My local dealer just refused service to me, any recs?

[gixxerjim]

Well like I said in my last post I happened into a local Sears retail outlet, this store was the size of say, McDonalds. The owner had just found out Sears was closing her store, and she put everything 40% off. One of my purchases was a 455 Rancher with 20" bar for $240.

I had wanted a saw for a long time but didn't want to buy a crap saw and couldn't quite justify the expense of the Husqvarna I wanted. Now, all was good!

However, I found this site and read the last post about dealers vs. box stores and learned it would be good to have a dealer look the saw over before and/or after running it for awhile.

So I called my local dealer and he essentially refused to look at it. I said I would happily pay him for the time to run it, test it, whatever they normally do. I just wanted to know the saw was running properly after break-in etc. Also I figured this would be a chance to build a relationship for future service, parts, chains etc.

Well anyway he told me straight out that since I bought it at Sears he wouldn't touch it.

This seems exceedingly dumb to me. I understand he wants to sell saws, but there is NO way he would have come close to the lucky price I got. He's throwing away future business when I buy another saw, not to mention hurting his own name. Even from a safety standpoint I would have paid him for his time going over safe handling etc, and I stressed that to him.

What do you all think of this? Am I out of line?

 

[Bob Wright]

Well its like my local Ford dealer told me, son there are 2,300 other dealers take it somewhere else. I did and also the last 7 new cars i had bought from my "new" dealer that i would have never found. It could be his loss some day. Word of mouth says alot....Bob

 

[timberwolf]

I'd say what you did was not out of line, I would jump at a good deal too, and what the dealer did is also not out of line, maybe not the best choise maybe a bit snooty. In the shoes of the dealer If I say had a customer that went out and bought a product from the competition to save a couple of bucks and then wanted me to service it????

But it is out of line for you to feel pi$$ed about it, you made the decision to purchase elsewhere and not support the long term relationship with the dealer, don't be hurt that he chooses not to do the same for you, just get the next saw from him and he will likely be happy to look after both saws.

 

[spacemule]

No, he should be pissed about it. He offered to pay the shop for their time, and they turned him down. I wouldn't piss on the store to keep it from burning down with an attitude like that. He's also not fullfilling his contract with Husqvarna--I would contact them directly.

 

[Grande Dog]

It's his business , so he can do what he wants. I've heard this happening with warranty work but, to turn a paying customer away he must have more business than he can deal with. Some people like to cut off their nose just to spite their face. I think you got good saw at a great price.

Grande Dog
Master Mechanic
Discount Arborist Equipment and Tree Care Supplies

 

[jp hallman]

The dealer seems out of line to me. I'm pretty sure Husqvarna pays the dealer for any warranty work that's done. The owners manual tells you to "take it back to A dealer after the break in period". What if you bought the saw in Canada and moved to the US?(or vice versa) Drive back to the dealer you bought it from? What nonsense. Your dealers name's not Jerry is it!?

 

[gixxerjim]

I hesitate to say the guys name, I don't want to trash him if he is just having a bad day. Maybe I will stop in to his shop. 'Course he may not let me in!

 

[timberwolf]

"I wouldn't piss on the store to keep it from burning down with an attitude like that." Spacemule

That speaks volumes to your character and integrity.

As long as the dealer was offering a fair price to the customer, should the customer choose to take business elsewhere fine, but don't pick and choose. Thats dealing in bad faith.

 

[hornett22]

what if you bought it in the next town and moved there? i used to work at a boat and motorcycle dealer and the boss would tell people we didn't have time to work on their stuff and then he would send me home earlier.i guess these people know something we don't.they seem to stay in business somehow.sounds retarded to me.money is money.

 

[spacemule]

As does the dealer's attitude speak volumes about him.

 

[Chris J.]

I would think that the dealer could have charged for a saw go-over & basic instructions, probably sold you some oil and/or spare chain or two, and that would have covered the profit he would've made if he had sold you the saw. But that is just speculation on my part. There is the possibility that Husky's decision to sell in the box stores caused the dealer some financial pain.

 

[spacemule]

Thats dealing in bad faith.

Service is a product for sale. Why should I be forced to buy something besides service if service is all I require? That's not dealing in bad faith. Along those lines, you shouldn't take your vehicle to a generic mechanic since you didn't buy it there. If a dealer acts like they want business and is respectful, I'll pay more for their service--but a snotty attitude is not a likely prerequisite for a premium price.

