Well, I got up this morning and decided that I was at least gonna interrupt someone's golf game. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I called JD's corporate headquarters to discuss my issue. I spoke with a very nice lady (who knew her tractors...) and explained the situation in detail. I assured her that I was very pleased with my dealer and with the deal on the tractor, but that I thought it was just plain silly that a company of JD's status was having difficulty supplying it's dealers with a $200 part to make their backhoes work. If I had to wait, so be it - but I thought they should be aware of the problem. She told me that she would see to it that the appropriate person received my complaint, and got my contact info and info on the part. She said someone would call me in a day or two. I figured that was the end of it, but it made me feel better.
This afternoon, I received a call from one of their regional offices. The gentleman apologized for the problem, and much to my surprise (and delight...) told me that he had contacted the factory and secured the power beyond kit, which would be shipped out via next day air to my dealer and my tractor should be delivered to me by the end of this week barring any unforseen problems. I again stressed to him that I am really pleased with my dealer, and he assured me that they had talked to the dealer and everyone realized it was a JD issue. (I stopped by the dealer later, and they actually seemed pleased that I had called...)
I am very impressed. At the most, I expected perhaps a phone call in a few days with an apology and an explanation, and would have been satisfied with that. These folks went the extra mile and addressed this quickly - They've made a John Deere man out of me and I don't even have my tractor yet! I'll not bother looking elsewhere for any of my tractor / implement needs.