My how times have changed...

Recently had to visit the nearest green mega dealership for a part, huge newly remodeled facility.I was the only customer there, I wasnt greeted, told the grumpy parts guy what I needed with a smile and a joke, was cut off midstream. Took 10 minutes in silence to find the part, had to order, and was 4 times the price I had figured it might be. Had to pay in full in advance too. Not the first time I have left there with a bad taste. I recall the now closed IH dealer in my hometown. Small ancient parts department with friendly knowledgeable countermen, free coffee and donuts,smiles and jokes all around. There would be lines of farmers sometimes waiting, good time to talk to the other guys about equipment and crops, etc. They knew most of us by name,never a deposit on parts ordered, and most times they didnt even have to look in the book for the numbers, knew em by heart, even knew what models you were runnin in a lot of cases. I realise times have to change, but I sure feel like something has been lost along the way. Comments?
 
Biggie doesn't not always mean better!!! As an example, a MOM-POP grocery store compared to Wal-Mart super store.
 
back when we got less pay and had a better products maide in america and country now its more pay and full of china crap
 
Hopefully yours is an isolated case. I give the parts people at the CaseIH dealer the part numbers, in person or by telephone, they order them and I can get them the next day or in their stock order, whichever I want. No shipping charge for the stock order. No prepayment. All I get at the JD dealer is parts for my lawn mower, same results. I have done a small amount of business with the local New Holland dealer, same thing.
 
First off they are NOT PARTSMEN anymore they are contour help ( and not much help at that) , They could care less if you come in or not as they are only there for the paycheck. 99% of them have no idea what the part is or care what it goes on and they could care less. It has come doown to the fact that they hire any warm body off the streets that will show up for work 99% of the time . Just like going to the big box parts stores . The person behind the contour has no working knowledge of the car of truck your working on and has less a clue what you need and if it is not on the computer screen they have no idea. Just like the other day when one of the guys posted on here on how to adjust a clutch on a 706 as he went to the local dealer and asked the question to the service manager and was told that it took special tools and a TRAINED Tech to do thisd job and the SPECIAL TOOLS TO DO THIS WITH WERE LONG GONE. Talk about feeding a line of B/S to someone because they did not want to to that simple job that takes less the a half hour on and OLD tractor owned by a little guy . Or the B/S they try and feed ya at the car dealerships if your a woman or a guy that has no idea what is going on . This is totally wrong . I have been there with the dealership where we bought our Durango several times with the NEW help that does not know that i am a OLD Chrysler master tech and OLD chrysler parts manager . Ya can not hand me a line of B/S and they really hate to be called on it too.
 
My local CaseIH closed last july and the auction was on election day now the closest dealer is about 45 minutes away ,stumper (ps they had agco and kubota and others also)
 
I have only recently become interested in Farmalls over the last year or so and what I have found was that the first 2 or 3 times I was in there i got the same reaction but once they began to recognize my face and name they all came around. Just today I called about a toy tractor set for my nephew, they located the box, asked my last name to save it for me, and once they heard the name Finelli the guy on the phone knew exactly who i was and said "oh, hey Anthony how are ya today!"

Now, over the summer i walked into a new holland dealer to buy a used ford tractor with a loader and no one wanted to talk to me. The guy in the sales office literally looked up at me from his computer then looked back down and didnt even acknowledge I was there. When i asked if there was someone i could talk to about a tractor he said yeah theres someone around here. I went and found the manager, explained to him what happened, pulled the blank bank check out and said "I was going to buy a tractor today, now im not" and i walked out. well wouldnt you know everyone and there brother wanted to help then. I havent been back since and and tell everyone i can that story and recommend they go somewhere else.
 
Yes, The quality of parts is another aspect to it too. China must be like America was 50-60 years ago with all the manufacturing going on there, but not the quality America produced back then. Makes you wonder where it will all lead...
 
I'm lucky to have a CaseIH dealership that treats you like a somebody. They are friendly, know your name, and will look up parts for C's nad M's for me. Heck the parts guys that live near me will even bring parts home with them to save me a trip to town.It doesn't get much better than that.I'm not even a farmer, just a collector. Kent
 
Brother-in-law went to JD dealer to buy a new lawnmower. He looked at them for about 15 minutes with company people all around not busy. No one even offered to help him. Needless to say he left and bought another brand elsewhere. I don't think it is just a local thing as I hear a lot of people complaining about Deere's service.
 
(quoted from post at 10:08:30 12/03/12) Recently had to visit the nearest green mega dealership for a part, huge newly remodeled facility.I was the only customer there, I wasnt greeted, told the grumpy parts guy what I needed with a smile and a joke, was cut off midstream. Took 10 minutes in silence to find the part, had to order, and was 4 times the price I had figured it might be. Had to pay in full in advance too. Not the first time I have left there with a bad taste. I recall the now closed IH dealer in my hometown. Small ancient parts department with friendly knowledgeable countermen, free coffee and donuts,smiles and jokes all around. There would be lines of farmers sometimes waiting, good time to talk to the other guys about equipment and crops, etc. They knew most of us by name,never a deposit on parts ordered, and most times they didnt even have to look in the book for the numbers, knew em by heart, even knew what models you were runnin in a lot of cases. I realise times have to change, but I sure feel like something has been lost along the way. Comments?

