As I read thru many stated opinions on what dealers "should do" when product is not purchased from them - but is brought in for service . . . . I marvel at times.
I've never been a tractor or implement dealer - but for decades I've sold and serviced product from the $1,000 range to $60,000 level (per single item). I sense that some opinions I've read come from people who had different work experience than mine.
0. I'll start with a mental grading system a dealer might use.
A.s are genuine product customers.
B.s are relocated people who moved distances to new homes and new dealer needs and brought their prior equipment with them.
C.s people who bought from other vendors and want just normal maintenance work done on their equipment at full normal rates.
D.s people who bought from other vendors and want service & repair work done on their equipment at full normal rates.
E.s people who bought from someone else but want free training or free troubleshooting or "speed response" or priority scheduling.
1. Should tractor dealers do service work on their brand but not something they sold? Sure - if its 50 hour service activities or very common scheduled services - and do it at full normal pricing - as they can "fit those jobs in".
2. Now its an entirely different situation - if you've moved or relocated and brought your equipment to your new geographic location. Then as a customer they could legitimately become a future product customer in addition to a service customer.
3. A very naive opinion - is that dealers should always welcome every person who comes in their door wanting warranty or service work done on their common brand. Why is that naive? Because customers believe its perfectly fine to cut out the local guy on product - if the local guy willingly works on it for them. Lets think about this a second. A Dealer does not want to teach customers to buy from someone cheaper - that's why they should be customer attentive on new prospects coming in the door and why you willingly answer questions in depth to potential new buyers. Its called "consultive sales" and demonstrates superior knowledge or awareness or effort. But if customers think its OK to save $400 to buy elsewhere and then depend on you to handle all the crap - they will learn to keep doing it and doing it and doing it. Good dealers learn - if you can't say "No" - then you aren't in a position to properly say "yes". Teaching prospects its OK to cut you out of the purchases and then do it again and again - are destined to struggle as dealers. It doesn't mean you are rude - it doesn't mean you send outside-buyers away mad - it means they learn there is a "line".
4. So why is it OK to do normal scheduled maintenance work on any of them at normal full price? Because your service department can make an acceptable profit doing it. But troubleshooting problems and involved warranty work with lots of issues - is typically break even work - not profit work - because its not "cut and dried" activity.
5. Good dealers have a pattern of how busy they normally would be from season to season of a given year. Often their service dept. is swamped in summer - as they should be. Taking in other work is often a luxury they are not equipped for - unless its the basic maintenance work that any free tech can do.
6. Its my opinion - that the fastest and most profitable money by far - is sales of tractor or major pieces. Service work is filled with liabilities, dependence on your best people (and most expensive too) and complicated by tons of lost time but is designed to keep customers happy and coming back. Walk into any dealer and tell them you want a "no service and no support" price on a unit - and of course you'll get a lower price - because lots of profit is still left.
7. I believe it is very naive to think dealers make big money - on other people's equipment they get "the privilege" to work on.
8. In my personal experience of my type of dealership - some people become great future customers by working on equipment I didn't originally sell. But many also treated our business like we should be "honored" to fix their mistakes and problems and do it practically for free because they "might honor" us in the future. As a result - I used to draw a lot of "lines" as to what I would do for them and when I could do it and at what price. There are poor or abusive dealers - but there are many abusive customers too - who really don't care if you can feed your family or not.
I bought my tractor from an excellent dealer 115 miles away - and I'd do it again - great method and excellent people and good price. I know my obligations - I know my risks and things I need to do - and I know if I go to a more local dealer - that I am prepared to pay full price for work done on their time schedule if for some reason I can't get it to my dealer - and they can't pick it up in a reasonable timeframe.
jmho
