Stihl dealer withouts parts or service

[Stihl One!]

If I might chime in, there is a Rural King and a Stihl dealer, oh, within 7, I miles of each other where I live in Florida.
I spoke with both establishments, one is upset that Stihl let the box store open and sell Stihl within 20 miles of him, and the other is unmoved by the situation, commenting that if he could sell 100 saws a month, then there would be an issue.
Does anyone see the under lying similarity? Oh yeah,$_$__$$!!!

 

[Rockjock]

Stihl Dealer or Stihl Retailer? Is that like a burger and fries cook calling himself a chef? Like getting donuts from a dunkin donuts and calling it a bakery? Here we have some local Home Hardware stores ( much like an ACE Hardware in the states ) selling Stihl but they are not dealers, they are retailers. It is clear for any customer who looks at the website ( the little wrench ) if they do repairs or not.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

The neighboring town of New Hope, AL has a place to get an MS362, MS250, rakes, lettuce, pulled pork, cereal, deodorant....Stihl dealer inside an Ace Hardware inside a Piggly Wiggly.

Pretty much same as the Ace in Anchorage.

The thing that sucks is back about 10 years ago, that store was awesome. The had a nut and bolt selection almost the full length of one wall of the store. Metric, SAE, grade 8, grade 5, stainless, etc. Pretty much if they didn't have it, it was having to come from McMaster Carr case no one else locally had it.

Around 2007 or so they built a new and "better" store... Now, they have a short aisle with that stuff, just the very super common fasteners. They have a USPS shipping desk in there, 2 full racks of cell phone junk, curtains, pots and pans, and all sort of other junk that a good hardware store shouldn't have! Heck the local LUMBER store has a better selection of nuts and bolts even.

A friend bought a saw there a couple years ago, he called me asking what mix it would take, if it needed to be tuned, etc. Well they sold him a saw still in the box! Not put together, not fueled, and he wasn't shown anything. I ended up calling Stihl HQ. The ACE called him the next day and had him come in, they flooded him with all sorts of free **** to make up for their laziness.

The ONLY reason I (and I'm sure many others) will continue to pay top dollar for Stihl saws is because of the customer service and dealer support.

There is only 1 Husqvarna dealer around here (versus probably close to a dozen Stihl dealers) because Husqvarna started slinging their junk at Lowe's and pretty much gave the Mom and Pop dealers a fist in the ass without lube.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Stihl Dealer or Stihl Retailer? Is that like a burger and fries cook calling himself a chef? Like getting donuts from a dunkin donuts and calling it a bakery? Here we have some local Home Hardware stores ( much like an ACE Hardware in the states ) selling Stihl but they are not dealers, they are retailers. It is clear for any customer who looks at the website ( the little wrench ) if they do repairs or not.

No idea. That's something new I'd guess. At a minimum they should be "retailing" OPE that is ready to go as it goes out the door, the purchaser shouldn't be putting it together and having to tune it.

 

[sundance]

If I might chime in, there is a Rural King and a Stihl dealer, oh, within 7, I miles of each other where I live in Florida.
I spoke with both establishments, one is upset that Stihl let the box store open and sell Stihl within 20 miles of him, and the other is unmoved by the situation, commenting that if he could sell 100 saws a month, then there would be an issue.
Does anyone see the under lying similarity? Oh yeah,$_$__$$!!!

Similar situation here. I can't argue money drives some of it.......but the real dealer (top notch, good people, excellent stock and two gold techs) is having a real struggle to survive. To Rural King it's another sale, to my dealer its a family's living. Want to guess which I deal with exclusively?

 

[Stihl One!]

Believe me, if there was such a place round' here, hell ya I'd go there, but it's Fl not much in wood industry here. Ya Cypress and some oak. I like learning, plus the old girl is pretty simple, I like it like that!!

 

[a. palmer jr.]

In Indiana, saw Stihl at Rural King. They had MS 461 on shelf. Just can't bring myself to dealing where I can't buy parts.

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Yeah, I don't think most of them will take trade-ins either..The Rural King in Vincennes used to do repairs, don't know if that still is true though..

 

[Conquistador3]

Here we have our own historical Stihl dealership (they have been around since the 60's) which also services pretty much everything up to and including chippers/shredders. I know a Stihl dealership from the nearby area is trying to make headways (I found their ads in the mail a couple of times and saw their delivery van around once or twice) and they also have full-on service.

I was recently told by my friendly Echo dealership (around since the late 70's) Yamabiko has started giving dealerships with no part or service to several shops: these places are meant to mostly sell Yamabiko homeowner products (SRM222 brushcutter, PB250 leaf blower etc) and to simply swap them in case of warranty issues, but I'd like to see how long that arrangement lasts. With all the homebrew "tuners" we have you need somebody with enough knowledge to say "Sorry sir, but we cannot give a new one: leaf blowers are supposed to be run with an air filter. Replacing it with an old bathtub sponge will void the warranty and defintely won't make it go faster".

 

[Highdesignfool]

We have a CAL-RANCH box store here. They sell Stihl and have a pretty good line of O P E. So far, I've purchased two machines from them.

