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It's Offical. Briggs files Chapter 11.
#2
cpurvis
cpurvis
For some companies, there's good money in going broke.
The virus is a convenient excuse. I was unaware that it stunted the growth of grass.
The virus is a convenient excuse. I was unaware that it stunted the growth of grass.
#3
Scrubcadet10
Scrubcadet10
So i assume, if Briggs doesn't get their act together quickly, Bye Bye B&S?
#4
I
ILENGINE
I
ILENGINE
Briggs problems started in 2017 with the consolidation of all the distribution into one company, and then having parts availability issues to their dealers with extended backorders that lasted 12-18 months but they claimed was due to an upgrade in computer systems that needed ironed out and they claimed that only took 6 months. Basically their official statement didn't match what the dealers were seeing on the ground. And the brand name licensing to other companies that were not exactly top tier. Nothing like purchasing a Briggs product but the only thing Briggs about it was the engine. The rest of the Briggs product was serviced and warrantied through a third party manufacturer.
#5
B
bertsmobile1
B
bertsmobile1
Briggs problem is they are a component supplier in a very price sensitive market so they are a price taker not a price setter.
The second problem is they are an assembler of engines from largely bought in parts so every part in the engine has a profit margin for the makers & transport added to the price .
This has happened because of successive generations of management who understand money but have no understanding of small engines or running a factory.
Because accountants need some measure of their "success" they invented a thing called a PE ration ( profit to capital ) and to make that higher you will always have to buy in rather than make it yourself.
This goes back way further than 2017 it goes back to the 50's when the first batch of university graduates got offices and became bad managers in place of what they should have been, good advisers.
And it is not unique to Briggs & Stratton where the top 5 levels of management are principally bonus farmers and not company managers , which is obvious by the granting of retention bonuses .
Then there is the idiot idea of "core business" so any part of the business that can be sold off is, which again raises the PE ratio.
The there is the religious zeal for not paying any tax so accountant will happily spend $ 100,000,000 renting land that they could have bought for $ 2,000,000 in order to avoid $ 10,000 in land tax.
Finally there is Chapter 11 itself , a piece of legislation that would appear to have been written to help large companies survive intact through very tough times but now has just become a tool in accountants tool chest to avoid paying tax & repaying debt.
IMHO, the only thing Briggs had going for them was the ability to get parts for engines that are 30+ years old.
Back when the $ A & the $ USA were in parity I bought 5 pallets of Briggs engines ~ 60 engines .
Right now there are 14 of them I can not sell because I have needed to pirate them for parts that Briggs have not been able to supply.
I waited 18 months for stators , 12 months for cam shafts , 8 months for rockers and am still waiting for 3 plastic cooling fans .
So once these engines are gone they will be the last Briggs engine I will ever fit .
I can get Kawasaki engines for a small amount more than the Briggs and take a hair cut on the fitting fees to make the price the same to the customer.
Or fit Loncins that come with a 2 year no question replacement warranty , cost 1/3 of a Briggs engine wholesale , at a really health profit .
As for Covid being a problem, horse feathers.
The Covid lock downs here have been a massive boost and my wholesalers have all put on extra staff & working overtime to try & keep up.
The peopl who are hurting are the contractors because so many people have bought a mower & are cutting their own lawns.
My guess is the new owners will announce the closure of all USA plants in order to allow President Trump to "rescue " them with a big fat chunk of taxpayers money most of which will end up in the pockets of the directors.
The second problem is they are an assembler of engines from largely bought in parts so every part in the engine has a profit margin for the makers & transport added to the price .
This has happened because of successive generations of management who understand money but have no understanding of small engines or running a factory.
Because accountants need some measure of their "success" they invented a thing called a PE ration ( profit to capital ) and to make that higher you will always have to buy in rather than make it yourself.
This goes back way further than 2017 it goes back to the 50's when the first batch of university graduates got offices and became bad managers in place of what they should have been, good advisers.
And it is not unique to Briggs & Stratton where the top 5 levels of management are principally bonus farmers and not company managers , which is obvious by the granting of retention bonuses .
Then there is the idiot idea of "core business" so any part of the business that can be sold off is, which again raises the PE ratio.
The there is the religious zeal for not paying any tax so accountant will happily spend $ 100,000,000 renting land that they could have bought for $ 2,000,000 in order to avoid $ 10,000 in land tax.
Finally there is Chapter 11 itself , a piece of legislation that would appear to have been written to help large companies survive intact through very tough times but now has just become a tool in accountants tool chest to avoid paying tax & repaying debt.
IMHO, the only thing Briggs had going for them was the ability to get parts for engines that are 30+ years old.
Back when the $ A & the $ USA were in parity I bought 5 pallets of Briggs engines ~ 60 engines .
Right now there are 14 of them I can not sell because I have needed to pirate them for parts that Briggs have not been able to supply.
I waited 18 months for stators , 12 months for cam shafts , 8 months for rockers and am still waiting for 3 plastic cooling fans .
So once these engines are gone they will be the last Briggs engine I will ever fit .
I can get Kawasaki engines for a small amount more than the Briggs and take a hair cut on the fitting fees to make the price the same to the customer.
Or fit Loncins that come with a 2 year no question replacement warranty , cost 1/3 of a Briggs engine wholesale , at a really health profit .
As for Covid being a problem, horse feathers.
The Covid lock downs here have been a massive boost and my wholesalers have all put on extra staff & working overtime to try & keep up.
The peopl who are hurting are the contractors because so many people have bought a mower & are cutting their own lawns.
My guess is the new owners will announce the closure of all USA plants in order to allow President Trump to "rescue " them with a big fat chunk of taxpayers money most of which will end up in the pockets of the directors.
#6
S
seattlepioneer
S
seattlepioneer
George Friedman is promoting the idea that the age of "the expert" has gone aground on the kind of abuse described by bertsmobile1. Donald Trump is the political expression of the reaction to the rule of those kinds of abusive "experts," and no doubt some actual experts get ground up sometimes in the process.
But consider what "journalism" has morphed into, with the New York Times adopting revolution against every American value in their "1519" project, along with "cancel culture" which proposes to let the revolutionaries run riot in every institution, public and private.
But consider what "journalism" has morphed into, with the New York Times adopting revolution against every American value in their "1519" project, along with "cancel culture" which proposes to let the revolutionaries run riot in every institution, public and private.
#7
B
bertsmobile1
B
bertsmobile1
I do try not to make political comments because, particularly in the USA politics is on par with religion as the recipient of blind faith from one eyed loyal deciples .
If Briggs tried this down here the top management would all be at home right now, without pay, assets frozen pending possible criminal charges .
The board would all be on notice to prove why their rights to be directors should not be revoked, which means they have to resign all paid directorships till the case is heard in court.
Deloites or PWC would now be running the company on Government contract and as the government is their biggest client they usually do a good job at trading out or liquidating the business .
For me the worry is the IP vanishing as it would take years to download all of the IPL's.
The second worry is new management deciding to no longer support any engine better than X years old
The final worry is the exclusive distribution contract with Oregon and weather Briggs going down will take Oregon with them .
If I was an American the other worry is the fate of all of Briggs USA based suppliers as not only will it affect the supply of Briggs parts, it might also disrupt the supply of parts to hundreds of other companies.
And make no mistake, the benefits of any rescue package will stop at the level of regional managers.
There was a public lecture I went to several yeas ago by a forensic accountant who had looked into the rescue packages introduced post the GFC
Over 90% of the taxpayers money ended up on Wall Street.
Down here we did not do as much direct intervention but again better than 60% of the money our government handed out found it's way to the ASX
If Briggs tried this down here the top management would all be at home right now, without pay, assets frozen pending possible criminal charges .
The board would all be on notice to prove why their rights to be directors should not be revoked, which means they have to resign all paid directorships till the case is heard in court.
Deloites or PWC would now be running the company on Government contract and as the government is their biggest client they usually do a good job at trading out or liquidating the business .
For me the worry is the IP vanishing as it would take years to download all of the IPL's.
The second worry is new management deciding to no longer support any engine better than X years old
The final worry is the exclusive distribution contract with Oregon and weather Briggs going down will take Oregon with them .
If I was an American the other worry is the fate of all of Briggs USA based suppliers as not only will it affect the supply of Briggs parts, it might also disrupt the supply of parts to hundreds of other companies.
And make no mistake, the benefits of any rescue package will stop at the level of regional managers.
There was a public lecture I went to several yeas ago by a forensic accountant who had looked into the rescue packages introduced post the GFC
Over 90% of the taxpayers money ended up on Wall Street.
Down here we did not do as much direct intervention but again better than 60% of the money our government handed out found it's way to the ASX
#8
StarTech
StarTech
It comes down to poor management. If they had to operate on a shoe string budget like I do they would be a lot better at managing things.
I have lost nearly half my annual income too this year but is now beginning to come back as things still need repairing. Actually being slow gave me time to research things more, time to design new tools for the shop, plus getting the shop reorganized. Either way I had to take large pay cut to keep my company profitable. There no government bailout for us mom and pop businesses. Heck I haven't even seen that $1200 check the government promised and probably won't as they are just lying to us. But I bet they are going to want me to pay taxes on it at the end on the year.
And yes we can lose a lot of support just we did with Tecumseh and other multiple small companies that folded up on us over the years.
The way things are interwoven today so yes it has the potential to do a lot of damage to our whole supply chain. This Corona virus has really caused some major supply delays already. It even just shut down the machine shop I depend on for custom work. Just got a shaft knurled just as they were shutting down. At least I got both of my custom clutch holding tools made before the shut down.
