proudestmonkey
Gold Member
I thought I'd post a little story about a really nice dealer experience after the previous thread about a not so great experience.
On Friday afternoon, after spending my routine 1/2 hour trying to restart my p.o.s. Poulan "Wood Shark" chainsaw (it starts fine the first time, but if the engine dies, or it runs out of gas, good luck starting again within the next two hours), I told my wife I wanted a new chainsaw (this one is only a year old). She agreed. Her mother suggested a Stihl brand (she lived on a farm most of her life). Okay with me.
So, Saturday morning, I ventured down to the closest Stihl dealer, which is the local JD dealer. They aren't open yet, so I drive another 10 miles to the place I bought my BX 2230 (also a Stihl dealer). I got there just as they were opening. There was a guy doing some computer work. No one else is in the shop. I tell him I need a chain saw, tell him my needs, tell him I've got a 14" and am thinking of getting a 16" or even an 18" replacement. He tells me that, for what I am doing, a 14" is plenty and for bigger stuff, hire it out, then he suggests the second cheapest one they've got (I need it mostly for buckthorn). I buy it.
While he's ringing up the saw, I ask him if he knows how much a 50 hour service will cost on my BX 2230. He says, "sure I do, its about $100 in labor and maybe $70-80 in materials costs. The problem is, that price is going to double if you can't get your tractor here yourself. The pickup and delivery charge based on where you live is $65 each way." As I am thinking about my tractor's 35 hours, he adds (I'm paraphrasing), "you know, you might want to just do it yourself. Its not that hard, its just time-consuming. You will save yourself a lot of money, and besides, there's no better way for you to get to know your tractor. The nice thing about doing this one yourself is that you will stop worrying about your hours meter afterward to avoid the next one [he's right, I do worry about the service intervals]." I say (looking for an excuse), "I'll think about it, but I am not sure I've got the right tools." He says, all you'll need is an oil filter wrench, a standard socket set, a 26mm socket for the tranny strainer and an oil can with a long flexible spout. I have them here, but they're a lot cheaper at Napa Auto Parts (he shows me his)."
As I am thinking about it, he seems to detect my hesitance. He says, "don't you have [Insert Dealer Name mentioned in "Dealer is Really Poor Sport" thread] right down the road from you. It will be cheaper to take it there." I say "yes, but they don't want to work on my tractor." He said, "why not." I ask, "do you guys just work on Kubotas?" He says, "no, we work on every tractor made." I tell him the story about the dealer by my house telling me they'd " really rather not" work on my tractor. He laughs, asks who said it, I tell him, and he says "if [Insert name of owner of other dealer] knew what the sales guy said to you, he wouldn't be too happy." I asked him if he knew the owner of the other dealer, he said, yes, I've known those guys for a long time, and they're all good guys." I say, "I think the sales guy was sore at me for going 20 miles to buy a Kubota instead of buying one of their tractors." He says, "yup, that would be my guess."
I say, "okay, I think I will do the service myself, so can you set me up with what I need for materials." He says, "sure, and you know what, if you are worried about getting into it and then getting stuck, we are only a phone call away, we'll walk you through any problems you have."
As he was getting everything I needed, in comes the sales guy who sold me the tractor, he says "hello, I see you met Ed, he's the owner."
Once again, I am really glad I bought my tractor from these guys. Its a great tractor (what do I know, but so far so good). And this dealer is so nice to deal with. Three times now, they have suggested that I save my money by not giving it to them. When I bought my tractor, I considered a front-mounted snowblower, and the sales guy suggested I wait for the first winter, and use the FEL and maybe a rear blade. When I wanted a larger, more expensive chainsaw, the owner, Ed, talked me out of it, and sold me one of their least expensive models. When I asked about the cost of having them do my service intervals, he suggested I save myself the money, learn my tractor, and do it myself. Pretty cool.
Based on what the owner of the Kubota dealer said about the owner of the other dealer, I may just give him a call directly, and see what he says. It would still be nice to walk up the road when I need something in a pinch. It would have been nice to walk a few hundred feet for the chain saw, rather than driving 40 miles round trip.
