Buying Advice Cabela's selling Compact Tractors

[Cherokee140]

I will be honest with you
I get tired of hearing people complain about big business, especially big American business.

Why don't ya'll moan and groan about Ford, GM, Chrysler, Kubota, Deere, Microsoft, Apple and whomever else?
Once apon a time they were all back yard businesses

At least these guys are still IN business, sometimes you take a different direction, change is bound to happen.

So they went public? From what I understand, that is the basis of your complaint.

They start buying in large volumes and open more and more stores.

At that point are they going to have the same level of customer service? Are they going to be the same operation they were 10, 20, 30 years ago?
The answer is NO

Even my small town grocery store that is not associated to a huge chain sometimes lacks customer service..

Blame you and me for wanting cheaper and cheaper prices for the same quality of item.

If you do not like a store or a business any longer, vote with your wallet and go somewhere else..

I do not mean to pick on you particularly Cherokee, but it seems ( and it may be just me) but I seem to have recollection of multiple, multiple posts on this thread of you having basically the same complaint.

We get it, its not the same family type store you worked at 5, 10, 15, 20 years ago.

And as much as Cabela's has grown in that time I doubt most of us would expect them to be like our corner bait store

Done with Rant
Regards

No it is cool, and a totally good point. I will freely admit I am a little bitter on this....likely because I was so close to it. Cabelas was big business before they sold off and went public. Why that decision was made I totally understand and really feel it will be called mud slinging if I go into the reasons for it. So unless you guys really drag it out of me I will keep my lips tight on that.

Cabelas was sold at the top of their game. They had the northern US in their back pocket, Bass Pro had South and Mississippi valley. They really did fight each other. And the customers won for that on going battle. Not a battle of who had more, but who did it better. Doing it better is hard work, having more stock is just clicking on a mouse. At the time I left the warehouse in KCK was so packed you could hardly walk, and yet people could still not find what they are looking for. Before people worked there that would actually KNOW what they sold, and told the customer this is why you want this one over that one.....and this is the ways it is better. They could talk the talk, now (for the most part) they are just warm bodies. This is the real change. Money is only made by pushing volume.....the Walmart way. That guy who comes back once a deer season or at the start of trout is just not going to spend enough each month.....they had to change that....so give them more to buy....they don't need or even WANT it....so for the most part it sits and gets shipped back.

Cabelas business model before going public was customer service above all else. In talking to Jim and Dick this is what they wanted.....and they built a very good business on that model....it works....but it takes time.....a life time. Now it is all about the quick buck, the quarter profits....making the stock price jump at this time of year because so and so is going to sell off. That makes me sick and that is the problem with "big business" today. That is why long term companies have died.....no one cares about a quality product anymore, but saving that .001 cents per unit.....just ask GM.....and I worked for those guys as well.....at the Pontiac Division.....please don't get me started on that

 

[Deerherd]

Don't blame big business, it's our throw away society and customers demanding the best price that determines business models today. Very few people really put a dollar value on good service, until they need it.

Happens on here all the time. People buy a tractor based solely on price with no regard to the dealer. Heck they drive 100 miles by a good dealer to save and they are utterly amazed when their tractor looks like it was assembled by monkeys. They get on here all indignant and end up going to a different dealer that is closer that obviously quoted a price where they can retain good people, but didn't make the sale. That has to be a little uncomfortable.

I have worked in the "Bait store" industry for over 20 years and the changes are amazing. Margins for electronics and other higher dollar items are so thin it be behooves them not to carry them.

I used to sell Ratheon GPS, auto pilots, chart plotters etc from a brick and morter store and that prided itself on excellent service before and after the sale. We had demo units out and spent my day showing people the different models, features etc and averaged a little less than $500,000 in sales of electronics from that single store.

Along came the Internet and mail order and that all went out the window in less than two years. I became a front man for helping people make the correct buying decision but could no longer be price competitive.

After the demo the person would know what they wanted and would be willing to do business with me if I could match the price of the "online" store. Which in reality was a warehouse in New Jersey. We were at a huge disadvantage because many of these systems ran two to four thousand dollars and we had to charge sales tax which added $160 to $320 to the price and 9 times out of ten the next time I saw the person was trying to get me to help them understand/install/fix or return the item they bought online.

The fiduciary responsibility of any CEO to their stockholders is to make them money. Putting the customer service onus onto the manufacturer frees up those dollars to be used elsewhere. If you spend 15 minutes researching what you want before going to the store, you will know more than the person you may or may not find willing to help you. You want the best price don't you?

