beginning of the end for some local dealers??

[eepete]

I think some of the answer might be as simple as accepting say a 8% ROI instead of a 12% ROI in exchange for a viable business with good long term prospects. That's the happy ground between most profitable and the "unmet needs business".

But that's not what they teach you in school or society. It's either "everyone gets a trophy" or "anything other than 1st place is a loser."

Of course when your beliefs are middle of the road, it just means you get hit by cars going in both directions....

Pete

 

[dave1949]

eepete - that sounds about right. Everytime I walk into an HD or Lowe's and see the 'contractor's desk', I feel a disconnect of some sort - like I think they are pretending to something that doesn't fit my view of reality.

It's not that those aren't useful stores for certain things and situations.

I hope SoundGuy's dealership doesn't go the same way.
Off to bed.
Dave.

 

[redneckford]

eepete - that sounds about right. Everytime I walk into an HD or Lowe's and see the 'contractor's desk', I feel a disconnect of some sort - like I think they are pretending to something that doesn't fit my view of reality.

It's not that those aren't useful stores for certain things and situations.

I hope SoundGuy's dealership doesn't go the same way.
Off to bed.
Dave.

so why do you even walk into those big box stores----cause they are pretty??? The fact is "customers" want information for free and spend their cash at the pretty stores----if you think running a dealership is easy and profitable in this new day and time with the big box stores and a tractor supply on every corner---then get you a dealership or buy enough parts that you can supply your own needs for a year----gets kinda expensive----so think about that when you walk into another big box store to get a DEAL!!!!!!
Remember the customer is always right!!!!----also remember that everybody that walks into a dealership are NOT customers----over half are pure thieves-----they want information and parts for free or near cost and want you to charge the profit you lost to the next guy that walks in-----those thieves are not customers----ARE YOU A CUSTOMER OR A ---------???????? That includes oil, oil filters and all the little things a dealership has to stock to run a SERVICE SHOP!

 

[rswyan]

also remember that everybody that walks into a dealership are NOT customers----

Yup - that's right .... there are customers ..... and POTENTIAL customers ....

Of course, whether the latter ever becomes the former .... might just have a little something to do with the way they are viewed and treated by dealership personnel ......

over half are pure thieves-----they want information and parts for free or near cost and want you to charge the profit you lost to the next guy that walks in-----those thieves are not customers----

If you work in a dealership .... well, you have my condolences ...... as I'd say the future ain't lookin' real bright ......

 

[Soundguy]

sad part is that is my closest CNH dealer.. and it is already like 45m away. i will have to go like 90m for another!!

soundguy

I've seen a couple of companies get bought up by investment/cpa owners. Radar Tech's story is right on. The crux of the problem is that the new owners can't or don't put a value on having all the parts the customer needs. They see no problem with cutting out the bottom 10% selling products. They maximize the profits and in the process force the customer to go to the competition to get the job done. With the electronic companies I've seen, they outsource to much stuff causing delays and increased in development cycles or they cut out features of products to reduce costs and end up with useless generic garbage.

I see this at Lowes. They sell 3" conduit, but not the caps or LBs. I asked, and the electrical department head said that they wouldn't sell enough of them to justify the floor space. What he is missing is they don't have enough pieces to do the job. So I go to an electric supply house at the start of the job, and use Lowes which is closer as the pick up place for stupid little parts I forgot about. Just about every project I do needs trips to Lowes, Home Depot, and some other place because none of them have all the parts to do a project. But Lowes is profitable and HD could even pay off an idiot so he would leave.

There used to be a balance between the "CPA front office", "marketing and sales", and "the technical/knowledge side" of all businesses. The CPA and profit side are 80% of the control now. We like it went our stocks have profits, and hate it when buying things is rough due to stupid decisions like have been discussed here.

A great deal of the decline of business in the U.S. is by our own hand.

Soundguy, I hope you can find a dealer that doesn't have their engine controller in their differential.

Pete

 

[dave1949]

so why do you even walk into those big box stores----cause they are pretty??? The fact is "customers" want information for free and spend their cash at the pretty stores----if you think running a dealership is easy and profitable in this new day and time with the big box stores and a tractor supply on every corner---then get you a dealership or buy enough parts that you can supply your own needs for a year----gets kinda expensive----so think about that when you walk into another big box store to get a DEAL!!!!!!
Remember the customer is always right!!!!----also remember that everybody that walks into a dealership are NOT customers----over half are pure thieves-----they want information and parts for free or near cost and want you to charge the profit you lost to the next guy that walks in-----those thieves are not customers----ARE YOU A CUSTOMER OR A ---------???????? That includes oil, oil filters and all the little things a dealership has to stock to run a SERVICE SHOP!

Gosh, I go to bed and get up to flames in the morning

The nearest HD is 45 min. away and the nearest Lowe's is over an hour away, I don't get to either very often. And neither has anything to do with tractor parts and supplies for me. My nearest CNH dealer is just about an hour away. My last visit to a CNH dealer 10 months ago was to load up on filters and hydraulic oil - and they didn't carry NH Ambra 134 - sold me Kubota UDT. In fact, they only had a couple blue tractors on their Kubota lot.

So, I resent you asking if I am thief, really. You don't know me or what's available and where in the area I live in or where I shop. The 'pretty' comment is even more insulting.