On Friday afternoon, after spending my routine 1/2 hour trying to restart my p.o.s. Poulan "Wood Shark" chainsaw (it starts fine the first time, but if the engine dies, or it runs out of gas, good luck starting again within the next two hours), I told my wife I wanted a new chainsaw (this one is only a year old). She agreed. Her mother suggested a Stihl brand (she lived on a farm most of her life). Okay with me.
So, Saturday morning, I ventured down to the closest Stihl dealer, which is the local JD dealer. They aren't open yet, so I drive another 10 miles to the place I bought my BX 2230 (also a Stihl dealer). I got there just as they were opening. There was a guy doing some computer work. No one else is in the shop. I tell him I need a chain saw, tell him my needs, tell him I've got a 14" and am thinking of getting a 16" or even an 18" replacement. He tells me that, for what I am doing, a 14" is plenty and for bigger stuff, hire it out, then he suggests the second cheapest one they've got (I need it mostly for buckthorn). I buy it.
While he's ringing up the saw, I ask him if he knows how much a 50 hour service will cost on my BX 2230. He says, "sure I do, its about $100 in labor and maybe $70-80 in materials costs. The problem is, that price is going to double if you can't get your tractor here yourself. The pickup and delivery charge based on where you live is $65 each way." As I am thinking about my tractor's 35 hours, he adds (I'm paraphrasing), "you know, you might want to just do it yourself. Its not that hard, its just time-consuming. You will save yourself a lot of money, and besides, there's no better way for you to get to know your tractor. The nice thing about doing this one yourself is that you will stop worrying about your hours meter afterward to avoid the next one [he's right, I do worry about the service intervals]." I say (looking for an excuse), "I'll think about it, but I am not sure I've got the right tools." He says, all you'll need is an oil filter wrench, a standard socket set, a 26mm socket for the tranny strainer and an oil can with a long flexible spout. I have them here, but they're a lot cheaper at Napa Auto Parts (he shows me his)."
As I am thinking about it, he seems to detect my hesitance. He says, "don't you have [Insert Dealer Name mentioned in "Dealer is Really Poor Sport" thread] right down the road from you. It will be cheaper to take it there." I say "yes, but they don't want to work on my tractor." He said, "why not." I ask, "do you guys just work on Kubotas?" He says, "no, we work on every tractor made." I tell him the story about the dealer by my house telling me they'd " really rather not" work on my tractor. He laughs, asks who said it, I tell him, and he says "if [Insert name of owner of other dealer] knew what the sales guy said to you, he wouldn't be too happy." I asked him if he knew the owner of the other dealer, he said, yes, I've known those guys for a long time, and they're all good guys." I say, "I think the sales guy was sore at me for going 20 miles to buy a Kubota instead of buying one of their tractors." He says, "yup, that would be my guess."
I say, "okay, I think I will do the service myself, so can you set me up with what I need for materials." He says, "sure, and you know what, if you are worried about getting into it and then getting stuck, we are only a phone call away, we'll walk you through any problems you have."
As he was getting everything I needed, in comes the sales guy who sold me the tractor, he says "hello, I see you met Ed, he's the owner."
Once again, I am really glad I bought my tractor from these guys. Its a great tractor (what do I know, but so far so good). And this dealer is so nice to deal with. Three times now, they have suggested that I save my money by not giving it to them. When I bought my tractor, I considered a front-mounted snowblower, and the sales guy suggested I wait for the first winter, and use the FEL and maybe a rear blade. When I wanted a larger, more expensive chainsaw, the owner, Ed, talked me out of it, and sold me one of their least expensive models. When I asked about the cost of having them do my service intervals, he suggested I save myself the money, learn my tractor, and do it myself. Pretty cool.
Based on what the owner of the Kubota dealer said about the owner of the other dealer, I may just give him a call directly, and see what he says. It would still be nice to walk up the road when I need something in a pinch. It would have been nice to walk a few hundred feet for the chain saw, rather than driving 40 miles round trip.
