Customer service...

[D2Cat]

Or customer no service. I decided to start a new thread and not hijack the thread on trailer hitches.

How did I end up with a Kubota?

It was the spring of 1980 and we needed something to mow the grass and maybe remove some snow from a 100' of driveway. We had wore out a Sears 10HP mower in 3 years. A new 18 HP Sears was 3K.

So i decided to buy a used compact tractor.

On a Sat. morning went north to the big city to BUY, I was done kicking tires. Went to the Ford dealer (Olathe Ford) about 9AM. Had a few machines outside. I looked and walked around, and looked and walked around and finally walked inside after about 10 minutes. I walked in. There was coffee brewing, I could smell it, and 3 guys over in the corner at a desk.

I moseyed over to the coffee and poured a cup. No comments from anyone. I proceeded to walk around looking at bolts, washers, filters, containers of hyd. fluid and oil. Still no comments, like "We're closed today", or "Nothing is for sale, we're taking inventory", or "You look like a thief"! Another 8-10 minutes in there and still no communication for them.

So I walked back outside and looked some more. Walking around just to see if they would come out. Finally, one of the guys came out and asked, "Can I help you find something?"

I said, "Yes you can. I'm in the market for a small tractor." He started to say something and I interrupted him, saying "You guys are really busy. There's a lot going on here! Who is your stiffest competition?"

He said, "Kubota ".

I said, "Where are they located?

"Down there by the ready-mix plant", he said.

I said, "Thanks, I'm going to go down there and buy a tractor 'cause if your customer service is as bad as it is this morning I'd never be able to get parts or repairs made."

I went down to the Kubota dealer and bought a B6100 with a belly mower. Delivered it on following Monday. Paid $4300 in 1985 sold in 2007 with a little over 1200 HRS for $3200.

 

[85Hokie]

Or customer no service. I decided to start a new thread and not hijack the thread on trailer hitches.

How did I end up with a Kubota?

It was the spring of 1980 and we needed something to mow the grass and maybe remove some snow from a 100' of driveway. We had wore out a Sears 10HP mower in 3 years. A new 18 HP Sears was 3K.

So i decided to buy a used compact tractor.

On a Sat. morning went north to the big city to BUY, I was done kicking tires. Went to the Ford dealer (Olathe Ford) about 9AM. Had a few machines outside. I looked and walked around, and looked and walked around and finally walked inside after about 10 minutes. I walked in. There was coffee brewing, I could smell it, and 3 guys over in the corner at a desk.

I moseyed over to the coffee and poured a cup. No comments from anyone. I proceeded to walk around looking at bolts, washers, filters, containers of hyd. fluid and oil. Still no comments, like "We're closed today", or "Nothing is for sale, we're taking inventory", or "You look like a thief"! Another 8-10 minutes in there and still no communication for them.

So I walked back outside and looked some more. Walking around just to see if they would come out. Finally, one of the guys came out and asked, "Can I help you find something?"

I said, "Yes you can. I'm in the market for a small tractor." He started to say something and I interrupted him, saying "You guys are really busy. There's a lot going on here! Who is your stiffest competition?"

He said, "Kubota ".

I said, "Where are they located?

"Down there by the ready-mix plant", he said.

I said, "Thanks, I'm going to go down there and buy a tractor 'cause if your customer service is as bad as it is this morning I'd never be able to get parts or repairs made."

I went down to the Kubota dealer and bought a B6100 with a belly mower. Delivered it on following Monday. Paid $4300 in 1985 sold in 2007 with a little over 1200 HRS for $3200.

Excellent story - I really dont get how "businesses" stay in business.....if I were a store owner or hell worked in a store - I would have COFFEE and donuts .....and ask you with a warm smile - "what can I help you with today" - from the time the door closed!

 

[Daren Todd]

I could go all day and write a novel on customer service So two quick ones. My company switched prescription drug coverage to a certain pharmacy. Nearest one is 80 miles round trip from my house. I have to do mail order for maintanace drugs What they advertise and what they charge are two different things, and can't get the prescriptions right. My wife tossed there sales rep out of the nursing home she works at, because she didn't want the hassle of dealing with them for 100 plus people after all the trouble I have had. Guy hadn't gotten 6 words out during his sales pitch before she interrupted him, asked who he was with, and told him to get out

I have no patience for company's with poor customer service and it's going way down hill. Dropped a freezer off last week for repair. Called them two days ago for an update since I haven't heard from them. All they could tell me was that they plugged it in Said they would call when they know something This is after saying that I would hear from them in a couple of days when I dropped it off, with an estimate of what it needed and what is wrong with it. Gonna have to stop by there tomorrow and see if they've come to a conclusion on what's wrong, and possibly take it somewhere else

 

[Grouse Feathers]

Why do I use a cell phone?
Well a few years ago our land line went dead and it happened to be raining. We reported it and were told it would be four days before they could get to it. Guess what? It quit raining the phone started working the tech arrived and couldn't find a problem. The next time it rained we played the same game. It took about three years before they got around to replacing the cable. Took me five minutes to switch to the cable company when cable phones became available. After we retired and moved we started having the same rainy weather land line problem. We are 20 miles from anywhere so it took a while to get reliable cell service, but we have cut the cord.

