how dedicated are you to your dealer?

[captdevo]

how dedicated are you to your dealer?

i work both sides of the road....

i'm a dealer and end user.

as an end user, i'm looking for a good price and good service and to make money with quality equipment.

as a dealer, i'm looking to make money while offering good service, quality products and good prices.


where is the happy medium?

is 10% off a good deal?

as an end user, i have $15k in equipment (less truck) plus insurance, fuel, etc.

as a dealer, i have $150k in new equipment, tools, parts and used equipment, plus overhead (which is much cheaper than most dealers as i have a shop at my house).... insurance, supplies, utilities, advertising, etc.. (this is real low compared to most dealers)

i had a guy inquire about an attachment for a Walker mower which listed for $2650, i shot him a good price at $2500 and he said i was high, he then told me he was quoted $300 cheaper from another dealer, but he wouldn't have the item for at least a month.

i'm sure if a potential customer told him he was too high by $450, he and most of us would walk away and let them get the cheaper guy.

what would you do?

[KDJ]

Well, you can't go broke taking a profit.

[ohiolawnguy]

we have been in situation like this before.

lets say the piece of equipemnt cost $1000 at our dealer, and $800 at another dealer. we will see if or dealer will sell it to us for around $900. our dealer will actually tell us his profit margin.
we know the dealer has to make money on sales, and can understand that. i mean when you only sell xx number of mowers a year, how can you make money if you only get a $50 profit on each mower. actually that wouldn't even be a profit. dealer still has to put the mower together.

even if he won't go down to $900 we will still probably buy from him because he will drop everthing to help us out if we have a problem with it.

my point is that just because it is cheaper to buy doesn't mean you will save money in the long run

IE: is other dealer nearby, will he fix it right then and there or will we have to drop it off.

we have bought all of our 48" and up mowers from our dealer for about 17 years. reason being is that he bends over backwards to keep us coming back. the price isn't alwys the cheapest, but she service(at least for us) is GREAT.

[Big G]

I think you have to go with who you feel is the best choice for service when you have a problem.

Price should be reasonable, but unless you are buying a wheelbarrow, you may need service fast or a loaner to stay up & running. Whoever you think is going to be there for you is the right choice of a dealer.

I just purchased a Ryan Renothin, used it for the first time & the thing was not properly assembled/tightened. The lower pulley spun off the reel and ruined the shaft of the reel and the pulley.
Dealer said "Bring it in right now & we'll see what it needs & get the parts next day air & have you fixed tommorrow." So, I brought it in at noon wednesday. I rearranged my jobs and on friday they called me & said "The manufacturer sent the parts ground UPS, they won't arrive till monday, sorry."

I asked if they had any available de-thatcher to loan me while my brand new piece of equipment was sitting in their shop. They said "no". That was a big help. I am a small operation, but the $4000 I paid them for an aereator & the de-thatcher was not chicken feed.

I could have checked all nuts & bolts for tightness before using the aerator and I obviously didn't. I guess I should have not relied on someone else to properly do their job.

Hey, how far from St.Louis is RPM Sales & Service?:confused:

[Brickman]

The dealer where I have gotten most of my equipment is high some times on thier prices. And you can't talk them down either. But the service is very good. I have about a 45 min to hour drive depending on traffic, to his place. I always call them when I am heading that way, usually when I get there they get me taken care of and back on the road. I don't have to go back later very often to pick up equipment after repairs.
I try to be loyal to them because of getting good service, but some times the price does get a little deep.
If I were to go to a local dealer/shop here it could take a week to get equipment back. And I can't afford to have 2 of every thing, so that when they are playing around, I can still cut grass.

[creative concepts]

I think that most of us here would rather pay a reasonable amount more for equipment from a dealer that will always be there in a bind. The dealer that I have been going to for the past 3 years is a little higher than others, but like just about everyone else said he will do everything possible to get me up and running in the shortest time possible. A good example is yesterday afternoon the PTO clutch on my rider fried itself. I called my dealer, told him what happened and he asked me where I was. Gave him all the info and he said he will be right out. This location is about an hour away from his shop and he came out, replaced the clutch and had me running in about 1 1/2 hour. On top of this he said "I am not goin to charge you for the clutch I put in until I have a chance to see what is wrong with this one. If it only needs to be repaired, I will repair it and put it back on for you. If you need a new one then I will charge you for that one." I gladly pay him what he is asking for his equipment with the kind of service I recieve back. Price is not everything.

