Dealer New BX25D-1 from Barlow

grnmtnboys · Mar 8, 2015

Baffles me as well; as a small business owner myself, I know how much I spend a year on marketing and advertising just to get someone to give me a call, let alone make a sale, and to **** all over that potential sale is just unthinkable to me. Can't comprehend it.

Seems like quite a few of the equipment shops around here have been around for so long, or passed thru so many generations, that the folks running them take for granted that they will always be there. Complacency and not giving a **** seem to be about the same thing in some cases.

More importantly, I promise to post pictures when it gets here.

Thanks for entertaining my rant.

ST98 · Mar 8, 2015

They shipped to me for around $800.00. Still thousands cheaper than the local dealer.

mikesee · Mar 8, 2015

You guys are getting pretty rough on your Dealers. Everyone has their good and bad days. There are times I go to the Dealership and neither of the Sales guys are on the floor. The shop I go to is a fairly big dealership but only has 2 guys in sales. Sometimes they are busy. It is unrealistic to expect to be approached by sales staff anytime you stroll into the place...sometime I have to make the effort to call ahead and make an appointment to speak with my Guy in Sales.

JOHNTHOMAS · Mar 9, 2015

Any walk in customer based business should have someone, be they parts sales person, lot tender, ring a bell or some method to acknowledge that a customer is on the premises to be served at some point of time. To not do so is not showing a concern for customers/potential customers. I believe most of us believe poor service before/during the sale will for sure result in bad service after they have our money.
Barlows has the parts/service man (Gary) up front at a wide open counter. He will acknowledge a customer and tell them there is no sales person there or they are busy or they (Steve and some times Jamey) will be available now/soon. Gary doesn't usually show equipment but he can tell anyone where it's located on the lot and he doesn't do pricing. He also handles processing repairs/repair pick ups. That's just my experience and I have waited for long periods of time for the person I want to see but I do know they are there, busy and will see me when they have time. Not fantastic service but acceptable to me being my time isn't any more valuable than theirs.

peterc38 · Mar 9, 2015

mikesee said:
You guys are getting pretty rough on your Dealers.

Awwwww, your right, poor wittle dealer, I should be so much more understanding that he is too busy to compete for my business to buy a $40,000 tractor.

Gator6x4 · Mar 9, 2015

Have you ever noticed that "Local Dealer" that provide sorry service are soon "Ex-Dealer" who are complaining about how the manufacture without and explanation or reason stopped providing them with products, "Really".

Grateful11 · Mar 9, 2015

We recently called a Kubota dealer about an hour and 15 minutes away about an L6060 and he asked where I was calling from and he actually told me he didn't want to work up a quote on it because we were too far away and there wasn't much money to be made on those anyway. I had already told him we were riding that way in a couple days and that would give him time work out the details. To me that's a lousy way of doing business. If he thought that was far away my son actually wound up buying an MX5100 3 hours away.

Mcaveman · Mar 9, 2015

**** , maybe I'm in the wrong business . Open up a Kubota dealer and **** on everybody. Must be nice to reject customers because there over an hour away. My local dealer about 10 mins away is garbage also I drove to Delaware for my zero turn and if I didn't go used on the Bx I would have did it again.

Oldironken · Mar 10, 2015

I am fortunate that i had a much better experience than many. I contacted 4 dealers within a 35 mile radius in my search, 3 were very responsive, 2 were so close in price it didn't matter, 1 seemed a little preoccupied when i mentioned i was looking for a BX. I choose the dealer who had a variety of stock on hand, (so i could visually compare models) had a machine inside so i could inspect it where it was warm, and offered to let me run it around the lot a bit to get a quick feel for it. I could easily have gone with the other dealer who was close on the price without worrying one bit, they were professional and helpful.

JOHNTHOMAS · Mar 10, 2015

Oldironken said:
I am fortunate that i had a much better experience than many. I contacted 4 dealers within a 35 mile radius in my search, 3 were very responsive, 2 were so close in price it didn't matter, 1 seemed a little preoccupied when i mentioned i was looking for a BX. I choose the dealer who had a variety of stock on hand, (so i could visually compare models) had a machine inside so i could inspect it where it was warm, and offered to let me run it around the lot a bit to get a quick feel for it. I could easily have gone with the other dealer who was close on the price without worrying one bit, they were professional and helpful.

And this is the way a business should be. If you found 3 that offered decent service and acceptable prices in your small circle then everyone should be able to find a decent dealer. If not, then move on because they are out there. The bad ones need to be swallowed up by the good ones or get a decent new owner or operator. Let the good prosper and the bad do something else for a living. I'm not saying base this on one persons experience but a pattern of bad should produce the proper outcome as should a pattern of good.