Is your dealer connected?

PineRidge · Jan 15, 2005

I also remeber an incident where your dealer was fixing a problem with your tractor, and you asked for the part numbers so you could help others with similar problems here at TBN, and he refused to give them to you...


Good memory Andy, and as you also know you and I bought from the same dealer. We didn't like the response we got from him then and it only got worse thereafter, he is now out of our buying loop, his loss, we have moved on, I am glad that you did so too........

AndyMA · Jan 16, 2005

My dealer, who between my dad and I have done business with for about 50 years is a large New Holland / Kubota dealer in Conn. They do not care about whether I fix a problem or they do as long as it gets fixed. Many times I have been behind the parts counter looking up parts list and printing off any interesting pages. I don't think any dealer would restrict your access to parts numbers. Since I need my tractors on a daily basis, I would never not buy one form a local dealer unless it was just a toy tractor. There have been many times when a service guy was at my farm long into the evening or a loaner tractor showed up to keep me going. Same goes for implements, there's almost not an implement that if I am interested, I can't borrow for a week or 2 to see how it works out. Price, yes I pay a little extra for this service, but that is factored into his cost for the way he does business. Also he has "eaten" many gray area warranty claims over the years.

Andy

jinman · Jan 16, 2005

My dealership is run by three brothers who got the business from their father back in the '60s. The little country town was less than 10,000 population and primarily made up of ranchers and farmers who worked in the aviation industry in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas and commuted daily. These three brothers have seen that town triple in size. Their business has grown, moved, expanded its facility, grown, changed from Ford to New Holland, grown, gone through remodeling, expanded their product lines, had their corporation change to Case New Holland, and grown. Can you see a constant theme here? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif All this while the brothers have kept a reputation for quality and personal service which is the best in the county (voted by readers of the local newspaper not associated with the brothers).

When was the Internet first widely used? ( I'm not talking about ARPANET or USENET) Was it '96? '97? '98? Heck! I drive a truck that's older than the widespread availability of the Internet. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif I got my first ISP in '98 on a dial-up line. Now, only seven years later, I'm considered and antique because I still have dial-up. Well, that's all I can get without an outlay of nearly $1000 up front. That's also all that's available to most businesses around here too. High speed is on it's way, but there aren't enough users to warrant that outlay by the major providers of high speed technology.

Internet has just not come to this area of the country and also to many, many others. When you have high speed service, it's easy to think everyone has it, but that's just not true. Some days, just to browse through a few forums on TBN takes forever. It's not unusual for me to spend almost an hour just browsing the New Holland forums and a couple of others. Just yesterday, I wrote this post only to have something go wrong with my connection and I ended up losing the whole thing. That spells "wasted time."

Now let's get back to my NH dealer. When I go into his dealership, I often have to wait to see him because he is giving personal attention to someone. The guy just doesn't have time to surf the net on a dial-up. His kids sometime are sitting at his desk and surfing the net. As a matter of fact, I'd bet they will be the ones who will bring the Internet and the dealership together. Right now, the three brothers are very, very busy handling the rapidly expanding business, facility, and customer base. They are handling it very, well. My guess is that when their customer base becomes Internet driven, so will the dealership. They know how to use it, but their current business model doesn't require it. When it does and it becomes an efficient way for them to communicate with their customers, they will be ready because they have a website under development.

I think the Internet would/will serve them well, but I doubt the vast majority of their current customer base wants to do tractor business over the Internet. When they do, I'm sure this family will be right there to continue their growth. I hope they have plans for the near future because the Internet will continue to be a more valuable tool in the next few years.

PineRidge · Jan 16, 2005

Any business or individual that feels that the Internet can be an asset to their needs does not have to put up with a dial up connection. They need only to call a service provider such as Earthlink and check into DirecWay 2-way Satellite services. Unless you don't have a clear shot of the sky it's available almost anywhere in the USA not excluding states such as Texas. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif We used it here in the little rural community of Clinton, Ohio for several years (with good results) for our Internet based business before DSL became available just a few short months ago.

Look at an Internet connection as the "cost of doing business" in the modern world. Just like any other tool there is an expense but it can make your job easier. And the associated costs are most likely a business write off like the heat, phone, and electricity anyway.

There's a lot of business that is conducted on the Internet. Type just about any word in Google and you can easily see that it gets lots of results for associated businesses. Maybe a few businesses would have a reason for not wanting to get connected to additional customers outside of their general area but I for one would think that expanding any customer base would make good business sense.

