Dealer Service

[MHarryE]

Phone call to dealer service manager this morning. Things have been moving behind the scenes but have not kept nephew and me informed. His tractor is ready to return tomorrow, and can I do without my M7-171 for 3 weeks? Glad I replaced my L6060 with a M5-111 last December because this is haying season and the M5, now a replacement for nephews tractor, will be what I need. So truck will return nephew's tractor which is ready to roll and return with my M7. Summers are hectic and good labor hard to find so I know it is a problem. My backup backup tractor is a 1960's Allis-Chalmers D10. It has one single acting remote but I don't want to mix its transmission oil with my good tractors. The PTO has one position - on whenever engine is running. Air ride seat of my Kubota's - this is plywood, weathered plywood, splinters in butt. Can pull a tire off something and use the inner tube for an air ride. 4 gears instead of 24 or infinite. No ROPS and I have one steep hill - that is the real stopper. Things may come together yet. Better communication from dealer would help things like this.

 

[rScotty]

Phone call to dealer service manager this morning. Things have been moving behind the scenes but have not kept nephew and me informed. His tractor is ready to return tomorrow, and can I do without my M7-171 for 3 weeks? Glad I replaced my L6060 with a M5-111 last December because this is haying season and the M5, now a replacement for nephews tractor, will be what I need. So truck will return nephew's tractor which is ready to roll and return with my M7. Summers are hectic and good labor hard to find so I know it is a problem. My backup backup tractor is a 1960's Allis-Chalmers D10. It has one single acting remote but I don't want to mix its transmission oil with my good tractors. The PTO has one position - on whenever engine is running. Air ride seat of my Kubota's - this is plywood, weathered plywood, splinters in butt. Can pull a tire off something and use the inner tube for an air ride. 4 gears instead of 24 or infinite. No ROPS and I have one steep hill - that is the real stopper. Things may come together yet. Better communication from dealer would help things like this.

Seriously? You have half a million dollars in equipment that you can't repair yourself, making you totally depending on the dealer - and your back up plan is a 1960 vintage D10?
I guess that makes me wonder if this might be a good time to look at a somewhat newer backup tractor?
But keep that AC D10. Harvest & hay won't wait.
rScotty

 

[MHarryE]

No, earlier I said my backup is a M5-111 I bought in January. However, my nephew's main loader tractor went down and the FIP on his backup loader tractor, an old IH 666, went down and they can't get the replacement working. So he has my M5 due to his dairy/beef herd and daily feeding. As soon as nephew's tractor is returned the same truck is taking my M7, and I will get my M5 back from my nephew. But this dual mainline tractor failure at the same time put us in a bind, especially with no indication from our dealer until this morning that they had a plan to get us going again. I should have been able to fix my M7 by myself but the blower motor connector they say to check in trouble shooting is not where it is shown in the picture. The wiring harness is there but the connector is wedged where I cannot see nor reach. It should have been a user repair but was apparently assembled wrong so the connector can't be reached without removing the AC unit - evacuating AC, disconnecting, repairing, and recharging. I can't handle that part.

 

[oldballs]

Since I'm coming up on 90 YO, I guess I'm out of touch with business today. But I hear the same stories from my kids about getting new employees.....even for unskilled positions. It sounds like they make more money from unemployement and all the other govt hand outs. than for a working job.

I've wondered if the actual working people are overworked now, since they can't get reliable help. Customer service is bound to lag behind. 0.02 cents.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Citydude]

The contractor that's installing my septic system can not find anyone willing to work and learn a trade. I offered to help him for nothing but he refused and said he's paying me $20.00 an hour.

 

[MHarryE]

Since I'm coming up on 90 YO, I guess I'm out of touch with business today. But I hear the same stories from my kids about getting new employees.....even for unskilled positions. It sounds like they make more money from unemployement and all the other govt hand outs. than for a working job.

I've wondered if the actual working people are overworked now, since they can't get reliable help. Customer service is bound to lag behind. 0.02 cents.

Cheers,
Mike

We don't have that kind of a problem here. Unemployment the lowest since they began recorded. Mines here desperate for people but younger generations move to the cities where there are more opportunities. I grew up on the farm of which I now own a very small portion. Friends and relatives who continued farming are now crippled due to heavy lifting - replacement hips, knees. Today's tractors are much more reliable (I have the experience here with my nephews 16 or so old tractors of which its lucky to get 50% running - his farm depends on 4 newer tractors). His loader tractor had its first problem after 4,200 hours, a problem of his own making but needed more expertise. Mine has been super reliable but now needs more expertise. I'm 75 - one of my great nieces just began a job in the deli of a local convenience store - 14 years old and 50 hours her first week. Older population retired, not as many younger ones to fill their positions.

 

[5030]

I was just at my dealer today (had to pay my bill) and interestingly, he had no new tractors to speak of. Last time I was there (a week ago) the lot was pretty full. Not so today. He's been doping the pickups and deliveries himself because he has nothing to sell.

I'm good with that. It is a part time gig after all. I asked him what the deal was (he sells a ton of tractors, always has) and he told me he's having issues getting Tractors from Georgia presently. He attributes it to the labor shortage everyone in manufacturing is dealing with today. No one wants to work unless the pay is top tier and even then it's hard to find responsible employees that actually come to work on time, every day.

No work ethic left today sadly.

 

[5030]

...and that shows by the amount of screw up's I've fixed on new Kubota equipment, not the tractors themselves, but the add on stuff, back hoes and loaders have been suspect lately. Last week did a front loader upper arm they shipped as complete but had no stringer weld on the gusset that is on top of the loader arm. All painted real nice, but no weld ever laid. Did that one at the shop with my gas driven Lincoln.

Considering how difficult it is to get equipment today, you don't send that stuff back, you fix it and move on. If you returned it, who knows how long it would be before a replacement showed up.

 

[5030]

We don't have that kind of a problem here.

I bet you do, you just aren't aware of it because it's not part of your wheelhouse. It's everywhere today. The days of good work ethic are mostly gone.

 

[MHarryE]

Having been in the business my whole career, I have kept following marketing trends even after retiring. Sales have been absolutely out of site. Here is a summary of 2021 tractor sales. 40 to 100 HP up 10%; 100+ up 24%. This only shows comparison between 2021 and 2020. Go to AEM (Association of Equipment Manufacturers) and you will see that 2020 blew 2019 out of the water despite the pandemic, and 2019 was better than 2018. The 2021 sales were such it was easy to see why inventory was depleted and is still catching up. The plant with which I was associated has 50% more assemblers than they did when I retired in 2009. They expanded the assembly plant by 50%. They still can't keep up with demand. Demand exceeding supply by so much = inflation. Believe it or not, the US is much better than most of the countries. I'm glad I live in an area with a good work ethic but the workers might not last. Voluntary overtime went out the window several years ago.