I have lost nearly half my annual income too this year but is now beginning to come back as things still need repairing. Actually being slow gave me time to research things more, time to design new tools for the shop, plus getting the shop reorganized. Either way I had to take large pay cut to keep my company profitable. There no government bailout for us mom and pop businesses. Heck I haven't even seen that $1200 check the government promised and probably won't as they are just lying to us. But I bet they are going to want me to pay taxes on it at the end on the year.
And yes we can lose a lot of support just we did with Tecumseh and other multiple small companies that folded up on us over the years.
The way things are interwoven today so yes it has the potential to do a lot of damage to our whole supply chain. This Corona virus has really caused some major supply delays already. It even just shut down the machine shop I depend on for custom work. Just got a shaft knurled just as they were shutting down. At least I got both of my custom clutch holding tools made before the shut down.
#9
I
ILENGINE
I
ILENGINE
I think it is strange how some lawn mower shops have seen sales and service drop as much as 50 % and other are seeing increases up to 30 % over last year. I am up about 10 % over last year, but the equipment I am seeing in the shop is different. Older riders pulled out of the back of barns, more ATV and UTV repairs this year compared to last year.
#10
StarTech
StarTech
I think it is all the attitude of the customers. Some are just replacing equipment with new which hurts the independent shops that relies solely of repairs. Market dumping of new equipment isn't helping either.
Here the ATV and UTV repairs have been nearly none existence with only two coming so far this year. I only seen handful old retired mowers to come in but they were needing more repairs than they could replace with new.
It doesn't help things when parts take 60 days to arrive either. A Yamaha 90cc ATV here is awaiting a master cylinder that is not even due to until mid August so I am sitting the previous repairs as I can't bill out the repairs until they are completed.
Here the ATV and UTV repairs have been nearly none existence with only two coming so far this year. I only seen handful old retired mowers to come in but they were needing more repairs than they could replace with new.
It doesn't help things when parts take 60 days to arrive either. A Yamaha 90cc ATV here is awaiting a master cylinder that is not even due to until mid August so I am sitting the previous repairs as I can't bill out the repairs until they are completed.
#11
I
ILENGINE
I
ILENGINE
Star I have had an carb to air filter boot on backorder for an Arctic Cat since May Holding up billing for the carb rebuild, oil and filter change, new air filter, and the two CV boots that got replaced.
As far as lawn equipment I have seen fewer pieces but with bigger repairs. But my business has been leading that direction for about 3 years now. Not seeing as much of the homeowner box store stuff, but seeing more high end Z turns.
As far as lawn equipment I have seen fewer pieces but with bigger repairs. But my business has been leading that direction for about 3 years now. Not seeing as much of the homeowner box store stuff, but seeing more high end Z turns.
#12
B
bertsmobile1
B
bertsmobile1
One the subject of Briggs.
The big problem as Star has identified is most managers are graduates who have never run their own business so have always been spending other peoples money.
One of the most successful customers I had in the transport business had a firm rule for management.
"If you have not run a business with your own money, you are not qualified to run one with our money "
They turned over $ 20,000,000 a year, worked a 3.5 day week and used me exclusively because we worked on weekends for a reasonable rate.
Over my time in big business I was amazed by the number of manages who believed that numbers on spread sheet predictions were real and it was the response of real people that was wrong.
As for business, I am officaly not open yet as the Rheumatologist is yet to get to get me stable & certify me fit to work ( insurance problems ) so since December I have been mainly a parts supplier & supervising customers doing their own repairs. Then we went into lock down so bored men who have been banned from the house suddenly found that old mower burried in the back of the shed so again a lot of internal engine parts and supervised strip downs.
What is different is I have sold 20 old parts mowers to bored people to strip & rebuild, particularly really rusty ones that need a bare metal paint job.and / or extensive welding.
The big loosers have been the domestic mowing contractors as bored people are mowing acerage with walk behinds for some thing to do.
As for supply
Kawasaki engine parts are about 2 months
Briggs parts are not even on back order any more ( no real surprise there ) and the supplier is offering refunds
Chinese parts & Honda parts are no problems and usually supplied ex warehouse.
I am getting some Briggs parts through the JD network so JD must have a good stock of Briggs parts on hand,but of course only parts that go into the engines fitted to JD's
The big problem as Star has identified is most managers are graduates who have never run their own business so have always been spending other peoples money.
One of the most successful customers I had in the transport business had a firm rule for management.
"If you have not run a business with your own money, you are not qualified to run one with our money "
They turned over $ 20,000,000 a year, worked a 3.5 day week and used me exclusively because we worked on weekends for a reasonable rate.
Over my time in big business I was amazed by the number of manages who believed that numbers on spread sheet predictions were real and it was the response of real people that was wrong.
As for business, I am officaly not open yet as the Rheumatologist is yet to get to get me stable & certify me fit to work ( insurance problems ) so since December I have been mainly a parts supplier & supervising customers doing their own repairs. Then we went into lock down so bored men who have been banned from the house suddenly found that old mower burried in the back of the shed so again a lot of internal engine parts and supervised strip downs.
What is different is I have sold 20 old parts mowers to bored people to strip & rebuild, particularly really rusty ones that need a bare metal paint job.and / or extensive welding.
The big loosers have been the domestic mowing contractors as bored people are mowing acerage with walk behinds for some thing to do.
As for supply
Kawasaki engine parts are about 2 months
Briggs parts are not even on back order any more ( no real surprise there ) and the supplier is offering refunds
Chinese parts & Honda parts are no problems and usually supplied ex warehouse.
I am getting some Briggs parts through the JD network so JD must have a good stock of Briggs parts on hand,but of course only parts that go into the engines fitted to JD's
#13
Hammermechanicman
Hammermechanicman
We are just about in a drought with weeks in the 90's and more on the way. So very little mowing or yard work going on. Business has dropped off dramatically. When i have needed Briggs parts my vendor is out of everthing i seem to need but i can find it on ebay for double or tripple what they normally are. Just paid $10 for a couple intake gaskets. Used to get them for $1.50 each. A sign of things to come. I figure JD will go from ridiculous to insane for briggs parts soon. I hope the aftermarket industry steps up more parts production. Any part is better than no part. Especially gaskets.
#14
B
bertsmobile1
I have been giving mine grief on a daily basis.
Took me 2 years to get them to start doing Kohler flywheels, they are flogging off over 400 a year and are now looking at doing an exchange service with repaired old flywheels.
Lots of skid steers down here running on V twin Commands , gravel gets under the flywheel and busts up the alternator magnets.
Oregon probably can not sell aftermarket Briggs parts due to the distribution deal but there will be a lot of suppliers with stock that Briggs have not paid them for and many more who got shafted so should be happy to sell to Rotary, Stens , Prime Line , etc.
B
bertsmobile1
Hassel your rep.We are just about in a drought with weeks in the 90's and more on the way. So very little mowing or yard work going on. Business has dropped off dramatically. When i have needed Briggs parts my vendor is out of everthing i seem to need but i can find it on ebay for double or tripple what they normally are. Just paid $10 for a couple intake gaskets. Used to get them for $1.50 each. A sign of things to come. I figure JD will go from ridiculous to insane for briggs parts soon. I hope the aftermarket industry steps up more parts production. Any part is better than no part. Especially gaskets.
I have been giving mine grief on a daily basis.
Took me 2 years to get them to start doing Kohler flywheels, they are flogging off over 400 a year and are now looking at doing an exchange service with repaired old flywheels.
Lots of skid steers down here running on V twin Commands , gravel gets under the flywheel and busts up the alternator magnets.
Oregon probably can not sell aftermarket Briggs parts due to the distribution deal but there will be a lot of suppliers with stock that Briggs have not paid them for and many more who got shafted so should be happy to sell to Rotary, Stens , Prime Line , etc.
#15
StarTech
StarTech
I have one problem getting Rotary and Prime Line, none my vendors carry them now. And I don't order enough of them to justify a direct account either. I was using those aftermarket parts suppliers until TEW shut down two years ago.
I now do a lot parts research and adding the cross references as I find them. With idler pulleys many times I just need to change out the bushings. I just purchase some aftermarket JD idlers through an unlikely source where the distributor wanted about the same price as JD but an alternate vendor is selling the same idler and they are shipped from the same distributor. Just doesn't make sense that when I try buying direct they are so high.
And those distribution deals are a pain to deal with too. My current Briggs distributor once sold many aftermarket that fit only Briggs but now they don't. Plus dealing with some distributors are a pain as many items are now dealer only.
I only been working for myself in the lawncare industry for 11 yrs so I don't have the experience in part procurement that many larger shops have either.
I now do a lot parts research and adding the cross references as I find them. With idler pulleys many times I just need to change out the bushings. I just purchase some aftermarket JD idlers through an unlikely source where the distributor wanted about the same price as JD but an alternate vendor is selling the same idler and they are shipped from the same distributor. Just doesn't make sense that when I try buying direct they are so high.
And those distribution deals are a pain to deal with too. My current Briggs distributor once sold many aftermarket that fit only Briggs but now they don't. Plus dealing with some distributors are a pain as many items are now dealer only.
I only been working for myself in the lawncare industry for 11 yrs so I don't have the experience in part procurement that many larger shops have either.