Larry

 

[Tooljunkie]

An older friend had cash in hand so to speak to buy a brand new gm 4x4. Back when they were about 60,000 dollars. Yea, he carried that kind of cash.
They wouldnt give him the time of day. He dressed like he works for a living. Wouldnt give a price for cash and carry so down the road he went. 2 hours later, rolls up at that dealer and showed them his new truck.
He buys a new vehicle every couple years,some dealers know him well.

 

[Daren Todd]

Made four calls this afternoon looking for some parts. You wouldn't think that's too big of a deal. First place I called, I told them I'm looking for a couple of things. Asked for the first part. Answer was an abrupt no!!!! Followed by an immediate click jerk hung up the damn phone scratch that place off for parts.

Second place, rang and rang.......... put the phone on speaker, ring some more .......... no answer, voice mail or anything. Crossed that one off my list.

Called the third place. Ring..........ring......., put phone on speaker....... more ringing. Just as I got fed up and started to press the end button I here a voice..... oops, too late... i was already committed to the end button called them back immediately... just a ring and ring...... after a minute of ringing I said screw it and crossed them off the list.

Called the fourth place......whoohoo!!!! A live person answered the phone on the fourth ring no on the first part, no on the second, and the third.... plus the fourth suggested I call the first three places

Screw it!!!! I'll try again monday

 

[Lil Foot]

In the rural area where my cabin is located, there is a small telephone company for the landline. Service has never been stellar, but usable. Our home phone does not accept unidentified calls, and recently the home phone stopped taking calls from the cabin phone, seeing it as unidentified. A call to the small company's customer service revealed they had dropped their ID feature, & I should dial "star 82" first & the call would go through. When I tried this, I got a recording saying "That number is no longer in service" before I could even finish dialing the number. Another call to customer service resulted in the statement "That's too bad." I told them if I could not use the phone, there was no reason to have it, so please discontinue my service. They asked if I would continue my service if they lowered my bill by $10. I explained again to this taterhaid that the phone was useless as it was, so there was no reason to keep it. They offered a $12 discount, then a $16 discount. I told them if the bill was .02 a month, I had no need for a phone that would not call the one number I needed to call.
They finally reluctantly cancelled my service, and I now I use a cell phone with no problems.
Where do they find these knotheads?

 

[Daren Todd]

Certain companies employees are paid commission to keep you from canceling there service. It's annoying as hell!!!! Since the whole reason your canceling to begin with was because of poor service Seems like they would do better if they would put as much effort into there customer relations to begin with, so they wouldn't have that issue And usually the number one issue for canceling phone, internet, or tv service is creative billing where A plus B ends up equaling x instead of c I know, that I'm on a prepaid cell service where it's $50 per month unlimited everything because of it. I got fed up with that creative math that even an engineer couldn't make sense of

 

[PHPaul]

D2Cat, that's precisely why I have a Kubota now.

When I bought the John Deere 750 back in 1988, the local dealer was a one-man show. The owner was the salesman. (He did have a mechanic out back). Bob was the one that answered the phone and made all the deals. Compact tractors and lawn mowers were his bread and butter.

Some years later, he retired and sold out. Now it's a big, multi-branch John Deere Boutique run by a bunch of MBA's that wouldn't know a cow pie if they stepped in one. Snotty attitude, carpets, lots of glitz and glamor and doo-dads, and oh yeah, the odd tractor or two. Take it or leave it sticker pricing. A lot more Mercedes SUV's in the customer parking than pickup trucks.

The Kubota dealer is twice as far away, but they started out selling Allis Chalmers tractors to actual farmers and they still know who puts food on their table. You can walk out of the dairy barn and right into the dealership and everybody feels right at home.

 

[Daren Todd]

D2Cat, that's precisely why I have a Kubota now.

When I bought the John Deere 750 back in 1988, the local dealer was a one-man show. The owner was the salesman. (He did have a mechanic out back). Bob was the one that answered the phone and made all the deals. Compact tractors and lawn mowers were his bread and butter.

