Speaking of Dealers - Read this strategic vision

[MikeInParadise]

Seeing as there has been just a little friendly discussion on this lately I came across this consultants report for the The Outdoor Power Equipment Aftermarket Association. http://www.opeaa.org/index.html

Read the consultants view of the market, big boxes etc. VERY INTERESTING!

http://www.opeaa.org/strategic.html

Looks at Alternate power source, throw away mentality, reduction of dealers...etc

 

[coveredinsap]

Interesting links. Thanks.

I see it like this:

Price-
I don't see the smaller dealerships being able to compete with the box stores on price, as the box stores can buy in volume and the small dealerships can't. This means that the small dealerships will need to increase their purchasing power by banding with other similar small dealerships to form dealership associations, and buy from the manufacturers in bulk thru these dealership associations. That is the only way they can hope to compete with box stores (and the internet) in price, IMHO.

Service-
Unless the small dealers can step up to the plate and compete with the box store by offering a better level of customer service than the box stores can, then they (small dealerships) are doomed. By better level of service, I mean that they must be able to accept returned goods for 30 days (minimum) just like the box stores do...with almost no questions asked.
Small dealerships must also be able to help consumers with warranty claims and/or repairs, and not simply shine the customer on. The box stores haven't yet got a handle on this level of service, but I have a sneaking suspicion that they eventually will....and if they do, and the small dealerships don't get better at it, then the small dealerships will go extinct.

I will say this, it is prudent for any consumer to ask a small dealership what their exact return policy is, and what warranty help they offer the consumer after the return period expires, and get everything in writing before making a purchase if at all possible. And if you're not satisfied with the answer, then take your business elsewhere. Eventually the poor dealerships will either wise up or go under....either way doing the consumer a favor in the process.

 

[retoocs555]

Could you find when that was written? 5 year predictions going out to '05 would make me think around '00.

 

[sedanman]

Interesting links. Thanks.

I see it like this:



Service-
Unless the small dealers can step up to the plate and compete with the box store by offering a better level of customer service than the box stores can, then they (small dealerships) are doomed. By better level of service, I mean that they must be able to accept returned goods for 30 days (minimum) just like the box stores do...with almost no questions asked.
Small dealerships must also be able to help consumers with warranty claims and/or repairs, and not simply shine the customer on. The box stores haven't yet got a handle on this level of service, but I have a sneaking suspicion that they eventually will....and if they do, and the small dealerships don't get better at it, then the small dealerships will go extinct.


ARE YOU ON CRACK?!, I am a small dealership. People come to me after getting totally pissed off with the big box stores. I get the privilege of telling customers that the box store lied to them and the reconditioned producet they bought has NO warranty not the "full warranty just like a new one" that the idiot in the box store told them it had.
I do like when the customer is amazed that I actually do repairs on site and don't have to send stuff anywhere. I fixed a Craftsman mower last year in the parking lot for a guy who didn't want to let Sears send it to Pennsylvania, I'm in New York 45 minuted form the PA border. He was told by Sears that they'd get him his mower a.s.a.p. ,................about 3 weeks! The MANUFACTURER is the one that has to underwrite a return policy. If it was on the shoulders of the dealer, the public would but the dealer out of business. If there was a 7 or 14 or 30 day no questions asked return policy then people would "buy" all the equipment they needed for a project, use it, and return it. Free is better than a rental house. Would you buy a piece of equipment that someone else returned? For how much $ off? Let it go for cost? How does the dealer survive? Your model does not work, there are no power equipment dealers on Fantasy Island.

 

[MikeInParadise]

Could you find when that was written? 5 year predictions going out to '05 would make me think around '00.

I think that it said 2001 somewhere in the management stuff...

Which is interesting as we can see how good the consultants predictions were!

 

[TimberPig]

Could you find when that was written? 5 year predictions going out to '05 would make me think around '00.

It has to be older than that, as they had free trade being declared with China, in 2000 under their scenario A.

 

[coveredinsap]

Your model does not work, there are no power equipment dealers on Fantasy Island.

That's funny....it seems to work well for Home Depot and Lowes. It also seems to work for Office Depot and Staples. And Target and Walmart. And any other number of big box stores. If the product is defective, or doesn't fit, or isn't right somehow...they take it right back, no problem. With the small dealers/stores it seems to always boil down to a fight.
Now notice that I said the big box stores don't yet have a handle on warranty repairs? That's where a small business such as yours would be able to better them. 'Cause you sure as hell can't match their return policies.

You should maybe brush up on your reading comprehension before talking about smoking crack.

There obviously is more to your story than you are letting us know.

