New Stihl online policy

[Goaty]

I adore husqvarna for how they embrace the internet. I've just entered an online competition from they themselves to win a climbing saw. True freedom on the web. No political hoops to jump through.

 

It is the way forward. If people are going to do stupid stuff with things they buy they are going to get them from elsewhere anyway. A rolling pin can injure or kill if used in an abused way. cut the claptrap and redtape lets get on with the job.

 

I might even do a climbing course if I win it. I've been plenty high before but not on a rope. Because I thought the manufacturer wouldn't let me buy one. in case I wanted to kidnap someone or do worse to myself. Oh Im getting mixed up with the stihl policy and its police enforcers.

[TreeswingerPerth]

I adore husqvarna for how they embrace the internet. I've just entered an online competition from they themselves to win a climbing saw. True freedom on the web. No political hoops to jump through.

 

It is the way forward. If people are going to do stupid stuff with things they buy they are going to get them from elsewhere anyway. A rolling pin can injure or kill if used in an abused way. cut the claptrap and redtape lets get on with the job.

 

I might even do a climbing course if I win it. I've been plenty high before but not on a rope. Because I thought the manufacturer wouldn't let me buy one. in case I wanted to kidnap someone or do worse to myself. Oh Im getting mixed up with the stihl policy and its police enforcers.

 

 

 

That's about the best interpretation of the Stihl policy I've read

[peter ledger]

Welcome to the forum Peter.

Does the Stihl policy exist in Australia as well?

I will have to check with the local dealer in mundaring, outside perth, i cant see how this policy could work in australia, people would end up with a 2 day drive there and back to pick up their new saw, just about everyone in australia out in the bush has a chainsaw, i see kids cutting up the firewood wielding a ms650, seems to just come natural to them, australia is wrapped up in health and safety to the point of excess but common sense still seems to prevail, i can see both sides of this story, but at the end of the day people will buy from the cheapest source mostly, buying on the internet and having it delivered next day is the way the world is going, its the norm now, the guy in scotland is just being petty and not doing stihl any favours, protecting his own business by stabbing others in the back is not the way forward, if stihl are worried that people will harm themselves with a saw then have the option of an online disclaimer to be signed by the customer,you can buy a chainsaw from bunnings here and walk out with the box, the shop handovers are a joke, as one said here they start it and rev it and say there you go !!. people here still take responsibility for there own safety, the ones that get it wrong........well at least they dont dilute the gene pool.........

[GardenKit]

I will have to check with the local dealer in mundaring, outside perth, i cant see how this policy could work in australia, people would end up with a 2 day drive there and back to pick up their new saw, just about everyone in australia out in the bush has a chainsaw, i see kids cutting up the firewood wielding a ms650, seems to just come natural to them, australia is wrapped up in health and safety to the point of excess but common sense still seems to prevail, i can see both sides of this story, but at the end of the day people will buy from the cheapest source mostly, buying on the internet and having it delivered next day is the way the world is going, its the norm now, the guy in scotland is just being petty and not doing stihl any favours, protecting his own business by stabbing others in the back is not the way forward, if stihl are worried that people will harm themselves with a saw then have the option of an online disclaimer to be signed by the customer,you can buy a chainsaw from bunnings here and walk out with the box, the shop handovers are a joke, as one said here they start it and rev it and say there you go !!. people here still take responsibility for there own safety, the ones that get it wrong........well at least they dont dilute the gene pool.........

Pete, some very valid comments there.

I fully understand the value of internet sales to many of the posters on this thread, but I also see it from the side of SDS.

 

It has been suggested by many that dealers have to adapt to the modern way and join the internet sales brigade. This will certainly work for some dealers but if every dealership (I think there are around 4000 in the UK) were to do this,the market would be very diluted. Margins would be so tight that natural selection would see the closure of 80% of those dealers.

 

This would not matter to the internet purchaser of course, he would still get the service he was happy with.

 

But from my own perspective as a dealer (I am not a Stihl or Huskie dealer) I would sooner concentrate on providing specialist, independant service to the very many local customers who have no wish to buy on the net, preferring the service and advice of the local dealer. (many of these are of course, domestic users, and they are happy to pay a higher price for the complete package.)

 

So there are the two types of dealer emerging, those who wish to go down the internet sales route, and those who wish to retain the old values of local business. They are distinctly different, and each can be very good at what they do. There is a place, and a need, for both, as there are also two types of buyer.

 

The problem that is emerging is the one highlighted in previous posts, and which SDS has been slated for. That of warranty.

 

We have these two distinct dealer types emerging, and each promises to look after their own customers with loyalty. But then comes the crossover, when the internet buyer wants his warranty done by the local man who, like me, is working long hours keeping his very loyal customer base happy.

 

In my business the majority of this stuff is domestic mowers, strimmers and saws, bought online or from the sheds.

 

Is it any wonder that we tend to put the non loyal customer to the back of the queue, rather than work find an extra few hours in a crowded week, or put a loyal customer back?

 

It is our loyal customer base that keeps us afloat, and we will always give them priority. Is this so wrong?

[Marko]

I fully understand your well made points and I do hope that a middle path can be found. However, The inverse of

Margins would be so tight that natural selection would see the closure of 80% of those dealers

is that the Stihl policy is asking (forcing) Customers to contribute to the life support costs of 80% of their dealer network whilst a workable solution is found.

