Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Another unimpressive visit.....

My Snapper SPWB broke its clutch spring......no big deal, but a little surprising after barely 2 seasons.  Unit still under Snapper 3 year warranty(or so I thought), I take the spring off and take to dealer for replacement. (Saves me loading it, waiting a few days for repair and trip back to pick it up).

Dealer says only 2 year warr. bumper to bumper, 3rd year only covers major stuff. He gets the spring and goes to find the price, I begged to differ about the warranty, but he insists and I am not in the mood to fight over a couple of bucks. Turns out he can't find the price because of some software screw up so he has to call the simplicity dude for a price. While he's on the phone he asks Simplicity man about the 3 year warranty, Simp. man says yeah its covered.

Dealer gives me the spring and then acts like he has done me some huge favor getting the warranty to cover it!! (The part is $2.13 at Jacks). I reminded him to make sure he writes himself up a nice warranty repair bill that will pay him some shop labor, since I was kind enough to make the repair myself and was only asking for the part at N/C. He wasn't impresssed.....

Neither was I..............when the warranty is over, so is our relationship.



PS   Since Simp bought Snapper, warranties have changed from 3 years to 2 years.  FYI.

Emmo...

Dealer's attitude makes a big difference to me too... glad you got the part...

Dave...

Not all dealers are, hmmmmmmm... what's a good word... can't say it here.  We go to bat for everything that warranty should cover, if we don't think that it was caused by neglect that is.  Even if the equipment is out of it's warranty period and we don't think that what ever broke should have broke - we make that phone call.  We've been running into a lot of warranty issues lately, all the companies that are changing hands, you just never know what's warranty (what new company will cover) and what's not any more.  So it is always best to push the dealer into making a phone call.  It may take some of their "valuable" time, but without the customer - they don't have a job.
It's always good to go the extra mile - make the customer happy - they will come back - upset the customer - well, you potentially lose the customer.
Sherri

Sherri--That was the motto of our store for the many years we sold Snapper.   Make and keep the customer happy.  It will pay off.  You won,t have to advesrtise so much--your customers will do it for you.  Enjoyed your comments and wish you well---Your friend Will

This is very true. I took my Ariens into Maestranzi Bros in Beverly, MA a few years ago because it wasn't throwing snow well (worn belt - told him that) tuneup, etc. They put $165 of parts and labor into it, including a new gas cap! But forgot to change the belt, which I discovered in the middle of the next storm.

Went into Still's Turf Depot in Manchester, NH to buy some bushings and they had them in stock and gave me suggestions on the best way to get the old ones out.  So I buy parts there when I can, even though last June the Service Manager told me it was "Impossible" to put a new Intek Snow on an old Ariens....
.

Here's a situation that we are running into more and more.  The whole thing about this business is sales AND service!  We sold a rear wheel drive mower last year.  No big deal there have been selling the same model for 3 or 4 years now.  The people that bought this mower use it pretty much everyday and have worn the rear wheels out.  After being told what the problem was and what parts were needed - I started calling our distributors.  Surprise, surprise - no wheels at 3 warehouses.  Now this has been going on for a couple of weeks.  Customer is not impressed at all and either is Chris.  Finally get to talk to someone a a distributor that is willing to find some of these wheels.  When the guy calls back he says he found 3 in Canada.  That was a week ago and we still haven't seen these wheels.  So yesterday, after throwing our hands up in the I surrender - take me away, we ordered the whole new mower.  We recieved it this morning Purolater and it is currently being stripped of its rear wheels.  This is not something that we like to do, but we did what we had to do.  Hopefully it will make the customer a little happier, know that they will not buy anything here again.  It's all in sales AND service.  It is impossible today for a dealer to carry everything that may be needed to repair a piece of equipment.  There are just so many different makes, models and sizes out there, we tend to depend on our distributors to have what is needed when it is needed.  I do feel bad for the people that have to wait for their equipment because we don't have the part, we depend on the distributor, but when they don't have the part, the crap usually hits the fan and I'm the one to answer the phone.  If it's some advice that I can offer, don't get aggrevated with the person on the other end of the phone or behind the counter.  When it happens to me - sorry to say it but I tend to put you on the back burner.  If you call me everyday wanting you piece of equipment, I expect that when it is done, you will arrive within 12 hours and pick it up or I will call you everyday until you come and get it.  A lot of people think that theirs is the most important piece of equipment - and to that person, it likely is, BUT when you see a yard that has 15 - 20 tractors, 20 - 25 push mowers, endless low buck special trimmers and saws - well don't expect your mower the same day.  We are having a hard time keeping up with the equipment turn around, in the last few years a couple of repair shops have closed, a couple have sprung up, but it takes time for them to "earn" their keep.
In the end it all comes down to SALES AND SERVICE that's the big thing.
Sorry about the rant this morning, but it feels good to get it out.
Sherri

MissSnowshoveler wrote:
Don't worry about the rant, I feel your pain!

SALES AND SERVICE has been my mantra ever since I bought my first piece of OPE. (Got burnt that time too, local Toro dealer, had been in business for years, went out of business the 2nd year I owned the mower!) Later got stuck on some other dealers shirt list("didn't buy it from me list"), and got second rate service.

Reflecting back on my experience yesterday, the biggest thing that bothered me was that the dealer spent more time trying to not honor a warranty, than he did to make the sale in the first place.

I know I rant about the experiences I have, I'm just amazed that most of the rest of you have such positive experiences. I'm glad for you all, don't take the good dealers and techs  for granted!

Good dealers are very important to me, more like gold if I would ever have to depend on them to service my OPE in a timely manner.  Some issues just have to be understood.  I live in an area that Ag and OPE is depended on to help make a living so a good dealer I don't think is hard to find around here. 

Hey, I vote that we make Chris and Sherri move their business here to western NY......they sound like great dealers!

It's already been determined that I'm geographically located.......

You can do it Sherri........Batavia has a new Tim horton's and we also just built a new city hall.....they even spelled it goofy, calling it  the "City Centre"

You guys would fit right in!

Frank D.

about that ariens that cant accept the inteck engine.

yea after i put at least 3 on i was told by some folks from ariens that it couldnt be done.

seems their engineers had tried it and failed.

i dont know why they couldnt but i put them on all the time . we install them if the customer buys the engine from us we put it on for free,we usually take what ever is left of the old engine for parts.

i have even put a honda on at least one and they all worked great.

you have to make a few mods but its not impossible.

really makes a good snowblower great.

our parts warehouse even called to find out what we were doing with all these intecks ,couldnt beleive we were putting that many on snowblowers.

later chris

You really are great dealers.  Dealers doing that kind of work seem to be hard to find.