Huh? Like what? I made a simple extrapolation based on what I saw (no pun intended). Granted, it is a small sampling on which to base a premise, but there it is nonetheless. Until I see evidence to the contrary, that would be my recommendation. I firmly believe that the Stihl dealer I dealt with would use a 3rd party (Carlton or Oregon) bar and chain mounted on a Stihl saw he sold (originally equipped with a Stihl bar and chain) to negate the warranty....as he told me outright that Carlton and Oregon bars and chains were "garbage". And since that was one of his claims to attempt to avoid responsibility for the MS390 with the Alaskan Mill attached, it seems far-fetched how? You do the math.

Again, my Husky dealer (a mom and pop lumber/contractor store) has a 90 day return policy posted at the checkout (30 days for power tools). That is how they can compete with Home Depot.

 

[MikeInParadise]

It has to be older than that, as they had free trade being declared with China, in 2000 under their scenario A.

http://www.opeaa.org/history.html

2001 saw the first professionally developed strategic plan for the Association. The plan proposed development of an electronic distribution system available to members, allowing dealers to check inventory, place orders and be billed from their distributors, all with the click of a mouse. In 2003, the system became a reality and OPEAA members were on the leading edge of the supply chain in the new millennium.

I agree the dates seem inconsistent, probably a timing different in the report research and its presentation and adoption.

 

[sedanman]

Go into Home Depot and ask for a head gasket for a 5hp Briggs engine, let me know if they have it in stock, I DO. Ask them if they will service a Scag Turf Tiger.......................no? I WILL, and I'm not a Scag dealer. Ask them if the will pick up and deliver service jobs....................I DO. Ask them if they sharpen mower blades and chainsaw chain .........I DO. I don't see many tree services or landscapers getting their equipment at HD or Lowes. They shop at real dealers. HD and Lowes sell disposeable garbage that is not worth spending an hour of shop time or putting a $2 part in, it's JUNK, I sell and service durable goods. Office Max is closing stores in the northeast because their business model failed. Wal_Mart will be the death of the american economy, they're killing american companies day by day. To suceed in business you have to capitolize on your competitors weeknesses. The box stores have me beat on hours of operation, I KICK THEIR ASS on service!

 

[coveredinsap]

I KICK THEIR ASS on service!

Good, because that's what is needed. As you said, (and I said) big box stores suck at service. They (big box stores) have a good return policy, but their service and repair is non-existant.

Where's the disagreement here?

 

[computeruser]

That's funny....it seems to work well for Home Depot and Lowes. It also seems to work for Office Depot and Staples. And Target and Walmart. And any other number of big box stores. If the product is defective, or doesn't fit, or isn't right somehow...they take it right back, no problem.

True, but let's not forget what they're selling and to whom. Low- and mid-grade mass market goods, sold at reasonable margins to people who often don't know what they want or need. The return policy is already built into the price - Sears charges $400 for a Husqvarna 455. And since they can then sell it used (abused?) to some weekend warrior for $50 off, it is no wonder they can afford to take it back when the purchaser is done with their weekend project.

With the small dealers/stores it seems to always boil down to a fight.

I disagree - this statement seems a bit absolute. With stores that are willing/able to charge prices that permit a liberal exchange/return policy, it is often easier than big box stores. I have dabbled in high-end home audio a bit over the years, and have found that on items that are available from only one or two dealers per state, the absence of easy comparison shopping permits dealers to sell at margins sufficient to provide unbelievable audition/loan/return/exchange policies. But most of us are not willing to pay enough to make this possible when it comes to a commodity like a chainsaw, and as such most small dealers can't afford to endulge in this level of "service."



Another thought about the sales versus service issue:

While I surely appreciate a good dealer when I need service, I have yet to find a dealer who offered anything of real benefit on the purchase side of the equation. Maybe I just haven't been going to the right dealers or making purchases where the dealer's expertise makes a difference, but I guess I'm just not sure what a "good" dealer would add to the purchase of a saw. The thing is that I'm more than willing to pay for service when I need it, but I don't see a benefit to "pre paying" for service that I may or may not ever need by paying more for a saw than I need to.

 

[spacemule]

I made a simple extrapolation based on what I saw (no pun intended). Granted, it is a small sampling on which to base a premise, but there it is nonetheless.

Only a fool would extrapolate your assertions from your claimed experience. Face it, the only idiots who are going to listen to you now are the ones who already agree with you. You've already conclusively demonstrated that your only purpose posting here is to inflict financial damage to a company who's had none of your business. You're an annal-retentive ********** who hasn't anything better to do than whine to any fool dumb enough to validate your sorry excuse for a bag-of-???? face. Did I make my words succinct enough for you?