I found HD to be a good source of some things while we were building our house. Tile thinset mortar, ceiling fans and light fixtures, some oddball handtools, hardware items, etc. that are just not carried by local area merchants. They also carry a selection of power tools that cannot be found anywhere else nearby.

Even taking into account some of the tools carried by HD are built to their pricing goals, sometimes for my purposes, that is just fine. A good example is a tile wet saw. I wanted one that works for one house and after that I had no use for it. It would be stupid to spend the money for a heavy duty professional unit and then watch it collect dust for 20 years, or sell it used, and lose more money on it than I paid for the HD Husky version. Like I said, those stores provide certain things in certain situations.
Dave.

 

[redneckford]

Gosh, I go to bed and get up to flames in the morning

The nearest HD is 45 min. away and the nearest Lowe's is over an hour away, I don't get to either very often. And neither has anything to do with tractor parts and supplies for me. My nearest CNH dealer is just about an hour away. My last visit to a CNH dealer 10 months ago was to load up on filters and hydraulic oil - and they didn't carry NH Ambra 134 - sold me Kubota UDT. In fact, they only had a couple blue tractors on their Kubota lot.

So, I resent you asking if I am thief, really. You don't know me or what's available and where in the area I live in or where I shop. The 'pretty' comment is even more insulting.

I found HD to be a good source of some things while we were building our house. Tile thinset mortar, ceiling fans and light fixtures, some oddball handtools, hardware items, etc. that are just not carried by local area merchants. They also carry a selection of power tools that cannot be found anywhere else nearby.

Even taking into account some of the tools carried by HD are built to their pricing goals, sometimes for my purposes, that is just fine. A good example is a tile wet saw. I wanted one that works for one house and after that I had no use for it. It would be stupid to spend the money for a heavy duty professional unit and then watch it collect dust for 20 years, or sell it used, and lose more money on it than I paid for the HD Husky version. Like I said, those stores provide certain things in certain situations.
Dave.

Sorry Dave-----I am not calling anyone a BILLY THE KID just trying to prove a point that our buying patterns will ultimately cost each and every one of us in the tractor more money in the end

 

[eepete]

so why do you even walk into those big box stores----cause they are pretty??? The fact is "customers" want information for free and spend their cash at the pretty stores----if you think running a dealership is easy and profitable in this new day and time with the big box stores and a tractor supply on every corner---then get you a dealership or buy enough parts that you can supply your own needs for a year----gets kinda expensive----so think about that when you walk into another big box store to get a DEAL!!!!!!
Remember the customer is always right!!!!----also remember that everybody that walks into a dealership are NOT customers----over half are pure thieves-----they want information and parts for free or near cost and want you to charge the profit you lost to the next guy that walks in-----those thieves are not customers----ARE YOU A CUSTOMER OR A ---------???????? That includes oil, oil filters and all the little things a dealership has to stock to run a SERVICE SHOP!

Where I get stuff depends on lots of things. Is it generic (like a lot of electrical supplies)? Is there a service aspect? Do I need help in the design and execution of the project?

When it comes to my tractors, I went from orange to green solely because of the difference in the dealers. I go to my John Deere dealer for everything for my tractors- oil, grease, fluid film, lynch pins, etc. I buy my chain saw chains there and bar oil too. They always get 1st shot at everything, and I often pay a bit more to get stuff there. But they have all the pieces, good inventory, and the like. The few times I've had a price concern, I worked with them and found a different brand of implement that they could order. The combination of sales, parts, and service under one roof has solved a lot of problems for me, so I go there exclusively. The small extra I pay is more than made up for by having problems solved. If they go out of business and force me to get tractor supplies on "the generic circuit" it would be very bad.

If you walk into an electric supply house, you better know the exact name or part number of what you want. There is no service. The people at the counter don't know what a lot of the stuff is for. So they have maximized their profit by cutting their cost (hiring cheap unskilled labor) and as such turned themselves into a generic place to by things, just like Lowes or HD. The primary reason for my going to Lowes is simply they are the closer than anyone else. I don't expect any advice or education from them, they are a generic box store. I think that box stores reflects what you're saying, that we want it all but we just don't want to pay for it.

I think your comment is a understandable and correct reaction to a lot of people out there. I hope what I wrote clarifies where I stand. I think the problem that soundguy is seeing is that his tractor dealership is transforming from a old fashion, useful place that helps you solve problems into a cost driven supplier of generic tractor stuff. Bad for him, bad for everybody. A tractor dealership is a mix of sales, parts, and service. If either the buyer or the seller starts behaving like it's a generic parts store, it all falls apart.

Pete

 

[radman1]

Was your dealer mostly a Case-IH dealer or NH dealer? The 2 tractor lines are nearly completely merged. In my area, few NH dealers and many Case-IH dealers. I wonder if some day they will phase out NH. Some of the prior equipment that was previously blue are now red and labeled Case-IH.

 

[Soundguy]

Was your dealer mostly a Case-IH dealer or NH dealer? The 2 tractor lines are nearly completely merged. In my area, few NH dealers and many Case-IH dealers. I wonder if some day they will phase out NH. Some of the prior equipment that was previously blue are now red and labeled Case-IH.

it was originally a ford dealer.. then went NH..

soundguy