Kubota/dealership relations

[fredhargis]

I bought my tractor a year ago this month, from a local dealer whom I had thought was going to provide great service. That hasn't worked out so well (dealer shall remain unnamed) and even a problem that Kubota should have resolved was, at best, a cobbled attempt by my dealer to get things to work. The details aren't really important to this thread, but I was following a post on another orange forum that mentioned any support you get from Kubota relies a lot on how well your dealer gets along with the company. That's my question to the wise folks here. Now, no doubt here will be posts as to where I should have bought my tractor, so lets say that's water under the bridge. Even if I bought another I would first call Barlows...my question remains: does Kubota support some dealers more than others based on how they get along? I'm of the impression my dealer has pi$$ed somebody off at big orange.....

 

[om21braz]

*Note: this is merely hypothetical, but like a lot of companies nowdays - they may owe Kubota money. It's hard to get any help from somebody who you owe money to. Relationships get strained as cash flow gets weak, even to companies that have always been good customers and paid on time. There are quite a few other scenarios also - hope you have another/better Kubota dealer nearby.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I bought my tractor a year ago this month, from a local dealer whom I had thought was going to provide great service. That hasn't worked out so well (dealer shall remain unnamed) and even a problem that Kubota should have resolved was, at best, a cobbled attempt by my dealer to get things to work. The details aren't really important to this thread, but I was following a post on another orange forum that mentioned any support you get from Kubota relies a lot on how well your dealer gets along with the company. That's my question to the wise folks here. Now, no doubt here will be posts as to where I should have bought my tractor, so lets say that's water under the bridge. Even if I bought another I would first call Barlows...my question remains: does Kubota support some dealers more than others based on how they get along? I'm of the impression my dealer has pi$$ed somebody off at big orange.....

I believe you've pretty well answered your question in that you've identified your dealer as not being a good dealer. If he/she is a bad dealer/communicator to you then more than likely he/she will relate the same way with/to Kubota rep. Rep/Kubota can/will only do what they are informed of and requested of them and the dealer is the one they talk to.
If the BAD dealer does not communicate to Rep/Kubota the problem/issue then how could the Rep/Kubota do anything about it.
Makes no sense that a Company would not serve all coustomers the same but their service has to come from the dealer.
Also not convinced a major Corporation would shoot them selves in the foot because some one owes them money.

 

[om21braz]

Makes no sense that a Company would not serve all customers the same but their service has to come from the dealer.
Also not convinced a major Corporation would shoot themselves in the foot because some one owes them money.

I agree John, but seems large corporations often give small retailers the short end of the stick. We don't know the dealer/size/etc. In reality though, it is a person at the corporation that can be the problem - not the corporation itself.

 

[DAY]

Reading the comments above, it struck me that a tractor shopper in no great rush to buy could learn a good bit about brands and dealers by asking local farmers their thoughts about both. They use these tools to earn a living, and poor quality/poor service are not tolerated.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I agree John, but seems large corporations often give small retailers the short end of the stick. We don't know the dealer/size/etc. In reality though, it is a person at the corporation that can be the problem - not the corporation itself.

I'm not disagreeing with this in theory. BUT, I believe most and I believe by far most Kubota dealers are small retailers. I travel alot and Orange catches my eye from a distance. Over 95% of the Orange I see is what I would call small retailers. The largest I've seen is Barlows here in Somerset and I've driven by his lot for years and didn't really think of him as being a big retailer but I believe he is now after seeing the other tractor, not just Kubota, lots.
I also agree that it's all individuals that can be good or bad. Bad Rep, bad above Rep or bad Dealer or possibly a bad customer.:laughing:. All steps go thru an individual. Hope is that each of these individuals can learn how to get around the bad individual that's stopping the proper response.:thumbsup: We're all old enough to know there can be work arounds most of the time, not all of the time but most of the time. I love finding a can do/will do individual whether it's at an auto/restaurant/building supply/tractor sales. You all know what I'm talking about. There are good workers and turd..s every where. It's not usually the company but some companies can and do have a quick profit mentality and can exist for some years but it catches up and many go out of business every year.

 

[fredhargis]

Reading the comments above, it struck me that a tractor shopper in no great rush to buy could learn a good bit about brands and dealers by asking local farmers their thoughts about both. They use these tools to earn a living, and poor quality/poor service are not tolerated.

Well, my sister and her husband farms, big time for an Ohio farmer (3000 acres). I can guarantee you that the attention he gets from his dealers is more than I would ever get. When you buy $300K machines, you seem to rank higher on the food chain than me buying a $15K CUT. Don't forget, I'm likely to not buy another, while my BIL buys something big almost every year. So I guess I'm not sure talking to the farmers would help, though talking to other local small tractor owners might. But living in a rural area (by some standards) makes that a little tough as well.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Reading the comments above, it struck me that a tractor shopper in no great rush to buy could learn a good bit about brands and dealers by asking local farmers their thoughts about both. They use these tools to earn a living, and poor quality/poor service are not tolerated.