Some years later, he retired and sold out. Now it's a big, multi-branch John Deere Boutique run by a bunch of MBA's that wouldn't know a cow pie if they stepped in one. Snotty attitude, carpets, lots of glitz and glamor and doo-dads, and oh yeah, the odd tractor or two. Take it or leave it sticker pricing. A lot more Mercedes SUV's in the customer parking than pickup trucks.

The Kubota dealer is twice as far away, but they started out selling Allis Chalmers tractors to actual farmers and they still know who puts food on their table. You can walk out of the dairy barn and right into the dealership and everybody feels right at home.

You know, funny thing. I just had a similar experience last week with the green dealer in town. They just got bought out by a multi state company. Sent a piece of equipment over there that I had just serviced, parked out behind the shop and ran for an hour or so. It's part of my pm procedures to make sure I don't have an issue before renting it. The fuel selenoid stuck, so it wouldn't shut down. Sent it to the green dealer for warranty work. It only had 300 hours. Got a bill for 200$ and a butt chewing from my boss because they said it was s clogged air filter causing the issue I called bull sh$$ on them and went over there with the bill. I had just replaced the air filters when I serviced it. Only one hour and a clean environment. I ended up with s sit down meeting with the tech that worked on it, the service manager, and the branch manager. They said part of the fee was because they had to put there laptop on it to diagnose the issue the engine was mechanically governed. No ecm to hook a computer too. They looked really foolish when I had them take there laptop out in the parking lot to show me how they hooked it up to the unit. Walked out of there with not having to pay a dime


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[PHPaul]

They looked really foolish when I had them take there laptop out in the parking lot to show me how they hooked it up to the unit. Walked out of there with not having to pay a dime

Yup, but 90% of the Volvo-driving, Birkenstock-wearing, granola-eating Yuppies they sell $15,000 lawn mowers to would never have questioned it, just flopped their VISA Gold card on the counter and walked out the door smiling.

 

[D2Cat]

Let me tell you about customer service!

I have a Deutz 6206. It's an early 80's, 2 WD, around 60HP. It has a 2 stage clutch. Was having trouble with a clean shift so decided to separate and get it figured out.

I had contacted Walt at Walt's Tractor in Stark City, Mo. for some parts and advise. Walt KNOWS Deutz tractors. His hobby is building Deutz tractors for tractor pulls.

When I told Walt about my clutch, how I had taken it to K.C. and had it rebuilt, that I had purchased the tractor from KC Bobcat, that they had it in their shop for months and couldn't figure out the clutch, he said, "The clutch has to be set up it a jig or it won't be adjusted right."

I told him I would bring it to his shop and have him set it up, if I could get it that day and not make two trips.

When he asked where I was coming from, he realized he was going to be at a tractor pull about 30 miles away in a few weeks.

The tractor was actually setting in a barn 14 miles away from the fair grounds where the pull was. Walt said he'd bring his jig out to the farm and set it up right there. Take about 45 minutes to an hour. I just needed to have the tractor separated and ready for him to work.

The week before the tractor pull, I called. He had blown up the engine in his tractor, it was suppose to be in the 100's (temp.) that weekend so he was not coming up.

I took 6 pictures of the tractor separated and emailed them to Walt. When he looked at the pictures the first thing he asked is, "What did you remove when you separated it?" I told him, "Nothing". This went on for a while, back and forth. He recognized right away there was a spacer that went on the throw out bearing that was missing, and wouldn't allow full range of movement.

He looked at the picture of the T/O bearing and knew the part I needed. He asked me to take a few measurements on the clutch and was satisfied it was set up correctly, the the spacer was the problem.

He sent the part that day. Cost like $25. I offered to pay him for his time and diagnosis. He wouldn't add anything. He wanted me to send him a check.

I sent the check and a nice gift certificate to Wal-Mart, figuring his wife would be able to use it.

Walt is an example of customer service!

 

[PHPaul]

Yup. Seems to me that kind of service happens more at "Mom & Pop" outfits than at corporate establishments.

I got real similar service from a one-man machine shop that builds racing cranks and engines for motorcycle drags. I was desperate to find a shop that had some clue about motorcycle engines but figured he would be too specialized and too busy to have time for a 35 year old parallel twin street bike, and a Japanese one at that.

Stopped in anyway, figuring "nothing ventured, nothing gained" and got the surprise of my life. Stopped what he was doing, treated me like I was the most important customer he had, answered all my questions, apologized that he couldn't get to the job of honing my jugs right then and there, but if I'd leave them he'd be happy to do it.

Called me a week later, they were done and no, he wouldn't take any money. (I knew he was a shooter so I gifted him a 100 round box of .22LR and a 50 round box of 9mm)

Following year, I did a complete rebuild on another engine (same bike, spare engine) and he got all my work and was STILL very reasonable on fees.

