brand new husqvarna 395 dont run

[THALL10326]

"I'd like to hear more about the angry employee that destroyed the 066 or the 660, whichever it was. "

His name is Bill or as we call him (knucklehead), he got that name for a reason! This guy was rough on all equipment. He could destroy a brand new chipper, grinder , truck, etc. We were doing a job in the Bronx and I went to go pick up lunch. I left 3 guys at the job; Knucklehead, this guy Paul who is the best climber i have ever worked with and a Polish guy (Romek). Romek worked with me from day one, he was only 17 years old and he is a friend. I came back from a deli with lunch and I found my brand new 066M laying on the side walk all busted up. Above the side walk was a cliff about 40' high and knucklehead was working right above it. I asked what the hell happened to my saw, but no one knew anything. Romek told me later that night that Bill got mad that he grounded the saw and it would no longer cut good, so he threw the saw as far as he could and it cleared the cliff and broke into many pieces upon impact with the concrete side walk. I fired the guy the next morning and told him the customer was watching the job from his window in the building and saw the whole event. Bill was also in a bad mood because I found his stash of budwiser in the truck and hid it. He was unaware of that and had the nerve to ask me to pick him up one beer for lunch. I reminded him that drinking on the job was not permitted and if I caught him, he would be out of a job. I put up with this guy for 5 years until this happened. When he came back 2 weeks later asking for his job back, I told him no problem, just show up with a brand new 066 to replace the one he destroyed, I never heard from him again.

Dayummmmmmmmm. He must have been one orenry bas tard. Your a better man than me my friend. Id'a took the bar off that 066 and slapped him up side the head for doing such a thing. Ya know its always the samething, nobody knows what happen untill later on, don't that really tick ya off. Glad ya fired his ole ass. I woulda slapped him , then fired his butt. I bet he don't bust up saws anymore,haha..........

 

[THALL10326]

Now you guys got me wondering. (DEALERS) Is the mark up( what you make clear) on one saw sold, enough to turn away a customer at $45-$60 a hour labor charge plus parts mark up etc. Just because they didnt buy the saw from you. This person might keep coming back over and over down the road for good service and that seems to me where the money would be. Am I wrong dealers?

Cut the mark up on saws, most any small power equipment isn't nearly as much as most people think. A small 139.00 trimmer can be low as 15% mark up and a 1000.00 saw may go as much as 20-25% mark up. The money is in the parts and accessoriers for those units. Trimmer line, chains and such, thats where the mark ups really are. Parts have a good mark up as well but the unit itself is rarely the big money maker. What Sed is talking about is these big outfits that sell over the net and big retailers who buy saws by the thousands and get a much better price than he does for the exact same saw. They get a much lower price because they buy tons of them at one time. They in turn can sell for way less because they paid way less for the same saw. Ya know it really hurts the dealer trying to compete with the huge buying power of these big outfits. In fact to be honest I don't think there is a dealer in the country that can compete with the buying power of Sears and Lowes. I mean they are muti billion dollar outfits. I see Sed's point and he did say if the guy bought local he'd take care of him no matter what dealer he bought from. I can see how if a guy lived nearby Sed's shop and refused to buy from Sed because he can get the same saw over the net for alot less would tick off Sed. I can see his point of I'm not good enough to buy from but I'm good enough to fix ya saw. Remember Sed is speaking about internet undercutting , not some other local dealer. Sed has alot of his own money invested and unlike the big outfits he see's these buyers face to face. I'd play it alittle different than him but I think as well I got alittle more bull with me than he does. He's a pretty striaght up guy and theres nothing wrong with that at all. Many customers perfer a striaght forward guy to deal with. I'd give em my fun hard time and ras the heck out of such a customer in hope I can make him mine. Even though I'm doing that on the inside I may well feel the same as Sed. I can't really say because Stihl doesn't allow internet selling or sell out to huge retailers. That being said means I really can't say how I would react if they did. I may well feel exactly like Sed, who knows. The service at hourly rates is good money no doult but best of all its great for the guy who has the saw. In all it boils down to its a tuff situation being forced to compete with huge outfits at no fault of your own, selling the exact same saw for sometimes less than Sed himself can buy it. I blame that on the maker, not the seller but if I'm selling that make of saw I'd have to feel sore toward the big outfit buyer as well and I think thats all Sed is talking about. I doult Sed would seriously turn any customer away because they bought over the net. He'd be just like me giving them a hard time and saying see thats what ya get but I'm sure he would do it as I do, in a good way. His straight up approch in his typing tends to make him look tuff but if you read it close he's just saying how he feels and not really what he would do.

 

[sedanman]

Thall, I might just sit down with you and have beer yet, ya never know.