[OBRYANMAINT]

ditto on above......my dealer used to have a large landscape operation and now sells equipment and does very little landscaping. So he knows exactly what we all go through , I will not even shop anywhere else unless he just does'nt have what i need......his service(on equipment) is far superior to ANY other dealer with in hours. I did buy a new mower this season from someone else and was VERY un sure about buying from a different dealer without the same service as him, but my regular dealer just did not have what i wanted

bottom line .....if i am getting excellent service, i wont even shop around

[keifer]

For 300 of my money I would wait as an end user.

[creative concepts]

keifer,

I don't look at as saving $300 by waiting for that part to come in. I look at it as money lost because it is needed now not 1 month later. How much money is going to be lost in that month from not having that part. I know that I make more than $300 a day and being without a piece of equipment I would stand to lose a lot more than the original $300. Besides, you are paying for the outstanding service of the dealer as well as the part.

[MuskTurfKing]

I would be more than happy to pay a few hundred bucks more on a mower and know that I will be able to rely on the dealer to help me out if I have problems with it than save a few hundred bucks and the dealer be invisible when my mower is down.

Hank

[LawnLad]

We've been dedicated to a dealer for sometime. However, they're on a two to three week back log on commercial equipment. My 52" GD Surfer is stuck in his shop with no loaners in site.

Now, they know we're looking for a new mower this year. I told 'em I was looking at a Walker and he wants to know if he can sell me one of his mowers, Bunton, Exmark, etc. I have to ask myself, if the Walker dealer is going to give me a loaner if he can't fix the problem on the spot - why would I buy something from a dealer that has me waiting weeks for my equipment. It would be one thing if it was a line trimmer/back pack blower since we have back ups... it's another when it's a major piece of production equipment.

Bar none the guy has the best mechanical service around, and everyone knows it. That's why it's a two week wait at times. Residential folks may wait up to 4 wks at this time in the spring.

Oh well, bottom line - yes I'll be loyal at almost any price as long as the service is there.

[Shadetree Ltd]

I keep my dealer honest and remind once in a while what the other guys are charging, I never actually make him price match, he actually will do it on his own or even beat them on a few items. The followup service is just as valuable as the equipment I am buying in my eyes. Anybody that tries to cheat a dealer of a few pennies every visit needs to be reminded of how much they enjoy their customers doing it to them.

Scott

[Rodney Johns]

Well I do the same thing. I have Walker, Billy Goat, Mantis, BCS, and numerous other brands.
The important thing to remember as a dealer is that all dealers buy in at different pricing. Plain and simple big dealers get big discounts. Someday I hope to become the "big dealer" with all the discounts. The margains are always there even if you sell at a discount. There are few dealers in the country that do not sell at least 10% below list. Truthfully list price a number that very few ever achieve.
I do well with being on both ends of the busines but there is certainly no formula.

[Commander]

I just dropped my dealer that I have been using for the past 5 years. I did several thousands of dollars in business with them. Most certainly not their biggest customer, but certainly one of their most personally involved. I was having problems with money with them, and was being asked to do some pretty funny stuff. So this winter I said adios. Gonna start dealing with somebody down the road from my shop, and with catalogs and what not.

[Nebraska]

Dedicated to the timelyness of service that the dealer can provide. As such we are willing to pay more for the equipment from the dealer that can repair quickly or has the resources to provide loaners for extended waits.....

[rodfather]

I have been using the same Dealer since Day 1 (8 years as a LCO and another 5 before that when I owner my farm). For me, he is a godsend and I consider him to be my silent partner. I'd be lost without him and his advice over the last 13 years.

Hope he's not reading this or he might want to raise his prices. LOL

[WREBELMACHINE]

CAPTNDEVO

I pretty much stick to one dealer because of the service factor and the knowledge that he has! I have been to every shop in this area and some of them have good equipment and a very good price, but when the subject of service comes up well lets just say they avoid that subject. I will pay extra on the machine for the service that I get. Example I have a diesel engine that just died on me while I was mowing, my dealer drove 23 miles to get me going again! Apparently the ignition box has gone bad the dealer wired it so I could use it until one comes in! I do not mind paying for dealer support and the knowledge that comes with it. Instead of being down with my most productive mower I was able to continue mowing that day and put $1300 in my pocket which makes up for the initial price of the mower. All I can say is this if you have service like that then you will have commercial lawn cutters coming to you not the other guy, even if you are high on your prices which no one likes to pay the service will make the diffrence!

[MONTE]

Hey rebel I really enjoyed talking to you the other day next time I'll pay for lunch! I completly agree with you on the service factor! I am very happy with my new mower and the dealer that sold it to me, he has answered all of my questions and has been a cutter in the past so he is very aware of what it is like to be broke down!

By the way rebel maybe we could trade mowers for a day I would sure like to drive your diesel!!!

[Nebraska]

My only regret is that I wish I had found Tim with J&J Small Engine sooner! How's that for a plug!