#16
B
bertsmobile1
B
bertsmobile1
I buy whatever I can from two of the local wholesalers where I have accounts and when it is economical to do so directly from the factories ( in China HK & Brazil ) .
If I could get the local wholesalers to carry more lines then I would buy from them exclusively but they only carry around 60% of what I use.
The real pain is neither do proper cross refferencing so what ever the original coss was is in the catalogue but the 15 subsequent new ones are not.
And like you, standard idlers and swap the bushes, even turned up some press tools so I don't have to keep using old sockets.
I suppose it is a volume thing & I am buying around $ 30,000 / pa ( Aus )
Since Briggs took over the distribution of Oregon down here the sales have plumeted , we knew it would as franchised dealers can not sell Oregon parts for their franchised brands and the big box stores fount Oregon was too expensive for the "lowest prices guaranteed" clientelle .
So hopefully Stens will increase the OEM Briggs parts & RGS the Chinese made Briggs parts and it will be happy days for me .
If I could get the local wholesalers to carry more lines then I would buy from them exclusively but they only carry around 60% of what I use.
The real pain is neither do proper cross refferencing so what ever the original coss was is in the catalogue but the 15 subsequent new ones are not.
And like you, standard idlers and swap the bushes, even turned up some press tools so I don't have to keep using old sockets.
I suppose it is a volume thing & I am buying around $ 30,000 / pa ( Aus )
Since Briggs took over the distribution of Oregon down here the sales have plumeted , we knew it would as franchised dealers can not sell Oregon parts for their franchised brands and the big box stores fount Oregon was too expensive for the "lowest prices guaranteed" clientelle .
So hopefully Stens will increase the OEM Briggs parts & RGS the Chinese made Briggs parts and it will be happy days for me .
#17
Hammermechanicman
Hammermechanicman
It seems like more and more the only people the mfgrs want to sell parts to are their dealers. Dealing with us little independent guys is probably not profitable for them as we don't order enough stuff to be worth their while to provide parts to distributors to supply us. At least JD will sell me parts for a donated kidney and Stens if they have it. The last decent shop that was a Briggs parts dealer in the area closed last year. I used to be anti chinesium years ago but not so much now. Just wish the carbs weren't such a crap shoot.
#18
tom3
As that old saying goes, there are no rejects in Chinese factories. Always a good thing to watch when ordering something is a free return if defective.
tom3
. I used to be anti chinesium years ago but not so much now. Just wish the carbs weren't such a crap shoot.
As that old saying goes, there are no rejects in Chinese factories. Always a good thing to watch when ordering something is a free return if defective.
#19
N
nbpt100
N
nbpt100
I think it is very regional. Some areas are hit harder than others and some of the more prosperous regional areas are seeing people spending on new Stuff. Those who kept their paychecks coming in and still got the $1200.I think it is strange how some lawn mower shops have seen sales and service drop as much as 50 % and other are seeing increases up to 30 % over last year. I am up about 10 % over last year, but the equipment I am seeing in the shop is different. Older riders pulled out of the back of barns, more ATV and UTV repairs this year compared to last year.
#20
wrldtvlr
In a previous life, I spent a great deal of time in China representing a large US company. My experience is that China will build whatever you ask them to build. You want high quality? No problem. You want cheapest possible product? No problem. Guess which one US buyers ask for?
wrldtvlr
As that old saying goes, there are no rejects in Chinese factories. Always a good thing to watch when ordering something is a free return if defective.
In a previous life, I spent a great deal of time in China representing a large US company. My experience is that China will build whatever you ask them to build. You want high quality? No problem. You want cheapest possible product? No problem. Guess which one US buyers ask for?
#21
Hammermechanicman
Hammermechanicman
The small shops struggle while the 2 JD/Stihl dealers near me are right now are booked for service 6 to 8 weeks and both are looking for techs.
#22
B
bertsmobile1
I started doing what the dealers won't like
Overnight servicing for contractors - I now have all but 1 of the 22 contractors who live or work in this region .
Free pick up & delivery - I picked up all of the cheapskates as the dealers charge $ 45 each way
Keeping service parts in stock for all of my customers mowers - routine service & minor jobs done same day
Repairing the "unrepairable "
Price matching with on line retailers for parts .- previous owner added 100% to 200% on parts.
Not adding on all of the stuff that used to be included in labour like "Work shop sundries , work shop fuel , grease , standard nuts bolts & washers "
Just finished a job for a new customer who was charged $ 18 for grease with a spindle replacement.
He came to me because I was open on Sunday and the glass fronts only work 1/2 day Saturday
B
bertsmobile1
We are drifting off topic again but that is probably more to do with the small shops than the JD dealers .The small shops struggle while the 2 JD/Stihl dealers near me are right now are booked for service 6 to 8 weeks and both are looking for techs.
I started doing what the dealers won't like
Overnight servicing for contractors - I now have all but 1 of the 22 contractors who live or work in this region .
Free pick up & delivery - I picked up all of the cheapskates as the dealers charge $ 45 each way
Keeping service parts in stock for all of my customers mowers - routine service & minor jobs done same day
Repairing the "unrepairable "
Price matching with on line retailers for parts .- previous owner added 100% to 200% on parts.
Not adding on all of the stuff that used to be included in labour like "Work shop sundries , work shop fuel , grease , standard nuts bolts & washers "
Just finished a job for a new customer who was charged $ 18 for grease with a spindle replacement.
He came to me because I was open on Sunday and the glass fronts only work 1/2 day Saturday
#23
tom3
tom3
How many people work in your shop? And sounds like a management nightmare to me, but my management skills are right at 0 (zero).
#24
B
bertsmobile1
Just me , myself & I
In theory I am mobile , in practice I try to do as much at the workshop as I can.
But not having a retail presence means I can open whenever I like and being on 1000 acres with a very busy street and no other houses for 1/2 mile , no problems with making a bit of noise.
Contractors have a gate key so when finished the mower sits by the gate with cover over it & they pick it up at the silly hours that contractors start work in the morning .
If I end up running late then it gets delivered on site.
The franchise shops all open between 7 & 8 am and by that time 1/2 the contractors are on their 4th job.
Thus they are happy to pay a premium price to get immediate service, I charge overnights out at $ 100 /hr ( against the normal $ 60 ) which is nothing when comparred to having to reschedule your entire day or have a crew sitting around for 3 hours picking their noses waiting for a shop to open.
For the same reason I keep the 10lb rolls of trimer line that each of them use so if they run out it is just a matter of a text & it is sitting on the courier bin when they drive past.
There are 12 pegs on the fence for the chainsaw chains , same story.
As for weekends, most residents mow on the weekend so it is on the weekend that they need blades , starter rope & the like .
Or of course "the moungrel thing won't start & her mother is coming for dinner "
Some weeks the gate does not get unlocked from Monday to Friday.
If possible I go riding at least one Tue-Wed-Thurs once if not twice a month.
Not happening right now because I am crook but that was the formula that worked really well and tripled my turnover the first year.
B
bertsmobile1
How many people work in your shop? And sounds like a management nightmare to me, but my management skills are right at 0 (zero).
Just me , myself & I
In theory I am mobile , in practice I try to do as much at the workshop as I can.
But not having a retail presence means I can open whenever I like and being on 1000 acres with a very busy street and no other houses for 1/2 mile , no problems with making a bit of noise.
Contractors have a gate key so when finished the mower sits by the gate with cover over it & they pick it up at the silly hours that contractors start work in the morning .
If I end up running late then it gets delivered on site.
The franchise shops all open between 7 & 8 am and by that time 1/2 the contractors are on their 4th job.
Thus they are happy to pay a premium price to get immediate service, I charge overnights out at $ 100 /hr ( against the normal $ 60 ) which is nothing when comparred to having to reschedule your entire day or have a crew sitting around for 3 hours picking their noses waiting for a shop to open.
For the same reason I keep the 10lb rolls of trimer line that each of them use so if they run out it is just a matter of a text & it is sitting on the courier bin when they drive past.
There are 12 pegs on the fence for the chainsaw chains , same story.
As for weekends, most residents mow on the weekend so it is on the weekend that they need blades , starter rope & the like .
Or of course "the moungrel thing won't start & her mother is coming for dinner "
Some weeks the gate does not get unlocked from Monday to Friday.
If possible I go riding at least one Tue-Wed-Thurs once if not twice a month.
Not happening right now because I am crook but that was the formula that worked really well and tripled my turnover the first year.
#25
Hammermechanicman
Hammermechanicman
Sounds like you have a good plan. I have a couple contractors that mainly bring me chainsaws. I don't have space or want to have a large inventory of parts so i really can't service contractors like you do but i get the occasional it won't start can you look at it tonight call from them. The JD dealer i get parts from wants to hire me as a tech. They have a mobile mower service truck that is outfitted really nice with a lift, compressor, air conditioned. The owner can't get a tech to do mobile service. The truck just sits. He has lots of customers willing to pay stupid high service rates for onsite service. Some how i didn't retire to get a jiob making a third of what i was making. I too am a bit of a niche business. I work on stuff the dealers don't want to work on. Older equipment and carbs. Working from a shop on my property with very little overhead so i am doing fine but guys like me with a commercial storefront either become a big shop selling mowers or close. Some of the car dealers are getting in to it too. The only Kubota dealer in the area is a car dealer's "powersports" division. Parts markup is ridiculous.
#26
B
bertsmobile1
B
bertsmobile1
My grandfather who was a good businessman always used to say
" you don't survive standing on the field of honour by yourself facing an army of 1000 "
Took me a long time to work out what he was saying but the same advice has served me well all my life.