 

[THALL10326]

Thall, I might just sit down with you and have beer yet, ya never know.

Cool. I got no bones with ya Sed. As you can see from the last post I see and understand ya point of view 100%. Hey Sed let me ask ya something. Lets say sometime in the future I was to find some logs and said yaw come on down and bring ya saws, would ya? Cut4fun and me were yaking that idea last nite. Go to the thread Cut4fun started called Todays Project and check it out my friend. I'm seriously thinking about it...............

 

[Mr.]

I worked at a Ford dealership for quite a while. If someone ever said something about where a customer bought a car when it was in service I would have fired them if they were under me. Or said enough they wanted to fire me if they were over me.

As far as your customer knows your brand is the best and you work for corporate. If not they will find another brand.

If you don't believe in the brand your are dealing with find something you can believe in.

The Blue Oval was standing behind me.

Fred

 

[THALL10326]

I worked at a Ford dealership for quite a while. If someone ever said something about where a customer bought a car when it was in service I would have fired them if they were under me. Or said enough they wanted to fire me if they were over me.

As far as your customer knows your brand is the best and you work for corporate. If not they will find another brand.

If you don't believe in the brand your are dealing with find something you can believe in.

The Blue Oval was standing behind me.

Fred

Its odd you compare car dealers to saw dealers because its a well known fact car dealerships cut each others throats like crazy. I understand your point of being loyal to your brand but when your brand isn't loyal back to you its makes it kinda hard to keep quiet and swollow it. Bought me a new truck a few years ago and don't think for a second I didn't hear you don't want to buy it over at that f---kin place. Both same brand dealers. Here where I live we have one of the biggest Ford dealers in the world, Koons Ford. The small Ford dealership up the road from them say they aren't worth a dayumm. Its funny how car dealerships bad mouth each other. You would think the brand they are sellling would step in and stop that non-sense but I guess if they are independent dealers they can pretty well say what they want...............

 

[Mr.]

Its odd you compare car dealers to saw dealers because its a well known fact car dealerships cut each others throats like crazy. I understand your point of being loyal to your brand but when your brand isn't loyal back to you its makes it kinda hard to keep quiet and swollow it. Bought me a new truck a few years ago and don't think for a second I didn't hear you don't want to buy it over at that f---kin place. Both same brand dealers. Here where I live we have one of the biggest Ford dealers in the world, Koons Ford. The small Ford dealership up the road from them say they aren't worth a dayumm. Its funny how car dealerships bad mouth each other. You would think the brand they are sellling would step in and stop that non-sense but I guess if they are independent dealers they can pretty well say what they want...............

What did that tell you about those guys?

I'd need the broomhead back on Marky's broomstick to enter that place. Whack them with one end and sweep them out with the other.

Some guys don't get it.

Fred

 

[coveredinsap]

Waaaa! Waaaa! Waaaaa!
I read a bunch of crying in this thread about the internet in general, internet dealers, service, and how hard it is to compete with Internet and big box retailers.

Actually, if you stopped crying so much and thought about it for a second....you'd see that it is not all that difficult to successfully compete with internet retailers.

Most people, myself included, would much rather buy a product such as a chainsaw from a brick-and-mortar establishment where they can physically handle the item(s), ask questions, walk out with the item they purchase, and know that if they do happen to have a problem with the item that there is a real live person they can bring the item back to to have their problem resolved...right there.

Compare this with an internet retailer .....that may have a lower price, but also has: No face-to-face relationship with the customer, no opportunity for the buyer to physically handle the product before purchase, shipping charges, a wait of at least a week (generally speaking)) for the item to arrive, and little recourse for problems other than returning the item (generally speaking).

So....why the popularity in Internet retailers? Simple, really. Consumers are finding out in droves that they can generally get as good, if not better customer service from online retailers as they can get at brick-and-mortar dealerships. In other words, customer service blows at local dealerships...again, generally speaking.

The solution? Quit crying about the internet and start competing in the one place the internet can only dream of being equal at...face-to-face personal customer service where the consumer is treated like a king for bringing their business to that particular establishment. If you service chainsaws, then stop pissing and moaning about where the chainsaw came from, and start treating the walk-in sales and service customers....all of them....like kings. If you do that one simple thing... I guarantee that consumers who receive that high level of customer service will gladly pay higher prices to buy from a local dealership every time. It's a no-brainer.

And internet retailers are betting that brick-and-mortar retailers don't have much of a brain. At this point in time, I'm inclined to agree with them.

And one other thing. If a customer says " I can get this on the internet for $xxx, can you match it"? Then for christ's sake, rather than just saying "No"....knock a few dollars off the price. I guarantee the customer will be grateful at your effort and you'll make the money back tenfold in repeat business.

