John Deere's poor dealership decision making IMO.

[ovrszd]

In my thoughts one of the secrets of surviving hard times is trimming that "needed supply" list.

 

[Industrial Toys]

HARD, when you need medicine, contacts (For eyes) and stuff like that. SCARES the bejesus out of me.

They say the debt is NOT sustainable. Yet, somehow I feel like that has been the story my whole adult life and the "CRASH" was always just around the corner.

 

[atsah]

I think most people are hanging by a thread, medical is a major problem for a lot of people.. I don't believe the debt IS sustainable, just a matter of time before the bottom falls out but it seems to keep on going, how I don't know..

 

[ovrszd]

Good thing we aren't running Deere Corp huh.

 

[Oldoak]

Oh, no need to fret about John Deere Corporation. Their core commercial agricultural and industrial equipment will sustain them long after we are long gone.

Sadly though, mom and pop operations are becoming the thing of the past in the eyes of international corporations and world wild trade. The world is shrinking. Just like the oceans seamed like endless bodies of water years ago, today, they are becoming like a backed up toilet bowl with all the pollution and mega tons of garbage floating around.

 

[TractorGuy]

I was the parts manager for a family owned Deere dealer in the early 90s. Owner eliminated my position because he read in a corporate magazine about central management. He said he would put my duties on the service manager and hire 2 more counter guys for what he was paying me. Later I heard that Deere made them change the name to a non family name. Later it was bought by a conglomerate and became one of many AgPro dealers.

The change turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. Within 2 weeks I got a job at a state university and recently retired. At the dealership I was working 50 to 60 hours a week and was always behind. Same was true for the service manager. How they expected one person to do both escaped me. At the university I was on call but very seldom had to come in after my regular 40 hours. When I did I was given how ever many hours I worked extra off during regular hours. At retirement I cashed in hundreds of hours of unused annual and sick leave.

 

[moriboy]

Our local JD dealer was family owned for years. It was small, no parts inventory, and only had 3 or 4 tractors on the lot. Really not a very inviting place.

A huge company bought them out, and revamped the whole business. Now, we have a real dealer with a huge parts and service department, along with implements and at least 20 tractors on the lot.

I own a small business and always root for the little guy. I get beat up all day long by corporate bean counters. However, in the case of our JD dealer, the big guy does it better.

 

[beenthere]

And that Univ job is another Gubmint job paid for by the taxpayer.. That is where the weakness of the system comes creeping in to the eventual point that unproductive jobs won't be sustainable.
Everyone cannot work a Gubmint job or be on the Gubmint payroll, which includes the handouts in the form of welfare.. IMO

End of rant..

 

[TractorGuy]

And that Univ job is another Gubmint job paid for by the taxpayer.. That is where the weakness of the system comes creeping in to the eventual point that unproductive jobs won't be sustainable.
Everyone cannot work a Gubmint job or be on the Gubmint payroll, which includes the handouts in the form of welfare.. IMO

End of rant..

I get your jealousy but you don't know what you are talking about. State universities are needed to educate the masses. Most all of their employees are hard working, caring individuals as I was. Those benefits and handouts as you call them come at a price. The part I didn't mention was the $8,000 reduction in pay I experienced to enter the system. Government workers get fair working hours and good benefits but usually make far less than people do in private enterprise and work just as hard while they are at their jobs.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Our local JD dealer was family owned for years. It was small, no parts inventory, and only had 3 or 4 tractors on the lot. Really not a very inviting place.

A huge company bought them out, and revamped the whole business. Now, we have a real dealer with a huge parts and service department, along with implements and at least 20 tractors on the lot.

I own a small business and always root for the little guy. I get beat up all day long by corporate bean counters. However, in the case of our JD dealer, the big guy does it better.

Our family owned dealership had 25-50 tractors on the lot, as many or more implements, 15 Gators, 30 Riding lawnmowers, parts galore. There are very few row crops here anymore. Maybe some corn, but not much. Mostly hay, and ranching.

Nothing major has changed, except maybe my allegiance to corporate Deere for yanking the table cloth out from under their feet.

They do seem they have LESS parts now, and I had to return an unused part still in it's box, and they had to charge me 20% restocking fee. That never happened before.