This from a nationally known Harley specialist.

 

[Daren Todd]

Let me tell you about customer service!

I have a Deutz 6206. It's an early 80's, 2 WD, around 60HP. It has a 2 stage clutch. Was having trouble with a clean shift so decided to separate and get it figured out.

I had contacted Walt at Walt's Tractor in Stark City, Mo.

He sent the part that day. Cost like $25. I offered to pay him for his time and diagnosis. He wouldn't add anything. He wanted me to send him a check.

I sent the check and a nice gift certificate to Wal-Mart, figuring his wife would be able to use it.

Walt is an example of customer service!

We had Larry down at stewart & stevenson in stuttgart arkansas for our deutz engines. He was awesome. No issues helping you figure out something over the phone. Had a turbo lock up on a six cylinder that was pushing about 100hp. Motor was hooked to a hi pressure 6" pump. I was figuring I'm gonna have to drive 4-5 hours round trip from hot springs to stuttgart to get a turbo asap. He calls me back about 10 minutes after I got off the phone with him. I was in the process of draining the pipe line that the pump was attached too. He tells me that he wants me to try something before going any further. The turbo was locked up tight. He had me get on the nut that holds the fins on with a socket and breaker bar and force it free after soaking the fins with penetration oil. After working the fins back and forth for about five minutes the darn thing was free and spinning with out any issues Hooked the air intake from the oil bath back up to it. Tightened the bolts back down on the pipe line and fired the pump up. Thing ran perfect. Most people wouldn't have told me that trick and would have sold me a new turbo for 2k plus. I was disappointed when larry retired

 

[ipz2222]

I've been in business since '85. It amazes me to see how so many other businesses treat their customers. Every time I have a bad experience, I make a mental note to never let that be me makeing that mistake.
In one seminar I attended, the speaker said that 80 percent of all businesses started would fail in the first 2 years. I could believe 80 percent of those that fail would be caused by bad customer relations.
I'm in the auto repair business, percieved as dirty and oily. I've allways tried to keep my shop cleaner than most. A lady was in my shop one day and asked me where we actually rebuilt the transmissions for the vehicles. When I told all the work was done in the shop, she replied, " But it looks too clean to have done any work here." I also clean my floor with Pine-Sol, they love the smell of clean.

 

[ipz2222]

Well, I just had a wonderful customer experience. Was moveing stuff around in one of my sheds and my arm caught the head of a very rusty 16 penny nail that I had something hung on. A very nasty gouge, allmost made me pass out just looking at it. Wife carried me to one of those American Family Care, (doc in a box), that had just opened up last week. Showed them my arm thru the receptionst window and 35 seconds later I was in a room laying down with my arm on a platter. 2 nurses around me, 5 minutes later a doctor checking it out, 5 more minutes he's sewing me up. Back home in no time. An allmost pleasurable experience. Now, where's that sledge hammer.

 

[D2Cat]

It must have been a delightful experience. You don't even remember the tetanus shot!!

 

[ipz2222]

Am feeling that tetnaus shot now. It's sore, hurts worse than the gash. I took the hacksaw out to the shed and cut off every nail that was sticking out.

 

[Tooljunkie]

This morning at breakfast the restaurant owner asked me about getting the spare tire from under his suv. I asked him to stop by and would help him out.
1:00 he rolls up, i demonstrated how spare was locked in and lowered.
Replaced bad tire with spare and inspected front end. Bad ball joint. Asks why i used a torque wrench, figuring he wont get wheel off, i explained its exactly the opposite when torqued to spec.
Checked/aired up rest of tires and sent him on his way-no charge.

So i may sell him 4 tires and a ball joint next week.
Went for lunch this afternoon,and he buys our meals.
Im a regular customer, and im sensing he will be one of my regular customers from now on.

 

[olthumpa]

This morning at breakfast the restaurant owner asked me about getting the spare tire from under his suv. I asked him to stop by and would help him out.
1:00 he rolls up, i demonstrated how spare was locked in and lowered.
Replaced bad tire with spare and inspected front end. Bad ball joint. Asks why i used a torque wrench, figuring he wont get wheel off, i explained its exactly the opposite when torqued to spec.
Checked/aired up rest of tires and sent him on his way-no charge.

So i may sell him 4 tires and a ball joint next week.
Went for lunch this afternoon,and he buys our meals.
Im a regular customer, and im sensing he will be one of my regular customers from now on.

That is the BEST PR available, prompt, respectful, help full service! Not trying to make a killing on every opportunity that presents itself. Like you said, you will be way ahead in the long run.