i think i've upset my local stihl dealer

[Big Bolt]

I will stay local for the reasons already said on here , bung it in get a replacement until its fixed , on the spot help ,freindly face , and my local dealer will match any off the big boys ,

[treediver]

Many Stihl and husky dealers a cannot compete with the established larger outlets because they are most likely on a different pricing structure on what they can buy machines in at.

Shops will get a better price spending say £40000 and being tied into a deal, rather than ordering the odd saw here and there.

[felixthelogchopper]

I will stay local for the reasons already said on here , bung it in get a replacement until its fixed , on the spot help ,freindly face , and my local dealer will match any off the big boys ,

 

No question there, mate. If they match the price anyway, you would be daft to go elsewhere

[Ian H]

Many Stihl and husky dealers a cannot compete with the established larger outlets because they are most likely on a different pricing structure on what they can buy machines in at.

Shops will get a better price spending say £40000 and being tied into a deal, rather than ordering the odd saw here and there.

 

True enough, and amongst those smaller outfits will be those who feel aggreived that they have to honour warranty issues whilst not getting the sale/profit, but honour it they are obligued to do, mind you that won't stop them "prioritising" their own customers, fair/unfair.....................?

[Quickthorn]

Platts Harris, from my experience, are typical of these large agricultural machinery dealers who have chainsaw dealerships tacked on: they're more interested in selling multi-thousand-pound tractors and implements, and selling and backing up a chainsaw is small beer to them. Nevertheless, the exchange you had with them was totally unacceptable. They're supposed to be representing Stihl, and that means honouring warranty claims irrespective of where the saw was bought. I'd be seriously considering contacting Stihl head office to complain.

 

Also, from experience again, buying the saw locally from this type of dealer doesn't really improve things. Yes, it's all smiles when you buy the saw, but that changes over time when you come back with problems, or want smaller parts - they make it clear they've got bigger fish to fry. Personally, I found the poor service thing a particular problem with Stihl, and I ended up going over to Husky stuff.

 

DN22, for mowers, you might want to try Tony Halford in Retford. He's a small dealer, and I don't know whether he'll have what you want, but he's a decent bloke who may give you better service than some of the other grass machinery dealers around here.

Edited August 2, 2011 by Quickthorn

[DN22 Gardening]

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!!!

 

if i couldn't change a pull cord, i think it'd be time for me to hang my spikes up

 

if you read the post, the first chap i spoke to was going to give me the cord and handle to fit myself, it was his boss who obviously didn't get his leg over this weekend.

 

according to him its Stihls requirement to fit all warrenty parts.

 

if it had only been £50 i would have got it from the local dealer, i'm a big supporter of shopping locally, just ask the butcher in the next village (£25-00 for a sunday roast !!!), but a price difference of £150 on an ms441 is not peanuts.

 

i use them for most consumables, as well as repairs, they've got an fs86 at the minute which is looking like a £100+ bill (new clutch, and bearings), but as theres 3 Stihl dealers within 20 mins drive of us, it'll be the last time they get anything.

when i took the saw in, while i was waiting to be served, i'd picked a new bar cover up for it. obviously it stayed on the counter when i left. lost sale

 

they robbed me a few weeks back, i asked them if they had any Silky blades, non in stock, when i took the fs in, they'd got me two in, got home thought, hmmmm that bill was a little high, looked closely, they'd charged me £5-00 postage....!!!!WTF

 

never again,

 

my main point, which i suppose never came through, was the fact that i'd recieved crap service, and just wanted a moan...

 

monday morning blues

[Mesterh]

What's the deal with the handle being bonded to the cord? Does this mean if the cord snaps you can't just replace it you need a new handle as well!!?

 

If it is a big double :thumbdown: to Stihl.

 

If not, carry on.

[Johny Walker]

i cant remember the last time i had a `saw`in a`dealers, fixed my own for donkeys yrs,` dont folk carry spare saws`??

[armchairarborist]

i cant remember the last time i had a `saw`in a`dealers, fixed my own for donkeys yrs,` dont folk carry spare saws`??

 

can't remember the last time i had time to fix a saw, good job i have a few spare saws:biggrin:

[Kevin Petley]

Hi DN22

 

Saddo that I am trawling internet spotted your post.

 

I am employed at said local dealer and am aware of your comments, not me I may add!

 

Firstly I am sorry if the greeting that you received was not what it should have been, I feel the response was meant to be a little more light hearted than maybe appears in your summary. Certainly the counter Guys relationship with most of our customers is pretty good, we deal daily with business and enquiries from 50p to several hundred thousands of pounds, I believe we receive this volume due to the high service level we provide, I appreciate of course that I maybe a little biased!.

 

However if your feelings and experience were contrary to this then we have not done our job to well and I apologise.

 

It is very unusual that we would be found to be £150 more expensive on a saw ( I wish there was this much margin remaining) because we are aware and compete with internet business every day. Of course anything is possible and I do not doubt your word, people can be clearing stock, promoting a loss leader or many other reasons why these anmomolies appear every day.

 

To the subject in hand - Reading some of the threads to your remarks I fear there is a poor slant and one sided opinion of expectations from some Dealers.

 

As an authorized distributor of what would be recognized as the best saws available ( this will get some reaction!) a Stihl Dealer only retains the franchise if certain service levels, experience and After Sales support are presented and available to back up the product.

 

Being a business man and in business as many of the members of this forum will understand training, stocking product, parts, wages, rates, buildings (you get my drift) all cost a lot’s of £££££’s, to support the product as the business demands there can be not short cuts and serious investment has to be made.

 

I have one small and short point to make and I am nearly there sorry to drawl on.

 

When warranty work is completed on a product invariably the repair times and schedule a Dealer works on will be loss making, this is not an issue and is accepted by Dealers with the cudos of the franchise, and of course and this is the point the Dealer has made a small amount of profit when he sold the machine!

 

Please bare in mind if I requested a quote from a professional Arborist and then asked for this work to be completed at a loss I guess I would receive a response, remark or laugh of disbelief, this is however what you are asking your local dealer to do.

 

In a nutshell you are asking them to pay you to repair your machine.

 

 

Ok £150 as in this example is a lot of money, but business relationship's go both ways. Maybe one day you will need that local supply urgently and it will not be there. Please guys talk to your local dealer, give them a chance invariably in my experience of over 30years you will pay more but £20 - £30 not £150.

 

So if you Guys sometimes do receive a slightly tepid response when you are asking your local dealer to complete work for you that he is having to pay to do, please spare him a little forgiveness and maybe give him a fair crack at your next purchase.

 

 

 

Thanks for listening