Every time I have started a business I look at what the opposition would not do and compared this to what the customer wanted.
At one time the delivery company had every small production house because we would run a separate account for each job they did.
So a TVC might run 2 weeks and a movie might run a full year and we did not bill them till the job was finished because they did not get paid till the job was finished.
Our magazine publishers had about 14 individual accounts that thy paid weekly, one for each magazine they published and one for promotions, accounts & circulation.
Easy for us we just printed pages on their printer in different colours .
The accounts manager & office manager were over the moon because every other courier service would only put a job code against each job & bill monthly so they had 2 people full time breaking down the account so they could assign the costs to each issue of each magazine .
Service industries should provide the service a customer wants not force the customer to choose which one you offer is the least worst for them to use.
And mower repair is a service industry, not McDonalds so no use brain washing them into believing what you are selling is what they need.
" you don't survive standing on the field of honour by yourself facing an army of 1000 "
Took me a long time to work out what he was saying but the same advice has served me well all my life.
Every time I have started a business I look at what the opposition would not do and compared this to what the customer wanted.
At one time the delivery company had every small production house because we would run a separate account for each job they did.
So a TVC might run 2 weeks and a movie might run a full year and we did not bill them till the job was finished because they did not get paid till the job was finished.
Our magazine publishers had about 14 individual accounts that thy paid weekly, one for each magazine they published and one for promotions, accounts & circulation.
Easy for us we just printed pages on their printer in different colours .
The accounts manager & office manager were over the moon because every other courier service would only put a job code against each job & bill monthly so they had 2 people full time breaking down the account so they could assign the costs to each issue of each magazine .
Service industries should provide the service a customer wants not force the customer to choose which one you offer is the least worst for them to use.
And mower repair is a service industry, not McDonalds so no use brain washing them into believing what you are selling is what they need.
#27
Hammermechanicman
Hammermechanicman
I always liked the way a friend once phrased it. In sales i need you. In service you need me.
Over many years people have wanted me to go into business with them. Usually when i asked to see their business model i got a blank stare or i got some wishful thinking scribbling. I could tell none of them would be successful. According to the Small Business Administration 90% of all new small business in the US fail within 5 years. Some of those folks who wanted to "partner" with me couldn't get an SBA loan (for good reason) pulled out all their retirement to start their dream business and went bankrupt. Just because you have a passion for something and are good at it doesn't always mean you can make a living at it. Some of my customers tell me i should open my shop in town and i would make a lot more money. True, but overhead expenses would be more than i took in for a couple years plus more headaches. A lot of failed businesses blame the customer. Never the customer's fault a business fails. A friend works for a bankruptcy liquidation company. He says the most advetising most companies do is their going out of business sale.
Over many years people have wanted me to go into business with them. Usually when i asked to see their business model i got a blank stare or i got some wishful thinking scribbling. I could tell none of them would be successful. According to the Small Business Administration 90% of all new small business in the US fail within 5 years. Some of those folks who wanted to "partner" with me couldn't get an SBA loan (for good reason) pulled out all their retirement to start their dream business and went bankrupt. Just because you have a passion for something and are good at it doesn't always mean you can make a living at it. Some of my customers tell me i should open my shop in town and i would make a lot more money. True, but overhead expenses would be more than i took in for a couple years plus more headaches. A lot of failed businesses blame the customer. Never the customer's fault a business fails. A friend works for a bankruptcy liquidation company. He says the most advetising most companies do is their going out of business sale.
#28
StarTech
StarTech
It kinda strange about the SBA and bank loans. They won't loan to you; unless, you don't need money or at least was my case. Couldn't get a business when I first started or could get purchase loan for my home. Now I am constantly asked to borrow money which I refuse. The bank that refused my home loan keep sending letters saying they could reduce my mortgage payments so I went in. They couldn't lower it any at all. They would had to pay me since I paid the place off in less than 6 months. (with cash) The bank loan office jaw hit the floor when they found that paid the place off in less than six months. Yes it was rough to part with 75K as I needed it for the business but I survived that event.
And yes I don't advertise like some shops as mine is customer referrals. I feel it is the best advertisement of the quality of my workmanship. Without loans it is a change to make things work especially on large deals. I do currently have Visa card with a self imposed 2K limit which had upped 5 yrs ago from the self imposed 1K limit. Now that CU is merging with another (which I think is mistake as its profitability is lower) I will be switch to MasterCard. And I understand the CC is signature load that must be paid off every month. Matter of fact with the limit I make several payments every month.
The main thing with any business you got to keep up with all the changes and don't over inventory on items that are slow mover or that has become become non-movers. For manufactures they got keep up with the ever changing customer needs or wants. If you don't you go out of business by having excessive inventory on hand that you can't move.
Having currently 57K in inventory is a little excessive for my operation but it does give a chance to build up orders that have free shipping now. And like any I have make mistakes in buying inventory as some items are still there after 5 years.
Now with Briggs I don't know what went on that lead to them filing Charter 11 but I suspect it was poor management and not keeping with all of the market changes.
And yes I don't advertise like some shops as mine is customer referrals. I feel it is the best advertisement of the quality of my workmanship. Without loans it is a change to make things work especially on large deals. I do currently have Visa card with a self imposed 2K limit which had upped 5 yrs ago from the self imposed 1K limit. Now that CU is merging with another (which I think is mistake as its profitability is lower) I will be switch to MasterCard. And I understand the CC is signature load that must be paid off every month. Matter of fact with the limit I make several payments every month.
The main thing with any business you got to keep up with all the changes and don't over inventory on items that are slow mover or that has become become non-movers. For manufactures they got keep up with the ever changing customer needs or wants. If you don't you go out of business by having excessive inventory on hand that you can't move.
Having currently 57K in inventory is a little excessive for my operation but it does give a chance to build up orders that have free shipping now. And like any I have make mistakes in buying inventory as some items are still there after 5 years.
Now with Briggs I don't know what went on that lead to them filing Charter 11 but I suspect it was poor management and not keeping with all of the market changes.
#29
I
ILENGINE
I
ILENGINE
And you have to watch the fast moving inventory sometimes because it can go from fast moving to non moving in one season.It kinda strange about the SBA and bank loans. They won't loan to you; unless, you don't need money or at least was my case. Couldn't get a business when I first started or could get purchase loan for my home. Now I am constantly asked to borrow money which I refuse. The bank that refused my home loan keep sending letters saying they could reduce my mortgage payments so I went in. They couldn't lower it any at all. They would had to pay me since I paid the place off in less than 6 months. (with cash) The bank loan office jaw hit the floor when they found that paid the place off in less than six months. Yes it was rough to part with 75K as I needed it for the business but I survived that event.
And yes I don't advertise like some shops as mine is customer referrals. I feel it is the best advertisement of the quality of my workmanship. Without loans it is a change to make things work especially on large deals. I do currently have Visa card with a self imposed 2K limit which had upped 5 yrs ago from the self imposed 1K limit. Now that CU is merging with another (which I think is mistake as its profitability is lower) I will be switch to MasterCard. And I understand the CC is signature load that must be paid off every month. Matter of fact with the limit I make several payments every month.
The main thing with any business you got to keep up with all the changes and don't over inventory on items that are slow mover or that has become become non-movers. For manufactures they got keep up with the ever changing customer needs or wants. If you don't you go out of business by having excessive inventory on hand that you can't move.
Having currently 57K in inventory is a little excessive for my operation but it does give a chance to build up orders that have free shipping now. And like any I have make mistakes in buying inventory as some items are still there after 5 years.
Now with Briggs I don't know what went on that lead to them filing Charter 11 but I suspect it was poor management and not keeping with all of the market changes.
#30
Hammermechanicman
Like Star my advertising is business cards and word of mouth. Best bang for the buck in this business.
Hammermechanicman
One reason i keep very little inventory on hand. Essentially seasonal maint and carb stuff. Fuel line, starter cord and the like. I don't stock belts and blades, just too many to keep up with.And you have to watch the fast moving inventory sometimes because it can go from fast moving to non moving in one season.
Like Star my advertising is business cards and word of mouth. Best bang for the buck in this business.
#31
StarTech
StarTech
Some news on Briggs dated one day ago.
https://seekingalpha.com/article/43...rs-are-being-wiped-out-bankruptcy-liquidation
https://seekingalpha.com/article/43...rs-are-being-wiped-out-bankruptcy-liquidation
#32
I
ILENGINE
I
ILENGINE
I am basically doing the same thing and reducing inventory. Carry the common filters and such. Also do word of mouth advertising and business cards. In my 22 years of business I have got caught with the McCulloch, Tecumseh, Murray, and now the Briggs bankruptcy.One reason i keep very little inventory on hand. Essentially seasonal maint and carb stuff. Fuel line, starter cord and the like. I don't stock belts and blades, just too many to keep up with.
Like Star my advertising is business cards and word of mouth. Best bang for the buck in this business.
#33
tom3
tom3
And the Chinese small engine cloners are grinning ear to ear on this bankruptcy.
#34
B
bertsmobile1
They do not care.
Walmart , Lowes , MTD , Toro & the like have their order books filled already.
Remember Briggs & Stratton is a 50% partner in 2 of these factories that make push mower engines.
The person who is grinning ear to ear is Xi Jinping who is seeing another peg in China's 50 year plan to be come the dominant world power without having to fire a single shot falling into place.