 

[Marco]

The idea of going to a dealer in the first place is to get the right equipment for your needs for the long haul, not to take something home for the weekend to cut up a pile of rail ties and bring it back on monday.

 

[coveredinsap]

I think I'm going to start ignoring the neanderthal fanboys and stick to discussing issues with the grownups.

I disagree - this statement seems a bit absolute.

OK, it probably was. But notice that I did say "seems to"

 

[retoocs555]

Here we go again....:help:

Interesting stuff, that http://www.opeaa.org site, thanks for posting the link MikeInParadise.

 

[chowdozer]

I agree with sedanman.

Over the last 15 years I have gone through 4 or 5 Homelite string trimmers. I was getting tired of buying a new one every two or three years for $70 or $80. They cost more to fix than they're worth and then there's down time. I thought about my dad who bought a Stihl trimmer about 25+ years ago. Trimmed all around his 1 acre field and a swath along the railroad about 30 feet wide and 300 feet long three or four times a year. One night when I stopped to see him, I asked what kind of service he had done to the Stihl. None other that a spark plug every couple years and an air filter. So I went into my local dealer last year that sells Honda and Stihl amongst many other products. I really liked the Honda, you know... Honda quality and all but when I talked to the salesman, I asked him if he would go for the Honda or the Stihl. His response was, "Stihl without a doubt". I asked why. He said the city and county come in and buy 50 at a time. He told me he'd go with what his customers buy. I looked on the wall and there were about 50 new Stihl's hanging there and 4 Honda's. I haven't ever got that kind of truthfulness and honesty at any box store. I walked out with an FS110 knowing that they'll be happy to work on it anytime I carry it in their store.

At some point in your life, service becomes more important than price. Home Depot and Lowes suck for after sale service a year or two down the road when the warranty is done.

I have heard it said that one of the differences between the rich and the poor, is that the rich buy something once and of the best quality. Poor people buy the same thing over and over again. Particle board furniture from Wallyworld comes to mind. And Homelite junk.

I don't see many tree services or landscapers getting their equipment at HD or Lowes. They shop at real dealers. HD and Lowes sell disposeable garbage that is not worth spending an hour of shop time or putting a $2 part in, it's JUNK, I sell and service durable goods.

 

[TimberPig]

At some point in your life, service becomes more important than price. Home Depot and Lowes suck for after sale service a year or two down the road when the warranty is done.

I have heard it said that one of the differences between the rich and the poor, is that the rich buy something once and of the best quality. Poor people buy the same thing over and over again. Particle board furniture from Wallyworld comes to mind. And Homelite junk.

They suck before the sale as well. The only thing they can compete on is price. Service, product quality, and selection are non-existant in box stores.

It's well worth paying the price to get a quality product, from someone who knows their product and can back it up. If your dealer isn't like this, take your business elsewhere. I'd rather buy a good product once, and put a little into maintenance over the years or even a complete rebuild, than throw much more into a new piece of junk every year or two. The throwaway junk mentality that has come about in consumer products costs you more in the long run, and only contributes to pressures on our resources. It is much more cost effective and less taxing on the resources of this planet to buy one good product, maintain it, and keep it going until it is truly worn out, than to build and buy a piece of junk, that breaks long before its useful service life should be up. Consumers need to stop being driven by dollar signs alone, and start putting quality of build, and service before and after the sale back into their buying decisions.

 

[spacemule]

Actually guys, they don't always compete well in price (I work in Home Depot. Sad to say, but the only customers we get are the ones that don't know better, ha ha). Be sure to compare prices before you buy.

 

[stihltech]

fired up

Now Sedanman, don't blow a gasket, it ain't worth it, I know.

BUT, it does irk me when these statements are made about ALL Stihl, Husky, Echo, etc, dealers.

Sorry, there are many of us who are involved in successful small dealers, and know to keep it that way we must take care of the customer.
Is being able to take it back, no questions asked, the answer? Guess it is if you never want anything repaired.
I still think there is room for quality products backed by good service. The dealer I work for is living proof.

So please be careful with those all-encompassing statements.:angry2:

 

[shalx]

For the life of me I can not figure out why people get excited about return policies. If it got to that point it is already a screwed transaction. I run my own buiness and still find time for volunteer work but if I take the time to buy something I just want it work. No junk, no exceptions my time is worth to much to me to justify to some general retail big box manager why junk is not what I pay for. Money back never solves this, time is lost. Quality product, which often does not or cannot exist at box store margins, is the only solution to wise spending.