No Time for the Little Guy

[stlawrence]

I've been researching tractors for our farm (land - I guess a farm has to at least act like it's trying to make money) and have started visiting dealers. I've gone to several now.

The other day I went to one of the big two dealerships. I won't say which brand it was, as I don't want this to degenerate into a "my tractor is better than you" thread. But I think the way I was treated is kind of representative, regardless of the brand.

Now, we're in upstate NY, where mega-dairy farms prevail. Some of these farms milk thousands of cattle - they are huge. They have millions of dollars of tractors and equipment, so they are big players.

So, I walk into the dealership and go into the tractor sales area. I stood there waiting for someone to acknowledge me, and finally one of the salesmen made eye contact and waved me to his cubicle. He did not stand up. He did not offer to shake my hand. I told him I was looking for something under 50hp that could pull a 6-foot bush hog, and he gave me some brochures. We talked awhile, and he took my name and number, saying he'd work up some quotes for me.

That was on Thursday. It's Saturday night, and he has not called.

Now, I understand that the money I can spend on a new tractor is 1/5 or less of what the big boys spend when they come in to buy a tractor. But still. You'd think they'd want to make every sale they can. At this lot, they had no smaller tractors, and the salesman told me they have to take what the manufacturer gives them and have a quota of the number of special orders they can make. Is that true? Do they not want to waste an order on me, because then they may not be able to order the $300k rig when the big dairy farmer comes in?

It was sobering. I'm used to car salesmen being all over me like a cheap rug, and these guys could not care less. I can imagine how reluctant they'll be to try to cut a deal - I can see them saying, "This is our price - we don't care if you take it or now, but we're not budging."

Anyone else have experiences like this?

 

[Chilly807]

I have had similar experiences, but I was shopping for a post hole auger at the time. The local Case dealer gave me the same kind of attitude. Not that interested in selling me an implement, I guess there was more money to be made in the 100 plus HP tractors sitting out in the lot gathering dust.

To be fair though, it's only been two days. I'd say after a week you're not going to hear from them. In all honesty, you're better to discover that kind of attitude now than when you have a problem with the new tractor.

Sean

 

[whistlepig]

I've been researching tractors for our farm (land - I guess a farm has to at least act like it's trying to make money) and have started visiting dealers. I've gone to several now.

The other day I went to one of the big two dealerships. I won't say which brand it was, as I don't want this to degenerate into a "my tractor is better than you" thread. But I think the way I was treated is kind of representative, regardless of the brand.

Now, we're in upstate NY, where mega-dairy farms prevail. Some of these farms milk thousands of cattle - they are huge. They have millions of dollars of tractors and equipment, so they are big players.

So, I walk into the dealership and go into the tractor sales area. I stood there waiting for someone to acknowledge me, and finally one of the salesmen made eye contact and waved me to his cubicle. He did not stand up. He did not offer to shake my hand. I told him I was looking for something under 50hp that could pull a 6-foot bush hog, and he gave me some brochures. We talked awhile, and he took my name and number, saying he'd work up some quotes for me.

That was on Thursday. It's Saturday night, and he has not called.

Now, I understand that the money I can spend on a new tractor is 1/5 or less of what the big boys spend when they come in to buy a tractor. But still. You'd think they'd want to make every sale they can. At this lot, they had no smaller tractors, and the salesman told me they have to take what the manufacturer gives them and have a quota of the number of special orders they can make. Is that true? Do they not want to waste an order on me, because then they may not be able to order the $300k rig when the big dairy farmer comes in?

It was sobering. I'm used to car salesmen being all over me like a cheap rug, and these guys could not care less. I can imagine how reluctant they'll be to try to cut a deal - I can see them saying, "This is our price - we don't care if you take it or now, but we're not budging."

Anyone else have experiences like this?

I have. And I will drive however far and however long it takes to get good service and deal with quality people. Convenience is far down the list for me compared to good service. If I keep doing my business at a place that gives me bad service they will do well while a place that gives excellent service a little farther away may fail. I give my money to those people that treat me well and do good work. Not to those that are lucky enough to have a dealership just right down the street.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Yep, been there, won't go back. Check barlows, they will ship you one.

 

[wny770]

What county are you in? I've just purchased my 2nd tractor, 30 horse from a dealership who treats me like I'm the only person in his building every time I call. That's why he gets my business. For ALL my tractor / implement needs. When buying equipment, your dealer makes ALL the difference for parts, service, trouble calls etc....

 

[tony Cecil]

Well be thankful you have a dealer----and further possibly two dealers---Try and research what you need and want, then just go and buy it.....This site alone should give you a good idea on price, and further if by chance you know one of the larger operators, I bet he or she would help you get established with their dealer...Tony

 

[gauthier]

Well I wouldn't go back to that dealer or answer his calls[if he ever calls],,,if you can figure out exactly what you want,you have a better chance of getting a good deal on it,6ft hog,probably about a 35 hp tractor.

When I'm buying something like a tractor or truck,I don't stay long unless they act like they want to help me and give me a price,to many dealers and brands.

 

[Lt CHEG]

If you're not too far from the Capital District I can point out some of the better dealers that I dealt with when looking for my tractor. I ultimately bought from Capital Tractor in large part because of the way they treated me. I purchased a Boomer 3040 cab tractor from Drew, and he still not only asks me about how I like my tractor every time I stop by for something, but also asks about my wife by name and usually has something of interest to tell me about my tractor. I'm not even in the same galaxy as some of their customers but yet I've developed a personal relationship with the folks at Capital and I always feel like my business is appreciated. So I would say that your experience is certainly not indicative of all the tractor dealers in upstate NY.

 

[wallace]

I'm not rich, I'll take your money! Heck I'll even treat you like the others that have purchased from me.
If your interested is some smoken deals..check out my web page in the used equipment section you will find some demoed tractors at crazy prices.
Or just drop me a PM, email, or call and we can put something together to put a on your face!

 

[JoelD]

Being 43 years old, I can't say I've got a ton of experience "over the years", but my personal experience has been that some enterprises hire junk employees and some hire quality employees.

I just called a dodge dealership in Methuen Ma today looking for a price on a part for my truck, the guy who answered my call said the parts department was closed, I asked if he knew of a dealership that might be open, he replied I have no idea, I work for this dealership. My thought was, "I wonder how long with an attitude like that". No better way to piss off a potential customer than to speak to him like he's a moron.

So I called a dealer in CA (3 hours behind me) and got the price, found out it was huge, checked ebay and purchased what I needed for short money.

Long story short, this is one of the many reasons retail is fading away in the US and internet sales are growing. If what I'm going to get is attitude, I'd just rather go online and avoid all human contact. The sad thing is I typically get more intelligent information from the web than I ever do on the phone.

Opposite is true of my mechanic, for anything I can't fix myself I go to Roy's in Hudson NH. A bunch of brothers working hard to employ good people, providing personal quality service to their customers, why would I go anywhere else?

Many have forgotten that it is the little things that matter and add up.

I'm fortunate to work for a company with a bunch of people who care about their internal and external customers.

PS, walked into my local Deere dealership looking for a tractor prior to purchasing the tractor I have now, and heard nothing but crickets, when the salesman (loose term) finally acknowledged me he literally could not find the price on the tractor I was interested in and never called me back. The tractor was on their lot.

Joel