And in the mean time to distract the moron masses ( that's us ) and make them feel safe & secure the USA ( & AUST ) is spending millions by sailing warships in waters that China claim as soverign.
Sabre ratteling while the country is going down the drain.
So now there will be thousands more Americans who will loose their pensions or investment wealth thrown into poverty through no fault of their own who will feel that the capatalist system has betrayed them and become willing foot soldiers for a dramatic change .
Add to them the thousands who lost their houses and all their accumulated assets in the GFC only to see the megga rich get bailed out with tax payers money and you will see that the potential army for revolt is getting bigger by the day.
People in comfortable & secure housing with full bellies rarely take to the streets in violent protest.
B
bertsmobile1
And the Chinese small engine cloners are grinning ear to ear on this bankruptcy.
They do not care.
Walmart , Lowes , MTD , Toro & the like have their order books filled already.
Remember Briggs & Stratton is a 50% partner in 2 of these factories that make push mower engines.
The person who is grinning ear to ear is Xi Jinping who is seeing another peg in China's 50 year plan to be come the dominant world power without having to fire a single shot falling into place.
And in the mean time to distract the moron masses ( that's us ) and make them feel safe & secure the USA ( & AUST ) is spending millions by sailing warships in waters that China claim as soverign.
Sabre ratteling while the country is going down the drain.
So now there will be thousands more Americans who will loose their pensions or investment wealth thrown into poverty through no fault of their own who will feel that the capatalist system has betrayed them and become willing foot soldiers for a dramatic change .
Add to them the thousands who lost their houses and all their accumulated assets in the GFC only to see the megga rich get bailed out with tax payers money and you will see that the potential army for revolt is getting bigger by the day.
People in comfortable & secure housing with full bellies rarely take to the streets in violent protest.
#35
Its Me
Its Me
There problem started way back, I had a mower shop opened in 1980, soon after that they decided to put cheaper base gaskets on the 11HP and it would blow out at the camshaft area, well between Briggs and the local distributor they decided to lie and tell us dealers that they customer run it with out oil (sure did) they said they would not replace the engine, one line I sold was Toro, that rear engine rider with the 30" deck they were tough and did not see them come in again until the next years of Briggs come out, I would sell sometimes 10 a week, well the first one comes in, locked engine pull it apart and burnt rod, call the distributor and ask him to come by and check, well two weeks go by, they I started seeing the gasket hanging out, by the time he came we had 30 mowers all lined up just as neat as we could, brought in one side of the shop showed him the Briggs and he was quick to say that it was not going to be replaced, "Customer dropped the oil and did not add any" then brought him in the large shop area and I said so did 30 other customers and we have five to pick up today, that is when they came out with the 12HP which all parts were the same the only difference was that they added a bolt at the cam area, then next was the hole in the carburetor casting, they bought two homes where we lived dripping gas in a carport with a gas hot water heater, now that one they really tried to get out of, could put the carburetor in water add air pressure nice stream bubbles, they went the cheap route and low end crap, smart kid engineers and the please the board of directors until your out of business.
#36
StarTech
StarTech
That probably explains why I have never seen an 11 hp L-head Briggs engine. They all had died.
Apparent Briggs didn't step up and admitted it was their fault unlike Kohler did on the Courage Singles. Kohler made good on these even after the warranty expired as redesign the cylinder block. Big difference in company attitude toward their products and their customers.
MTD is just a bad on some things. One items that I deal with the blade brake is designed wrong and they know it but refuse to redesign it. which is basically just move the shoe up a little.
If you ever fully read a warranty or service contact you will find it can be used to not cover a single thing.
Briggs latest tactic used on me was not warranting the new parts. I would purchase the parts from my Briggs distributor and when the part was bad they wanted me to go to a dealer to have it made up. Of Course all the local dealers here refused to do so as I didn't buy the part from them. The distributor excuse was that they wasn't a service center and Briggs would not warranty the parts they sold for Briggs because of this.
I reckon that what I get for being an independent shop that don't buy a lot of parts that just on the shelves collecting dust and going bad over time. I still got parts for 11 yrs ago that I had to buy to get in with the first distributor. Now that distributor has free shipping on orders of 200.00 or more. I tend to just orders that are a tad over 200.00 (like 200.04) just to see how much they got to write off in shipping charges. The last order of 203.71 they had to write off over 48.00 in shipping charges and that order isn't even fully shipped; still got a Briggs item on back order. On a couple of this year's orders under 200.00 they really stuck it to me but now I am sticking it to them.
Apparent Briggs didn't step up and admitted it was their fault unlike Kohler did on the Courage Singles. Kohler made good on these even after the warranty expired as redesign the cylinder block. Big difference in company attitude toward their products and their customers.
MTD is just a bad on some things. One items that I deal with the blade brake is designed wrong and they know it but refuse to redesign it. which is basically just move the shoe up a little.
If you ever fully read a warranty or service contact you will find it can be used to not cover a single thing.
Briggs latest tactic used on me was not warranting the new parts. I would purchase the parts from my Briggs distributor and when the part was bad they wanted me to go to a dealer to have it made up. Of Course all the local dealers here refused to do so as I didn't buy the part from them. The distributor excuse was that they wasn't a service center and Briggs would not warranty the parts they sold for Briggs because of this.
I reckon that what I get for being an independent shop that don't buy a lot of parts that just on the shelves collecting dust and going bad over time. I still got parts for 11 yrs ago that I had to buy to get in with the first distributor. Now that distributor has free shipping on orders of 200.00 or more. I tend to just orders that are a tad over 200.00 (like 200.04) just to see how much they got to write off in shipping charges. The last order of 203.71 they had to write off over 48.00 in shipping charges and that order isn't even fully shipped; still got a Briggs item on back order. On a couple of this year's orders under 200.00 they really stuck it to me but now I am sticking it to them.
#37
PTmowerMech
PTmowerMech
@bertsmobile1 , when do you sleep? Australia must have like 36hrs in one day. LoL.
Seriously, what you do and how you do it, to get all that done in one day/night, makes me think you're very good at what you do.
Knowledge and experience cuts repair times way down.
I spend much of my time researching the specific problems, diagnosing and looking for something I just laid down.
At one time, I thought I wouldn't have to stock a lot of parts. One to two day delivery seemed fine. Until I get 4 or 5 pieces of equipment tore down. Then when parts come in, remembering what mower the parts were for.
I had a customer yesterday that wanted to buy blades for a 61" scag. I quoted him $90 for 6 (cash). He said to order them because he was paying the dealer $120 for 6. I told him I needed the $90 up front, he refused. Parts on hand means getting the sale and the job done right then and there.
Seriously, what you do and how you do it, to get all that done in one day/night, makes me think you're very good at what you do.
Knowledge and experience cuts repair times way down.
I spend much of my time researching the specific problems, diagnosing and looking for something I just laid down.
At one time, I thought I wouldn't have to stock a lot of parts. One to two day delivery seemed fine. Until I get 4 or 5 pieces of equipment tore down. Then when parts come in, remembering what mower the parts were for.
I had a customer yesterday that wanted to buy blades for a 61" scag. I quoted him $90 for 6 (cash). He said to order them because he was paying the dealer $120 for 6. I told him I needed the $90 up front, he refused. Parts on hand means getting the sale and the job done right then and there.
#38
StarTech
StarTech
Bert is probably like me as I am up anytime night. In my case it is the migraine headaches I get. I have been know to be on the net at 2-3 am while I get my headache calmed down.
#39
B
bertsmobile1
That is why I keep a big inventory but not a lot of each item, usually just 2 sets of each blade that my customers use and a few more for those that my contract customers use.
Chain is always 200' rolls so I can price match, forget the premade loops .
When Jackmax lost the Carlton franchise they had a fire sale & I bought a roll of every size for 1/2 the normal wholesale price so they cost around 10¢ to 25¢ per DL
You forget I do not have a retail presence so If I work till 3 am I can sleep in till 10am .
The business name is Bert's MOBILE mower repairs so people usually ring first & I arrange a mutually beneficial time to do the transport.
Sunday is the big day for gate sales as the mower shops are all closed and most of the locals are city business people living the dream on acerage that they do not have the time to maintain.
Saturdays are not bad either as I get people calling in on their way home after the glass fronts did not have the parts in stock, and I do.
The other problem is low inventory at the warehouses.
Have a tension arm for a timecutter 36" on order for over a year , nill stock in OZ & nil stock in the USA . Briggs stator took 18 months & 12 months for a 31 series cam.
Just got rings for a FX651 that have been on order for 3 months , waiting for a rod for a CV18, again two months old and on it goes.
Ordered 10 belts last week, got 4 , 6 on BO so it is fit a bigger idler ( or two ) and a longer belt .
And like Star, 2 of each pulley size and when there is a minimum no delivery quantity then place the order.
So much easier to repair from stock than order replacements latter and in many cases the delivery cost can double the parts prices.
Also allows me to order from different wholesalers to get best prices ( or better parts ) .
Even better it confuses the tax man as parts orders are never directly corellate to work done that month .
Then there are trade packs, if a part can be ordered in a bulk pack then I do so again a better price.
Boxed $ 15 oil filters for parts sales and bulk $ 6.00 filters for service fitment. Same for fuel filters $ 4.50 individual pack & 75¢ in a 50 pack .
So buy in the 50 pack , charge $ 5 for one fitted & offer the customer a prepacked one with a $ 6.50 price tag on it for a spare, so they think they got a bargan.
