A note to Tom from Husqvarna

Avalancher · January 10, 2005, 05:17:10 AM

Well said lucky_cutter, you drove home the point that I have been trying to make. Maybe you wont make a ton of money on that first intial repair, but as you pointed out you WILL make a customer for life. It doesnt matter to me if its tires, chainsaws, or electronics, I will always go where I get the best service.
One thing that kind of makes a point stick in my head, has anyone noticed that Lowes does make kind of a distinction between the Husky saws and all the rest of the garbage? At least in my local Lowes they are kept on an end cap, away from the rest of the saws. I happened to be plumbing this weekend and stopped for some parts and this conversation made me swing past the saws. They have their own shelf along with their own bar oil, mix, and accesories. At least they are paying a little homage to Husky by making a destinction between Poulan junk and a quality saw. Maybe that is one of the requirments by Husky?

Avalancher · January 10, 2005, 05:25:04 AM

One point that I forgot to bring up, has anyone noticed that Home Depot sells John Deere tractors? And believe it or not, they are not actually John Deere! A buddy of mine bought one, and had to swing past the local Deere dealer for some parts. He said he had a model "blah blah". Got the part home and it didnt fit. He went back kinda mad and requested the right part. After much figuring the counter guy asked him again the model number. He spilled it out, this time in its entirity. The counter guy said that the one letter that he omitted denoted that tractor as a Home Depot tractor,and not the same as the one sitting there in the show room. When asked what the difference was he was told that all Home Depot John Deere tractors are made by a company bought out by John Deere, and the whole lot is designated as Home Depot John Deere, not the same as the rest of em. Differences like cutting deck gauge, 12 gauge material instead of 10 gauge are readily apparent in a close scrutiny, and often the set up and controls are different between the real Deere's and the Home Depot knock offs. Guess that explans the often $500 difference between what appears as identical model numbers between the local dealer and Home Depot.
Standing by for the bashing of John Deere and Home Depot... :D

Varmintmist · January 10, 2005, 06:14:21 AM

QuoteThat is a sure fire way to make sure that customer keeps shopping at Lowes.

Do you think they will tell you that your stuff goes to the back?? If you think it doesnt happen as a matter of course than you have never had a car in for work at a dealer that you didnt buy from. They HAVE to repair it as they should to keep the franchise. They DO NOT have to serve you like a full customer.

QuoteThe idea in any business is to show that YOUR business is superior, before or after the intial sale.

You are right, like I said, you will NEVER know if your saw was back burnered while they had a bunch of customer work.

QuoteI bought a saw at lowes because I had no choice, the dealer was out of em thanks to a hurricane in our area. If he had treated me the way you suggest he would have guranteed that I would have kept shopping somewhere else.

Your situation is about as extreme as it can get. You bet he was there to work on your saw, he didnt have a saw for you to buy when you wanted to buy. His fault, storm or not. He wanted you as a customer, you tried to be a customer, he couldnt pull it off, you came back anyway.

QuoteIt was because of his service with a smile that brought me back, and made a valuable customer out of me.

Zactly ;D

QuoteIt is far better to convert a customer than to punish them for their supposed misdeeds of shopping somewhere else. Think of it another way, it is entirely possible that some folks have no knowledge of a local chainsaw shop until they need service, some folks buy all their junk at Lowes or some other box store. What a perfect way to take a customer away from Lowes by providing a better service than what Lowes provides.

First, if you cant find a local dealer, there are a few things happining. 1, there are no local dealers. 2, the customer never looked for a local dealer. If it is the first case, then service isnt a factor, if it is the second, the customer didnt take the time to look for a dealer, and probably wont the next time. You stated it yourself "some folks buy all their junk at Lowes or some other box store" and they ALWAYS will.

QuoteWhy should your work go to the bottom of the pile just because you bought it somewhere else? That makes zero sense and a sure fire way to tick someone off.

Because the dealer, car, truck, heavy equipment, chainsaw, has a implied agreement with his customers first, and the manufacturer second. On paper or not, that is how it works.

Let me put it this way. I have bought everything for cutting trees from my dealer (you) but gas. You know me by name. I bring a saw in that I bought there from you and Joe Schmuckatelli off the street brings a saw in he bought from Lowes. I have ALREADY dropped a grand + at your store. You know that I have ALREADY brought in 3 customers. Who are you going to take the most care of FIRST? A sure thing? Or a possibility.

You are going to service both saws, just pick the one you want to work on first.

You make the call ;)

Avalancher · January 10, 2005, 09:39:18 AM

The idea is to make repairs in the order in which they are received. Sure, some things may hinder repairs, or the order in which they are handled like availability of parts, how complex one repair is compared to another. But look at it this way, why wouldnt I give the Lowes customer better service over you? You already have spent a ton of cash in my shop, and probably always will so it makes sense to try and go the extra mile for that new customer in the hope he will become the same kind of customer you are, a steady repeater.

Varmintmist · January 10, 2005, 11:53:01 AM

1, because he cannot become the same customer as I. He already made the major purchase.

2, I am a known quantity. The 3 additional known customers I have brought in will know how I was treated.

This isnt an argument. Most dealers of any machine that is backed by a factory name work this way. That is life, and as it should be. You will be served by the dealer.