Sounds like my CaseIH dealer.

Rick
 
(quoted from post at 19:01:17 12/03/12) First off they are NOT PARTSMEN anymore they are contour help ( and not much help at that) , They could care less if you come in or not as they are only there for the paycheck. 99% of them have no idea what the part is or care what it goes on and they could care less. It has come doown to the fact that they hire any warm body off the streets that will show up for work 99% of the time . Just like going to the big box parts stores . The person behind the contour has no working knowledge of the car of truck your working on and has less a clue what you need and if it is not on the computer screen they have no idea. Just like the other day when one of the guys posted on here on how to adjust a clutch on a 706 as he went to the local dealer and asked the question to the service manager and was told that it took special tools and a TRAINED Tech to do thisd job and the SPECIAL TOOLS TO DO THIS WITH WERE LONG GONE. Talk about feeding a line of B/S to someone because they did not want to to that simple job that takes less the a half hour on and OLD tractor owned by a little guy . Or the B/S they try and feed ya at the car dealerships if your a woman or a guy that has no idea what is going on . This is totally wrong . I have been there with the dealership where we bought our Durango several times with the NEW help that does not know that i am a OLD Chrysler master tech and OLD chrysler parts manager . Ya can not hand me a line of B/S and they really hate to be called on it too.
vet, you need to move 100 miles west and use burkhart's south of bucyrus for your parts. their parts people are simply fantastic. i think they have a magic kettle in the back room that they pull the parts out of. it doesn't matter if it's a m or a magnum they almost always have the parts, very seldom do i have to order parts. doesn't gause's have good parts people
 
The CaseIH dealer in the nearest town (Ottawa) is a pretty good one. I did feel like the first time I was in there that I knew what I was talking about and that I wasn't a city boy with hobby tractors. I think the implement dealers get tired of fussy folks who are used to big box stores.
 
Instead of ranting here , why not go back and ask to see the owner of the operation. Don't go in with a chip on your shoulder but maybe a copy of what you wrote here. How you used to love the place. What it was like. Tell some old time memory stories. Name some names of other old time customers. Mention you wonder where you will buy your nexy 100K tractor? Maybe give him a wake up call?
 
Maybe that box was made in china too. Check out the labels on your food, you will be surprised how much comes from China, Mexico, and other third world countries.
 
I am not really ranting...just long for the days when people were more respectfull of others, customer or otherwise. Basic courtesy. This parts guy obviously hates his job, and his customers bothering him . I dont like shopping at that dealership because of how they view my business, as a nuisance . And no, I wont be buying any 100k tractors from anywhere , so should I be satisfied with poor service because I dont make them much money. I may or may not try to contact the owner.
 
The Case IH dealer in my town doubles as the MF dealer. The parts guys go back before the original CIH dealership closed where the parts man knew all the numbers and customers without the parts book. I give the MF guys credit that they do try hard to find parts for the old tractors I have (A 200 Farmall and a Model 50 MF). They do know the MF stuff well but are a little lacking in the Farmall department but nevertheless friendly. I think it is a personality problem and though it may be worse it did not start recently. My grandfather decided at some point in the late 30's or early 40's to buy a tractor for the 200 acre farm he had just bought. He first went to the JD dealership planning to buy with cash in hand a new tractor, plow, harrow, planters, and cultivators as well as listers. After waiting around for more than an hour to talk to a salesman he left and drove to the local Avery dealership and made his purchase in less than an hour just before lunch. The new tractor and equipment were delivered that afternoon. Of course they ended up not liking the Avery but never went back to the JD people. My dad and uncle both were loyal to Farmall except dad did mix in a couple of Fords and one used JD corn combine. Otherwise we have never owned a John Deere tractor and it can be traced back to that bad experience my grandfather had. My sister and I who manage dads farm now recently bought some fencing material from the JD dealership and the sales people were more than helpful.
 
I guess I am sort of lucky. I have green and red dealers side by side that have friendly knowlegable parts people. The down side is they are 50 miles from me. I have other dealers closer, These guys in both dealers really try to help. They are in Shelbyville, Ky. there is also a Rural King Store and that helps.
 
Our local NAPA store is just like that. It used to be locally owned and many times the owner waited on you himself. Now it is owned by an out of town group that owns 6 or 7 other stores. If the "counter clowns" can't punch it into their computer they aint got it and they can't get it. We now order NAPA parts from a store in the other end of the county & they are super.
 
I am near Cedar Rapids, most of the dealers around here are friendly. I do set up accounts at them so I can charge things.
 
Well, the companies wheather red, green, blue, orange have made it difficult to be a friendly place to be. They push for more items to be sold that the person selling the parts or new equipment have to work so hard they dont have time to be friendly. I cant beleive the world has come to this. I am like everyone else I miss the local delearship and the friendly parts man with a pipe or cigar hanging out his mouth and the free peanuts at the counter. All the old cronies hanging out telling stories on each other and just having a good time.
 
Had a parts kid tell me once at my ih dealer that international never made a 1256. Asked for a manager and he turned the book right to it. LOL never made a 1256, still makes me laugh
 

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