 

[timberwolf]

Always three sides to the story,

Maybe the dealer is busy, and I were him I would make darn sure every one of my loyal customers were before I started working on a saw of someone who is shopping around and playing games (NOT saying that is the case here but maybe that how it comes off to the dealer).

Spacemule, exactly, if he just purchased product fine, but he purchased product in one place and expected service in another.

 

[Luke]

Similar problem with Stihl

I bought a Stihl saw from one dealer, found them to be unresponsive and not very knowledgable (I got a lot of material on this!). Found one farther away and asked them to help me. They would not work on my saw. I asked if Stihls warrenty is not good at all dealers. He would not answer and told me to take it where I got it.

Luke

 

[gixxerjim]

So in the future some of you are in effect saying I should skip the $160 discount that fell in my lap in this case?

It's not like I bought the saw at Sears to save $30 or whatever the difference would have been vs the small business local dealer trying to make a living. I like to support local business, I haven't set foot in a Walmart for 6months since I decided it was not good for the long term welfare of our country with all the Chinese products etc (please I don't want to start any arguments about that decision, I am just illustrating I am not out to save every penny and adopting the "screw the local business" attitude).

I dunno, I guess the cost of getting a great deal on the saw is I'll need to find someone else to service it. It's a shame, too, he loses the business and I lose the service of a guy with a good reputation that is literally within 1.5miles of my house...

 

[gatkeper1]

Go in and buy a chain from him
Now if you are good enough for cash business you are good enough for warranty.
If he then refuses warranty work you can take action against him. report him to Husqvarna,your state Department of Consumer Affairs and the Better business Bureau.
We have a shop like that here. He is a Stihl Dealer always treats me fairly but I don't know how he stays in business. He enters into agreements with various manufacturers to do the warranty of those items sold at the box stores. Then pxsses on the customer when they come in for service. Even if the shop has nothing to do the box store item will sit and rot before he will service it. Instead of giving the customer an opportunity to see that his shop and service are an asset and a reason to shop with him the next time they need an item.He insures that they will remain a box store shopper.

 

[scottr]

Sears

gj , what does sears say about this service after break-in ?

 

[sawdawgz]

Car salesmen, tractor salesmen and I would guess that chainsaw salesmen CLAIM they make their money on service after the sale and not on the sale. Then why would he refuse to service it? What is you bought that saw used, would he then refuse to service it? What if you had not told him you bought it at Sears, would he refuse to service it? I think I would have not told him up front that I had bought it at Sears to see if he would or wouldn't service it. I also believe it would be worth complaining to Husky about buying their product but not being about to get service from local dealers. I could see him not wanting to waranty the saw but he should want to service it to build future sales and service.

 

[oldsaw]

Jim, the guy is an idiot

He just lost his competition in town, now he wants to piss off his new, suddenly larger customer base. I understand the frustration on his part, when Sears was going, but that was then. Now, there are a batch of customers looking for a new dealer. If there ever was a time to paint a smile on his face and try to sell some chain and accessories, and generally make a nice impression, it is now. I understand not wanting to do their warranty service, since shops generally get screwed over a bit on that, but, dang, never turn away a paying customer...unless the customer is a big PITA.

I'm a salesman for a small company in a limited territory. When I see a chance like that, I jump on it with both feet. Come on, you have a guy who is currently "homeless" as far as having an outdoor equipment dealer. Let's see. You are a dealer, and you have a customer that needs a dealer, and you have a piece of equipment in common. How obvious does it have to be? So, as a dealer, you have two choices, you can totally blow him off and get $0 from him going into the future, or you can help him out and get some, most, or all of his future business. I don't have the luxury of ditching future business opportunities as a habit. The rules have changed, but this guy hasn't recognized it yet..

 

[gixxerjim]

scottr, nothing in the manual as I recall (read it last week) about after break-in service. I read on a post here that a local dealer will tune a saw they sell before sending it out so I was looking to pay a local dealer to do so with my new saw, hour's labor what's that $50 or so. Seemed like a good investment. The local dealer then told me he likes to get them back after they are run for 30 hours to recheck them. I thought that all sounded good but he followed up by denying me any service since I didn't buy the saw from him. I repeated that I wanted to pay him for his time (in case he thought I expected this free since he was under contract with Husky or something), but he still didn't want my business.

BTW, I did buy the saw from a privately owned Sears retail store, and the owner did make her regular commission on it even though Sears discounted it 40%...