Brand loyalty?

[Morgyn Isaac]

Just curious how brand loyal people are regarding zero turn mowers.

 

[Rivets]

You are opening a can of worms, which has been debated many times on this forum. Every tech has his favorite, depending on his experience and what is available in their area. Personally I would take any opinions on this subject with a grain of salt. Boils down to two things, what your gut says and the size of your wallet.

 

[Morgyn Isaac]

You are opening a can of worms, which has been debated many times on this forum. Every tech has his favorite, depending on his experience and what is available in their area. Personally I would take any opinions on this subject with a grain of salt. Boils down to two things, what your gut says and the size of your wallet.

thanks for the feedback

 

[bertsmobile1]

Every maker can put out a duff model
Every maker can get components that pass QC yet fail in service
What is important is what they do when those things happen .
And all but the family owned companies have a board whos only criteria is tomorrows share price is higher than yesterdays .
So for those companies profit or rather profit to equity ratio is GOD .
Family owned business are mostly treated as an inheriantance so the management will jump through hoops to keep customers happy to ensure the long term future of the company
Down side of the latter is they will always have a higher price in order to run at a profitable turn over.
Big companies just want to sell more than their competitors so their aim is to push prices down in order to have a bigger market share .

Where loyality makes a massive difference is the place where you buy the mower from .
Finding a dealer who stands behind their product , gives good service & honest advice is very difficult and when you find one they are worthwhile supporting on a continuing basis .
Now day money has become a religion so down here most family owned mower shops have been gobbled up by big franchise agents run by accountants along the lines of a McDonalds / KFC shop .

As for which brands are best , that will depend upon your grass, your land & your lifestyle.
Having said that the only residential brands I suggest customers look at are JD, Toro & Country Clipper .
When you go to commercials then the field is a lot larger as Ferris , Hustler , Walker & Cox get added to the mix but now Hustler has been taken over I am reluctant to suggest them particularly as the Australian distribution agent is Briggs & Stratton Australia and their warehousing & distribution is pathetic & makes President Putin look humane & efficient

 

[Morgyn Isaac]

Every maker can put out a duff model
Every maker can get components that pass QC yet fail in service
What is important is what they do when those things happen .
And all but the family owned companies have a board whos only criteria is tomorrows share price is higher than yesterdays .
So for those companies profit or rather profit to equity ratio is GOD .
Family owned business are mostly treated as an inheriantance so the management will jump through hoops to keep customers happy to ensure the long term future of the company
Down side of the latter is they will always have a higher price in order to run at a profitable turn over.
Big companies just want to sell more than their competitors so their aim is to push prices down in order to have a bigger market share .

Where loyality makes a massive difference is the place where you buy the mower from .
Finding a dealer who stands behind their product , gives good service & honest advice is very difficult and when you find one they are worthwhile supporting on a continuing basis .
Now day money has become a religion so down here most family owned mower shops have been gobbled up by big franchise agents run by accountants along the lines of a McDonalds / KFC shop .

As for which brands are best , that will depend upon your grass, your land & your lifestyle.
Having said that the only residential brands I suggest customers look at are JD, Toro & Country Clipper .
When you go to commercials then the field is a lot larger as Ferris , Hustler , Walker & Cox get added to the mix but now Hustler has been taken over I am reluctant to suggest them particularly as the Australian distribution agent is Briggs & Stratton Australia and their warehousing & distribution is pathetic & makes President Putin look humane & efficient

Hi there,
thanks so much for this! I appreciate the detail you went into. Do you mind if I ask which state you are in?

 

[bertsmobile1]

New South Wales , Australia
FWIW my customer list is around 1000 .
On average 2 of them buy a new mower every year.
A rarely recommend any of them buy a ZTR as I can mow a lot faster with a 34" Greenfields Fastcut than most can do with a 42" ZTR . 42" being the most common size down here . And those who took this advice would never part with their Greenfields once they got used to mowing backwards around tight objects ( yes we are allowed to mow backwards down here )
On top of that Greenfields mowers barely depreciate .
Fourty year old mowers will sell for $ 2000 in a day even when the engine is buggered.
They use Std polly belts and swing back blades so cost about 1/2 to 1/3 of what any other mower do to run ( apart from a Cox ) So the extra $ 2000-$3000 is recouped very very quickly then repaid in spades .
Add to that the disc clutch costs $ 300 to recork + replace the bearings and will it last forever , got a couple that are over 30 years old & still on original corks , oldest one in continious service is 44 years old and still mowing the 3 acre plot .
Apart from that my footprint is in the foothills of the Blue Mountains so no such thing as a level block.
I am forever back trading modern walk behinds for 20+ year old 2 strokes because the 4 strokes suffer from oil starvation.
Thus ZTR's apart from the Clippers & steering wheel Cub or Toro are the only safe ZTRs to use around here.
Toro no longer makes their steering wheel model ( or at least it is no longer imported here ) and I would not wish the Cubs on my worst enemy.
I rarely watch TV so my opinions are based on products , not advertising BS .
Although a line from Alister Cave ( BSA Motorcycles plant manager ) readily comes to mind
" As our products became antiquated & unsuitable for service our advertising became more sofisticated to prove they were not "
Or to put it another way
Quality sells while rubbish has to be sold

 

[7394]

Quality sells while rubbish has to be sold

Agreed, & Cool is not cheap & cheap is not cool..

 

[thesilentone]

Brand loyalty is only one small consideration when making a purchase, as has been clearly stated above, several other things need considered.

1) Will it do the job ?
2) What are the annual running/maintenance costs ?
3) Who will fix it when it breaks down ?
4) How quickly will it get fixed ?
5) What is the value when (if) I trade it in ? (depreciation) ?

Buying local, maybe at a small premium adds value if all the above are ticked.

 

[StarTech]

Definitely buying local
has benefits. I have recently seen some horror stories about remote purchases.

For brand loyalty I don't have a particular as they all have their good points and bad points. As a mechanic and shop owner I try to keep with the flaws and keep parts in stock for those flaws. As for style of mower I have gotten to like the ZTRs over riders for most of my mowing. But it is because I have 6 acres and access to the commercial mowers that I repair. What I don't like in mowers are tiny riders but I am six foot tall and 240 lbs as they look like I am going to crush them. Some of them I have seen I have go back to my truck and laugh myself silly.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

Is this like an oil thread?

My brand is better than your brand.