One Call To Kioti USA Was All It Took To Convince Me Not To Buy The Mechron

[EHR]

You want to talk to Joel at Kioti.

 

[Deerherd]

This is why it is stressed on here about finding a dealer you are comfortable with. In another thread you said you drove the machine at two different dealers. That would be the place for those questions. I hope you really didn't base your buying decision on a response/attitude of corporate. Just remember, long distance relationships with dealers or women never seem to work out, especially when something needs to be fixed! Good luck.

 

[CBW1999]

Wrooster- valid points on your post but, I think the OP was more annoyed about how the employees were representing the company.

I would think any company would want to make an excellent first impression when someone calls their corporate office. When instances happen as the op describes, it sets the bar really low as to what you can expect from the company. If dealers are being treated better, then something is wrong.

A little tact and politeness goes a long way- just sayin'

 

[PapaPerk]

Wow guys... No wonder he went Kubota!

It's just gotta be a good quality, reliable, and functional machine with good company support. It's a simple formula. It baffles me why companies can't figure this out. Kubota and Toyota have nearly perfected it.

 

[Jw5875]

Well Kubota has not been exactly "The Princess at the Ball". Several years ago they had an issue with the 3 pt lift on the L3400's.
This problem with the 3pt lift would shake the whole machine lowering and cause problems raising the 3pt.
youtube has postings of "Severe" issues regarding this.
After raising concern, my dealer did help me but I think the Rep could have been more "Understanding".
In the end, they upgraded the lift valve control valve at free parts, but I paid for labor %$^&&**.
The "Replacement / Upgrade etc." did help some, but my 3 pt lift / lower is not a s smooth as other "Brands"

In all, the Kubota brand is a quality product otherwise.


Hopefully the 3pt issue has been correct in the latest assembly etc. of new units.


JW5875

 

[Martian]

Wow guys... No wonder he went Kubota!

It's just gotta be a good quality, reliable, and functional machine with good company support. It's a simple formula. It baffles me why companies can't figure this out. Kubota and Toyota have nearly perfected it.

I can think of A LOT of other companies that fall into this as well! We should mention their names too :thumbsup: There are plenty of others that make good quality, reliable, and functional machine with good company support than those two.

 

[Scooby074]

You think getting a hold of somebody at Kioti is hard... Try getting somebody at Deere!! Sent 2 emails to the only email address I could find (very well hidden) and never got a single response to my query. Deere expects EVERYTHING to go through their dealers, however I was suggesting deere should bring the 1000 series cabs they sell in Europe. Dealer had no clue nor would I expect him to, thats a corporate decision except i couldnt (reliably) contact them to express my interest . Their loss I guess.

 

[Misfire]

Excellent well thought out post.

James K0UA

Which has absolutely nothing to do with my reasoning for going with Kubota over Kioti.

Minor reasons in the scheme of things: neither machine met all my requirements within my price range, and the Kubota was about $1,700 less, not an insignificant amount. Color was also a minor factor. I wanted orange or yellow for visibility reasons. The only Mechron in stock was green.

The major reason as I stated was future support and the attitude at Kioti USA. I was deliberately lied to (this is just a distribution center) by the only person that a customer is allowed to talk to at Kioti USA. The lie was apparently a convenient way to get rid of me instead of the polite professional way my call should have been handled as in something along the lines of, "I'm sorry, sir, but our policy is to have all technical issues resolved at the dealer level. Please contact your nearest dealer, and thank you for considering Kioti." That's business 101. Since Connie is the only person that customers are apparently allowed to talk to at Kioti USA, she is for all intents and purposes, the company. And that is one "company" that I want nothing further to do with.

If they don't want potential buyers to call regarding their products, why do they put their toll free number on their sales literature?

And I will state it again. The local Kioti dealers have gone under. That dealer I was working with is a long way off in a very small town with an uncertain (to me) future. The attitude at Kioti USA would put any purchase of their products at risk of no technical support in the future should the dealer go under. That's my assessment in my situation, which is the only one that counts when I'm spending my own money.

Lastly, it has been implied in this thread that companies have no obligation to disclose technical information to their customers and it costs lots of money to do so. There is a difference between obligation and reason. Companies often disclose all kinds of technical information simply because their business model requires it in order to be successful. Virtually all equipment manufacturers have a staff of sales engineers and/or support technicians dedicated to handling technical inquiries. Sometimes it's a small staff or even just a single person, but there is certain to be some sort of staff.

In the case of the CVT, a critical component, Kioti still has some literature out there proudly stating that it is made in the USA by Comet, a company that closed its doors in 2009. Since the facts are in conflict with some of their literature, good business practice is to provide updated information upon request.

The CVT is a wear item. The fact that it was advertised as a US made Comet model factored significantly into my purchase decision. Comet products were widely stocked. I felt that having multiple sources for it would be a good thing. When I determined that Comet no longer was the supplier, I naturally and quite reasonably wanted to know who they chose as a replacement.

As to the suggestion that I expected to be put through to "the head of RTV R&D at Kioti," that is just as false as Connie stating that the location I called was only a distribution center.

Misfire

 

[murphy1244]

Your were NOT going to buy that machine anyway so why cry over it.Gee, I can't get a answer from Koboter on the phone either.

 

[PapaPerk]

I can think of A LOT of other companies that fall into this as well! We should mention their names too :thumbsup: There are plenty of others that make good quality, reliable, and functional machine with good company support than those two.

Well name away! I'm not holding you back. :laughing:

Some more I can think of are.... Stihl, CAT, Snap-On, Kershaw, Leatherman, Vaughn, Apple... :scratchchin: