Husqvarna Chainsaw Fiasco

Rich, Should have bought a Stihl ;-)

Michelle

Rich wrote:

Well, here's where a lot of problems occur and a lot of shouting can happen.

We could look up the serial number, if it isn't obscured (and on a saw, it might be. I write mine down and keep it some place safe).

No serial number could mean the saw is stolen merchandise. 'Factory Reconditioned' units usually get a differnt serial number that reflects the fact they aren't new and may not be fully warranteed. These are two of the biggest reasons dealers don't want to get involved with repairing internet purchases.

But let's say it's readable and legal. The next step would be to make sure it's within warranty.

Now, let's say it's within warranty. We fix it and submit a claim using an extranet. We get paid.

But if we're busy, it's going to the back of the line.

Let me turn the question around: You're a selling dealer and it's a busy Fall weekend. Your shelves are full of tools that your good customers- guys who have been buying from you for years- are waiting to have repaired or serviced. You've been putting in some long days taking care of these folks.

Now, some guy that only comes around for the weekends or when the bass are hitting comes in and plunks down a new saw he bought somewhere else. It doesn't work and he wants you to drop everything and fix- for free -his saw first. What do you do?

-Carl

On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 17:33:46 -0500, "Jimbo" brought forth from the murky depths:

Look at it another way. If you buy a car in Cleveland, then move to Miami, should the Miami dealer tell you to stuff it, to get is serviced and warrantied in Cleveland?

If I buy a known brand product from an authorized dealer and that brand promotes its nationwide/worldwide service network, I expect them to honor it no matter where I take it, period. I worked for both Chevy and Ford dealerships where warranty work was just another (sucky) part of the game. The higher dealer service pricing made up for it by giving the mechanics higher pay for the retail stuff.

All dealers and their mechanics (should) know that warranty work doesn't pay well but it goes with the territory.

I'm with Rich and think Rick had it right: Take it to the next level at Husky. If they don't jump, take it to the nice media people. Does Rich's town's TV station have one of those troubleshooters? If all mail order and Internet purchases are suddenly unwarrantyable, we're all in deep s*it, Maynard.

Carl,

Service - in my mind - is always first come, first served, unless someone has a purchased service contract guaranteeing turnaround. The only language in warranties that implies turnaround is "reasonable amount of time" and sometimes "not to exceed 30 days".

I wasn't implying that when warranty work comes in that you jump higher than you do for any other, just that the warranty be honored.

"Sunshine Treatment?"

Jim

================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ==================================================

On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 04:24:59 GMT, Rick Chamberlain brought forth from the murky depths:

That's the key to registering your product with the mfgr. Now, thanks to the Internet, dealers should be able to verify your ownership in seconds. Y'know, dealers who actually do accept warranty work.

I tell you what, after this, I'll check every manufacturer's warranty much more closely before purchasing their items.

And even though the Net has cheaper prices, if I see the possibility of having to mail a 400lb item back to the mfgr for warranty work, I'll usually buy locally. Or if I expect to use the local dealer's expertise to my benefit, buying locally is a real boon. The problem is that so few people in business nowadays have any expertise... To wit, Micky D/Taco Bell's picture-only cash registers, and the Borg drone mentality of "Huh, whassa warunty?"

OTOH, I picked up a nice little guitar/tuner/strings/pick and case for $16.99 (+ $19.50 s/h via UPS) from Ebay last month. Brand new Chiwanese job, prolly better than a TJ job. They wanted $129 for the same gitfiddle in town--3 times the price! For -that- difference, I'll buy mail-order and take my chances, TYVM.

Jim:

Sorry I forgot to mention the importance of location in the equasion. If Rich lives in some out of the way place where shipping cost are astronomical that changes everything.

I thought I had explained myself on the local dealer being obligated to cover warrantee service if the product was purchased from an authorized selling dealer. If we all sit back and let Rich explain to us where he lives the model and serial number of the machine etc. we just might be able to figure out if the local dealer is screwing him or just refusing to fix an old/refurbished/grey market out of warrantee product.

For all any of us know the dealer might just have a list of serial numbers on his wall that are not covered under the manufacturers warrantee. He might have explained his reason to Rich and Rich hasn't told us the whole story, who knows.

If Rich really wants to get this out in the open and make the dealer and the manufacturer pay for not servicing his unit properly it's only fair to all concerned that he tells us the whole story. If we get all the info it ends up being a no win "He said they said consumer complaint"

I agree that a customer should get warrantee service anywhere in North America if the saw was purchased through a regular dealer network. If they didn't purchase it from an authorized dealer it's the purchasers problem and they have learned a hard lesson.

Jimbo

I hope I didn't sound too rash in my prior comments - it raises my hackles when I hear of customer service fiascos like this one.

I decided to check the warranty language on Husky's web site, and the language says clearly that all servicing dealers must perform warranty service work, whether you have a receipt or not, and whether you are the original owner or not. Nowhere in the language did it say that if you bought it from an unauthorized source that you'd be denied warranty service.

Then, just for grins, I checked Toro's site. I found no language that said you had to go just to a master service center - you had the option to go any authorized Toro service center. They did require proof of purchase though. And there was nothing about voiding the warranty if you bought the unit secondhand or from the gray market.

Agreed. I hope Carl doesn't think that I buy everything from the web and expect my local service shops to bend over backwards. But when I do buy from the web and have a warranty problem, I expect that they'd put forth the effort to service my problem in a timely manner, and maybe even try a bit to convert me into a future customer.

