We dont wait, we have in house mechanics.
If it doesnt get fixed quick enough, the OWNER will fix it (no lie).
However, the local mower chop shop is next door to me and the last time i was in there (about three weeks ago) I heard them tell a customer repairs were three weeks out.
When I ran my own dealership, I gave commercial customers loaners, specifically for this reason.
I would send my kid out to pick up your broken crap and drop off my nice dixie chopper, usually no one called to complain "why is it taking so long"
, more often than not they called up asking "how much for this thing"
I gave them low trade on their mower, and dealer invoice on the new mower, fixed their mower and either kept it for the cheap skate loaner or sold it to someone else, or pretty often auctioned it.
I really only made any money off the sale of the used mower, but it kept me in new machines at dealer invoice for my own LCO, and I could sell last years machines with less than 400 hours on them like hotcakes.

Buuut youre not likely to find companies doing things like that.

 

Our stuff goes to the front of the line every time... usually resolved within a day

 

I used to get that treatment from a Toro dealership before I started my own, I called the head mechanic directly and he'd fix the stuff right on my trailer.
He knew me from the "Laflamme Services" days, Ed Laflamme used to buy a lot of toro proline 44s and a few Zs from that dealership, before he sold to trugreen, and for some reason that got me street cred with this dealer.... Not sure why, I think I bought three mowers from him ever.

But thats truly a rare find.

 

I do any and all repairs myself. Including truck, wife and daughters vehicle, mowers, friends vehicles and god knows what else. Just two weeks ago I rebuilt the rear differential in the truck with new bearings and gear set. It took me about 3hrs to get it to the point where I could start shimming the carrier. Most guys don't know what truck you see in the pic. It's not mine but a good friends truck. We did a ground up restoration on it. It's a 59 Ford F-250 4x4 which is the first year they made a 250 4x4 and they produced a limited amount that year so the truck is rare.

 

1-3 days. They bump contractors to the top of the list around here. Mostly warranty stuff anyway.

 

 

I switched to a new brand/dealer this year so thankfully no "repairs". But i have brought the mower in twice to have them make some adjustments. Both times the techs pulled the machine tjey were working on out of the bay and did the job while i stood and waited.

 

We only have like 3 or 4 repair shops in my area and they're all about 10 miles apart and I choose to support a small independent one that's been in business for like 25 years. I'm not sure why they're so small still. Last time I brought something in they said it's a 3 day turnaround for commercial guys. Of course if they have to order parts then I guess that gets thrown out the window. I had him tweak a carburetor a few times, usually I just give him 10 bucks and he does it right there. It turned out the way I was doing it was right along.

 

Same day or Next day. If longer than that I get a loaner. The longest was 4 days when a hydro went out, but that was waiting on a part.

Amazing what being nice to the guys that work on your stuff will do. I'm solo and get placed ahead of the big guys.

Always take care of your mechanics, whether in house or your dealer.

 

Same day or Next day. If longer than that I get a loaner. The longest was 4 days when a hydro went out, but that was waiting on a part.

Amazing what being nice to the guys that work on your stuff will do. I'm solo and get placed ahead of the big guys.

Always take care of your mechanics, whether in house or your dealer.

True story. I drop off a couple dozen fresh donuts in the a.m. when I return a loaner. Respect goes along way. I put 10 hrs on a brand new loaner this year. It had 0.2 hrs on it when I dropped mine off and picked it up. Had it for 2 days, felt awful for putting that amount of time on a machine they just got the day before. I must have apologized 5 times but they were cool about it. Prob a demo but I hate putting hours on new equip when it's not mine.

 

Handheld equipment is fixed while I wait. Most mower repairs are fixed within 24-36 hours. If it's a major repair warranty or not (snapped frame for example) I have a loaner the whole time no matter the length of time it takes.

 

sometimes it's a few days but i've had to wait up to 1 month before in the spring time when they have 50 mowers there waiting to be worked on. it sux big time. i had to go buy another mower when that happened. i couldn't wait a month during the spring. :laugh:

the loaner/demo mowers are never in so can't count on those.

 

That's how it is around here.

 

True story. I drop off a couple dozen fresh donuts in the a.m. when I return a loaner. Respect goes along way. I put 10 hrs on a brand new loaner this year. It had 0.2 hrs on it when I dropped mine off and picked it up. Had it for 2 days, felt awful for putting that amount of time on a machine they just got the day before. I must have apologized 5 times but they were cool about it. Prob a demo but I hate putting hours on new equip when it's not mine.

that's nothing. i had to do the first oil change on a demo one time. it had about the same number of hrs on it and i ran it up to 12hrs. i changed the oil at 8hrs like you are supposed to do on a kawi engine.

