Idiot light

[RobJ]

Rob that is one way of looking at it. I had looked at it like you went to a restraunt and got bad service (the waiter is sort of your salesperson) If you went to the manager and they told you that they would make it right with you by refunding your money for the meal you might want to go back to that restraunt again just make sure that you got a different waiter.

That is an excellent point. We have a large chain down here (Pappas), of various types of food. Mexican, seafood, cajun, BBQ. In many years of perfect service and food, we recently had a bad waiter, just REAL slow. So we went to one of the other locations about the same distance the next few times. In this case it's some of the best cajun food in town and you get plenty([Pappadeaux), hard to stay away. But the mexican resturant of the chain (Pappasito's), we haven't been back to in about 5 years. Last time there I felt I got shorted on my beef/chicken fajitas for 2 (about $26). The nice managers are always walking around and asking how you are doing, I brought this to her attention and she said it's supposed to be 5 oz of each!! 10oz total???? She brought us another order for free but now if we want fajitas (about once a week BTW), we go to Eva's. $17.95 for a heaping plate of beef, chicken and shrimp. 3 of us eat the meal intended for 2 and we still have about 4 tacos left over for tomorrow.

Not sure what the moral is... but the waiters won't keep me away if the food is good, but the price/value will. But if the food is bad on one place, I will go to another location. I guess that's like sticking with Kubota, but buying from another dealer, even if it is owned by the same man.

 

[patrick_g]

Rob that is one way of looking at it. I had looked at it like you went to a restraunt and got bad service (the waiter is sort of your salesperson) If you went to the manager and they told you that they would make it right with you by refunding your money for the meal you might want to go back to that restraunt again just make sure that you got a different waiter.

It wouldn't be the first time I stretched an analogy to the limit...

The wait person doesn't usually buy the ingredients or prepare the food. If the food was poor it is likely not the human conveyor belt's fault. If there is no shortage of alternative restaurants then risking a second ruined evening is not so attractive.

In the case of a tractor it would be tantamount to buying a frozen TV dinner that is locally microwaved and brought to your table. No one at the restaurant made it they just prep it and give it to you. If it is substandard and they are "decent" they will make amends. Lots of things could go wrong. The dinner could have been messed up at the factory, mishandled at the restaurant, not heated correctly, let get cold by the wait person, or whatever.

The OP made it clear he was not just going to fade away and surely it was clear he was in a position to bring considerable unfavorable attention, court, etc. The manager and owner did what served their best interests which in this case was to make the customer happy, disarming him so there was no uncontrolled ongoing threat.

I am very pleased with his outcome but I don't see this as an exhibition of super morality/integrity. The owner undoubtedly did the "math" (analysis of the downside) and elected his course of action at least partially motivated by risk avoidance. Looks to me to have been a wise business decision. Wrapping it up in pretty paper and ribbon and calling it an exhibition of integrity and morality is likely going to excess. I think maybe more intelligence was demonstrated than integrity although I have no direct evidence showing a lack of integrity on the part of the owner.

Pat

 

[patrick_g]

Rob that is one way of looking at it. I had looked at it like you went to a restraunt and got bad service (the waiter is sort of your salesperson) If you went to the manager and they told you that they would make it right with you by refunding your money for the meal you might want to go back to that restraunt again just make sure that you got a different waiter.

It wouldn't be the first time I stretched an analogy to the limit...

The wait person doesn't usually buy the ingredients or prepare the food. If the food was poor it is likely not the human conveyor belt's fault. If there is no shortage of alternative restaurants then risking a second ruined evening is not so attractive.

In the case of a tractor it would be tantamount to buying a frozen TV dinner that is locally microwaved and brought to your table. No one at the restaurant made it they just prep it and give it to you. If it is substandard and they are "decent" they will make amends. Lots of things could go wrong. The dinner could have been messed up at the factory, mishandled at the restaurant, not heated correctly, let get cold by the wait person, or whatever.

The OP made it clear he was not just going to fade away and surely it was clear he was in a position to bring considerable unfavorable attention, court, etc. The owner did what served his best interests which in this case was to make the customer happy, disarming him so there was no uncontrolled ongoing threat, bad publicity, and THE UNKNOWN.

I am very pleased with his outcome but I don't see this as an exhibition of super morality/integrity. The owner undoubtedly did the "math" (analysis of the downside) and elected his course of action at least partially motivated by risk avoidance. Looks to me to have been a wise business decision. Wrapping it up in pretty paper and ribbon and calling it an exhibition of integrity and morality is likely going to excess. I think maybe more intelligence was demonstrated than integrity although I have no direct evidence showing a lack of integrity on the part of the owner.