Same with air filters , most of the common ones come in trade packs of between 10 & 50 usually at about 1/2 the single item price.
B
bertsmobile1
@bertsmobile1 , when do you sleep? Australia must have like 36hrs in one day. LoL.
Seriously, what you do and how you do it, to get all that done in one day/night, makes me think you're very good at what you do.
Knowledge and experience cuts repair times way down.
I spend much of my time researching the specific problems, diagnosing and looking for something I just laid down.
At one time, I thought I wouldn't have to stock a lot of parts. One to two day delivery seemed fine. Until I get 4 or 5 pieces of equipment tore down. Then when parts come in, remembering what mower the parts were for.
I had a customer yesterday that wanted to buy blades for a 61" scag. I quoted him $90 for 6 (cash). He said to order them because he was paying the dealer $120 for 6. I told him I needed the $90 up front, he refused. Parts on hand means getting the sale and the job done right then and there.
That is why I keep a big inventory but not a lot of each item, usually just 2 sets of each blade that my customers use and a few more for those that my contract customers use.
Chain is always 200' rolls so I can price match, forget the premade loops .
When Jackmax lost the Carlton franchise they had a fire sale & I bought a roll of every size for 1/2 the normal wholesale price so they cost around 10¢ to 25¢ per DL
You forget I do not have a retail presence so If I work till 3 am I can sleep in till 10am .
The business name is Bert's MOBILE mower repairs so people usually ring first & I arrange a mutually beneficial time to do the transport.
Sunday is the big day for gate sales as the mower shops are all closed and most of the locals are city business people living the dream on acerage that they do not have the time to maintain.
Saturdays are not bad either as I get people calling in on their way home after the glass fronts did not have the parts in stock, and I do.
The other problem is low inventory at the warehouses.
Have a tension arm for a timecutter 36" on order for over a year , nill stock in OZ & nil stock in the USA . Briggs stator took 18 months & 12 months for a 31 series cam.
Just got rings for a FX651 that have been on order for 3 months , waiting for a rod for a CV18, again two months old and on it goes.
Ordered 10 belts last week, got 4 , 6 on BO so it is fit a bigger idler ( or two ) and a longer belt .
And like Star, 2 of each pulley size and when there is a minimum no delivery quantity then place the order.
So much easier to repair from stock than order replacements latter and in many cases the delivery cost can double the parts prices.
Also allows me to order from different wholesalers to get best prices ( or better parts ) .
Even better it confuses the tax man as parts orders are never directly corellate to work done that month .
Then there are trade packs, if a part can be ordered in a bulk pack then I do so again a better price.
Boxed $ 15 oil filters for parts sales and bulk $ 6.00 filters for service fitment. Same for fuel filters $ 4.50 individual pack & 75¢ in a 50 pack .
So buy in the 50 pack , charge $ 5 for one fitted & offer the customer a prepacked one with a $ 6.50 price tag on it for a spare, so they think they got a bargan.
Same with air filters , most of the common ones come in trade packs of between 10 & 50 usually at about 1/2 the single item price.
#40
PTmowerMech
I wished I had the money to come check out you and your operation. Sounds like you have it "going on, " as we say up here.
BTW, I've noticed that many of Stens "packs" aren't all that much cheaper than individuals. Trying to increase my on hand parts is getting expensive. Finding that I need to slow down a little, so I can buy the parts I have to have for jobs in the shop.
I really need to get my DBA and tax exemption permit. But At the same time, trying to keep from getting 2 weeks behind on the equipment I have in the shop.
I picked up a mower this morning. Customer says he's had it at the other shop just down the road from him, for 2 months. He got it from them yesterday, I picked it up this morning and it's finished now. Luckily, I had the few parts it needed and now it's loaded on the trailer for this afternoons delivery. And apparently, I'm too cheap on my prices. I charged $120 for the P&D, blade replacement, straightened and secured a bolt that holds the tension spring and tightened up the exhaust manifold. Customer told me when I called them to let them know it was ready and the cost of repairs, that the shop it was at said it was going to be over $200.
PTmowerMech
That is why I keep a big inventory but not a lot of each item, usually just 2 sets of each blade that my customers use and a few more for those that my contract customers use.
Chain is always 200' rolls so I can price match, forget the premade loops .
When Jackmax lost the Carlton franchise they had a fire sale & I bought a roll of every size for 1/2 the normal wholesale price so they cost around 10¢ to 25¢ per DL
You forget I do not have a retail presence so If I work till 3 am I can sleep in till 10am .
The business name is Bert's MOBILE mower repairs so people usually ring first & I arrange a mutually beneficial time to do the transport.
Sunday is the big day for gate sales as the mower shops are all closed and most of the locals are city business people living the dream on acerage that they do not have the time to maintain.
Saturdays are not bad either as I get people calling in on their way home after the glass fronts did not have the parts in stock, and I do.
The other problem is low inventory at the warehouses.
Have a tension arm for a timecutter 36" on order for over a year , nill stock in OZ & nil stock in the USA . Briggs stator took 18 months & 12 months for a 31 series cam.
Just got rings for a FX651 that have been on order for 3 months , waiting for a rod for a CV18, again two months old and on it goes.
Ordered 10 belts last week, got 4 , 6 on BO so it is fit a bigger idler ( or two ) and a longer belt .
And like Star, 2 of each pulley size and when there is a minimum no delivery quantity then place the order.
So much easier to repair from stock than order replacements latter and in many cases the delivery cost can double the parts prices.
Also allows me to order from different wholesalers to get best prices ( or better parts ) .
Even better it confuses the tax man as parts orders are never directly corellate to work done that month .
Then there are trade packs, if a part can be ordered in a bulk pack then I do so again a better price.
Boxed $ 15 oil filters for parts sales and bulk $ 6.00 filters for service fitment. Same for fuel filters $ 4.50 individual pack & 75¢ in a 50 pack .
So buy in the 50 pack , charge $ 5 for one fitted & offer the customer a prepacked one with a $ 6.50 price tag on it for a spare, so they think they got a bargan.
Same with air filters , most of the common ones come in trade packs of between 10 & 50 usually at about 1/2 the single item price.
I wished I had the money to come check out you and your operation. Sounds like you have it "going on, " as we say up here.
BTW, I've noticed that many of Stens "packs" aren't all that much cheaper than individuals. Trying to increase my on hand parts is getting expensive. Finding that I need to slow down a little, so I can buy the parts I have to have for jobs in the shop.
I really need to get my DBA and tax exemption permit. But At the same time, trying to keep from getting 2 weeks behind on the equipment I have in the shop.
I picked up a mower this morning. Customer says he's had it at the other shop just down the road from him, for 2 months. He got it from them yesterday, I picked it up this morning and it's finished now. Luckily, I had the few parts it needed and now it's loaded on the trailer for this afternoons delivery. And apparently, I'm too cheap on my prices. I charged $120 for the P&D, blade replacement, straightened and secured a bolt that holds the tension spring and tightened up the exhaust manifold. Customer told me when I called them to let them know it was ready and the cost of repairs, that the shop it was at said it was going to be over $200.
#41
PTmowerMech
A few months ago, Stens had a $50 limit on free shipping. I was ordering like crazy. Now, I find myself getting OEM stuff from Amazon because I can't seem to get to the $150 mark. I'll have say $100 worth of parts in the Stens cart. Then need a part they don't have, but Amazon does. So, I'll put it in the Amazon cart, then check to see if there's anything in the Stens cart, I can get from Amazon for about the same price. By the time I'm done with all that, There may be very little or nothing in the stens cart. But everything I wanted bought and paid for on Amazon. Especially if it's after the cut off time (1 pm EST). So it's gonna be two days before I can get my stens parts anyways.
PTmowerMech
I reckon that what I get for being an independent shop that don't buy a lot of parts that just on the shelves collecting dust and going bad over time. I still got parts for 11 yrs ago that I had to buy to get in with the first distributor. Now that distributor has free shipping on orders of 200.00 or more. I tend to just orders that are a tad over 200.00 (like 200.04) just to see how much they got to write off in shipping charges. The last order of 203.71 they had to write off over 48.00 in shipping charges and that order isn't even fully shipped; still got a Briggs item on back order. On a couple of this year's orders under 200.00 they really stuck it to me but now I am sticking it to them.
A few months ago, Stens had a $50 limit on free shipping. I was ordering like crazy. Now, I find myself getting OEM stuff from Amazon because I can't seem to get to the $150 mark. I'll have say $100 worth of parts in the Stens cart. Then need a part they don't have, but Amazon does. So, I'll put it in the Amazon cart, then check to see if there's anything in the Stens cart, I can get from Amazon for about the same price. By the time I'm done with all that, There may be very little or nothing in the stens cart. But everything I wanted bought and paid for on Amazon. Especially if it's after the cut off time (1 pm EST). So it's gonna be two days before I can get my stens parts anyways.
#42
StarTech
StarTech
PT, once you get your act together and get both your business and your resale sales tax exemption contact me or AVB over on PPETEN and we put contact with three of our distributors. Two of which has a maximum shipping charge of 11.49 per order with a few exceptions. Two of these do sale OEM parts cheaper than Amazon. Plus they also have Oregon after market parts. We also get Powerdistributors to contact you on the Briggs parts.
#43
B
bertsmobile1
And here in lies the big difference in service times.
I walk into the shop pull the part off the shelf & fit it then when I go upstairs for a cuppa I check the price on a major on line retailer and invoice my customer slightly less, Then if I am not sure I check the scheduled hours and do the labour charge.
