New saw shop!!

[TomKildare]

If, for whatever the reason, you could set up a newly built saw shop in an ideal world, what steps would you take to ensure you had good products and good service and what would be on your wish-list on the way to success?

 

[hornett22]

husky,stihl and dolmar for products.

live dancers for marketing.

 

[hornett22]

oh and...........

micchael jackson to entertain the kids.

 

[TomKildare]

micchael jackson to entertain the kids.

Ah Mr. Hornett, things were going so well with the "live dancers for marketing" suggestion 'till you mentioned M. Jackson!!
:biggrinbounce2:

 

[jhellwig]

Well it would get your shop attention.

 

[wood rat]

Sell what works, not what you personally like.

I hate going into a shop and having to listen to a Stihl fan or a Jonsered fan or a Husqvarna fan ........ I'm there to make a pick, give me some options and just the facts.

I don't care what you like ....... I will make my own choice.

Good luck.

 

[TomKildare]

Good thinking Mr. Wood rat.

And yes Mr. Jhellwig, but that may not be the best type of attention!!! Now really, just who in their right mind would wish to see some scantly clad ladies playing in sawdust and chips? :hmm3grin2orange:

What about some technical replies?

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

I know that merchandise on the shelf is money spent on the shelf, but you've got to have the stuff there where peolpe can see and hold it. No one wants to have wait for you to get a 660 in to compare to to a 460 or whatever.

And not that I'm an interior decorator, but make the place look like a saw shop. I don't like walking into a crappy store that looks like a hardware store with saws tucked in the corner. I know that Stihl will set you up with a nice display....you have to pay for it, but dangit, it looks nice. Even saws displayed in a spar via bore cut, or laying across a milled slap is more presentable than saws sitting on a vanilla shelf like at a pawn shop.

For me, I know what I want when I walk in, so having it there, and having the saw shop look like a saw shop lets me know I'm dealing with someone who takes the saws seriously, and not just selling them to fill up room next to the lawn mowers, generators, and hammers.

 

[Lakeside53]

Great location, great employees... sales AND techs. And time... you can only create a great saw shop by proving to the customers you have great service.


Products - easy - just choose one major brand.

 

[TomKildare]

Ah yes.... great advise coming in there...

 

[beowulf343]

Depends on who you want to cater to. The local stihl dealers cater to homeowners and any pro saw they don't have in stock. (And forget the 200t-had one dealer ask me what model it was!) Went into a stihl shop a couple weeks ago and was blown away they had a 200t right in stock. If they were closer, i'd do more business with them. (Probably a good thing they are pretty far away-walked out of there with two new saws.)

 

[TomKildare]

So tis important to have a wide variety of quality stock! Quality stock = quality customers!!

 

[DOLMARatOs]

If it is JUST a saw shop then I'd say a well lit and clean show-room is important. Get creative with displays. Put a dummy or mannequinn in full saw gear. Keep some saws set-up and ready to run. Have a log placed just outside for showing operation of saws and speed.

Handle a brand that is solid. Obviously it will be Husky, Stihl or Dolmar but sell something that you can afford, ie Stihl is a big investment where Husky or Dolmar would allow more $$$ to be put in parts and service.

If it is just saws SEPARATE THE SHOWROOM / PARTS COUNTER FROM THE WORK / TEST AREA! (Psssst. Saws are noisy).

Stock plenty of bar oil, 2 stroke oil, and ALL bar / chain combos for every saw you sell. Also, all tune-up parts including bar stud nuts, clips, starter handles, kill switches, etc. If you think it could break from normal hard use then keep it in stock. We have a habit of keeping a new saw off the floor for use as emergency parts.

 

[TomKildare]

Excellent info Mr. DOLMARatOs... thank you of course. I appreciate the time you've taken to kindly pass on this advise.

 

[Goat]

Unless you are in logging land then most of your business is going to come from the occational was user. So, it might be worth while to have a demo log out back so they can actually test drive a saw. Just a suggestion, if I had a dealer that did that they would have gotten me to walk out with the next bigger model that I was looking at.

 

[Lakeside53]

Good point, but more to the point, if they don't have a LOG, how do they test the repaired saws? Lot's of shop don't have one...

 

[DOLMARatOs]

It's log, log, it's big it's heavy it's wood......

Logs are very very important for tuning and set-up of saws. I wouldn't buy a saw from anyone without a log for testing.

Wouldn't bring my saw in for service at a shop with no log unless it was an emergency.

I just got a NEW log today. Neighbor was trying to cut a 30 foot maple tree down with a Poulan special. I brought over my 7900 w/ 24" bar, 72LGX chain. Nasty fast. Neighbor had only gotten a few small branches trimmed off. We had to drop the tree on his asphalt driveway as there was no other place.

He might be buying a new saw for this fall. I chopped that tree down and we had it in 48" sections in less than 45 minutes. I kept an 8' section for our shop log as mine is getting awful short.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Depends on who you want to cater to. The local stihl dealers cater to homeowners and any pro saw they don't have in stock. (And forget the 200t-had one dealer ask me what model it was!) Went into a stihl shop a couple weeks ago and was blown away they had a 200t right in stock. If they were closer, i'd do more business with them. (Probably a good thing they are pretty far away-walked out of there with two new saws.)

Most dealers in my area stock the 200T!!!


A good supply of parts is very important!!!

 

[hornett22]

i would carry jred as well,i just figured them in under husky.

i'd also have all models in stock in the beginning to see what sells and doesn't.

i would also have wood to try saws out on and demos in popular models.if someone wanted to try an ms200t to see if all the hype was true they would get the chance in my shop.only one stihl dealer i met was willing to let me see for myself before plopping down 500+ bones.the rest just wanted to let me try it when i got home.this guy grabbed one off the shelf and fueled it up with the chain i like.i was impressed since most stihl dealers around here don't even look up when you darken their door.

i'd have promo items and customer appreciation days as well.

i'd host M&Gs on weekends and have a nice seating area with a woodstove in the winter for social clubs.maybe even a gun range out back for my liberal customers.

most of all i would have an excellent service and parts dept.all maintenance items would be in stock for all saws i sold or it would be free when it came in.

now that i think about it,i am going to promote michael jackson to target holder on the blindfolded shooting lanes.

 

[sILlogger]

as said before stock the common high wear parts, and the best advise i can give is know your product...top to bottom....be able for someone half azzed knowledgable to be able to call u on the phone and tell u what part they need(i now drive and hour to a saw shop rather than 10 minutes because this is possible) stock plenty of chain and the parts to fix them. and remember, u are gonna have to be a bs'er to.....because most of the people that run saws like to talk. open half way early and stay open for a while, have the coffee hot and the saws tuned...good luck..be prepared for more than a 40 hour week