Besides it's too easy for a dealer that isn't connected to imply that they never heard of a specific problem with a particular Kubota, New Holland, or John Deere for that matter. But if I tell one of you guys here that New Holland never had a problem with a joystick on the TC model tractors you would eat me alive. Why, because you know better, your knowledge base is pooled and shared on the Internet.

Still a few yet-unconnected dealers are doing this very same thing to customers. Giving mis-information and getting away with it. Wake up guys, the Internet can't hurt you as much as it can help you. If you didn't think so you whouldn't be here in the 1st place.

Isn't John Deere considered way out front by listing parts on the Internet?

As a final note I would like to say that we really enjoy our New Holland tractor. We think That New Holland builds a quality product, our objection is not with the equipment but I think you knew that......

AndyM · Jan 17, 2005

When I'm looking for information on a product or a business, the Internet is the first place I go. No matter how much personal attention a business gives their customers, I feel it is still a necessary thing to maintain at least a basic web presence. This information would contain at least address, directions, phone number, store hours, product lines, etc.

Once I have gathered the information I need off the internet, only then do I do my shopping in person. That small Chevy dealership in the middle of the cow pasture around the corner from me realizes the importance of maintaining a web presence. I searched their inventory online and received a price quote from them via email.

It's only a matter of time before New Holland realizes how important of a tool the internet is for the shopping consumer and their stance against dealers using the internet as a selling tool will have to change. If a company fails to adapt to changing times, they eventually will not be a factor any longer.

jinman · Jan 17, 2005

( They need only to call a service provider such as Earthlink and check into DirecWay 2-way Satellite services. Unless you don't have a clear shot of the sky it's available almost anywhere in the USA not excluding states such as Texas. )

Around here, the dish alone is about $600. Add all the hardware and connections needed for a large dealership and the numbers add up. How about the problems of downtime when thunderstorms hit? We have those a lot. It's hard to think of that as an issue when you are doing a huge business and growing without it. If your email INBOX isn't filling up on dialup, it will most likely not fill up with high-speed Internet either. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif When his market demands it, he will provide it.

My point is that all markets are not currently demanding the Internet. If you are a dealer who can gain great benefits from the Internet, you need to get it going as quickly as possible. I'm in complete agreement with you on that. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

PineRidge · Jan 17, 2005

Jim my dish is bout 2 years old. I have all the equipment needed to get high speed connected via DirecWay4000 including a snow cover which would be a perfect addition for those cold Texas mornings /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif and it's just sitting here now, interested for yourself? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I would make you a great TBN offer............ 75% off..............

Hmmmmm a high speed Texas connection......... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

BTW: DirecWay goes down temporarily the same as satellite TV whenever a large storm cell passes. Then it automatically comes back on line itself. While it is down it asks if you want to use a dial-up connection instead.

PineRidge · Jan 17, 2005

Andy I agree with you. I like to do lots of research on the NET even before we start burning the gasoline to look around locally. Our family does a lot if buying over the Internet but we still shop for big purchases like our automobiles and tractors from the local guys. Maybe that will all change the next time around..... Change is good, no?

TC-40D SS web pictures click here

MikePA · Jan 17, 2005

The issue isn't whether the dealer can get high speed access. They could always get high speed access even before satellite, cable and DSL. T1s, fractional T1s or ISDN were almost always available and while priced beyond what a consumer would/could pay, they were not beyond what a business could. Plus web sites did not have to be hosted at the business, so whether or not they could get high speed access is almost irrelevant.

To me the issue is...What Internet service is available to their customer base and, How many of their customers have Internet access? IOW, if 99% of my business is local to my area, and only 5% of my customers have Internet access of any kind (dial up or broadband), why would I as a business build a web site?

If a business, any business, is going to spend money, they should know what their ROI is going to be. They have to ask questions like;

1. Will I generate new business with a web site?
2. Will a web site result in being able to offer the same, or better, service at a lower cost? For example, will people actually schedule their own service via the web site which means I wont need a secretary to answer the phone and schedule them?

I have seen far too many business spend millions on web sites that contain features they think their customers want only to find out the sites are not being used.

Granted prices for web sites and the associated maintenance are dropping, which means making the business case easier, but it still has to be done.

jinman · Jan 18, 2005

( I have all the equipment needed to get high speed connected via DirecWay4000 including a snow cover... )

Thanks PineRidge, but I think I will probably go with the DW6000 modem for the ability to network computers and also combine the Direcway antenna with the Directv add-on. I don't want to start an antenna "farm" on my house and when I buy, I want all the lastest stuff. Since I have high-speed where I work, this dial-up is not that painful for a few more months. Your offer sounds like a real deal for somebody. I bet you will get some PMs just from this offering.

...I do admit that the snow cover option is pretty tempting. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif