Whats your Opinion? Customer maintenance

[tickhound93]

Every now and then, i get the chance to see a really, really awful example of saw maintenance, and today was such a day. Ms290 brought in because the gas tank was leaking due to a "small crack" and he wanted the tank replaced. (ended up being many crack in both the oil and fuel reservoirs) no big deall 1127 series saw that runs great, between clean up, install and test i look at 1 1/2 hours. This customer happens to be a good friend, and i know his maintenance habits are almost nonexixtent. Even i was suprised by what i found, when i took the air filter cover off, i couldnt even see the air filter, when i pulled the recoil off, i couldnt see the coil, sooooo much sawdust. I already knew where this job was headed. Pulled the mufffler and yes indeed, the piston is roached, after calling him to let him know he says "yeah i grabbed the wrong gas can and it locked up last year, but i put mix in it and it ran again". Do i just completely ignore his lack of maintenance, bill him and keep parts available to rebuild his saw again with his name on them, or do i tell him he needs to keep up on these things, as nicely as possible?

 

[fearofpavement]

You can tell him but it may not help. I just explain that failure to do certain things will get expensive and maybe the financial aspect will be enough incentive. But yeah, just stock parts. They're a common saw and parts are plentiful...

 

[tickhound93]

This is the same guy who had a perfectly good jonsred but wanted to buy a saw to write it off, he hasnt seen the jonsred since.. he thinks it might be in his garage under a stack of feed sacks lol. I told him if he can find the jonsred i will trade him for a 12 pack of milwaukees best light.

 

[BWS-LLC]

If he truly is a good friend, be up front with him. If you need to replace the oil and fuel tank anyways you already have the saw tore down far enough that a P&C bearing and o-ring change will mean nothing.

 

[cedarshark]

Trying to correct someone that abuses a piece of equipent that badly is a waste of time. It will cost ___ $ to repair your saw. Do you want me to fix it or would you like to look at a new one?

 

[CascadeHusky]

Trying to correct someone that abuses a piece of equipent that badly is a waste of time. It will cost ___ $ to repair your saw. Do you want me to fix it or would you like to look at a new one?

Agreed. Its unlikely you will tell him something he hasn't heard before. Why should he worry about maintenance? He has a buddy with a saw shop!!!

So yes, give him s@$& for being dumb/lazy(there are ways to do politely if he is more of a customer than friend), but don't expect it to change.

 

[angelo c]

buddy of mine handed me a MS460 last week, says, "Kill switch don't work..."
I think...No prob...wire gone bad

It was so gunked up with sawdust that the rod would not go in the up position enough to make contact...Still took 20 minutes to clean out the mess...OMG.

 

[cedarshark]

I picked up an Echo Timberwolf listed on ebay for parts or repair. When I got it, the exterior was new. I thought major score ! Out of the box the previous owner fired it up and cut black plastic irrigation pipe until the plastic "noodles" plugged the fins on the cylinder, overheated the saw and scored the P & C. Took over 3 hours to clean the melted plastic out of the fins. You cant fix stupid.

 

[Chainsaw Jim]

And people wonder why their saw overheats and loses compression.

 

[pioneerguy600]

What`s maintenance?.

 

[Cj genever]

Always be honest, but remember that offering to do extra work looks suspicious to customers that don't know what you're talking about. You want to give them all the information without them thinking that you're trying to take him for a ride. It helps to offer up pictures or offer for them to come in and take a look at it before you start the work. Sometimes a quick explanation is all it takes. That said, if he is an actual friend I would slap them in the back of the head and tell him to take care of his damn machines

 

[pioneerguy600]

 

[cedarshark]

What a shame all those great 044s are in such bad condition. Hope you clean me up. They are worth it.

 

[67L36Driver]

Average of what people bring me really. I have a 034 and MS260 here now for top ends.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Average of what people bring me really. I have a 034 and MS260 here now for top ends.

Most often saws just get run til they break, then I get to see them, PRO operators are hard on gear but they usually get the mix right. Homeowners are worse, they let saws sit around and varnish up and get the mix wrong a lot. Very few maintain a saw at all, run til they break or won`t start and then complain bitterly about how much it costs to get them running again.

 

[Mad Professor]

Most often saws just get run til they break, then I get to see them, PRO operators are hard on gear but they usually get the mix right. Homeowners are worse, they let saws sit around and varnish up and get the mix wrong a lot. Very few maintain a saw at all, run til they break or won`t start and then complain bitterly about how much it costs to get them running again.

Curious as to what the air filters (not just housings) and cylinder fins looked like on those 044s?

 

[pioneerguy600]

Everything on those saws were crudded up heavily when they came in, they are now all cleaned up, repaired and back out in the workforce. Still more of them waiting their turn to be cleaned up and looked over, broken recoil ropes, rotors ,pawls and gunk around the modules seem to be a constant problem on saws used to cut mostly softwood trees for sawlogs.

 

[Stihlbillie]

Having rebuilt 4-5 chainsaws in the past 3 years. I always tell my customers "keep it clean, it goes a long way."

 

[Mad Professor]

Everything on those saws were crudded up heavily when they came in, they are now all cleaned up, repaired and back out in the workforce. Still more of them waiting their turn to be cleaned up and looked over, broken recoil ropes, rotors ,pawls and gunk around the modules seem to be a constant problem on saws used to cut mostly softwood trees for sawlogs.

I got my first 038M in that condition, for free, from a logger friend. His attitude was "if it won't run it costs me money so I buy a new saw..."

It did not run because the recoil was too junked up for the rope to return and there was a mess of sawdust packed under one of the carb covers not letting the inarrds pump. After a cleanup it ran so well I brought a new air filter, bar, and chain. That was 19 years ago, that saw is still running and was used for my firewood this summer/fall.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Yup. Have had a few that I pretty much wanted to dunk in a pail of diesel for a day or two! Or the saws that got left out in the peckerbrush 10 years ago and they figure it just needs a plug and a tune up.

Average of what people bring me really. I have a 034 and MS260 here now for top ends.

One I rememer was a Homelite weedwacker. I forget the model but the engine is down on the bottom, no driveshaft like a normal weedwacker. The handle is the fuel tank.
Had it running nice, and it comes back a few days later. Customer figured out it needed mixed gas, so he dumped a whole bottle of 2 stroke oil and whatever gas would fit.
Ended up selling him a couple gallon gas jug full of 50:1 mix.