i think i've upset my local stihl dealer

[DN22 Gardening]

bought a new 441 from justin at the AA show this year. top saw....

 

however, the handle on the pull start has started to fall apart

so, passing one of the local stihl dealers this morning (platts harris of tuxford)

i thought i'd call in to see what they said....

 

spoke to a guy called peter whom i've had dealings before with, couldn't wish for a more helpful salesman, went into the back, got a new handle and cord (they're bonded together) "can you fit it yourself dave, saves a lot of messing, you'll just need to nip your invoice in next time you're passing"

 

"no problem, thanks buddy" says i, happy as larry. next thing main chap for the saws comes over having a right go at me

 

"you didn't get that saw from us!!!!!"

 

me "no, you were £150 dearer"

 

him "the saw'll have to come in, we have to fit all warrenty parts, it'll take at least two weeks"

 

me "TWO WEEKS !!!! to fit a new pull cord !!!"

 

"well if you'd got the saw from us, we'd have done it straight away"

 

"well if you could have matched the price i paid, i would have"

 

this continued for another 10 mins or so, with him bleating about margins, profit, shopping locally etc, and me going on about competitiveness.

 

i'm sorry, but if i went to joe public, £150 dearer than the next man, don't think i could whine when the customer uses said chap.

and if the customer comes to me saying can i fix such and such problem caused by said tree surgeon, i'd take it as a good opportunity to show why i was £150 dearer and hopefully next time they'd use me.

 

on hte upside, i'm off on my hols next week, so he can have the saw for the two weeks

 

also, we WERE discussing buying our new pedestrian mower from them, a £1000 honda, guess not then...............

[Big J]

I had exactly the same experience yesterday. Wanted a 346xp, called my local dealer who was £80 plus vat more expensive than Jonesie, and wouldn't budge on price. You can guess where I ordered my saw from.

[Daniël Bos]

Shame on them. Hopefully they'll have cooled down a bit by the time you come back from your hols.

 

I use local whenever I can, but when the price difference is too big I'll let them know and see if they can match it (or at least get within reasonable proximity) and if they don't they are never bothered when I take my bussiness elsewhere. They have to make a living, and realise that I do too. They are quite well aware that if I could save £150 on a £500 product I need to do that.

[bella wood]

i got a new 346 xp last week from a local dealer ,, they knocked £50 off shelf price but i still paid £60 (inch vat ) more than cheapest i could find on net ,,, ,if i have problems itll go back to local dealer rather than trying to send back to internet dealer

[Andy Collins]

Seems many dealers (not just arb, but everywhere) are stuck in the Dark Ages when it comes to customer service. The internet has shrunk the world, we have come to expect instant results, no waiting for 28days for parts nowadays (if you were lucky. The world is the buyers market. If dealerships dont adapt to this, they will fail in time. So what if you bought a saw from Jones, B&Q or anywhere else, its a saw, I'm a professional, get it fixed or lose my custom.

I went in a dealers to get some parts, they took a couple of weeks to order them and the parts were wrong, "Oh we're sorry, it'll take another couple of weeks to get the replacements in" No it wont, dont bother! A couple of days later I had ordered the correct parts myself and fitted them, within 48hrs!!

Dealers (who wont be reading this because they are too far behind the times!) wake up and get with it, or lose out!

[mendiplogs]

bought a new 441 from justin at the AA show this year. top saw....

 

however, the handle on the pull start has started to fall apart

so, passing one of the local stihl dealers this morning (platts harris of tuxford)

i thought i'd call in to see what they said....

 

spoke to a guy called peter whom i've had dealings before with, couldn't wish for a more helpful salesman, went into the back, got a new handle and cord (they're bonded together) "can you fit it yourself dave, saves a lot of messing, you'll just need to nip your invoice in next time you're passing"

 

"no problem, thanks buddy" says i, happy as larry. next thing main chap for the saws comes over having a right go at me

 

"you didn't get that saw from us!!!!!"

 

me "no, you were £150 dearer"

 

him "the saw'll have to come in, we have to fit all warrenty parts, it'll take at least two weeks"

 

me "TWO WEEKS !!!! to fit a new pull cord !!!"

 

"well if you'd got the saw from us, we'd have done it straight away"

 

"well if you could have matched the price i paid, i would have"

 

this continued for another 10 mins or so, with him bleating about margins, profit, shopping locally etc, and me going on about competitiveness.

 

i'm sorry, but if i went to joe public, £150 dearer than the next man, don't think i could whine when the customer uses said chap.

and if the customer comes to me saying can i fix such and such problem caused by said tree surgeon, i'd take it as a good opportunity to show why i was £150 dearer and hopefully next time they'd use me.

 

on hte upside, i'm off on my hols next week, so he can have the saw for the two weeks

 

also, we WERE discussing buying our new pedestrian mower from them, a £1000 honda, guess not then...............

HI dn22 yes mate we have the same here in bristrol a large dealer was at the AA told not to come with a saw from other dealers but if justin can turn the saws around time in 2/3 days back to me thats good o by the way you do not have too fix:lol: a stihl jon

[Daniël Bos]

Dealers (who wont be reading this because they are too far behind the times!) wake up and get with it, or lose out!

 

 

That has to be the most pointless statement ever:lol:

[Andy Collins]

I know, but I suddenly thought as i was typing it that if they werent up with the times, they probably wouldnt even read this page Oh well, it killed a couple of minutes writing it

[easy-lift guy]

DN 22 you were correct and the Sthil dealer was not only wrong but had a chip on his shoulder as well. The same problems exist here in the states and there is no reason for it at all. Some dealers do not care about their customers even before they walk into their store much less service after the sale. This attitude usually hurts the customer more and the industry as a whole. IMO if one has a warranty problem regardless of where it was purchased the issue must be resolved asap and the customer must be left whole and leaving with the knowledge that the business relationship is still on firm ground. Regardless as to where your product was purchased from, the dealer has the obligation from the manufacturer to take care of the customer first. As a manufacturer I live by this creed.

elg

[Treeworld]

Why on earth did you leave your saw with the dealer to fix a pull cord and handle? I take it you don't have CS30, this will take you 5 mins to do, All parts you could have ordered from Jones and when returned from your holiday you could have fixed it yourself!!!