What would you do? dealers input welcome

[john_bud]

Short story, had my b3030 picked up in january for some items I needed fixed or looked on the tractor, had the main seat seperating on the tractor, had 2 leaks on the loader, and the BH seat was cracking in the middle. I called the dealer and talked to the service guy and he told me everything was under warranty and there would be no charge for the repairs. A couple days later i called back to check on things and he told me parts were on their way and again everything was under warranty and they should have it back to me in a couple more days. When delivery day arived they called to get the address again and i asked how things went and he told me again everything was fixed under warranty and since they had free pick up and delivery there would be no charges to me.


any thoughts?

You agreed to and entered into a contract with the dealer to have your tractor inspected and repaired. The contract stipulated that the repairs were covered by "the warranty" and would accrue no charges to you. We are assuming that when you picked up the machine, there was some paper work that detailed the work done and the cost to you. If so and it says "0$", you are iron clad. If there was no paperwork at all, it may get grey.

As to "looking like a schiester", that doesn't seem to bother the dealership. They entered a contract and unilaterally violated it. They claim that you should have known the warranty minutia yet apparently, THEY DID NOT. At this point, no matter what you do, they will always look at you like a schiester.

 

[workinallthetime]

here is the repairs
#1 tractor seat was falling apart-replaced the seat w/ updated layzboy
love it and that was under warranty acording to them
#2 hydro. block leaking for fel since they installed it - not warranty
#3 loader cylinder seal leaking - not warranty (loader)
#4 bh seat cracked out - not warranty

I honestly did not know the BH and Fel only had a 1 year warranty, had i known this i would of had them fix the Fel and had a trim shop i do business with do my seat, had a quote for 35.00 bucks from them since i do so much with them. The seat was about 139.00 bucks.
Integrity is something im proud of, I would have no problem paying them for service work had i known up front. BUT coppin an attitude with me on the phone and sending me a bill over a month later does not help their cause. I have made mistakes before in my business and all i can do is explain, aplogize, and ASK not Tell the customer if they would like to pay the difference. The guy i ended up with on the phone is the general manager and he was the worst one to deal with.
im going to have some fun with this and im not going to bash them on here by putting their name out, i would buy another unit from them if i was in the market.
but of corse they did get me pretty good on the trade in of the little bx23 hmmmmm..............

 

[d1king]

20 plus years as service mgr FoMoCo stores, I've seen it more than once. First I'd tell the service advisor to see if he could get cust to cover any part of it, cust should have know warrenty was up. Or if a weak ser. advisor I would approach cust, tell him what had happened, ask him to split it, if said no then ask him if he would be willing to cover any part of it, or what he thought was fair.
If he refused to pay any part I would smile, absorb it, thank him for his business. Unless he had previously been a good cust, paying for oil changes etc, I'd go into the computer, make an internal note of what had happened, and be sure he got no 'out of warrenty assistance', (Ford would let me spend up to $750.00 per repair with out even asking them, more if cust would participate) Then I would cover under my ford authorization, and make sure he went to bottom of list on any future work. If he would cover portion of what it might have cost at an aftermarket shop he and I would get along fine, and I would probally give him a coupon for a free oil change next time.
Service always grew, always made money, and had top 10% of C.S.I. scores in zone. I would suggest trying to work with them a little.

 

[Chris86303]

20 plus years as service mgr FoMoCo stores, I've seen it more than once. First I'd tell the service advisor to see if he could get cust to cover any part of it, cust should have know warrenty was up. Or if a weak ser. advisor I would approach cust, tell him what had happened, ask him to split it, if said no then ask him if he would be willing to cover any part of it, or what he thought was fair.
If he refused to pay any part I would smile, absorb it, thank him for his business. Unless he had previously been a good cust, paying for oil changes etc, I'd go into the computer, make an internal note of what had happened, and be sure he got no 'out of warrenty assistance', (Ford would let me spend up to $750.00 per repair with out even asking them, more if cust would participate) Then I would cover under my ford authorization, and make sure he went to bottom of list on any future work. If he would cover portion of what it might have cost at an aftermarket shop he and I would get along fine, and I would probally give him a coupon for a free oil change next time.
Service always grew, always made money, and had top 10% of C.S.I. scores in zone. I would suggest trying to work with them a little.

Your post is incredulous and just supports why the big 3 auto industry is going out of business and dealers are closing all over the country.

You admit there was money to cover it yet you make sure the customer suffers (by posting bad remarks on your internal computer) and then you cover your costs from Ford. So even though it didn't cost you a penny you make sure the guy gets screwed from that day forward and if not totally screwed he gets shuffled to the bottom of the list every time forward.

But if he will cover the cost (which could be anything from what.. $50.00 to $1,000.00 or more) you'd give him a coupon for an oil change. That seems like a fair trade to me..

How about being up front and informing the customer about everything beforehand rather than boxing them into a corner and then screwing them if it doesn't go your way.

Now I know why auto dealers / sales / service reps are held in such high esteem by their customers.