 

Handheld equipment is fixed while I wait. Most mower repairs are fixed within 24-36 hours. If it's a major repair warranty or not (snapped frame for example) I have a loaner the whole time no matter the length of time it takes.

i have one that's been in the shop 2 weeks and they haven't even looked at it yet. i bought a new one when i took it in. :laugh:

 

That's crazy they'll call or text me if I leave to come pick it up. Usually within 30 minutes of me leaving.

 

Same day or Next day. If longer than that I get a loaner. The longest was 4 days when a hydro went out, but that was waiting on a part.

Amazing what being nice to the guys that work on your stuff will do. I'm solo and get placed ahead of the big guys.

Always take care of your mechanics, whether in house or your dealer.

Yea being rude and pushy will get you no where. The mechanic has got to eat too. I don't think they get paid well around here. Contractors go up front. Varies for me. Sometimes a couple of days. Sometimes 6 days. Could go 2 weeks if the parts are delayed. Have been worked in on the spot. All depends on what needs to be done. Pay extra gets it done sooner

 

they rarely ever put commercial guys in front of homeowners around these parts. many homeowners have commercial mowers since some yards around here are quite large. it's sort of first come first serve.

this was how many mowers were at the deere dealer when i had to wait a month.... at least 25 of them. all they did was put new spark plugs in my mower and that didn't even fix the problem.... charging me $80. ($5 for plugs and $75 labor) i had to fix it myself putting new coils in. also they only have like 1 guy working on mowers maybe 2. they have like 20 people working on tractors.

 

. . . all they did was put new spark plugs in my mower and that didn't even fix the problem.... charging me $80. ($5 for plugs and $75 labor) i had to fix it myself putting new coils in.

$75 labor to replace two spark plugs?? That's highway robbery.

 

the loaner/demo mowers are never in so can't count on those.[/QUOTE]

The Deere dealer I go to will pull a used mower off the lot if there aren't any loaners or demos available

 

The Deere dealer I go to will pull a used mower off the lot if there aren't any loaners or demos available

not the one here. they suck! although it's been bought out by a new company so it may be ok now i'm not sure. it was snead ag now it's called ag pro.

they were cool at first when under warranty but once the warranty is over you're on your own pretty much.

i heard they charge $80/hr labor now at the deere place. the scag dealer only charges $50/hr.

 

I learned a long time ago when I was first starting out , unless its under warantee to fix it myself ( a do it ahome small engine class helped alot ) , and when it was warantee they put them at the front of the line ( saw it in action ) unless it had to wait for parts ( got to keep the guy who dropped a bunch of $$$ happy and return to buy a new one when time comes ) but when I did buy my new tractor ( Cub C back in the 1980's ) I did the maintenance , and it never saw a shop for the warantee period , infact in never seen the shop once it left and my Dad now owns the tractor ( 2nd motor ) , in the winter I did major repairs and maintance . now with the HOa , My mower is no longer made ( old and I mean old Bobcat ) , and the local shop they only handle and deal with Junkdeeres ( lots from the box stores ) , when I said onan they thought its was a generator and refered me to a diesel shop , so I do the work myself .

 

I had to wait a couple weeks once for my gravely while they ordered parts (warranty work). I have multible pieces of equipment now and don't worry about down time. I lend my backup zero turn to a buddy when his goes down. I just ask that I get it back in the condition in which it left and to keep me in mind when I need a helping hand.

 

Same day or Next day. If longer than that I get a loaner. The longest was 4 days when a hydro went out, but that was waiting on a part.

Amazing what being nice to the guys that work on your stuff will do. I'm solo and get placed ahead of the big guys.

Always take care of your mechanics, whether in house or your dealer.

What brand
Who is giving you a loaner?

 

What brand
Who is giving you a loaner?

Ferris and Snapper Pro.
Loaner is from the Local Shop.

 

I used to get that treatment from a Toro dealership before I started my own, I called the head mechanic directly and he'd fix the stuff right on my trailer.
He knew me from the "Laflamme Services" days, Ed Laflamme used to buy a lot of toro proline 44s and a few Zs from that dealership, before he sold to trugreen, and for some reason that got me street cred with this dealer.... Not sure why, I think I bought three mowers from him ever.

But thats truly a rare find.

so are you not in that biz anymore?

 

My Dealer offers loaners for us commercial guys, but I don't go to the dealership anymore. I can do 75% of the repairs myself and my neighbor who manufactures packaging machines for pringles was once a dealer mechanic so we can fix anything.

 

Has 2 at the shop near me, but he has 4 other shops around the St Louis Area. Each shop has loaners. If a shop needs a loaner for a repair lasting more than a couple days they'll transport a loaner to the shop that needs it as far as I know.

Both have been out at the same time only a couple times.

Both at the shop near me are a couple to a few years old, low hours, in good shape.

They're a HUGE Ferris dealer. Ferris invites the owner and managers to tour the shop and look at new models before they hit the market for their input.