Bad buying experience

[Runner]

"No, this is not unique to Deere as we have a Kubota/Case dealership I won't deal with either as well as a MF even though we also own a MF."


I'm sure this is the case. I've thought about this alot since my experiences with several Deere dealers. I hope no one takes this the wrong way, but I think it has more to do with the people who are working there. They may be fine individuals, but in the buisness they are in, may not have had any opportunity for any type of customer service training.

I can only compare it to the organization I work for. We have regular customer service training and written procedures on how to deal with people, right down to what we are to say for a phone greeting and timeliness of returning phone calls and emails. And we are held to it in our evaluations.

I don't know if it is possible for the parent corporations (Deere, Kubota, etc.) to enforce this type of thing with their individual dealers, but they would be MONEY AHEAD if they did it.

 

[foggy1111]

I've bought lots of tractors and implements over time. Many of the John Deere salesmen are the most difficult to work with IMO. Enough that I have walked out of two places quite disgruntled....and the buying experience should not be like this. Seems Deere has the most issues....maybe because they are too busy??

I get most frustrated when they get "aloof". Yes, they sell lots of stuff. Yes, they are busy. Yes, they have the highest prices for the equipment. But when a person gets offered NO discount and the guy doesn't make some effort to make a "deal" or begrudgingly offers his time....well, then I am out the door. This happens most often in Deere establishments IMO.

I can afford any CUT I want. I was all set to buy a new tractor last summer....and would have paid a fair price to my local dealer - no problem. No trade, no low-ball....I just wanted "fair". I went in the door knowing the price from the Deere site and expected to pay him a fair profit.

He would not discount ONE penny. I tried.....he didn't....I give up. I bought a used green one...but considered a few other brands at far lower prices before buying a good used green one. My local Deere dealer made nothing. He has now done this to me twice. He wont be considered a third time.

Still....they have a good product.

 

[texasjohn]

Amazing read...over 30 posts in just over 12 hrs!

Hard to understand how so many quality and experienced TBN members have FELT snubbed by salesmen who are supposed to be people persons and selected specifically for their charming personalities. Good to know there are some good salesmen out there, both green and otherwise.

Also am amazed at the number of purchasers who have had such difficulty getting their new tractor off the LOT and onto their property.

I worked for 30 years as a professional, spending huge numbers of overtime hours when necessary to meet schedule commitments made by my company/organization/management/myself. It can't take that long to ready an on-the-lot tractor for delivery. Nor is much of prep work too complex, check fluid levels, grease zerks, connect features.

Seems that the vaunted values of hard work, keeping your word, etc. are perhaps not as universal among some in the heart of America and close to the soil as is universally perceived. I do hope that these first person reports are aberrations rather than indicators of larger and more pervasive erosion of such core American values.

I don't own a Deere but talked to a friend yesterday. Her 30ish hp Deere, purchased new only a few years ago, just spent THREE MONTHS at the JD repair shop. What can take so long to fix? She got it home, mowed with it for maybe 4 hours (that's all she uses it for) and it broke again. She again called the dealer out for on site repairs. The mechanic fixed it but said that it really needs to go back to the shop for additional repairs. Further, to my knowledge, this is the FOURTH time since purchase that she has had the tractor at the dealer. It would be hard to baby a tractor more than she does yet she has had many problems mechanically with it.

Yes, JD has a good reputation, but I, at least, cannot see that it is warranted based on my friend's experience mechanically with a newish tractor and horrendous repair times. Yes, just one tractor and one dealer.... but, that's how a reputation is made, or lost....the old fashioned way, one customer at a time.

 

[harleyguy302]

Anyone that's switches a brand because of a dealer being a jerk I think really doesn't know what he wants. Don't take it out on tractor, buy the tractor that you think is the tractor for you. There's plenty of dealers out there.

The problem for me was that this JD dealer in my area owns all the shops within a 100 miles. Plus the price was right on the kubota. One old timer I know (that is pure john deere) actually gave me compliments on my kubota and said I did good. After that compliment I have no regrets for going on down the road.

 

[9973720wb19]

Man! I'm was so happy to read these posts and could not wait to get to the end to reply! I thouht I just aggravated the JD staff becasue I need expert advice and felt maybe they just like farmers that know what they are doing...I'm fairly new to tractors, (about 2 years) and went with the JD brand. Since then I've purchased (4720, 997, Wb, 1600, attachments, etc.) I NEVER HAVE HAD A GOOD EXPERIENCE. I've been in and out of a few dealers, (I don't shop just to look) and they all seem like I'm bothering them and I get on their nerves...thanks guys I feel better.

 

[fabsroman]

Never said or implied anything about comparing tractor brands. Sure I agree everybody wants to be treated right when spending any amount of money, I've owned Harleys for over 20 years because I like them, the dealers closest to me are 40 and 70 miles away, both won't give you the time of day. There's a honda and yamaha dealer 8miles away, that doesn't mean I'm going to buy one of them. I'll go where I have to to get what" I WANT", doesn't have anything what so ever to do with comparing brands.

Comparing a Harley to a tractor isn't quite the same thing. Kind of like comparing a Ferrari to a Toyota. I guess if you are that dead set on JD because of the green and yellow, then I might understand putting up with bad service. To me though, I wasn't that set on the green and yellow. It was my first choice, followed by New Holland, and if the second JD dealer I went to treated me like poo, I fully intended on looking at New Hollands and Kubotas after that. Now, car wise I have my sites set on a Ford Shelby GT500KR or the Ford GT. Those are pretty specific cars, just like a Honda, Yamaha, or Kawasaki don't compare to Harley. However, I just don't view JD as the Harley of motorcycles or the Ferrari of cars. To me, it is just a tractor to get work done.