Yeah - I'm not familiar with guitar stuff, so I have no idea if what you bought can be classified as a commodity item.

To most local dealer's credit (at least around here), they'll do what they can to match prices within reason. The smart ones tell you why they cannot if they cannot. When I bought my lawn mower, I could have gotten one from the Borg for $40 less than the dealer, but the dealer does complete setup, adjustments, and made sure the machine was humming perfectly. I didn't have to worry about buying a service manual (at least not right away) and then spending an hour or two checking cables, idle, and the like. The price differential was offset by the customer service, which I value greatly.

If I were in the market for a large chain saw, I'd buy locally - mostly because I'm not well versed in chainsaw mechanics and would prefer to have it setup properly. But if I were buying a circular saw, well...

I agree with Rich's perspective above. The internet and the Borg's are the biggest reason why the local dealer should extend every courtesy possible. Within reason of course. While noone can deny that there are those that will go for the lowest price everytime, a certain number of people will return to the service oriented dealer. This guy just guaranteed he will make no profit from Rich. And, as someone else pointed out, if this guy lost money on warranty work, he wouldn't do it. If they do, they're stupid. I would venture to guess, the profit just wasn't big enough for the guy. Which is one of the reasons we have the Borg's. The big retail profit centers may be monopolistic in nature, but one thing they do NOT have a monopoly on...is greed. This is, of course, just my opinion.

Spaz

I agree. I like to support the local guy. I really do. But what do you do when you consistently get reamed by him. I went down to the local Ace to get a

I live in a somewhat upscale college community. The local equipment rental place charges a hefty daily charge including Sunday on everything. If I drive 5 miles to the largely ag community down the road, the shop of the very same rental chain charges 30% less and gives Sunday free if the equipment is returned by 8AM monday. Where would you rent?

Both the Ace store and the rental shop seem to be quite busy so I assume their business model works for them. It sure doesn't for me.

Absolutely right Roy, after all this fuss, at LAST some one has hit the nail on the head. It's as simple as that. This thread is making America sound like the third world!!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- snipped-for-privacy@boltblue.com John Lloyd - Cymru/Wales

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Doesn't matter

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- snipped-for-privacy@boltblue.com John Lloyd - Cymru/Wales

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Well put. Alpine CD changer in my wife's CRV died. Shopped around online, can get newer version for $190. Nearest Alpine storefront lists it for $230. Nice guy, so I tell him I'll buy from him over internet since he's convenient, there's no shipping, and I like to support local business when I can. Then I ask about price on him installing the Honda tape deck I bought but never installed. He offered to show me how to get the center console out for free so I can do it myself. Net savings there of over $60.

Deals are deals for a variety of reasons. And in the long run, sometimes deals aren't really deals...

Jon

snip---

I needed a brush hog. Local dealer wanted $800 for a 40" model, a perfect fit for my small Kubota. A 100 mile drive yielded a brush hog for $500, and no sales tax. Difference? 2" narrower, otherwise the same hog. No big deal, especially when I saved $300, plus 7.7% sales tax on the $800 price. No sales tax paid on the $500 purchase.

Some folks see every sale as a retirement plan, so I can't get too excited about supporting them. I purchased common seals from the local dude because I was in a bind. $12 each for $6 seals. His screw the consumer prices are outrageous, always well above market value. It's clear that some folks do little to earn your patronage. I've tried to be a faithful customer, but I can't afford to be. I now shop everywhere except for his store.

Harold

John:

A little business 101 might help here.

You say Rich has a receipt for a new saw do you know for a fact that the receipt is signed by an company authorized to sell that companies product? Do you know for a fact how old the saw is and if Rich was the first and only owner. Do you remember Rich metioning that he had rebuilt the carb? Did he do that before or after speaking to the dealer about warrantee repairs? Do you know for a fact that any warrentee that might be on that companies equipment is transferable?

Lets get someting straight my hobby is helping people fight back against big companies who have screwed them, and I win better than 80% of the time and I'm not talking chump change either. However I never taken on a company or an individual until I have all the information need to win..

I'm just as guilty as everyone else for carrying on this post to long but in closing I don't believe any of us have enough information to be defending Rich or attacking the dealer or the manufacturer.

There are always 2 sides to every story

Jimbo

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I have my own business and I've been in business for about 7 years. My wife and I make a comfortable living at it, we have some control over our destiny and we get to *mostly* make our own rules. The three main rules are 1) build something that works and doesn't hurt someone. 2) tell the truth to customers, vendors and each other. 3) price our products so that we can make a comfortable living. I've learned that this gets us the most consistent revenue stream and generally keeps our customers from switching to another company that may introduce a product with a slightly lower price. I've tried setting a higher initial price and dropping it later to try to get market share. It doesn't work. The damage has already been done. On the other side of it, I've turned down a couple of big customers because I couldn't make a comfortable living meeting their terms. The ability to say no is just as big of a negotiating tool as the ability to say yes.

There are THREE sides to every story. Viewpoint A, viewpoint B, and the real truth.

RJ

We can all find exceptions. It pays to be a smart consumer and do some homework. I can also give exceptions the other way around. I needed a refrigerator part for the ice maker. Big store wanted $60 for the part, Internet was $55, local guy was $40 not for the part but for a hole new unit. Ed