Pat

 

[Soundguy]

I am very pleased with his outcome but I don't see this as an exhibition of super morality/integrity. The owner undoubtedly did the "math" (analysis of the downside) and elected his course of action at least partially motivated by risk avoidance. Looks to me to have been a wise business decision. Wrapping it up in pretty paper and ribbon and calling it an exhibition of integrity and morality is likely going to excess. I think maybe more intelligence was demonstrated than integrity although I have no direct evidence showing a lack of integrity on the part of the owner.

Pat

I agree... This just demonstrates how low society has fallen.. that when we witness someone doing 'the right thing'.. that it seems like a miracle.. instead.. of what would just be 'expected' as the status quo.. in a good honest society..

soundguy

 

[gemini5362]

So maybe pat and soundguy are right. I like to hope I am not quite as naive as I sound but I actually like to think that there are still people in this world who do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. Not because of an exterior motive. There are times when I do something because it is the right thing. I dont expect to get anything out of it except the good feeling of knowing I did the right thing. If the two of you are right and the GM did that because of an exterior motive. I am happy just to see that. I have seen and dealt with too many buisnesses that could care less about the customer or what they say to others. I still stick by my stand that the dealership should be a good choice if for no other reason than they worry about what customers say about them.

Pat to use the restraunt theme. To me it would be like a customer coming into a steak house and being told that the guy from KFC next door had to leave early so he asked us to sell some of his chicken rather than throw it away. A customer decides he would rather have chicken and orders it. The waiter brings it out and swears it was just cooked and was good and fresh and hot. When the customer takes a bite out of it the chicken is cold and obviously has been sitting for a while. When the customer calls the manager over the manager tells them that even though they knew it was not that restraunts chicken he would refund their money. I would not blame the restraunt I would just not leave a tip or ever let that waiter serve me again

 

[RobJ]

Ok yall can't use my resturant thing anymore!!

 

[Soundguy]

The problem with a private sale run at the dealership is that it implicates the dealer / owner.. etc.. by proxy... if the deal goes bad.. it just plain looks bad for all those involved by proxy... That owner made a business decision... he turned potential negative pr into a non issue by converting it into a business expense.

IE.. any problem that can be solved by writing a check isn't a problem.. it's an expense...

2500$ wouldn't buy much good pr... but it sure stopped alot of bad pr that could have occured if the deal was allowed to go sour.


soundguy

So maybe pat and soundguy are right. I like to hope I am not quite as naive as I sound but I actually like to think that there are still people in this world who do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. Not because of an exterior motive. There are times when I do something because it is the right thing. I dont expect to get anything out of it except the good feeling of knowing I did the right thing. If the two of you are right and the GM did that because of an exterior motive. I am happy just to see that. I have seen and dealt with too many buisnesses that could care less about the customer or what they say to others. I still stick by my stand that the dealership should be a good choice if for no other reason than they worry about what customers say about them.

Pat to use the restraunt theme. To me it would be like a customer coming into a steak house and being told that the guy from KFC next door had to leave early so he asked us to sell some of his chicken rather than throw it away. A customer decides he would rather have chicken and orders it. The waiter brings it out and swears it was just cooked and was good and fresh and hot. When the customer takes a bite out of it the chicken is cold and obviously has been sitting for a while. When the customer calls the manager over the manager tells them that even though they knew it was not that restraunts chicken he would refund their money. I would not blame the restraunt I would just not leave a tip or ever let that waiter serve me again

 

[gemini5362]

The problem with a private sale run at the dealership is that it implicates the dealer / owner.. etc.. by proxy... if the deal goes bad.. it just plain looks bad for all those involved by proxy... That owner made a business decision... he turned potential negative pr into a non issue by converting it into a business expense.

IE.. any problem that can be solved by writing a check isn't a problem.. it's an expense...

2500$ wouldn't buy much good pr... but it sure stopped alot of bad pr that could have occured if the deal was allowed to go sour.


soundguy

I dont disagree with anything you said. I can tell you for a fact that there have been many times when I have told a manager that if they dont give me the customer satisfaction they owe me I will give them as much bad publicity I can and then explain a few of the ideas of how I intend to do that to them. It is why I got new ceiling tiles for my living room from armstrong after Lowes decided that there was not anything wrong with the old ones that fell down.

I am just saying there is a possibility that the owner found out the salesman told him there was nothing wrong with the tractor and decided his salesman was wrong to do that and basically bought the tractor himself because it was what should have been done. Not because he was worried about bad PR or good PR but because it was the right thing to do.

 

[Soundguy]

Since there are no thought police here.. we will never know if the tractor was bought back because it was the right thing or because it was a good business decision.. could be both.. or either...

soundguy

 

[Wheatland KB]

I am glad to hear that your issue has been resolved to your satisfaction, however is there any way that you can find out what caused the original oil pressure problem?