 

[workinallthetime]

Your post is incredulous and just supports why the big 3 auto industry is going out of business and dealers are closing all over the country.

You admit there was money to cover it yet you make sure the customer suffers (by posting bad remarks on your internal computer) and then you cover your costs from Ford. So even though it didn't cost you a penny you make sure the guy gets screwed from that day forward and if not totally screwed he gets shuffled to the bottom of the list every time forward.

But if he will cover the cost (which could be anything from what.. $50.00 to $1,000.00 or more) you'd give him a coupon for an oil change. That seems like a fair trade to me..

How about being up front and informing the customer about everything beforehand rather than boxing them into a corner and then screwing them if it doesn't go your way.

Now I know why auto dealers / sales / service reps are held in such high esteem by their customers.

D1 KING AND CHRIS
D1 i know excatly what you are talking about I am head service writter, and shop foreman for a gm dealer ( no way in heck i want the s/m job), we make those assistance choices on a weekly basis. Like me you have a unique view of the otherside of the desk and know what transpires on a day to day basis in a service department.

Chris you blame huys like D1 and I for problems and not picking up the tab when the money is available and also said that is a problem with the big 3 well thats just a business practice, does not matter if its gm, ford, toyota, honda, kia, ect..... . In a business you take care of the customers who take care of you. There are several factors that go into the choice, #1 being did we make a mistake? If we made a mistake you bet we are paying for it. If a customer comes in with a known problem that has been addressed before and is a good customer then we will help them out if we can, and by help them out that means pleed the case to the rep and see if he is willing to help.
I write service and over see 2 shops, one has gm products and the other has kia, suzuki, isuzu, and subaru. When it comes to taking care of customers out of warranty problems gm is way better from my point of view than any of the others.
how does this relate? my kubota dealer fixed problems with my b3030 and told me the repairs were under warranty, they screwed up ! the first coversation the guy was 10 foot tall and bullet proof wanting me to pay for his problem. 2nd conversation he has now reduced the bill by 50 bucks and is asking that i pay that amount.
because of where i am and what i do i will probably pay the amount in a couple payments just so its fresh on his mind for a couple months, he will think about it more than once and the guy who told me will learn a very good lesson in dealing with customer service.

 

[Knobby1]

well now that you know the facts, do what it right. Its fairly clear the dealer himself doens't have much of a clue. If I were you I'd pay for the parts at least. Their attitude ain't makin it, but I'd not stoop to their level if it t'were me. Regarding the post about FORD, they screwed me on a claim that could have easily been covered under warranty on a new F-150, but they chose to shaft me. Ok have fun while u can blue oval boys, see how many fords I will be buying in the future after having owned about 10 previously. What goes around, comes around.

 

[Harvest Moon]

D1 KING AND CHRIS
In a business you take care of the customers who take care of you.

Seems like there is an endless supply of customers but from my position, either take care of the customer or loose the customer. My dealer lost a customer. I didn't have a long history with him but I could have had a long future. It works both ways, the customer takes care of the dealer who takes care of him.

 

[CBW1999]

Tough situation.

I would check with the attorney generals office to see what they have to say. In some instances, a verbal agreement is a contract. There may be other laws protecting you as well.

Even though a fairly small amount of cash, I wouldn't be too quick myself- to pay. Given the times, you would think dealerships would pay a little more attention to customer service. It sounds like they are trying to WIN the argument without realizing (or caring) that they will LOSE the customer.

I was in a store one day, being helped by a salesman- trying to locate an inexpensive item. When he saw someone looking at a high price item (commission sales), he left me and went right over to them. Usually, people do not frequently purchase the high price stuff, so whatever he thought he would gain in commission in one sale would be more than my purchase that day..The fact is, I frequent that store and buy tons of stuff, the difference now is that he doesn't get any sales via me. I found someone else that believes all customers deserve good service.

If being annoying is in your personality- try paying "one dollar" a month. Most states will prohibit collections if "payments" are being made. Of course, do not ignore monthly finance charges as a consideration in calculating the minimum to pay...and of course this could backfire as well.

Good luck! Sorry you're dealing with this

 

[Ace3]

In this economy I can't believe the arrogance of some dealers. Their take it or leave it attitude sucks. I had a situation where I wanted to buy a front blade. The dealer quoted me $1700 for the blade that listed for $1500. When I called him on it he said that "I'd like to make a profit". Two hundred dollars over list is one heck of a profit. I got the same blade from another dealer for $1300. Needless to say, I will not be doing any more business with the price gouging dealer.

 

[PUSHINDIRT]

I agree with CBW, they don't seem to care if they lose a customer. Obviously you have spent alot of money at your dealer. One would think it is better to retain a customer than turn them away. Just curious how much the repair actually cost parts/ labor. I would pay for the parts, and send a letter back to the owner of the store explaining why you are not paying for labor. I would make sure I copy my attorney, and the BBB as well. Then speak with your dollars, take them elsewhere! It sucks to be in your situation, I've been there before! Keep us posted!