Hog rotary cutter parts. They said not to worry about it until I come in. My local John Deere mega dealer rarely calls to let me know a part is in and they always want my credit card number when I order a part over the phone.

Are you finding that other tractor makes are able to acquire parts just as fast as Deere nowadays? It seems like whenever I have to order a part from Deere it's no longer overnight but takes a week or two. Have they lost this once competitive edge?

 

[kevin37b]

It will be two years soon since I purchased my JD2520. The local dealer ( that is part of a three dealership chain) was terrible we were not even close to a descent deal. I asked for a price breakdown, and realized they were actually charging more than the JD build it yourself prices. Crazy things like charging me 6 hours labor to install my 62D mower. I was very close to going out of state, and told them so. They could have cared less. In my last attempt I visited a JD dealer 33 miles away they told me up front because of the distance that they would need to charge for hauling in for service if the occasion arrived.

Couldn't have found a better dealership: the kind you walk into and everybody still says hello some call me by my fist name. Salesman standing at the counter shoulder to shoulder with the parts guy and the owner.
They gave me a fair price, and I travel down there to buy all my supplies. They had their single dealership for 52 years, and I hope they remain, after reading posts of the horror stories makes me appreciate my dealer all the more.

They could NOT have cared less . Sorry , I'm just **** about how that is said .

 

[JDCOMPACTMAN]

Sad but true, it's not just JD who is treating the smaller customer base like _ _ _ _. I had a bank trust company tell me that any account under $100K was now going to be charged $5000/year for handling the account. That tells me they do NOT want any business that 'small' (in their minds), and to go away or pay the price. So from a couple hundred/mo on average to $5K/yr for doing NOTHING- you bet I'm GONE!
Companies and banks are going for the BIG dollars because they can and want to. their not too silent message is if you want to get hammered then stick around, otherwise scram, you're wasting our time. Smaller customers take to much time and manpower to handle, and most important don't generate big enough sales. One of the 4th oldest JD dealers was put out recently in NH. It is a sign of the times and it isn't going to get better for those who are used to personalized service. I hate to see it happen, but it is reality and one needs to see the writing on the wall. MEGA is the wave, and its going to sink the small guys. They're powerless to stop the tide without serious money they just don't have.
Choose where you buy and what color wisely; 'cause if they don't want to sell to you, how well are they going to service you?!

Very well put.

 

[smalltown]

They could NOT have cared less . Sorry , I'm just **** about how that is said .

Kevin you are not only observant, but also correct!

 

[fieldman12]

It is looking like New Holland & Case IH are about the same speed as Deere these days for parts. I think Agco is still a little slower.