Re: Time to \'fess up
I was in the high-end bbq grill business; not uncommon to sell grills in the $2K - $5K range. Nearby dealers cut their prices a lot more than me. Customers who bought on price alone went to them. When they came to me for service, I always asked, "Why don't you get it serviced where you bought it?" The answer was usually something like, "They didn't know what they were doing and screwed it up." My reply, "Don't you think that expertise and training come at a price?"
Then, I would go ahead and fix their grill, but I cut absolutely no corners. Most grills come with a parts-only warranty. Those customers who bought somewhere else for price were charged every penny that I was entitled to charge for the labor, including pickup and delivery charges, travel time, shop supplies and anything else I could charge and still sleep at night. If there was any doubt as the to cause of the problem, I strictly adhered to the "book" on the parts. If the owner's manual called for annual cleaning of the burner, for example, and I could see the owner had never cleaned it, the owner paid for the part, not the warranty.
My own customers were given more of the benefit of the doubt. If you want good, expert service, you'll pay for it, one way or the other. When I bought my tractor, I bought it from the local dealer who I knew would treat me the same way. I paid more for the tractor, but I have come out ahead, already.
If my local dealer had a rotten reputation or treated me badly, I would likely have paid more to buy it further away. The tractor itself is just part of the ownership experience. The other part is support.
Of course, if you do all your own maintenance, and never have anything break, buying on price alone is probably OK.
I was in the high-end bbq grill business; not uncommon to sell grills in the $2K - $5K range. Nearby dealers cut their prices a lot more than me. Customers who bought on price alone went to them. When they came to me for service, I always asked, "Why don't you get it serviced where you bought it?" The answer was usually something like, "They didn't know what they were doing and screwed it up." My reply, "Don't you think that expertise and training come at a price?"
Then, I would go ahead and fix their grill, but I cut absolutely no corners. Most grills come with a parts-only warranty. Those customers who bought somewhere else for price were charged every penny that I was entitled to charge for the labor, including pickup and delivery charges, travel time, shop supplies and anything else I could charge and still sleep at night. If there was any doubt as the to cause of the problem, I strictly adhered to the "book" on the parts. If the owner's manual called for annual cleaning of the burner, for example, and I could see the owner had never cleaned it, the owner paid for the part, not the warranty.
My own customers were given more of the benefit of the doubt. If you want good, expert service, you'll pay for it, one way or the other. When I bought my tractor, I bought it from the local dealer who I knew would treat me the same way. I paid more for the tractor, but I have come out ahead, already.
If my local dealer had a rotten reputation or treated me badly, I would likely have paid more to buy it further away. The tractor itself is just part of the ownership experience. The other part is support.
Of course, if you do all your own maintenance, and never have anything break, buying on price alone is probably OK.
