New saw shop!!

[chainsawjunky]

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)

Yes that makes a good dealer. I went in to the "saw shop" within 2 miles of my house and asked if they could pull they flywheel right there and they looked at me like I was crazy. They said "it'll be a couple days, our only mechanic has 40 lawnmowers waiting for him"(beginning of season they were all in for tune-ups). Walked right out of there and went to the saw shop my cousin told me to go to which is 30 minutes away from the house. Now I can just call him with the part I need, he'll order it and it will be in within 2 days(depending on if they stock it or not). Make sure you know your product and know what your talkin about.

Evan

 

[Lou]

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?

In your neck of the woods... service! That was what I found lacking while in Germany. I may NEED to utilize my saw while the entire continent is on holiday, it'd be nice if SOMEONE could repair it.

 

[wood rat]

Your insurance will be sky high if you allow customers to wield a chainsaw on your property - and if one cuts himself accidentally or on purpose for a easy payday may your deity help you.

JMO

 

[hornett22]

no lawsuits at my shop.

there will be a sign stating that people that cut themselves will be shot on site!

 

[computeruser]

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.

Well said.

If you carry a line of products, carry all the necessary small parts for them. Or accept that you WILL have to canibalize your floor models. I'll be damned if I'll "order" a part that is ready to be stolen off of a floor model saw. And there is NO reason for me to order parts from you that I can order AND have shipped to my house from online sources. The value to a shop is found in the ability to walk in-walk out and get back to work.

Ditto on bars, especially non-Stihl bars that are readily available on the open market. Who in their right damned mind is going to wait two weeks for a Husqvarna-branded Oregon PowerMatch bar to show up, when they could get it from Bailey's for 60% of the price and have it in a day or two? Exactly. Now if you do have it in stock, I might see paying "more than its worth" to carry it home today and save myself the aggrivation of placing a one-item order. But if I have to wait and then drive to your shop to pick it up...no.

On a related note, please stock common old parts for earlier models, or know which ones that you don't stock that you can quickly get in. I just learned today that my dealer can still get a new OEM P/C for my Husqvarna 154. That's great. Granted there's no way I would pay the $280 MSRP for it (minus my favored customer discount, of course), but at least he can get it for me if I was to want it. Other dealers would have tried to sell me a new MS290 or some such thing instead.

Sell related products, too. Wood heating stuff (but only quality stuff), splitters, axes, climbing gear, arborist/logging supplies, and worksite goodies that someone might need in the course of the day, too - traffic cones, coolers, bottled water, workwear, etc. I'd sooner by a bunch of stuff at one store than have to hit a bunch of different stores, especially if time is tight.

Lastly, accept that some customers might actually know more than you do about certain things, just as you undoubtedly know more than a lot of other customers about other things.

 

[jrclen]

My local stihl dealer has all the saws cabled to the wall so you can't pick them up and handle them. No PPE in the show room. Lots of funny looking snowmobile suits and helmets to paw through though. Nice guys to talk to, but kind of busy to bother unless your money is out.

 

[jrclen]

maybe even a gun range out back for my liberal customers.

You boys out east still allowed to shoot guns?

 

[rahtreelimbs]

I know of no shop in my area that has demo saws and a log to try them in...............wish they did!!!

 

[Fish]

I went in to the "saw shop" within 2 miles of my house and asked if they could pull they flywheel right there and they looked at me like I was crazy. They said "it'll be a couple days, our only mechanic has 40 lawnmowers waiting for him"(beginning of season they were all in for tune-ups). an

Why did you want them to pull the flywheel?

 

[chainsawjunky]

I needed them pulled to disassemble the saws(2 of them) and I didn't have a puller and I didn't want to break them. And the second dealer(farther one) did it for free.

Evan

 

[hornett22]

shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You boys out east still allowed to shoot guns?

nothing fun is legal here in the north east.please keep it quiet.

actually,i have never lived anywhere dumber than new england.the laws here are mind boggling.you'd think they would notice the laws fixed nothing. guess it makes them feel all fuzzy inside thinking they tried,LOL.

 

[TREEWACKA]

I would only add to the good comments already given; really know your product!!!, give exceedingly good service, keep things clean and always meet your customers with a smile & handshake. Point to the parched peanuts in the pan on the wood stove and invite them to have a cup of coffee.

 

[sILlogger]

h*ll yes we still shoot guns, but i don't live in the same sort of place that all easterners do, a pic from my pond dam

 

[Fuzly]

I know of no shop in my area that has demo saws and a log to try them in...............wish they did!!!

Several years ago I was looking at the saws and told Bill behind the counter what I was looking for. He asked some pertinet questions and I narrowed it down to the one. "Well the only way to know for sure is to try it" said Bill. So he takes the display powerhead in the back, asks me what size bar I'm thinking, I say 18", so he puts an 18" and chain on, puts gas and oil in it, and fires it up. "Sounds good, come on out back with me."
Behind the shop is big pile of 8' sticks of maple. "Why don't you cut up a few pieces, about 16 inches to two foot, like you're cutting up firewood at home." I cut a few up, wow, I've never run a saw like this I say.
"Oh cut some more, you've barely warmed her up." So I cut some more up, I'm thinking this is great. "I really like it Bill."
"Just cut a few more, you're lookin' good." O.K. so I keep going.
"Allright, why don't you take the saw back in and I'll meet you there." As he's saying this he's coming up to the pile with his wheelbarrow, laughing all the way. Of course he fills the wheelbarrow up with all the wood I just cut and wheels it in the side door where the woodburner is.
So we meet back in the display area. "Thanks for cutting my firewood, how do you want the saw set up?"
"I'll take it just the way it is, I've already got that chain broke in." And that's the true story of how I got my 036.

The moral of the story, treat people right, help them pick what they want but don't tell them what they want, and the young dumb ones will even cut your firewood for you.

 

[jrclen]

nothing fun is legal here in the north east.please keep it quiet.

I was just funnin ya. I was stationed in Northern Maine in the Navy back in 1965 and I loved it there. Lots of great woods like Wisconsin but even bigger. And you could hang a pistol from your belt back then and no one would bat an eye. To bad, things have changed all over the country.