My opinion, if you are a good customer, then you should be served better. That is NOT saying that you treat the new guy badly, you just give a little extra to the guy that you know is willing to spend money at your store. Not just forced there due to lack of options. You treat the Lowes guy well, and hope for a new customer, you treat the known guy a little better because word of mouth is a lot better than getting a walk in.

hydro2 · January 10, 2005, 05:12:35 PM

I see you are from Chicora PA. I grew up in Chicora!!

Jeff · January 10, 2005, 05:17:11 PM

I see why ya left now. The critters carry rocket launchers. ;)

leweee · January 10, 2005, 07:33:19 PM

Jeff ... This thread is tuffer to kill than a carp outta water (ice fishen)on a thawing day. :D :D :D it just won't die :

wish I had a SAW this tuff.;D

Varmintmist · January 11, 2005, 05:13:26 AM

Da varmints shoot back here

;D :D

I am a import. I kinda like it. Far enough out to own a decent patch of woods, close enough for work. Not quite as rural as where I was raised, but not bad.

hydro2 · January 11, 2005, 04:30:55 PM

I now live in Hillville and teach in Chicora

Jake_S · January 12, 2005, 01:49:22 PM

Hey guy's,
I'm the Husqvarna rep that replied back to Tom's query. I understand what a lot of you say about Lowe's just selling the product, but Lowe's also performs service work. True, they have to send the unit off site for repair, but they are required just like every other Husqvarna dealer to repair our equipment.
The main problem is between us and the dealers because of our marketing plan, but the customer tend to get stuck in the middle. Fortunately for our customers, we have a large network of dealers that are wiling to work on a unit that was not purchased from them. Those dealers are the successful ones, the "non-customer" have been converted into customers that buy everything from those dealer's, and they refuse to go someplace else.
We understand that being a dealer is tough, especially when it seems that the manufacturer is driving buisness away from you, that is why we have a minimum price for all of our units, and we WILL pay the posted shop labor rate for warranty work, provided the dealer correctly, and completely, sends in the proper paperwork, after meeting the requirements. Without our dealers, we would go bankrupt.
On that note, I would like to thank all of our dealers for what you do, I have spoken with many, and our customers for giving us a reason for making the products that we do.
Jake

Jeff · January 12, 2005, 01:54:26 PM

Welcome to the Forestry Forum Jake.

Yer just in time. I'm thinking this thread was about to turn to talking about something good to eat at any moment. We tend to do that around here.

leweee · January 12, 2005, 02:55:35 PM

Were's that CARP ..... It's SUPPERTIME.
8) 8) 8)

Tom · January 12, 2005, 03:07:03 PM

I'm impressed that you showed up, Jake. It's not too many Reps of any manufacturer that would take the time out of his day to respond to a conversation on a Forum like this. You're welcome anytime whether it's a Husky conversation or not. We have something going on for everybody, somewhere, all of the time. :D

While there are a lot of good saws on the market, I can't seem to kill my 61 8) It's going on eleven years in my portable custom sawing business, now. I like it. ;D

Avalancher · January 13, 2005, 09:51:04 AM

Hmmm..... havent seen any Stihl reps lurking about on these here boards........

No, No, No! I am not trying to start anything!

MSU_Keith · January 13, 2005, 10:41:35 AM

Jake - I noticed on the Husky web site that some Lowes are marked as service dealers and some are not. Does this mean that the service is done on site at these locations? Or does it still go to a central or closest local service location?

I have never seen a big box store with any sort of service department but they could be moving in that direction.

Avalancher · January 13, 2005, 04:20:54 PM

QuoteWelcome to the Forestry Forum Jake. Yer just in time. I'm thinking this thread was about to turn to talking about something good to eat at any moment. We tend to do that around here.

Lets talk about pizza. Any ole kind of pizza. Ham and Pineapple. Pepperoni and anchovies. Spam and onions with extra cheese.
Shoot, lets even throw on some grits to give it some fiber.

SwampDonkey · January 13, 2005, 04:55:10 PM

Well, I'm just gonna make a quick note by saying if it weren't for the local saw dealers sthil or husky I wouldn't have bought my thinning saw or my chainsaw. Don't even ask me to go to a 'box' outfit. I've had staff at those places tell me 'I think we have that in stock but I'm not going to bother to look'. This is a nation-wide chain. Then there's the classic, 'so and so is out there someplace' and they leave you standing there as if your suppose to go look for someone you don't even know in the warehouse. :

Gordon · January 18, 2005, 04:10:20 PM

QuoteHey guy's,
I'm the Husqvarna rep that replied back to Tom's query. We WILL pay the posted shop labor rate for warranty work, provided the dealer correctly, and completely, sends in the proper paperwork, after meeting the requirements. Without our dealers, we would go bankrupt.
On that note, I would like to thank all of our dealers for what you do, I have spoken with many, and our customers for giving us a reason for making the products that we do.
Jake

The dealer has to take the time to fill out the proper paperwork, but alot of dealers either don't want to take the time to fill out the paper work or don't fill it out correctly. It's a two sided sword.

Hay and thanks Jake for taking the time for a reply.

Gordon