Midwest products, nice BUT...

MODEERE · Apr 10, 2003

I just picked up a BB30-72 box blade from my dealer in town and I have used it for about two hours and it is great. I have a hyd top link and with it this blade will do tricks that wil blow your mind. I had it at work yesterday used it on our gravel lot that is packed like cement by semis, grain trucks, spray trucks ect. The dock next door at the feed store was full of farmers with there jaws on the ground that this little Jd with a box blade was ripping the lot up then laying it back in as smooth as glass.

hazmat · Apr 10, 2003

Pacesetter,

I share your frustration regarding unanwered emails. I email a lot at work as it's nice to have a written record of your "conversation". That said, If I want or need a response in a timely fashion, I pick up the phone. It's simply more personal hearing a voice on the other end. I've found that I get better "service" when I call.

Imagine getting dozens of emails a week requesting quotes. Hard to judge the "urgency" of the request. Especially if you know that when you add shipping, you may lose your price edge. A good salesman can tell over the phone how likely you are to buy. Given this is the busy season they have to prioritize.

Obviously the perfect salesmen would respond to every request in a timely fashion.

Just my $.02

19th_VA · Apr 10, 2003

( Imagine getting dozens of emails a week requesting )

I'll bet the busier dealers get hundreds. I'm not defending the practice--I'm just saying it takes time to build up and catch up, especially in the busy season. Sometimes the most responsive and fastest companies are selling mass-produced junk. I prefer quality and value and am willing to shop and be patient.

I was in the restaurant business for 20 years, so I guess I'm empathetic to a business that gets "slammed." Only thing in the restaurant business it was somewhat unpredictable. There were lots of tricks to try and accomodate the "slams" but we were not always successful. The best I could do was say "sorry" and pick up the bill. My regulars understood this and came back and appreciated the effort.

All of those dealers you mention do participate in the forum regularly (though haven't heard from Carver lately). I have found them to be honorable, hard working and responsive, even though you might have to pick up the phone to get the response (or make a little noise that you are not just price shopping). Once I did that, I got what I wanted when I wanted it. The internet is wonderful, but what many find when they launch a website is that what used to be dozens of inquiries has turned into hundreds, or even thousands.

If you need the equipment immediately, go elsewhere. If not, be patient. I was, and I believe I got the best value equipment available.

One of the great things about this country is that the free market brings the best of all worlds. If you want fast and sure, you can find it.

Inspector507 · Apr 10, 2003

One of the things I like about Jim at Midwest, is he's never behind a desk waiting on the phone to ring. He's either on the road at a show or out in the plant making adjustments to a new "pet project" or checking quality of the product.

cstocks · Apr 10, 2003

I second that, Inspector. A while back I emailed Jim Mc with questions about box blades. He did not answer so after a few days I wrote again and he replied this time that he had been out of town. After that he and I wrote back and forth several times and each time he was prompt with his replies and answered all my questions to my satisfaction. He even took the time to find out where the nearest dealer was to me and gave me their name so I could contact them myself.

Anonymous Poster · Apr 10, 2003

Hello Russell--The reason some emails dont get thru to us is because we have a server that uses aggressive spam and antivirus filters. You can rest assured if they get to us we usually answer in a few hours. If your email fell in that black hole, we are sorry?
Here is a copy of what you said on our last email and I thought we were close to a deal-- Thanks Ken, It pays to go to the top!!

Your locals have good taste and MUST know their tractors!
That's a very competitive price! Less than I was quoted for a Branson and in line with the Kioti I have been
looking at. A friend of mine knows someone who owns a similar model. I will be visiting him and looking at
it shortly. I WILL get back to you.Russ --Must have been a misunderstanding??--Ken Sweet
Sweet Farm Equipment Co.

Pacesetter300 · Apr 10, 2003

To show what happens, after my response (in red) I found out that I was confused between the 2045 and 3045. 2045 is on Ken's web site and the 3045 was on Century's. I sent an email back to Ken asking the difference and never heard another word. Shortly after, through some research, I found out that the 2045 is an older model.
Mark did eventually get back with the quote above. Since I also need a large RFM and Post Hole Digger I thought about making a package deal and ammortize out the shipping. I never heard anything about that.
I hope the people who sell tractors and related products took my post as somewhat of a defense of them. I understand it must get awful old to make numerous quotes and numerous responses per quote only to win a small percentage of them.
A fast eMail " Get back to you in a week, phone us if that's not satisfactory" "Thaks for the inquiry, we have found it's not cost effective to ship to your part of the country" might save three or four unnecessary ones later.
Pacesetter

dourobob · Apr 10, 2003

Interesting - I emailed Ken last Monday about shipping a boxblade to Canada. He replied on Tuesday morning -
 Hello Bob--I wish I could--However--we do not ship out of USA--We dont have a broker to handle your ends paperwork--Thanks--Ken 

Doesn't get much better than that!

Bob

jrlichina · Apr 10, 2003

These days people get pretty lazy and rely on e-mail way too much. If something is important to you, pick up the phone and call it only takes a minute or two. That way you can talk to the person and hopefully get your questions answered instead of e-mails back and forth(which may not be as clear as they could be). In the case of Sweet Tractors I ordered my tiller on-line, got a confirmation within an hour. I called to just to make sure they had everything and talked about the delivery of the tiller. I got the tiller 4 days later dropped off at the end of my driveway(KY to WI). Ken was very helpful and responsive. Just my 2 cents and experience.

thcri · Apr 10, 2003

As a business owner I will take e-mails any day rather than the phone. As a consumer I will take e-mails rather than trying to get through some sophisticated phone system. If I know what I want or if the customer knows what they want it is so easy to use e-mail.

This is just me. It is different for others but if a company has e-mail set up then they best use it. It doesn't take much to hit the reply button and type a few words. Even if you can't type.

If a business doesn't like e-mail then don't post it.

murph