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What makes a great Dealership?
- Thread starter Dr. W
- Start date
AmerIndependent
Site Sponsor
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2009
- Messages
- 359
- Location
- Riverside, CA
- Occupation
- Caterpillar Powertrain Rebuild & Repair Specialist
Which dealership is that? What makes them great?
DoosanFan
Well-Known Member
Doosan Infracore Head Office, Isando, Johannesburg. The best. They were open on New Years Eve (Day), and they were quite happy to show me all the machines. Very pleased about that.
When I saw your title here I assumed you were asking about the qualities that would make a dealer valuable to your business. I'm not sure if that was your plan based on your comment, but it seems like a worthy discussion.
The things I look for in a dealer are:
1. Knowledgeable and competent staff
I like to see each department within a dealership know what the heck they are doing. This would be sales, parts, service and even the bookkeeping department. If you're broke down in the field and are trying to explain what's wrong to either your parts man or service manager, you want them to have a clue about what you are telling them so they can answer a question you may have on parts availability or possible repair procedure. The bottom line is you don't want to spend any more time on the phone than you have to, and when the call is over know that you and the dealer rep were both talking about the same thing.
2. Parts Inventory
This is extremely important. If your machine is down, not only is it not making you money but it is costing you money. You need a dealer with a good parts inventory to get you up and running as quickly as possible. If parts aren't on the shelf, overnight delivery is the next best thing, can he provide this?
3. Service Facility
Is it fully equipped to handle any repair that you might have? Is major work done in house or subbed out? Are the technicians (formerly mechanics) skilled and competent? Do they respect your equipment? Do they have field service available? At times it is extremely difficult or costly to get your machine to their facility, can they make repairs on site?
These are the most important factors to me. They can come at a cost, starting with the price of the machine you buy, then the cost of parts and service. It might be more than a lesser equipped brand, but long term can be less costly in lost work hours. My feelings are you must look at overall expenses and factor down time into that equation.
The things I look for in a dealer are:
1. Knowledgeable and competent staff
I like to see each department within a dealership know what the heck they are doing. This would be sales, parts, service and even the bookkeeping department. If you're broke down in the field and are trying to explain what's wrong to either your parts man or service manager, you want them to have a clue about what you are telling them so they can answer a question you may have on parts availability or possible repair procedure. The bottom line is you don't want to spend any more time on the phone than you have to, and when the call is over know that you and the dealer rep were both talking about the same thing.
2. Parts Inventory
This is extremely important. If your machine is down, not only is it not making you money but it is costing you money. You need a dealer with a good parts inventory to get you up and running as quickly as possible. If parts aren't on the shelf, overnight delivery is the next best thing, can he provide this?
3. Service Facility
Is it fully equipped to handle any repair that you might have? Is major work done in house or subbed out? Are the technicians (formerly mechanics) skilled and competent? Do they respect your equipment? Do they have field service available? At times it is extremely difficult or costly to get your machine to their facility, can they make repairs on site?
These are the most important factors to me. They can come at a cost, starting with the price of the machine you buy, then the cost of parts and service. It might be more than a lesser equipped brand, but long term can be less costly in lost work hours. My feelings are you must look at overall expenses and factor down time into that equation.
Dr. W
Well-Known Member
Well done and I share many of your thoughts.
I think it fare to say this country is in hard times!
Many small dealers have failed and large ones are still cutting jobs.
Bobcat of houston just layed off one of my old buds in sales that came from CAT. One of the stores in Houston may be closed in less that a year if business does not improve!
As a customer, I have been asked by people in sales, parts and service to share my thoughs on what keeps a customer loyal to a dealership and a product!
I have to trust the people I am doing business with and when a machine is down, a dealer must have all the best resources to resove the problem.
Mustang CAT in Houston still get my vote!!:usa
I think it fare to say this country is in hard times!
Many small dealers have failed and large ones are still cutting jobs.
Bobcat of houston just layed off one of my old buds in sales that came from CAT. One of the stores in Houston may be closed in less that a year if business does not improve!
As a customer, I have been asked by people in sales, parts and service to share my thoughs on what keeps a customer loyal to a dealership and a product!
I have to trust the people I am doing business with and when a machine is down, a dealer must have all the best resources to resove the problem.
Mustang CAT in Houston still get my vote!!:usa
stuvecorp
Senior Member
I do think the service guys are the most important because as we know equipment will break no matter the brand. I think the sales is important as well, they can get us in and out of the equipment. Sadly I have not worked with a great dealer yet, I hope someday.
CatTractorDerek
Active Member
- Joined
- May 18, 2009
- Messages
- 26
- Location
- Mission Viejo, CA
- Occupation
- Construction Equipment Salesman
I think everyone is on the right page. I work at Johnson Cat in Riverside CA. We have a 24hr emergency phone number with Parts, Service, Rentals, Sales on call.