 

[atsah]

State universitie payroll and welfare handouts?? Hmmmm, that’s a stretch..

 

[tjkubota93]

When I worked as an automotive factory rep they were turning the heat up on little dealers. They didn't like them because generally it was harder to get them to play ball as far as technician training and other things. Not to mention, big dealers move more iron. I went to multiple dealers that refused to train a guy on transmissions. We dont want to work on transmissions, they are complicated. We farm them all out to Jim bob down the street. Same with diesels alot of places. One place I went to was 2 brothers. One was sales and the other was service. The showroom was empty except an old couch. The owners buddies would stop by set a spell and smoke cigarettes. I didnt like Detroit being mean to all these guys, they were just trying to make a living. But I didnt like the guys saying eh whatever. We are a dealer but we dont do transmission work or diesels.

The idea is for you to have the same experience everywhere and be able to have any problems fixed anywhere. I personally believe all dealers should be factory owned. Take out the middleman.

 

[vvanders]

...

The idea is for you to have the same experience everywhere and be able to have any problems fixed anywhere. I personally believe all dealers should be factory owned. Take out the middleman.

It's funny you say that, it turns out that there's a whole lobbying group for dealerships called the NADA. They've got laws on the books in about half the states that if a company owns the dealers/service centers they cannot legally sell cars in those states.

So much for free market capitalism I guess, gotta protect those entrenched interests.

 

[Industrial Toys]

All the Family Name JD dealerships around here have amalgamated.

Funny, The Vet (animal doc) association told my Vet they didn't approve of her name in her practice name either! Also insisting she gouge her customers in a myriad of ways. What the $%#$ is wrong with the world today?

 

[tjkubota93]

It's funny you say that, it turns out that there's a whole lobbying group for dealerships called the NADA. They've got laws on the books in about half the states that if a company owns the dealers/service centers they cannot legally sell cars in those states.

So much for free market capitalism I guess, gotta protect those entrenched interests.

I dont know if it would get better or worse I have seen some rotten dealers (1 while buying a truck for myself).

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

consolidation has been going on in our industry for a long time now. Its pushed by some manufacturers, but small dealers would also tell you its hard to turn a profit if your not moving a significant volume of equipment. The magic number had been dealer groups with at least 100 million in sales, but that's pushing upwards now and dealers with 5-6, even 10-12 stores are being absorbed into still larger groups.

 

[Oldoak]

.....................................................................

Funny, The Vet (animal doc) association told my Vet they didn't approve of her name in her practice name either! Also insisting she gouge her customers in a myriad of ways. What the $%#$ is wrong with the world today?

One word, GREED!

Our local veterinarian passed away very unexpectedly this past Spring. He was an excellent and caring Vet and didn't charge exorbitant prices. Well, a Veterinary LLC, which had a habit of buying out smaller independent practices, bought the practice from his wife. Yep, up shot all the pricing even for routine annual shots. And not just by a couple of bucks.

 

[ovrszd]

consolidation has been going on in our industry for a long time now. Its pushed by some manufacturers, but small dealers would also tell you its hard to turn a profit if your not moving a significant volume of equipment. The magic number had been dealer groups with at least 100 million in sales, but that's pushing upwards now and dealers with 5-6, even 10-12 stores are being absorbed into still larger groups.

Yep. My local JD dealer just went thru the second round.

 

[Turbys_1700]

Business models change...
It will continue to change and fluctuate based on economies of scale, market demands, demographics, etc...
We all long for the good old days...
Change is constant whether we accept it or not...
I like the idea of a small locally owned dealer...
I still have one...
Hopefully it will continue...

 

[ovrszd]

Business models change...
It will continue to change and fluctuate based on economies of scale, market demands, demographics, etc...
We all long for the good old days...
Change is constant whether we accept it or not...
I like the idea of a small locally owned dealer...
I still have one...
Hopefully it will continue...

After two buy outs I still know all the employees on a first name basis. We visit about the weather, kids, grandkids, the teenagers leaving black marks on the hiway, the future of farming and many other topics. Excellent stock of parts and machinery. If they don't have it, they will in a couple days.

I've saw no downside.