Buying from a dealer.

[rajon]

I went to Home Depot to look at a mower. Not saying this is a bad thing or this is an insult of the gentleman working there. I looked at the mowers for a few minutes, they were up on a shelf out of reach, a sales associate came over, he knew about them pretty well. The basics anyway. Went over to the computer to look up the answers to some of my more in depth questions. He really didn't ask me much but then again he was covering a big section and there were a lot of people there. The prices were ok and I could have had them load the box right into my truck.

I then went to one of the local dealers. There are a couple closer to my house but I go to this one because I like it better. (It's all of 4 miles away). I walk in and start looking at the mowers. Someone comes over and introduces himself to me, my wife, acknowledges my son. (16 months old) To be fair I am an electrical engineer by education and career so I have a meticulous nature. This guy started the process by peppering me with questions! About my yard, how I mow, what I like about mowers, don't like, etc. Makes a suggestion, shows me a few more. In all spends nearly an hour with me. Never really pressuring me to buy. Meanwhile my wife and son are playing with the shop dog and getting animal crackers from the owner. At one point I say I need to talk it over with my wife and Dave says well you probably aren't going to buy a mower today but let me give you some ammo to use on your wife - I was just going to go ask her how much trouble I am going to be in if I go $22 over budget. haha

Here comes the big difference.

They give me an assembled mower. Not one off the floor but one they haven't started yet. They put all the fluids in so I can see and turn it over and run it. The go over the operation of the machine with me. They fill out the warranty card and submit it for me and they put a sticker on the machine that is a free pass to the front of the line.

I maybe paid more than I would of at Home Depot. I got an extra blade, 4 years free sharpening, a quart of oil, an air filter a spark plug and the first tune up for free. I took home a fully assembled, tested mower that I knew how to operate. (not that the Toro personal pace is all that complicated) I have a place to take my mower if I ever need during the 5 year warranty period with a factory trained 30 year experienced mechanic.

I totally missed the part that they weren't paying any less attention to me than they were the guys buying the $10,000 commercial unit.

 

[engine29]

Precisely the reason to buy from a dealer. And when you need warranty and service you know where to go instead of being left out to dry by the boxes. I commend you for patronizzing your dealer. The
small guy NEEDS your business.

 

[talley2191]

Ditto the thought. I purchase a mower from HD and when it was time to upgrade, I choose to buy from a dealer and it was the same experience as you had. Congrats on the new mower!!

 

[Rivets]

Thank you for posting this thread. You don't know how many of the service techs accross the world are looking for you right now to buy you a drink and shake your hand. You said it better than any of us could. Thanks again.

 

[txzrider]

Thank you for posting this thread. You don't know how many of the service techs accross the world are looking for you right now to buy you a drink and shake your hand. You said it better than any of us could. Thanks again.

To me the interesting thing about this topic and the above post is... most customers are looking for the kind of service before, during and after the sale that will make them buy you a drink. I have driven about 200 miles recently in search of a replacement for my mower. I started with the snapper toro dealer about 2 miles away. I honestly do not kow how they stay in business. I asked them about the 4260(they had the 4235 on sale for 2599) and they told me there was no diff and they would not order me one.
I ended up buying a less than 1 yo country clipper off craigslist, I have already ordered a mulch kit from the dealer 30 miles away that I plan to be taking it to if it needs repairs.

 

[rajon]

I am lucky with this place. It came reccomended from a few heavy gardening types in my life.

The first time I walked in there was to look for a string trimmer. There was a young girl behind the counter, looked maybe 14. She asked if I needed any help. I asked if she could help me with trimmers, she asked the guy standing behind her if he would help me. He had a little panicked look but he came around the counter. He asks me about my yard - I tell him it is a half acre corner lot and my ditches are really steep so I do a lot of trimming. He says "oh, you are not a typical municipal home owner" (that puffed up my chest a little - I know a half acre is nothing around here but it's mine and I love it) he says that I should stay away from the home lites and hondas and that the stihls are pretty good, he asks if I have ever heard of Shindaiwa and takes me over to the display and says that the blue one is probably more than I would ever need but the base one will do me fine for 20 years. Then he says I am really not sure how much they cost. I am not really a sales guy, I am a mechanic. I can tell you that I only ever see these when they get run over by trucks and I have one at home and the Stihl is pretty good too. At that point the owner walked by and finshed selling me, and more importantly, my wife on the value of the Shindaiwa.

I don't know about you but greasy hands and "I don't know how much it costs but I have only ever seen them come back in the 25 years I have been working in the garage here is when they get run over by land scaping trucks" is a pretty good sales pitch.

 

[Rivets]

I never said that all dealers are good, there will always be that 5%. Once you find that good one, most people keep coming back. When I retired I changed dealers, old one retired and wanted me to buy it. New one has more repeat business than I've ever seen plus many of my customers have followed me. Also helps that the other dealers in the area have very poor sales and service reputations. Don't know how they last, but it sure keeps us busy.

 

[txzrider]

I understand you did not mean all dealers are good... the dealer that will be getting my repair business on my new mower is 30 miles away, but he earned that by being knowledgeable and helpful a couple of years ago when I tried previously to get my local dealer to help me. Thats also my point about this topic on this forum, it can serve to educate dealers or any service person that is new to the field that customer service is everything. Any adult that does not believe they need to support their local dealer just needs to spend an hour or 2 wandering around walmart to see what can happen when the local guys get run out of business. The local dealer I have spoken so badly of apparently has a thriving business selling to the local lawn care professionals. So much so that he seems like he could care less if someone walked in off the street and wanted to buy a $3000 mower. I know because I have done that twice now and the last time was the last time.

 

[rajon]

One last story.

So I was an idiot and mowed under the swingset. The mower promptly died. :ashamed: A foot peg from one of the implements got caught between the motor and the deck.

I called the dealer. The owner ansered. Told him what I did, what the mower was doing. He said don't do anything, just bring it in. I dropped it off on Friday an hour before they closed, they called me at 9:30 Saturday morning to pick it up. Probably made fun of me like crazy in the back but didn't even chastise me.

The kicker? They completely washed my mower before returning it to me.

It was a bent rpm adjustment tab according to the mechanic. I have moved the swingset, ripped out all the grass under it and ordered mulch.

 

[possum]

Only good reasons for buying from a dealer for myself are all selfish ones. I do not pretend to think the dealer likes me or keeps me in his thoughts. I do not like the saleman side of dealers always trying to sell me something everytime I stop to buy some small item or just to look a bit. But it is part of the game, after all the dealer is there to sell. I much prefer an atmosphere like Lowes or Menards, but I like and feel I need the service provided by the dealer. The dealer I use is only 7 miles away, is very small, and for the most part a small engine service place run out of his garage. He is helpful, hard working, busy, a decent saleman, has the basic items for repair, and a small stock of Zturns, Tractors, grass trimmers, and push mowers. He keeps very little around in the way of mowers after August until March. He does not have a great personality, but neither do I or most of his customers. Much larger dealers are around but are located from 50 to 100 miles away. I just need the service myself. I do most of my looking at the big box stores, the internet, the gas station, the car wash, abandoned lots being mowed, contruction sites, and just from what I see going on in my own neighborhood. Alot of people that have problems with riders and snowblowers and weedeaters would benefit from buying from a dealer. You and I are the ones paying for these items, we may as well get all the bang we can get for our buck.