 

[bump_r]

I dunno, Mr. - I'm of the mind that I need to support a good dealer through my loyalty thereto. He gives me good products and services at a fair price, great - I'm his. Recently, we started with a first-name-basis, I like that. It makes me feel (know) that I matter to him.

The reciprocal to this dealer loyalty, however, should be customer loyalty. I'm of the mind that my patronage to him at point-of-sale should also translate into some sense of his loyalty to me. Should I jump to the front of the line for service or rapairs as soon as I walk in to his shop? No, of course not. But if he has time to get one more machine out the door by the weekend, I'd sure like to think it'd be mine instead of the dude that picked up a machine at a discount house, yard sale, pawn shop, internet, or anywhere that cut him out of a sale.

Be it a car, chainsaw, blow-up doll or whatever, "service after the sale" should come before "service instead of a sale". I just don't see alienating an existing customer in order to please a potential customer. A bird in the hand and all that jazz.

 

[gatkeper1]

The biggest problem the individual dealer has is overcoming the American publics "need" to buy for the cheapest price.
That is why they shop at WalMart,Home Depot and the Internet.The insatiable desire for the lowest price.
WalMart and Home Depot have low prices and overly liberal return polices.The Internet except for a few exceptional sellers mainly offer price.
How many know of someone who bought a tool at the Depot to use for the job at hand and then returned it for a full refund?
When I ran an auto parts store I made it a point of stealing those customers back from the mass merchandisers,Internet and catalog houses and of course competing parts stores. I provided the service they needed. Solved the problems offered fair prices and won customers. Took a failing business and in 8 months had it solid in the black. easy? no. Hard work,yes. Its evolve or die.
Guy brings in an item purchased from the net, send him away and you never will see him again. Lose a customer and you lose 10, because you know he will tell his buddies and they will remember the crappy dealer and repeat the story. Win a customer and you get 3.
No you don't give away the house your integrity,fairness, honesty and quality of service will always prevail.

 

[spike60]

Gatkeper and bumpr get it, more or less. Sap, as usual, doesn't, and continues to paint most if not all dealers with a negative brush from his experience with the clown that blew him off when his stihl case cracked.

Later, I'm going to post my service policy regarding this stuff and see what you guys think about it. Some will surely disagree with it, but most will understand the reasoning behind it, and see the benefits to MY customers, which they very much value and appreciate.

I'll do it later, as I'm too busy here at the store taking care of those good folks.

 

[Cut4fun]

Guy brings in an item purchased from the net, send him away and you never will see him again. Lose a customer and you lose 10, because you know he will tell his buddies and they will remember the crappy dealer and repeat the story. Win a customer and you get 3.
No you don't give away the house your integrity,fairness, honesty and quality of service will always prevail.

I think you hit that one on the head about pushing away potential customer. Just because they didnt buy from you, could cost you big time down the road. Treat people like crap and you get crap for pay. Word of mouth for good service is great advertisment. But poop on someone when they enter your store for service will put you out of a job in the long run.

 

[spike60]

cut4fun;

There is a way to politely decline to service someone without making them feel as if you are punishing them or throwing them out of the store. If done correctly, you create not only value for your service, but the value of purchasing something from someone who will take care of it. You can actually win more people over while further building the loyalty of your own existing customers.

 

[Mr.]

I dunno, Mr. - I'm of the mind that I need to support a good dealer through my loyalty thereto. He gives me good products and services at a fair price, great - I'm his. Recently, we started with a first-name-basis, I like that. It makes me feel (know) that I matter to him.

I agree with your post. Sometimes I guess I hit one point a little hard. The only thing I dislike is the F the guys that didn't buy from me attitude.

Customer service is where you earn your customers. I think we can all agree with that.

Fred

 

[Cut4fun]

I agree Mr. nuff said by me on this.

 

[Wolf66]