 

As I have said before, within reason, price was never the issue. It was all about convenience and quality of service.... and I don't think that is a bad leveller for the dealers to contend with for our business.

 

It is not meant to sound trite but I now have no Stihl warrantly issues at all and hardly any remaining need for spares come to that - The policy did not work for me so I have made alternative arrangements. Sad but, hey ho, life goes on.

[peter ledger]

Pete, some very valid comments there.

I fully understand the value of internet sales to many of the posters on this thread, but I also see it from the side of SDS.

 

It has been suggested by many that dealers have to adapt to the modern way and join the internet sales brigade. This will certainly work for some dealers but if every dealership (I think there are around 4000 in the UK) were to do this,the market would be very diluted. Margins would be so tight that natural selection would see the closure of 80% of those dealers.

 

This would not matter to the internet purchaser of course, he would still get the service he was happy with.

 

But from my own perspective as a dealer (I am not a Stihl or Huskie dealer) I would sooner concentrate on providing specialist, independant service to the very many local customers who have no wish to buy on the net, preferring the service and advice of the local dealer. (many of these are of course, domestic users, and they are happy to pay a higher price for the complete package.)

 

So there are the two types of dealer emerging, those who wish to go down the internet sales route, and those who wish to retain the old values of local business. They are distinctly different, and each can be very good at what they do. There is a place, and a need, for both, as there are also two types of buyer.

 

The problem that is emerging is the one highlighted in previous posts, and which SDS has been slated for. That of warranty.

 

We have these two distinct dealer types emerging, and each promises to look after their own customers with loyalty. But then comes the crossover, when the internet buyer wants his warranty done by the local man who, like me, is working long hours keeping his very loyal customer base happy.

 

In my business the majority of this stuff is domestic mowers, strimmers and saws, bought online or from the sheds.

 

Is it any wonder that we tend to put the non loyal customer to the back of the queue, rather than work find an extra few hours in a crowded week, or put a loyal customer back?

 

It is our loyal customer base that keeps us afloat, and we will always give them priority. Is this so wrong?

I completely understand what you say, the market is certainly split, i have no answers, like you say some will always buy online, some will always need dealer support, i,m in the minority i guess, if i buy online i accept i am responsible for the machine, i,m in the minority that can do most repairs myself........... with the help of mates in the trade of course haha........

most will lament the loss of the dealer network, most wont know they need it till its gone, i spoke to the stihl dealer in mundaring today and he confirmed its stihl policy here too, but he also said common sense was needed, he said for instance the dealer network for stihl in WA was good ( 6 dealers within half an hr from me) but if a customer he knew well wanted a saw sending out then why would he risk pissing off his customer by saying he HAD to come in for it ! of course this isnt quite the issue of internet selling.

i understand looking after your customers, and i hate to disagree with you, but i look back to the restaurant days, regular customers would ring up at 6pm on a saturday night and ask for a table, they would get quite irate when told we were fully booked, i treated All customers the same, first come first served, i think dealers should treat everyone in this way, also if a dealer chooses he can put in the extra hrs for an emergency repair, i dont believe cutomers from either camp should take priority, treat everyone fair and square, and perhaps stihl should pay its dealers fairly for warrenty work and then all this petty backstabbing could end......I have to say when i was in business in england, which as you know ive pretty much been self employed all my working life in a variety of businesses, i treated others with respect, i worked with people for the common good, towards the end of my time in england, i began to feel people had lost the plot, all people want to do these days is crusify the man next to them for their own survival,its the way of the world and I think its wrong.

 

Its not wrong to want to want to make a business thrive,its an argument that will never end i feel

[GardenKit]

i hate to disagree with you,

 

 

Hahaha, Pete, I reckon we have known each other long enough for a few disagreements not to matter:biggrin:

 

I understand what you say about all customers being treated equally, but I see it a little differently.

 

I currently have a backlog of around 2 weeks for service work, mostly from loyal, regualar customers.

 

Luckily I get very little warranty comeback on machines I have sold and PDI'd, but when I do get the odd problem I deal with it instantly. This sets the service work back a bit and is a little unfair on those in the queue.

But all my loyal customers know that they will get prompt attention if they really need it, especially on warranty.

 

So I am not going to delay my loyal customers even more by putting a complete stranger ahead of them for warranty on a machine that he has purchased elsewhere but brings to me for convenience.

 

Sorry, but that sort of customer will go to the back of the queue, in the same way that a new customer will have to go on the end of the list. I do this out of fairness, not out of spite.

[ArthurBottlesworth]

No reason why you can't set up a national collection and delivery service and focus on warranty andother repairs.....

 

Fill your shop with paying repairs ..... To replace lost sales

 

No need for expensive shop premises then.....

[GardenKit]

No reason why you can't set up a national collection and delivery service and focus on warranty andother repairs.....

 

Fill your shop with paying repairs ..... To replace lost sales

 

No need for expensive shop premises then.....

I could indeed do that, but as 95% of my work comes from within 6 miles and I always have more paying repairs than I can cope with, there would be little point.

 

And as my sales are currently 95% up on last year I have no lost sales to replace.

 

But then, as I have said before, I do not sell Stihl or Huskie except by request.

 

Just trying to show the perspective of the small independant dealer.

[waz77]

If all dealers offered an online service and they were all roughly around a similar price there would be no need for anyone not to buy local, with the convenience of getting it delivered and being able to drop it in for any repairs, the dealer gets his share of the market, everyone is happy.