Husqvarna Chainsaw Fiasco

Gary:

Your right I did get confused between the 2 post and I'm sorry for screwing up, must be old age EH.

As far as your comments about going after Husqvarna I agree completely. I my opinion business 101 means getting all your ducks in order then when your sure you have all the documentation you need to support your claim go for it. And most importantly don't put any claims in writing that you can't support with written documentation. Never do anything over the phone once your initial complaint has been refused. Do absolutely everything in writing by fax or registered mail and avoid E-mail whenever possible.

In an earlier post I mentioned that I do a lot of complaining for both myself and people who ask for my help. The process that I follow religiously is actually very easy and effective but I must admit when debating the Husqvarna Fiasco I let my guard down and I let myself get caught up in a debate where I didn't have all the information needed and in hindsight I should have stayed out of the debate.

Jimbo

Most stations operate on a replacement cost basis. They adjust their prices day by day according to the cost of replacement gas on the wholesale market that day, whether they actually buy any replacement gas that day or not. (Chain stations may actually purchase futures contracts day by day, but independents rarely have the capital to play that game, and just have to sweat out a changing market.)

Pricing on the basis of replacement cost means they see an increased profit margin on gas they bought cheaply in a rising market, and a decreased profit margin on gas they bought dear in a declining market. But they always generate enough money to buy replacement gas on any given day. As long as the price swings aren't too rapid and radical, they don't have to dip into other revenues to refill their tanks.

Actually, most stations don't do it exactly that way. They do boost prices immediately when the wholesale cost of gas goes up, but they reduce prices more slowly as the wholesale price declines, often waiting for a competitor to make the first move. That delay helps to protect their profit margin in a declining market.

Jacking up prices on a commodity they already have in their tanks is when charges of profiteering are heard, And when the prices at different stations move the same way and the same amount at about the same time, charges of price fixing start to be heard.

Because nearly every station's prices seem to move so closely in sync with every other station in a given area, collusion is a tempting explanation. It usually isn't true, though. It is just the way the modified replacement pricing models work out in a competitive market.

Gary

It's interesting to note that where I live, the cost of auto gas here is ALWAYS higher than any town in a 40 mile radius. On the "busy" side of town, gas is about 5 or 6 cents higher than on the "dead" side of town, along entry/exit routes. We have a real estate tycoon here who has his hands into everything, and interestingly enough, he owns both high and lower priced stations around here, including the highest, and the lowest. Also owns a major propane distributor, along with a large liquid transport trucking company. Hmmmm....

RJ

I can't imagine any family spending enough on groceries for the store to make a $300 profit per month on one family.

Yes, it feels good to do this sorts of things, but it doesn't really hurt the store all that much. Many store owners would gladly trade a $50 loss in profit for a $300 savings in expense.

Brian Elfert

Why would any c-store add pay at the pump if they make little or no money on the gas?

Plenty of research has shown that people often buy more than they planned on, once they get in the store. Customers certainly won't buy anything extra if they never even set foot in the store.

Brian Elfert

I work for a large metro newspaper, and yes, grocery stores are huge advertisers. The owner of one chain went bankrupt and we lost several million dollars as a result of the bankruptcy.

Now that I work at a newspaper, I have mixed feelings about advertising. On the one hand, my job depends on advertising, but on the other hand I'd rather pay less for the goods I buy.

There are three big grocers in town, two chains and SuperTarget. The two chains advertise like crazy in all media. About the only advertising SuperTarget does for food is a weekly insert in the sunday paper.

SuperTarget has lower prices on almost all groceries, in some cases far lower. I stil go to the chains occasionally, but only because SuperTarget doesn't carry as much.

Brian Elfert

Its one of them chicken/egg things. Unless they advertise, you won;t know what the prices are, but it cost money to do that. Balance, I guess, is the key. If sales go up from advertising, they can sell for less. Ed

Robert Bonomi wrote: (clip) Combined with superior customer-service (would you believe that they _still_ have the 'bag boys' take groceries to your car (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Yeah, but will they repair my Husky chain saw, since I didn't buy it there?

Knowing the way _this_ grocery store operates, they just *might*!

They've been known to go further out of their way for customers.

On Sun, 25 Jan 2004 23:53:21 -0500, Gary Coffman brought forth from the murky depths:

What a lovely and endearing way to say "F*cks the customers."

And on the flip side, we have companies like Lee Valley Tools in Canada. If the price drops while your order is in shipping, they send a check to you for the difference, explaining that the costs went down. If the price happened to go up, you would not know it as they ate the cost difference. It's a great company and I just placed another order with them last night.

Their customer service, 180° to Husky's, gives full service and always satisfies the customer. I've heard of people who were not satisfied with a purchase (didn't do what they thought it would, not an actual LVT problem) yet LVT refunded the entire purchase price and covered shipping both ways. Husky could learn MUCH from them.

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I think they do it because customers want it, other gas stations have it, and they'd lose customer traffic if they didn't have it. (I don't think that they're making little or no money on gas sales, though.)

Just based on my own experiences and observations, even though I always pay for gas at the pump, *since I'm there*, I may also walk into the store and pick up something else (quart of milk, loaf of bread, whatever). If I had to make a *separate trip*, I probably wouldn't buy those things at the convenience store, but *since I'm there anyway getting gas* I just might. I also appreciate that pay at the pump means I don't have to stand in a long line inside the store in order to make my other purchases.

Gary

On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 12:12:01 -0800, Jim Stewart vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:

Yeah. That's what I was thinking....

Spike....Spike? Hello?

On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 17:33:46 -0500, "Jimbo" vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:

What seems to be wrong though, is that the dealer _has_ to take a loss to carry out that warranty service, whether they sold the item at a profit or not. This is a Huskey issue. The dealer should not have to carry the cost of faulty products.

I think the bit about moving after you have bought, and the (new car) breaks down, is the strongest argument here.

Spike....Spike? Hello?

On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 19:39:48 -0600, Rick Chamberlain vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:

Because otherwise some travelling lumberjack is going to come in one day and raise hell?....

The guy has to sell and service _something_. All manufacturers will give him the same (50%) deal, I bet.

He'd done 50 jobs like it, and had not seen that "return custom" enough to make it worth it. Buyers will use you once, then go where it's cheaper, then use you again.

errr..he had no choice. The manufacturer set it.

Spike....Spike? Hello?

Because they set the card reader on the pump up to be really finicky

- about a third of the time I get "Card unreadable, See Attendant" error which gets you inside the store. The attendant doesn't have any problems reading the card at the counter...

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My experience has been the exact opposite. When my debit card mag strip was too worn for any store cashier to accept with a swipe, the gas pumps always took it. Since that is basically what I use it for

I simply use another pump or another station. Never have gone inside under those rare circumstances. I'd be lost without my debit card. Lane