They don't have a service dept. or a parts dept. The only reason I buy from them, is cause they offer discounts if you apply for one of their credit cards. As soon as the purchase is made, I call and cancel the card as soon as I pay it off in full.

Don't forget to close the account after you pay it off. I messed up my credit score pretty good years ago for getting 10% off a $75 dollar item at sears, then paying it off in full thinking I was pretty slick. The account remained open for years


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[GrizzlyAdams86]

Have a couple Ace hardware stores that sell Stihl around here, I've only dealt with 1 since the good Stihl dealer closed around the same time Midwest Stihl got bought out by another outfit that only cares about dollar signs and does not care how they make them. The Ace I've dealt with does have a service dept. and can order parts, but I had to help the guy look up .404 full skip chain for my 075, but to his credit he said that was the first time he can remember ever ordering .404 chain. Have ordered some other parts there too with no issues so far. The John Deere shops around here carry Stihl, but I've heard you're better off avoiding them.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Yeah, we have a John Deere store that sells Stihl items and parts several miles from me, haven't heard anything bad about them on parts or service..

 

[hybridkarpower]

Stihl has definitely changed their marketing/sales strategy which I think is a "Stragedy". Years ago when you do a dealer search in Stihl USA there is a "filter" where you can select Full Line Retailer, Full Line + Service Dealer etc. Now that filter has been changed and can no longer filter out a Service Dealer from Retailers like ACE. I drive 26 miles to Mason's Saw/Mower in Riverside for this exact reason, family owned, friendly and knowledgeable. Most the time I don't even ask how much because one, I know I can afford it and two, I have no issue with pay a little more for better service & customer support down the road.

This seems to be the way Stihl is going. We also have a farm and ranch chain store where I live. They only sell saws ,blowers, and trimmers. They don't have much if any in the line of parts or a service department.

This is contrary to what a Stihl sales rep told me years ago . Stihl's marketing plan at that time was to keep sales in the hands of only servicing dealers, no box store or chain stores would be selling their products. I don't know how anyone else feels but the box store doesn't have the same atmosphere as a small engine shop that sells strictly saws and some mowers. You can't beat the small shop atmosphere because you can talk shop with the owner, bump into other sawyers which is why I refuse to buy a saw or parts from a box store. The small shop is a little higher priced but when you walk in the door they know who you are and will take care of you verses the box store where you are just another nameless face.

It probably won't long before Stihl starts selling on line . I am probably a dying breed but you can't fight trends

 

[stihlaficionado]

I live just outside a medium sized city in WA. Most of the Stihl dealers here are Ace hardware stores, a new one opened up near me a couple years ago, they are now listed as a Stihl dealer and have a big Stihl sign outside. Today I called them to see if they had a small part I need and was told that they don't sell parts there and suggested I call another Ace store in town (there are several), but couldn't tell me which one(s). I wonder if this is the first step towards seeing Stihl in the big box stores, or if the tweaker I talked to on the phone just could only find his way to the smoking area out back (pot is legal here).

Champaign, IL. Rural King has the most pro Stihl saws of any Stihl dealer in town.

Supposedly has a factory trained Stihl mechanic

 

[HarleyT]

One cannot just make any assumptions on the quality of the mechanic at any place, based on the sign or what else the place sells. And the Stihl website doesn't say much either. The best Stihl dealers in the country still hire idiots too.

 

[stihlaficionado]

One cannot just make any assumptions on the quality of the mechanic at any place, based on the sign or what else the place sells. And the Stihl website doesn't say much either. The best Stihl dealers in the country still hire idiots too.

What does the "elite" designation mean? Is it assigned according to the number of saws sold?

 

[HarleyT]

What does the "elite" designation mean? Is it assigned according to the number of saws sold?

It means that the owner of that dealership takes the Stihl sales rep to Hooters for wings regularly.....

 

[Jon1212]

One cannot just make any assumptions on the quality of the mechanic at any place, based on the sign or what else the place sells. And the Stihl website doesn't say much either. The best Stihl dealers in the country still hire idiots too.

Locally, the CAL Ranch store has a MS880 on the shelf. I refer to it as the "Second Coming Saw", since it will probably sit there until it is steeply discounted, or Jesus comes again, then chainsaws will be irrelevant.
There are a few 261C's, and a couple of 461' S. Everything else in the saw line up is Homeowner, or Farm& Ranch type.

I have bailed out the two idiots in back a few too many times. Wrong bar and chain combo on 3/8 and 325 set ups, wrong set ups on distributor allotted combinations, improperly assembled saws, blowers, trimmers, pruners, etc.
The amount of misinformation spread by Stihl© Certified is also an issue. From proper starting procedure, the importance of PPE, the effects of ethanol in fuel delivery systems, to sending customers out the door with the correct replacement bar and/or chain.

 

[Deleted member 117362]

Not a Stihl dealer in this area with parts. Ace hardware stores are just that hardware stores with saws hanging on a wall. Best saw dealers close are Echo or Husky.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Since Stihl is not stocking parts in many stores I guess they're trying to help the Chinese. China seems to have many distribution centers now in the US.

 

[Jon1212]

Since Stihl is not stocking parts in many stores I guess they're trying to help the Chinese. China seems to have many distribution centers now in the US.

Troof!

I would imagine that there has been an uptick at Hutzl.