I'm in sales and I have used these numbers in the past to help my customer out. I even had our Power Systems across the street make a Field Service call on the weekend to help a customer that broke down in his motor coach on the way back from Glamis. This is why people continue to come back to CAT. My competition offers nothing but price.
I'm in sales and I have used these numbers in the past to help my customer out. I even had our Power Systems across the street make a Field Service call on the weekend to help a customer that broke down in his motor coach on the way back from Glamis. This is why people continue to come back to CAT. My competition offers nothing but price.
Maldeney
New Member
:notworthy I agree completely... Those statements hold true for any piece of equipment that purchase. From little to big.
Yellowdog
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2004
- Messages
- 208
good service is #1. Nobody's perfect but if the service dept. tries to get you back in the game and treats you with respect, then they get my vote.
I also like a sales staff that is not apathetic and has knowledge beyond their own brand and it helps when the sales guy has seat time so he knows where you are coming from. I don't want a smooth talker or a hot shot. I want a guy that understands what the trenches are like and is willing to get you the info you need to keep making informed decisions.
I like a well stocked parts dept. and/or efficient parts network. Bobcat has been good and CAT had a really good parts system including after-hours service. Cummins does the same thing and that is important.
I also like a sales staff that is not apathetic and has knowledge beyond their own brand and it helps when the sales guy has seat time so he knows where you are coming from. I don't want a smooth talker or a hot shot. I want a guy that understands what the trenches are like and is willing to get you the info you need to keep making informed decisions.
I like a well stocked parts dept. and/or efficient parts network. Bobcat has been good and CAT had a really good parts system including after-hours service. Cummins does the same thing and that is important.
Dufoman
Member
people are number #1
To condense, I think that what makes the dealership is the people...Having parts is OK, but if you have a good salesman or parts guy who will really help you out, he can have you the parts and knowledge to install them the next day...I have called the parts mgr, sales mgr, and shop foreman at my regional Bobcat dealerships and they always go the extra mile to help with knowledge and getting me what I want...Passing the buck to someone else is not what they do...that is why I think that people are most important asset that a dealership can have...I have two dealerships that service our region of New Mexico, Tom Growney-New Mexico, and ASCO-West Texas, and they both compete with the very best people to try to service all our Bobcat needs...Until that changes, I won't change my loyalty to them or their product...
To condense, I think that what makes the dealership is the people...Having parts is OK, but if you have a good salesman or parts guy who will really help you out, he can have you the parts and knowledge to install them the next day...I have called the parts mgr, sales mgr, and shop foreman at my regional Bobcat dealerships and they always go the extra mile to help with knowledge and getting me what I want...Passing the buck to someone else is not what they do...that is why I think that people are most important asset that a dealership can have...I have two dealerships that service our region of New Mexico, Tom Growney-New Mexico, and ASCO-West Texas, and they both compete with the very best people to try to service all our Bobcat needs...Until that changes, I won't change my loyalty to them or their product...
adv.wastewater
Well-Known Member
As I am young and new to the business (owning and managing aspect of it) I haven't had a lot of dealings with a bunch of dealerships. But, the few that I've had has made me a 100% CAT guy and you can call me stubborn but I wouldn't purchase anything other... TEC Komatsu, couldn't even get anyone to call me back on a new mini excavator, left voicemails on 3 salesman and even went there in person and could not get a call. Cowin Equipment (case,kobelco,takeuchi) I don't even want to get fired up over them, my father has been a strong believer in case backhoes for as long as I can remember but due to that dealer a case backhoe is out of the question for me. Now it could be me knowing a head guy at Thompson CAT but they have been easy to deal with and get parts and service. My guy I deal with there is easy to get in touch with, if I call and he don't answer I get a call within minutes back, I'm interested in buying a machine he's not pushy and calling me every hour instead he sends me one for a week to run... Couldn't be happier with CAT as far as my experiences have been.
PowerTanMan
New Member
If your looking for a solid dealer in Houston you can't go wrong with ASCO. Great service and sales departments.
hollowellreid
Member
Most parts departments aren't ever going to be stocked with what you need anymore. Too many models, pieces, and changes. A good parts guy however that you can trust and will drop ship to you goes a long way. That's how we get most everything anymore. Hell, I look up the part numbers online for the most part and go from there. I have email relations ships and accounts receivable with dealers throughout the Midwest to get what I need. Has taken 10 years to find good parts guys.
I've met one good salesman in my entire life. Most of them do a really poor job and are laughable. I don't rely on them for anything any honestly wish I could buy most things direct from the manufacturer. Just a waste of time. I asked one of my dealers for a quote on a bucket about a month ago and hadn't heard anything back. Today he sends an email stating they have a used machine I once mentioned being interested in purchasing with pictures of a completely different model. If I serviced my clients like that we would be out of business in 6 months.