 

[Hiltz]

Deerherd, you hit the nail on the head. Well written.

 

[Cherokee140]

Don't blame big business, it's our throw away society and customers demanding the best price that determines business models today. Very few people really put a dollar value on good service, until they need it.....

The fiduciary responsibility of any CEO to their stockholders is to make them money. Putting the customer service onus onto the manufacturer frees up those dollars to be used elsewhere. If you spend 15 minutes researching what you want before going to the store, you will know more than the person you may or may not find willing to help you. You want the best price don't you?

To a point. I think that Cabelas before going public showed that customer service still can make a company. Sure it cost them some bottom line, but they looked at the big picture the long term goal.

Now CEO's do any and everything to make that stock price jump....good for long term or not....and the world if just full of examples of just that. Jack the stock price up quick....sell off a few million shares, and the company goes to he!! in a hand basket. Or they just run the company into the ground and jump out with the golden parachute.

I do shop on price, and I will tell that sales guy I am buying on price....but I do want the service. I shopped long and hard before I bought my tractor, I did not buy the most inexpensive, or even from the most inexpensive dealer, but I went to the dealer I thought I would get the best service in the long run from. Future items will not even be shopped. I have a relationship with this dealer now, and as long as they don't change ownership and the business model changes I am happy.

Don't think the CEO does the best for the company...I am sure some do, but most just want to do the best for themselves.

You also bring up the brick and mortar vs. online. This is going to be a very interesting way for retail to go. It will be pretty interesting to see how that all pans out. I too had people do the same thing. Well where did you get that......oh...Amazon you are just to expensive....can you tell me how to program it. NO. Well why not...because you did not buy it from me.....well then see if I ever get anything from you again.....Well it does not look like you are. You shop just on price, now you want my experience for free. That is all part of buying from me, you can come here and I will bend over backwards to get it working just like you want...and if it does not work, I will pull one off the shelf and give you a brand new one....will amazon do that.

Don't get me started.

I see where you are coming from, but you are missing the big picture.

 

[Cherokee140]

Don't blame big business, it's our throw away society and customers demanding the best price that determines business models today. Very few people really put a dollar value on good service, until they need it.....

The fiduciary responsibility of any CEO to their stockholders is to make them money. Putting the customer service onus onto the manufacturer frees up those dollars to be used elsewhere. If you spend 15 minutes researching what you want before going to the store, you will know more than the person you may or may not find willing to help you. You want the best price don't you?

To a point. I think that Cabelas before going public showed that customer service still can make a company. Sure it cost them some bottom line, but they looked at the big picture the long term goal.

Now CEO's do any and everything to make that stock price jump....good for long term or not....and the world if just full of examples of just that. Jack the stock price up quick....sell off a few million shares, and the company goes to he!! in a hand basket. Or they just run the company into the ground and jump out with the golden parachute.

I do shop on price, and I will tell that sales guy I am buying on price....but I do want the service. I shopped long and hard before I bought my tractor, I did not buy the most inexpensive, or even from the most inexpensive dealer, but I went to the dealer I thought I would get the best service in the long run from. Future items will not even be shopped. I have a relationship with this dealer now, and as long as they don't change ownership and the business model changes I am happy.

Don't think the CEO does the best for the company...I am sure some do, but most just want to do the best for themselves.

You also bring up the brick and mortar vs. online. This is going to be a very interesting way for retail to go. It will be pretty interesting to see how that all pans out. I too had people do the same thing. Well where did you get that......oh...Amazon you are just to expensive....can you tell me how to program it. NO. Well why not...because you did not buy it from me.....well then see if I ever get anything from you again.....Well it does not look like you are. You shop just on price, now you want my experience for free. That is all part of buying from me, you can come here and I will bend over backwards to get it working just like you want...and if it does not work, I will pull one off the shelf and give you a brand new one....will amazon do that.

Don't get me started.

I see where you are coming from, but you are missing the big picture.

 

[Deerherd]

No sir, I see the big picture in HD Panavision. I have no love loss for overpaid under qualified CEO's who run companies into the ground. I have watched first hand a local company go from a household product in every home in America to a mere skeleton.

Eastman Kodak hired Perez from Hewlett Packard and he tried to turn it into a copier company, but just ran it into the ground. Most people don't realize that Kodak invented the first digital camera, but decided to put their efforts into film. What kind of future could be in capturing, sharing and storing photos digitally?

