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