The parts used get written on an old Allpower/ Stens order pad ( cause I kept forgetting to reorder ) and once ordered I put a line through it .
You on the other hand have to go searching for parts, Amazon, Ebay Stens whoever and that takes a lot lot more time & if you are buying retail substantially reduces your profit margin.
When I need parts that are not available from one of the regular wholesale suppliers I buy them from a dealer where I get a small discount and when I bill the customer I charge them the same price & include the dealers invoice , thus the customer feels they are still getting a better price through me than they would going direct to the dealer. Those invoices with a lot of dealer parts have a $ 15 delivery fee added .
Oz is as big as the USA with the same population as California so next day delivery is never going to happen 3 days is the best I ever get.
When I first started I ordered 2 of everything that I needed on the assumption that if I needed one once then there is a good chance I will need another and by & large this has worked very well.
If I ended up using both before I had replaced the one I originally used then the "par" stock level gets doubled & I order 4 of them.
Thus over the 7 years there is now about $ 80,000 ( Aust ) sitting down stairs.
Stens do a preseason sale down here with additional discounts if you order large amounts with repayments staggered over 3 months so for some one like you a gift from the heavens as what you buy counts on you regular volume discount and you get the extra discount plus you get the goods 3 months before you have to pay for them so good chance you can sell most of them before hand.
More than one ebay vendor will suddenly drastically increase their ebay shop the instant that the pre-season sales get announced.
B
bertsmobile1
A few months ago, Stens had a $50 limit on free shipping. I was ordering like crazy. Now, I find myself getting OEM stuff from Amazon because I can't seem to get to the $150 mark. I'll have say $100 worth of parts in the Stens cart. Then need a part they don't have, but Amazon does. So, I'll put it in the Amazon cart, then check to see if there's anything in the Stens cart, I can get from Amazon for about the same price. By the time I'm done with all that, There may be very little or nothing in the stens cart. But everything I wanted bought and paid for on Amazon. Especially if it's after the cut off time (1 pm EST). So it's gonna be two days before I can get my stens parts anyways.
And here in lies the big difference in service times.
I walk into the shop pull the part off the shelf & fit it then when I go upstairs for a cuppa I check the price on a major on line retailer and invoice my customer slightly less, Then if I am not sure I check the scheduled hours and do the labour charge.
The parts used get written on an old Allpower/ Stens order pad ( cause I kept forgetting to reorder ) and once ordered I put a line through it .
You on the other hand have to go searching for parts, Amazon, Ebay Stens whoever and that takes a lot lot more time & if you are buying retail substantially reduces your profit margin.
When I need parts that are not available from one of the regular wholesale suppliers I buy them from a dealer where I get a small discount and when I bill the customer I charge them the same price & include the dealers invoice , thus the customer feels they are still getting a better price through me than they would going direct to the dealer. Those invoices with a lot of dealer parts have a $ 15 delivery fee added .
Oz is as big as the USA with the same population as California so next day delivery is never going to happen 3 days is the best I ever get.
When I first started I ordered 2 of everything that I needed on the assumption that if I needed one once then there is a good chance I will need another and by & large this has worked very well.
If I ended up using both before I had replaced the one I originally used then the "par" stock level gets doubled & I order 4 of them.
Thus over the 7 years there is now about $ 80,000 ( Aust ) sitting down stairs.
Stens do a preseason sale down here with additional discounts if you order large amounts with repayments staggered over 3 months so for some one like you a gift from the heavens as what you buy counts on you regular volume discount and you get the extra discount plus you get the goods 3 months before you have to pay for them so good chance you can sell most of them before hand.
More than one ebay vendor will suddenly drastically increase their ebay shop the instant that the pre-season sales get announced.
#44
Hammermechanicman
Hammermechanicman
If you guys didn't drive on the wrong side of the road you would get your parts delivered quicker. ?
#45
PTmowerMech
PTmowerMech
@bertsmobile1 I'm trying to build up my parts. But it's tough starting from scratch. Seriously starting with nothing.
When I moved in with my dad, I helped him with a lot of the money I made at my shop in Arkansas. Then I found this shop in a town 80 miles away and gave my new live in some to help with the bills.
LOL.. That pretty much stumped me.
I've been at this new shop for about 3 months now, and have about 10 sets of blades, probably 10 different belts, no telling how many air filters, 1/2 dozen cycle carb kits, a few complete carbs (not counting the carbs I've rebuilt, ready to go on something.) and a several other things.
I took your advice on buying the sale items from stens. I check their sale stuff pretty regularly. Especially when I just need a few bucks to get the $150.
One thing that impresses me most about you pro's, is how well you're organized and have things in order. Especially with all the business stuff and having several suppliers. That's impressive to me. Just about the time I think I'm getting organized, I have a busy day, and everything gets out of sorts. So I spend 1/2 the next day getting things back in order. lol.
When I moved in with my dad, I helped him with a lot of the money I made at my shop in Arkansas. Then I found this shop in a town 80 miles away and gave my new live in some to help with the bills.
LOL.. That pretty much stumped me.
I've been at this new shop for about 3 months now, and have about 10 sets of blades, probably 10 different belts, no telling how many air filters, 1/2 dozen cycle carb kits, a few complete carbs (not counting the carbs I've rebuilt, ready to go on something.) and a several other things.
I took your advice on buying the sale items from stens. I check their sale stuff pretty regularly. Especially when I just need a few bucks to get the $150.
One thing that impresses me most about you pro's, is how well you're organized and have things in order. Especially with all the business stuff and having several suppliers. That's impressive to me. Just about the time I think I'm getting organized, I have a busy day, and everything gets out of sorts. So I spend 1/2 the next day getting things back in order. lol.
#46
StarTech
StarTech
I am small operation out a two car garage but I have POs in the process of either being filled or nearly ready to order. This don't even count the received orders for the same two month period of time.
And my current inventory is as follows.
If it wasn't my auto manager program and the bin system I would never find anything.
And my current inventory is as follows.
If it wasn't my auto manager program and the bin system I would never find anything.
#47
Hammermechanicman
Hammermechanicman
You might want to stock up on the generic stuff and seasonal maint stuff if you haven't already. Different sizes of fuel line, different sizes of starter rope, spark plugs, oil filters, air filters, fuel filters. Most of this is relatively inexpensive and you will move fairly quick. Most of the cube carbs don't need full rebuild kits and you can get multi packs of diaphragms and gaskets. Many times all you need for 4 stroke carbs is a bowl gasket and intake manifold gasket(s). You can find a lot of these in multipacks. Get some different thickness sheets of gasket material a hollow punch set from HF so you can make that odd gasket you need to finish a job.
#48
B
bertsmobile1
In reality it is 1 day to Sydney then 2 days to me
RGS have main warehouse in Brisbane 570 miles away so the same story. Speed limit is 80 mph & max 4 hrs behind the wheel then a 1 hr break.
Briggs warehouse is in Melbourne as well in their case it is pick ( day shift only ) then ship to Sydney then sort into delivery runs for the next day so 3 days mnimum , if you get todays pick & it is in stock.
No one in warehousing & logistics in Australia has the faintest idea how to run an efficient warehouse, it is all about labour hire, flexiable staffing on a daily hourly basis & pretend cost cutting.
I got the warehouse I was running working properly , all picking done overnight & day shift refilling the pick face & doing bulk orders.
Pickers got paid a full shift regardless of how long they work & they could go home the instant the pick was finished & checked ( O picking errors ) .
I went one step further & got the pickers to stack the stock in reverse delivery order if the drivers got their run order done in time so even the loading time was slashed.
The end result was we picked in 1/3 the time of the warehouses in Melbourne & Brisbane with zero errors and the supervisor , who could not go home shifted pallets & swept the floors .
But management would not tollerate paying pickers when they were not there so they put a stop to it and we became just as inefficient as the other 2 warehouses.
B
bertsmobile1
Stens have their warehouse in Melbourne , 550 miles away so it is supposedly overnight to a Sydney 3PL then another day to meIf you guys didn't drive on the wrong side of the road you would get your parts delivered quicker. ?
In reality it is 1 day to Sydney then 2 days to me
RGS have main warehouse in Brisbane 570 miles away so the same story. Speed limit is 80 mph & max 4 hrs behind the wheel then a 1 hr break.
Briggs warehouse is in Melbourne as well in their case it is pick ( day shift only ) then ship to Sydney then sort into delivery runs for the next day so 3 days mnimum , if you get todays pick & it is in stock.
No one in warehousing & logistics in Australia has the faintest idea how to run an efficient warehouse, it is all about labour hire, flexiable staffing on a daily hourly basis & pretend cost cutting.
I got the warehouse I was running working properly , all picking done overnight & day shift refilling the pick face & doing bulk orders.
Pickers got paid a full shift regardless of how long they work & they could go home the instant the pick was finished & checked ( O picking errors ) .
I went one step further & got the pickers to stack the stock in reverse delivery order if the drivers got their run order done in time so even the loading time was slashed.
The end result was we picked in 1/3 the time of the warehouses in Melbourne & Brisbane with zero errors and the supervisor , who could not go home shifted pallets & swept the floors .
But management would not tollerate paying pickers when they were not there so they put a stop to it and we became just as inefficient as the other 2 warehouses.