George Eastman would shoot himself again.

What you are missing is the paradigm shift in consumer buyiny and how it effects the bottom line. People shop for the best product at the best price and pray they will not need service, help in assembly or operation.

It sounds like you are taking this Cabela's thing a little too personally. It's not personal, just business.

 

[Cherokee140]

No sir, I see the big picture in HD Panavision. I have no love loss for overpaid under qualified CEO's who run companies into the ground. I have watched first hand a local company go from a household product in every home in America to a mere skeleton.

Eastman Kodak hired Perez from Hewlett Packard and he tried to turn it into a copier company, but just ran it into the ground. Most people don't realize that Kodak invented the first digital camera, but decided to put their efforts into film. What kind of future could be in capturing, sharing and storing photos digitally?

George Eastman would shoot himself again.

What you are missing is the paradigm shift in consumer buyiny and how it effects the bottom line. People shop for the best product at the best price and pray they will not need service, help in assembly or operation.

It sounds like you are taking this Cabela's thing a little too personally. It's not personal, just business.

I would say SOME people. If that was the case everything would come from walmart.

Personally I want someone that knows what they are selling, someone that can answer questions. That level of service will always exist for people that want to pay for it as they see a value in it. Best product is a very gray term. Quite a few products you don't ever need help with, and if you do there is no chance in talking to the people at walmart about that HP computer you just bought.....get ready to be on hold for hours with India and talk to someone you can't understand.....then hop on the net to gripe about the crap HP computer you just bought.

There are still people that will pay a little more for that level of service.

 

[TomSeller]

There are still people that will pay a little more for that level of service.

There sure are. As for the low buck demanding buyers I deal with, they are best serviced by my competitors. And I encourage them to do so.

 

[Cherokee140]

Back to tractors. IIRC these are TYM....in looking at Craig's list I came across this:
Pretty good deal loaded with tons of goodies. The TYM tractors must be near the bottom of the line....but it sure looks (from the photo) like a real nice machine.

I must admit AC would be nice....but 75hp would be a little over kill for mowing.

New!!! TYM 723 TRACTOR w/ Bucket

74 HP MFWD,Cab,Air,Heat,CD Stereo
Cat/Perkins turbo charged engine, 24 speed Power Shuttle ,
triple hyd in rear,540 pto, rear diff lock, tilt wheel, front and rear wipers and washers.
Skid Steer Quick Attach on bucket, quick attach loader, 3 pt,
Warranty
MUCH, MUCH MORE -- LOADED!!!

Other Tractors are available!!!!
NICE UNITS -- WILL NOT LAST
*****AVAILABLE NOW*****

Price: $ 38000.00

 

[94BULLITT]

I would say SOME people. If that was the case everything would come from walmart.

Personally I want someone that knows what they are selling, someone that can answer questions. That level of service will always exist for people that want to pay for it as they see a value in it. Best product is a very gray term. Quite a few products you don't ever need help with, and if you do there is no chance in talking to the people at walmart about that HP computer you just bought.....get ready to be on hold for hours with India and talk to someone you can't understand.....then hop on the net to gripe about the crap HP computer you just bought.

There are still people that will pay a little more for that level of service.

It is hard to find someone that know their product. My tractor dealers is very knowledgeable about tractors. I ran into a Ford salesman that really new his stuff on trucks but he did not have one equipped like I want it. Other than those 2 people in the last few years I have not been impressed by anyone.

Back to tractors. IIRC these are TYM....in looking at Craig's list I came across this:
Pretty good deal loaded with tons of goodies. The TYM tractors must be near the bottom of the line....but it sure looks (from the photo) like a real nice machine.

I must admit AC would be nice....but 75hp would be a little over kill for mowing.

New!!! TYM 723 TRACTOR w/ Bucket

74 HP MFWD,Cab,Air,Heat,CD Stereo
Cat/Perkins turbo charged engine, 24 speed Power Shuttle ,
triple hyd in rear,540 pto, rear diff lock, tilt wheel, front and rear wipers and washers.
Skid Steer Quick Attach on bucket, quick attach loader, 3 pt,
Warranty
MUCH, MUCH MORE -- LOADED!!!

Other Tractors are available!!!!
NICE UNITS -- WILL NOT LAST
*****AVAILABLE NOW*****

Price: $ 38000.00

You could probably get a M7060 Kubota for a few thousand more.