yeah there's some dealer issues that face all dealers, big and small.
One, the techs are in short supply, GOOD techs aren't sticking around because dealers can't afford to pay them well enough to retain them. Setup guys are often lower wage employees that have little experience & it's as if they hire them with the thought that they are second rate, and that is dead wrong! A setup tech has as much responsibility resting on their shoulders as a customer-repair tech, in some cases even more responsibility. They're often asked to work harder than their ability, they're often asked to work in conditions that are less than ideal, small work areas, lack of tooling, etc. I mean, I started off doing exactly this (setup tech) and it quickly came apparent that my little tool set was nowhere near adequate. Fortunately my neighbor was the service manager and he let me use his stuff while I saved and purchased my own, which took several years.
As far as itemizing repair orders, I always did it, but often got chewed out for doing it. It was as if they were saying "the customer might like it but we don't". Their thought was that if the repair order notes are itemized and spelled out in such a way that it described the repairs in detail--the boss thought that it was "telling the customer how to fix it next time"--rather than them bringing it back if they have the same problem again. Seriously. So usually if I got an RO for an oil change, I would add to the repair order that I checked the machine over while the oil was being removed, and noticed that maybe a loader bolt was loose. In doing this, it also lets the service manager know that he needs to call the customer and ask them if he wants us to tighten the bolt, or let him do it. That in itself is challenging in a busy shop environment; again not enough time in a day to call everyone....and oftentimes they don't answer the phone anyway (but they're more likely to answer a text!)
in the first 26 years of kubota dealer work, I learned a lot and one of the more important things was that the customer comes first. Without them, there ain't nobody to pay the bills and there ain't nobody to give you something to do on a slow winter workday. You take care of them, they take care of you. I always stuck to that in about everything and it showed. There was a reason our little tiny dealer was as popular as it was; at least until it was bought out by an investment company. Then it went downhill in the 2 1/2 years I stuck with them. Couldn't take it no more. The dollar became more important than the customer. Unfortunate.