#49
Its Me
Its Me
I have not considered pickup and delivery but might be I can get the prices I read here, I finished one today John Deere D140, I charged the fellow 700.00 l parts and labor transmission belt and Idlers, Idlers on the deck and that belt, sharpen the blades and changed the bearing in one spindle he was glad to pay that he said it had just come out of the John Deere shop and they said they changed the transmission belt but the transmission was going out, I told the fellow let's see took a light and checked the belt it was worn out, the two idlers (Plastic) were wore to the bolt, he was some hot at them, he called late this afternoon and said how pleased he was, then took one into today Kubota a G1900, fellow said that the PTO only had one belt never could keep the one closer to engine on, they were Kubota belts, they told him he put the belts on wrong, that would be hard to screw up, two V pulleys and a flat back idler and saw that two motor supports were broken, I called him and told him that after what I have seen the labor alone was going to be 1,000 dollars, his reply that is less than Kubota wanted and the same old story, no one else had a problem with the rear belt cutting. that is the one that has the 3 cylinder diesel engine sure he paid a good price for it, not looking forward to that job but will start AM
#50
PTmowerMech
LoL. When I get an order in, I'm still writing price on it as I check off the order count.
PO's, (purchase orders) isn't something I can see a point in. Having only a few places I get.my parts from, I let them keep all that info. As in stens, I can go back to the first of the year and see what I've bought and how much I've spent on it.
When I get 1/4 of Berts inventory, I might need a system.
My inventory is on like 8 shelves, 10' long. Although, the blades are starting to weigh the one shelf down. So I'm in the process of building a blade tree.
But even that is getting put off. I'm having to tell customers that I'm 2 weeks out now. And I'm honest about it. Both bays are full at night and the back lot is about 1/4 full.
I'm gonna need a system, soon.
PTmowerMech
I am small operation out a two car garage but I have POs in the process of either being filled or nearly ready to order. This don't even count the received orders for the same two month period of time.
View attachment 53452
And my current inventory is as follows.
View attachment 53454
If it wasn't my auto manager program and the bin system I would never find anything.
LoL. When I get an order in, I'm still writing price on it as I check off the order count.
PO's, (purchase orders) isn't something I can see a point in. Having only a few places I get.my parts from, I let them keep all that info. As in stens, I can go back to the first of the year and see what I've bought and how much I've spent on it.
When I get 1/4 of Berts inventory, I might need a system.
My inventory is on like 8 shelves, 10' long. Although, the blades are starting to weigh the one shelf down. So I'm in the process of building a blade tree.
But even that is getting put off. I'm having to tell customers that I'm 2 weeks out now. And I'm honest about it. Both bays are full at night and the back lot is about 1/4 full.
I'm gonna need a system, soon.
#51
B
bertsmobile1
B
bertsmobile1
It is what works for you.
I have no inventory system as such but everything has a place so I sort o use the impress system with no stock cards.
The only thing I keep on file is belts and that is because I just can not remember all of the buggers.
There is around 400 hiding downstairs.
Airfilters are by brand Briggs - Honda - Kohler - kawasak i- Loncin - Ducar - Tecumseh
And I draw the shape on the outside of the box so without remembering the numberI can grab an open top Honda filter or a short cylinder Briggs etc.
Bearings, in bins 6200's in one box 6300 in another 6400 in the third then a box for the rest most come from a bearing shop, bought by the full box, usually 24
Another box for spindles, one of each popular size & 4 x long Husqvarna star .
Next to them complete spindle assemblies, again one or two of each common type that I can get wholesale.
Pulleys live in 2 drawers of an old tool chest several of each size plus a set of press tools so I can swap the bushes without bearing damage
Nothing better than swapping the bush from a dead $ 50 pulley into a $ 10 one and making a very healthy mark up for 3 minutes on the press.
The Oil filtesr sit in their bulk box on it's side with a couple of flaps cut into the bottom of one side so they become dispensers.
All of the chainsaw stuff, including breaker , Spinner & grinder sit in a mobile rack made from scrap Dexion pallet racking
a desk lamp on the grinder end & a magnafying lamp on the spinner end
Some racking makes a bay for walk behinds with all of their parts surrounding them .
Starter rope sits on a length of dowel rod on some shelf brackets on the wall where they never see sunlight.
The tools needed, are in a box or tied to the rail right there so it is never more than a 5 minute job.
Standard fee $ 20 on machine & $ 15 off, regardless of what it is
I have no inventory system as such but everything has a place so I sort o use the impress system with no stock cards.
The only thing I keep on file is belts and that is because I just can not remember all of the buggers.
There is around 400 hiding downstairs.
Airfilters are by brand Briggs - Honda - Kohler - kawasak i- Loncin - Ducar - Tecumseh
And I draw the shape on the outside of the box so without remembering the numberI can grab an open top Honda filter or a short cylinder Briggs etc.
Bearings, in bins 6200's in one box 6300 in another 6400 in the third then a box for the rest most come from a bearing shop, bought by the full box, usually 24
Another box for spindles, one of each popular size & 4 x long Husqvarna star .
Next to them complete spindle assemblies, again one or two of each common type that I can get wholesale.
Pulleys live in 2 drawers of an old tool chest several of each size plus a set of press tools so I can swap the bushes without bearing damage
Nothing better than swapping the bush from a dead $ 50 pulley into a $ 10 one and making a very healthy mark up for 3 minutes on the press.
The Oil filtesr sit in their bulk box on it's side with a couple of flaps cut into the bottom of one side so they become dispensers.
All of the chainsaw stuff, including breaker , Spinner & grinder sit in a mobile rack made from scrap Dexion pallet racking
a desk lamp on the grinder end & a magnafying lamp on the spinner end
Some racking makes a bay for walk behinds with all of their parts surrounding them .
Starter rope sits on a length of dowel rod on some shelf brackets on the wall where they never see sunlight.
The tools needed, are in a box or tied to the rail right there so it is never more than a 5 minute job.
Standard fee $ 20 on machine & $ 15 off, regardless of what it is
#52
StarTech
PO on my system just eliminates the need of having to hand enter every item into my system, also it a way of keeping tracking what is ordered, what is received, and what is still on back order. Most of inventory is in 18 gallon storage bins with each having multiple storage bin in each. This works as long as hasn't been had an imported supersede (which the automanager program doesn't transfer the bin location, pushing the programmer to see if this can be solved) from one of many price files that I update every couple months.
As far as cost of parts my system is set to keep records for ten years so I can go back several years without even having to go online as long the programmer don't screw things up.
StarTech
There is no way I can remember where nearly 2000 different are locate with some system tracking where they are.PO's, (purchase orders) isn't something I can see a point in. Having only a few places I get.my parts from, I let them keep all that info. As in stens, I can go back to the first of the year and see what I've bought and how much I've spent on it.
My inventory is on like 8 shelves, 10' long. Although, the blades are starting to weigh the one shelf down. So I'm in the process of building a blade tree.
PO on my system just eliminates the need of having to hand enter every item into my system, also it a way of keeping tracking what is ordered, what is received, and what is still on back order. Most of inventory is in 18 gallon storage bins with each having multiple storage bin in each. This works as long as hasn't been had an imported supersede (which the automanager program doesn't transfer the bin location, pushing the programmer to see if this can be solved) from one of many price files that I update every couple months.
As far as cost of parts my system is set to keep records for ten years so I can go back several years without even having to go online as long the programmer don't screw things up.
#53
PTmowerMech
IIRC you posted a business program that you used. I downloaded it, but couldn't get through the sign up part of it. I misspelled my name or something and it wouldn't let me change it. And a couple of other issue.
PTmowerMech
There is no way I can remember where nearly 2000 different are locate with some system tracking where they are.
PO on my system just eliminates the need of having to hand enter every item into my system, also it a way of keeping tracking what is ordered, what is received, and what is still on back order. Most of inventory is in 18 gallon storage bins with each having multiple storage bin in each. This works as long as hasn't been had an imported supersede (which the automanager program doesn't transfer the bin location, pushing the programmer to see if this can be solved) from one of many price files that I update every couple months.
As far as cost of parts my system is set to keep records for ten years so I can go back several years without even having to go online as long the programmer don't screw things up.
IIRC you posted a business program that you used. I downloaded it, but couldn't get through the sign up part of it. I misspelled my name or something and it wouldn't let me change it. And a couple of other issue.
#54
StarTech
StarTech
If that is the case and you haven't entered any of your business info such as invertory or other financials then uninstall it, re-install, and try again. But this time make you write down your user name and password. Although if you didn't delete initial user name and password they should still get you in (username = FIRST, PW = FIRST)IIRC you posted a business program that you used. I downloaded it, but couldn't get through the sign up part of it. I misspelled my name or something and it wouldn't let me change it. And a couple of other issue.
#55
PTmowerMech
IIRC, I got the UN/PW and submitted something. I think I got a confirmation email. It's been so long, I can't remember a lot of the details about it. Just that I got frustrated because of my errors and not being able to correct them.
Gonna check to see if it's still on my computer. I may have already uninstalled it.
PTmowerMech
If that is the case and you haven't entered any of your business info such as invertory or other financials then uninstall it, re-install, and try again. But this time make you write down your user name and password. Although if you didn't delete initial user name and password they should still get you in (username = FIRST, PW = FIRST)
IIRC, I got the UN/PW and submitted something. I think I got a confirmation email. It's been so long, I can't remember a lot of the details about it. Just that I got frustrated because of my errors and not being able to correct them.
Gonna check to see if it's still on my computer. I may have already uninstalled it.