okay, sence I started this mess let me clarify some of the last dozen or so posts.
When I opened my tree service back in 1994, I went to one (1) chain saw shop. It was a hole in the wall, but that little old brick building had one of the best chainsaw mechanics. His name was Vinny and if you cut trees in Westchester County, the odds were he was the one working on your saws, sharpening chains etc. His prices were always fair, his work top notch and he was a good all around guy. I purchased one 066 saw, two 044 saws, one 028 pro and about a dozen echo 3400's. Now i wanted a Husqvarna 394 and he did not sell that brand of saw. (this was before I got the 066) However, Vinny is the one who told me where to get it at a fair price, he tuned that saw after breakin and did all the service on that saw, no questions asked or guilt trips on how I did not get the saw through him. I would have never gone to another store if is bas*ard landlord did not kick him out on his a*s and tear down that brick building to build a much larger retail building. But that is what happens to nice guys like Vinny, they get taken advantage of and thrown out on thier as*. Now he works in an auto shop or something. Us commercial guys could come into his sop, smoke a cig., sharpen our own chains if for some strange reason he did not stop what he was doing to help you out (he always did that). But you know what, now the local shop (who does not sell Husqvarna saws) needs to get paid $50. to stop what they are doing and tune a carb. The local Husqvarna dealership wants $1,199.00 for the 395 with a 24" bar on it, I have 10 of those bars in my shop anyway! (the woodsman pro hardened bar rules though) and thats my point, the nice guy always finishes last and the people/shops who are still around are not giving fair prices and are not interested in a small busisness owners. So unless I win the lotery and buy Vinny his own state of the art shop and say here this is a gift to you for all you have done for me over the years, he will work at that auto shop and I will shop at Baileys. Not because I don't want to help my local economy, but because i feel I don't have much of a chioce! I am married with two kids and living in a nice area and in NY and that don't come cheap! I work F/T as a utility arborist and am still running my busisness and it is still hard to make ends meet. However, I shop at schauls (a local harware store that I have delt with for 20 + years), because they treat me good , I am in and out; and they have fair prices. I use the same gas station everyday, it is privately owned, I eat at Yogy's steak house twice a year, not the outback, etc. I even opened a company (Timberwolf Arborist Supply) and offered Vinny to lease a shop with me and i would do the sales and he can do what he does best, turn wrenches. I wish that could have worked out, but it did not. Now Baileys is a great company, they do go out of the way for you, they do have great prices, etc. I buy everything from them unless i need something on the spot, like this past Sat. I hit metal and had to go to a local saw shop and pay $39. + tax for a 24" chain. baileys sells that chain for around $13. Vinny would get around $20. both fair prices, but $39. is a rip off! I do not like being charged so much $ everytime I go to a local shop, so I take my busisness to baileys instead.

 

[sedanman]

I had a customer today asking about a consumer grade zero turn mower. He had been shopping on the internet and found a 21hp model with a 48" deck for $3,001.00 no tax shipping included. The comparable model in my store is 23hp with a 50" deck for $3,199.00 plus tax. First thing he asks is if I can "get rid of" the tax. No, I can't do that. Then he asks if I can match the $3,001.00 price. Yes I can, where do want the crate delivered? "What crate?" he asked. "The one your mower comes in, that's what you'd get in your online deal, that's what you get if I match their price, fair is fair they aren't setting your mower up and gassing it up, for that price neither am I, and then you have to get rid of the shipping container." I reply. He thought about this for a while, I'll deliver his $3,199.00 mower tomorrow.

 

[THALL10326]

I had a customer today asking about a consumer grade zero turn mower. He had been shopping on the internet and found a 21hp model with a 48" deck for $3,001.00 no tax shipping included. The comparable model in my store is 23hp with a 50" deck for $3,199.00 plus tax. First thing he asks is if I can "get rid of" the tax. No, I can't do that. Then he asks if I can match the $3,001.00 price. Yes I can, where do want the crate delivered? "What crate?" he asked. "The one your mower comes in, that's what you'd get in your online deal, that's what you get if I match their price, fair is fair they aren't setting your mower up and gassing it up, for that price neither am I, and then you have to get rid of the shipping container." I reply. He thought about this for a while, I'll deliver his $3,199.00 mower tomorrow.

Now that was slick thinking, good job................

 

[Tree Sling'r]

A 95cc saw in professional use could easily be earning $250/hr. If the saw cost $2,000.00 it would still pay for itself in a week of pro use and start putting money in the sawyers pocket. The saw has at least a 5 year life expectancy in pro use so it will produce a HUGE return on investment. Saving 20% at purchase is a minuscule difference in overall operating cost over the life of the saw. Buy local and support you neighbor. Buy local and the sales tax goes to your home state. Aren't chainsaws an allowable deduction for a tree care or landscaping business? If you had a lot clearing/stump grinding service and quoted a price on a job only to have another company low-ball you, how would you feel if the land owner called you to clean up after the other company did the job then split? ( or missed one stump?) Would you charge your normal rate or stick it to the guy for not hiring you in the first place?

What the hell have you been smoking? These are the most hideous numbers I have ever heard.

 

[sedanman]

Slinger, Around here a decent size removal will be 3 to 5 thousand dollars. These are pretty much impossible without chainsaws. My point is that an 11 hundred dollar chainsaw is a easily paid for in a days work doing residential take downs, every days use you get out of thereafter is pure profit. I have one customer that buys a half dozen saws a year, not all from me unfortunately ( he like another brand top handle saw) but he does average a saw every other month for his crews. He ain't crying over the price, he knows it's the cost of doing business and his saws do make him money. He also knows I'll take of him when he drops a saw off.