To some extent this is true. I did my due diligence before buying my first diesel life time mower (BX2200 MMM FEL) with the expensive wheelbarrow on the front.
I talked to dealers, farmers and people that knew farmers. I also evaluated the providers of information to try and filter out their weird ideas of what's good and bad/right and wrong. Farmers for a living are a rare breed and have some "different" opinions. That's what makes them farmers like some people are Doctors, Morticians, Parole Officers and Policemen.
I do alot of research before I buy, usually. This forum is one of the best places for information from a wide variety of Kubota owners/sellers/mechanics/lonly people that surf forums, not just Kubota. Filter the info provided and research the provider of info to determine their credability (check their posts and their profile). Then go and sit on the choices and see if actual feeling matches written info then make a decision, buy the tractor and then never look at or ask anyone how much they paid for the machine you bought.:thumbsup:

 

[brain55]

Here is my experience as a mechanic that worked in Kubota dealers for 12 years. A lot of the help the dealer receives from the field reps depends on the relationship between them. If your dealer does not send its mechanics to Kubota's training sessions, or the mechanic is one that calls the rep before he even tries to figure out what the problem may be, this will strain that relationship. I always got quality help from my reps, but I went to service school every year (which helps build that relationship) and when I called them with a problem they were confident that I had tried everything else first. We had the proper test equipment and I knew how to use it. Field reps are human too, they will be more likely to go see the dealer that they have a good working relationship with and enjoy working with. They don't like getting bombarded when the walk through the door. They basically have rounds in their territory so they can go see each dealer, but they will skip ahead to a dealer that is having a problem that can't be resolved over the phone especially if the dealer fits the description above.

Brian

 

[fredhargis]

Brian, thanks for the insight. I do know in my case the dealer and the field rep are at odds, and apparently have been for some time. It does seem to me that such matters are not obvious (or even knowable) to the casual customer, it's a shame shame that impacts service.

 

[James Loehr]

My dealer has five shops around the state. They handle both Kubota and Deere and are quite large. When I was Having a problem with my BX2350(abrupt reverse stop and some other issues) the service manager did his best to fix these problems even doing the fix the Kubota rep told him to do. Nothing helped and in fact made the tractor worse. A three way meeting then took place between the Kubota rep,the dealer service manager and myself. First the rep would not admit of any problem then blamed my driving and when those tactics did not work for him he blamed the service manager for causing the problem. After they argued for a while my salesman stepped in and told the Kubota rep. that he sold 36 Kubota 2350 tractors and had several unhappy customers for the same reason and told him from that point on if an customer asked recommend between there two brands he was going to recommend Deere becouse they where better to work with. After this all happened I recieved a call from the Kubota Sales rep. for buying help to go with a BX2360 and there was another unpleasent meeting between the dealer,rep and myself. I did get the 2360 and love it but lost a lot of respect for Kubota company and there reps that day. As for the dealer I noticed on a recent visit that there lot is now 10 to 1 Deere over Kubota and I understand where there coming from.

 

[Buster57]

As far as support from Kubota to the dealers-they want the end customer to be happy. They may have strained relationship with dealers but they sure as heck do not want the end customer to see that!

Some dealers have better strength in service then others. Some have no skill what so ever in small engine repair but are great in tractors. Some are expensive and crappy all around but still give you a good deal on new tractors and a hot cup of coffee...

Although I am generally mechanically challenged, I have found that most work on Kubotas can be done by the owner.

Once again even with complete Kubota Corp. support, some dealers can be screw ups in the service department. This can be due to any number of reasons; anything from man power shortage to a company that is disorganized and/or has management issues.

Your salesman should have some pull in the service department. If not, then don't go back.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

my own two cents. Your experience has more to do with your dealer than Kubota. If your not getting results somewhere, just take your tractor to another shop who knows what they are doing. This is not a political buddy buddy process. A shop that knows what they are doing gets things done, one that does not won't. That's just shown in any relationships with the corporation.

 

[fredhargis]

my own two cents. Your experience has more to do with your dealer than Kubota. If your not getting results somewhere, just take your tractor to another shop who knows what they are doing. This is not a political buddy buddy process. A shop that knows what they are doing gets things done, one that does not won't. That's just shown in any relationships with the corporation.

Thanks, I really value your response. But my problem is that parts seem to be either the wrong one or manufactured incorrectly. The dealer had to modify them so I could mount my backhoe (more detail than I planned on). I'm told that Kubota (by my dealer) denies a problem and any replacement parts would be identical; yet I can't believe that Kubota does this on purpose (I have written them, BTW). So, would a strained dealer/corp problem? That's why I originally posed the question...

 

[JoshPA]

my own two cents. Your experience has more to do with your dealer than Kubota. If your not getting results somewhere, just take your tractor to another shop who knows what they are doing. This is not a political buddy buddy process. A shop that knows what they are doing gets things done, one that does not won't. That's just shown in any relationships with the corporation.

Never purchased a thing from Messick's, but I agree. Look at their website vs any random dealer. I get a good feeling from one, perhaps not so much from the others. Just look at the tech info they put out there. I would tend to think they know what they are doing. These other places I have been hardly even wanted to talk to me.

 

[ultrarunner]

Some Dealers are on the way out... at least I believe this is why my local Dealer couldn't get things done... a few months later they no longer carried Kubota.

I know 4 Dealers I have dealt with that are no more.