With all that said, I am glad that I was able to find a great dealer and that I was able to buy green.

What I don't understand is how JD can let stuff like this go. Reading the replies I have read in this thread is utterly insane. Something tells me that they need to do something about their business model and allow customers to take a customer satisfaction survey if the customer merely visits a dealership. Maybe have an electronic device at the dealership door with a big sign pointing down to it where a potential customer can obtain a customer survey code so they can go home and take a survey. Essentially, the machine would print out a code just like you get on the receipts from stores after you make a purchase. The code would tell JD the dealership, the date, and the time the customer stopped in.

I am actually sitting here wondering if JD was the right way to go after reading all these replies.

 

[fabsroman]

"No, this is not unique to Deere as we have a Kubota/Case dealership I won't deal with either as well as a MF even though we also own a MF."


I'm sure this is the case. I've thought about this alot since my experiences with several Deere dealers. I hope no one takes this the wrong way, but I think it has more to do with the people who are working there. They may be fine individuals, but in the buisness they are in, may not have had any opportunity for any type of customer service training.

I can only compare it to the organization I work for. We have regular customer service training and written procedures on how to deal with people, right down to what we are to say for a phone greeting and timeliness of returning phone calls and emails. And we are held to it in our evaluations.

I don't know if it is possible for the parent corporations (Deere, Kubota, etc.) to enforce this type of thing with their individual dealers, but they would be MONEY AHEAD if they did it.

If Ford can do it with their dealers, I don't see why Deere or the other tractor manufacturers cannot. When I bought a new Ford Focus this summer, I was sent customer survey cards by Ford and both the salesman and manager of the dealership stressed that it would be nice if I could give them the highest marks across the board. They actually specified the number, but I cannot remember it right now.

If Ford can do it, how can a company as big and old as John Deere not be able to do it. My wife works at Target and they have customer service hammered into them daily. After every purchase, customers have the ability to go online and take a survey regarding their shopping experience, and the Target execs get to see these survey results. Negative ones are heavily frowned upon.

 

[Runner]

"Something tells me that they need to do something about their business model and allow customers to take a customer satisfaction survey if the customer merely visits a dealership. "


Actually, JD (corporate) DID send me a customer satisfaction form to fill out (2 pages, front/back, as I recall, multiple choice) about a year after I got my 2520. What I sent back to them was a 5 page letter detailing everything about my experience. In addition, I listed what I liked and didn't like about the machine (most notably, the rubbing three-point hitch arm fiasco).

I received a very nice letter back thanking me for my input and indicating that a factory rep would be in contact with me in the near future. This did happen and the factory guy was VERY nice. He also PERSONALLY delivered a pair of new-style three-point arms to my residence and offered to install them for me (in the rain) at no charge.

Like I said, I don't think it's their corporate mentality, just individual dealers. But they do listen to complaints. I guess they don't have that much control over how their dealers behave.

 

[ctlguy]

Deere does grade it's dealers based on survey response and they are expected to meet certain measurements. I've said this before but large line dealer groups that have such a broad range of equipment lines like Deere, agco (mf,etc,etc) have been slow on understanding the needs of lifestyle purchasers. There has to be dealership individuals dedicated to those product lines only and I still believe that is one of the best questions to ask when stepping into a dealership. "Do you have dedicated cce sales and service peope?" If they do then they are heading in the right direction. It is virtually impossible to get a commision paid ag salesman to put the proper effort into selling lower priced items like compact equipment. Good or even fair and sometimes even poor ag salespeople earn 6 figures easily. The smaller line dealer groups like kubota, kioti (sp?), etc. already understand where there bread and butter is and concentrate much harder so most likely deserve the sales they are recieving. I am near a Deere dealer group that has people dedicated to the small iron only and it shows in the # of Green products they have. They also talk non-stop about your coming survey and say that if you do not answer excellent on all responses that they have failed. My two cents !!!

 

[fabsroman]

Deere does grade it's dealers based on survey response and they are expected to meet certain measurements. I've said this before but large line dealer groups that have such a broad range of equipment lines like Deere, agco (mf,etc,etc) have been slow on understanding the needs of lifestyle purchasers. There has to be dealership individuals dedicated to those product lines only and I still believe that is one of the best questions to ask when stepping into a dealership. "Do you have dedicated cce sales and service peope?" If they do then they are heading in the right direction. It is virtually impossible to get a commision paid ag salesman to put the proper effort into selling lower priced items like compact equipment. Good or even fair and sometimes even poor ag salespeople earn 6 figures easily. The smaller line dealer groups like kubota, kioti (sp?), etc. already understand where there bread and butter is and concentrate much harder so most likely deserve the sales they are recieving. I am near a Deere dealer group that has people dedicated to the small iron only and it shows in the # of Green products they have. They also talk non-stop about your coming survey and say that if you do not answer excellent on all responses that they have failed. My two cents !!!

I understand the ag sales stuff versus the residential stuff and a percentage of a big number is better than the same percentage of a smaller number. However, the dealer I got treated like poo at was just on the outskirts of suburbia, had a bunch of compact tractors in front of the dealership (i.e., that is when I fell in love with the 3720 and decided the 4000 series is way too big for my needs), and they even had JD push movers in the showroom. Granted, the second dealer I went to did not have any compact tractors in front of the building, but they had garden tractors, zero turn mowers, and push mowers in the showroom and I would bet that the compact tractors were in the back lot.

I didn't get a survey with my zero turn mower purchase either.

Then, what happens when a potential customer is so turned off by a dealer that they don't buy and don't have the chance to complete the survey. After reading and replying to this thread, I have half a mind to write a letter to the owners of the dealership that treated me like poo. Might just put that on the list of things to do after tax season.