I've also never seen anyone in service I was impressed with. That's the money making department of the dealership and it shows. Any mechanic that knows his stuff is out running his own outfit and keeping it put together. Being able to diagnose and efficiently repair equipment is much more difficult than becoming a proficient operator. If you can fix it well you sure as heck can figure out how to run it efficiently.
I wish it was different but just the truth in my experiences. Maybe I'm just missing something. I've noticed a huge upswing in companies with regional sales people trying to get us to buy things from them and giving me the hard sell. We have spent decades cultivating relationships with suppliers where there is mutual respect and service through thick and thin and some flashy khakis and a promise of lunch isn't going to change that.
My 2 cents...sorry for the rant. Done for now!
I've met one good salesman in my entire life. Most of them do a really poor job and are laughable. I don't rely on them for anything any honestly wish I could buy most things direct from the manufacturer. Just a waste of time. I asked one of my dealers for a quote on a bucket about a month ago and hadn't heard anything back. Today he sends an email stating they have a used machine I once mentioned being interested in purchasing with pictures of a completely different model. If I serviced my clients like that we would be out of business in 6 months.
I've also never seen anyone in service I was impressed with. That's the money making department of the dealership and it shows. Any mechanic that knows his stuff is out running his own outfit and keeping it put together. Being able to diagnose and efficiently repair equipment is much more difficult than becoming a proficient operator. If you can fix it well you sure as heck can figure out how to run it efficiently.
I wish it was different but just the truth in my experiences. Maybe I'm just missing something. I've noticed a huge upswing in companies with regional sales people trying to get us to buy things from them and giving me the hard sell. We have spent decades cultivating relationships with suppliers where there is mutual respect and service through thick and thin and some flashy khakis and a promise of lunch isn't going to change that.
My 2 cents...sorry for the rant. Done for now!
Back when I bought my '99 Isuzu NPR, from Dovell and Williams, In Glen Burnie MD, It was the first truck I bought new. I paid cash, and only ever had 1 problem with it. At about 4000 miles I had an injector go, and it was producing a big cloud of unburned diesel behind it. I myself deduced that it was a bad injector (hell it ain't rocket science...). I took it in, and they confirmed my diagnosis. After a couple days, I happened to be in that neck of the woods, so I stopped by the service department, and asked why my truck wasn't ready yet. Well you see, said the parts man, these trucks are selling like hotcakes, right now, and Isuzu is putting all the new parts into new production, and these injectors are on a 4 week backorder. I said Really, how many are at the port right now. 104 was his reply. I said I don't know much, but I do know this, back on the farm we have 3 Allis Chalmers D series tractors, and the beauty of them is, if something electrical like a set of bad points, or condenser, or cap or rotor goes, we would just steal the part off of another tractor, that wasn't need as much...
At this point in time all of the guys behind the counter were at rapt attention to my story, waiting for a punch line. I heard a gruff voice from the office, behind the counter bellow "When are one of you idiots gonna go up to the port, and pull an injector from one of the trucks there, so this man can get back to work?" That was old man Williams, then about 80, if I remember correctly. Now that is what I call a good dealer, and good customer service!!!:notworthy
At this point in time all of the guys behind the counter were at rapt attention to my story, waiting for a punch line. I heard a gruff voice from the office, behind the counter bellow "When are one of you idiots gonna go up to the port, and pull an injector from one of the trucks there, so this man can get back to work?" That was old man Williams, then about 80, if I remember correctly. Now that is what I call a good dealer, and good customer service!!!:notworthy
It's hard to find good people who really care about what they do, but even if a place doesn't have many strong leadership can have a huge i.pact on everyone's performance.
I ended up buying my second choice in machine because of the service i received while shopping. I wanted the Cat but went with the Bobcat because Cat dropped the ball and passed me around repeatedly. The Bobcat folks even went as far as to rent me a machine from united rentals because they did not have the machine I wanted to demo on their lot.
A good dealer is also one who will fight for their customers if needed with the manufacturer. They told me they would do this if need be before I bought my machine. I may be putting mine to the test here shortly, dropped my machine off because I am still seeing metal in the oil after oil change number 3 with two weeks left in warrenty. Also had a leak pop up on the fan motor yesterday.
I ended up buying my second choice in machine because of the service i received while shopping. I wanted the Cat but went with the Bobcat because Cat dropped the ball and passed me around repeatedly. The Bobcat folks even went as far as to rent me a machine from united rentals because they did not have the machine I wanted to demo on their lot.
A good dealer is also one who will fight for their customers if needed with the manufacturer. They told me they would do this if need be before I bought my machine. I may be putting mine to the test here shortly, dropped my machine off because I am still seeing metal in the oil after oil change number 3 with two weeks left in warrenty. Also had a leak pop up on the fan motor yesterday.