[BruceRPA]

To provide a little reference and some perspective, when we built our house back in 1980 I bought a John Deere 212 from the original family owned John Deere dealer in Centre Hall, PA. The dealership was eventually acquired by LandPro Equipment approximately three years ago. LandPro is a fairly large regional multi-site / multi brand farm and turf equipment company with 20 locations headquartered in Southwestern New York. That 212 served me very well over more than thirty-five years, as did the service department.

I ordered a X590 in late April. After my first ten hours, at this point I am very happy with the machine. The only thing that I am disappointed in is the experience that I had with the dealer. My disappointment is NOT about the nearly two-month order lead-time. I understand the supply chain disruptions are, for the most part, beyond the control of the dealer. (I will spare you my rant about that. It would probably get me tossed out of here anyway! ;-) ) My disappointment has to do with the operations within the dealership. The sales process was OK. Not great, just OK. The communication and attention to detail certainly could have been better. At the time that I placed the order I went to great lengths, including printing the JD X590 spec sheet, to ensure that the machine would be ordered and delivered with the HDAP tires (thanks to the many posts here on GTT!). I was assured repeatedly at the time of order that it would be. Six weeks or so later the delivery truck with the machine arrived in my driveway – with the turf tires. I refused the delivery. To be fair, the manager of the dealership agreed to install the HDAP tires on the machine as ordered. I did not get the confirmation phone call as he promised, but the machine was delivered as ordered the following week. If that were the only problem, I would be a very happy customer. As the recently retired former owner of several businesses I understand all to well that, in spite of best efforts, occasionally things do not go according to plan. What matters then is how the business responds and handles the problem. So at that moment, things were still on par for a good experience.

Things have changed since 1980.

The price that I was quoted at the time of order to install the accessories on the X590 was excessive in my opinion. There was a minimum of one hour of labor at $90.00 per hour to install each accessory. I objected to paying $180 to install handful of bolts to install arm wrests and the brush guard. I also objected to paying another $90.00 to install the plug-and-play Bluetooth Mower Plus gadget. I understand that the Mulch-on-demand device would take a bit longer than the others, but it may have cost more than $90.00 to install. That nearly caused me to walk away. I installed everything myself at a leisurely pace in about three hours, and I had never done it before so I had to read the manuals as I went.

The above is nothing more than a solvable problem with the configuration of an order and my objection to what I felt was unreasonable labor charges. The real problems are as follows:

• The machine was delivered with the engine oil overfilled by approximately ½ quart.
• The right front headlight shell had quite a bit of overspray inside it that clouded the inside of the lens and stained the chrome reflector. I was able to clean and polish it but it is still not identical to the other headlight.
• The tire pressures were all WAY OFF. The front tires were underinflated at 7lbs and 9lbs. The rear tires were overinflated at 13lbs and 17lbs. The mower deck was not close to being level.
• The mower deck was SEVERELY out of being level when it was delivered. It was different but not substantially better after correcting the tire pressures. The front was off by approximately one inch and it was off left-to-right by the same amount. I couldn’t believe that it could be that far off, but it was. I re-read the manual to see if I was following the correct procedure to level the deck. I was. It was obvious that they made no effort whatsoever to properly install and setup the mower deck prior to delivery.

All of the above gives me a lack of confidence in LandPro and their service department. I don’t think that I am expecting too much to have the machine setup and ready to mow when it is delivered. Frankly, I am left with the impression that they really don’t want to be in the lawn and garden business, yet they are. I find that to be disappointing.

After reading quite a few similar comments here on GTT and elsewhere, sadly, I don’t think I am alone. I do hope that LandPro and John Deere will take a hard look at their operations and correct the things that lead to poor customer experiences before it is too late.

As much as I like the X590 so far, I hope that I didn’t make a mistake.

 

[demonspeed]

Dunkle & Grieb - my step-dad’s brother worked in service there back in the 80’s & 90’s. As a kid, I always looked forward to the Grange Fair to crawl all over their displays - as well as their awesome toy barn packed with die cast toys. A bittersweet end of summer. That said, my mom’s side of the family always used Don’s Power Equipment in Boalsburg. Not sure if they’re still in business or not. They didn’t have all the ag equipment D&G had, so I’d presume they were more residential focused. I still remember getting my first die cast from there: an AMT 600 - even as a really young kid I remember those new machines were a big deal. I digress…

Anyway, small world! Thanks for a trip down memory lane of 80’s & 90’s Deere dealers in middle-of-nowhere, USA

 

[BruceRPA]

Dunkle & Grieb - my step-dad’s brother worked in service there back in the 80’s & 90’s. As a kid, I always looked forward to the Grange Fair to crawl all over their displays - as well as their awesome toy barn packed with die cast toys. A bittersweet end of summer. That said, my mom’s side of the family always used Don’s Power Equipment in Boalsburg. Not sure if they’re still in business or not. They didn’t have all the ag equipment D&G had, so I’d presume they were more residential focused. I still remember getting my first die cast from there: an AMT 600 - even as a really young kid I remember those new machines were a big deal. I digress…

Anyway, small world! Thanks for a trip down memory lane of 80’s & 90’s Deere dealers in middle-of-nowhere, USA

Well you nailed it! Dunked & Grieb was an outstanding business! They always had great customer service. Their service department was the best! I can remember going there looking for a solution to a problem that I was having with my JD 212 and they knew exactly what questions to ask and then provided the solution.

And yes, the Grange Fair was and still is a benchmark of life in Central Pennsylvania. I can’t say that I am a regular there each year but when I do go it is always a great experience.

 

[JDGreen-n-Yellow]

.. Frankly, I am left with the impression that they really don’t want to be in the lawn and garden business, yet they are. I find that to be disappointing.
...

What makes you think they treat their ag customers any different?

 

[Sergeant]

To provide a little reference and some perspective, when we built our house back in 1980 I bought a John Deere 212 from the original family owned John Deere dealer in Centre Hall, PA. The dealership was eventually acquired by LandPro Equipment approximately three years ago. LandPro is a fairly large regional multi-site / multi brand farm and turf equipment company with 20 locations headquartered in Southwestern New York. That 212 served me very well over more than thirty-five years, as did the service department.

I ordered a X590 in late April. After my first ten hours, at this point I am very happy with the machine. The only thing that I am disappointed in is the experience that I had with the dealer. My disappointment is NOT about the nearly two-month order lead-time. I understand the supply chain disruptions are, for the most part, beyond the control of the dealer. (I will spare you my rant about that. It would probably get me tossed out of here anyway! ;-) ) My disappointment has to do with the operations within the dealership. The sales process was OK. Not great, just OK. The communication and attention to detail certainly could have been better. At the time that I placed the order I went to great lengths, including printing the JD X590 spec sheet, to ensure that the machine would be ordered and delivered with the HDAP tires (thanks to the many posts here on GTT!). I was assured repeatedly at the time of order that it would be. Six weeks or so later the delivery truck with the machine arrived in my driveway – with the turf tires. I refused the delivery. To be fair, the manager of the dealership agreed to install the HDAP tires on the machine as ordered. I did not get the confirmation phone call as he promised, but the machine was delivered as ordered the following week. If that were the only problem, I would be a very happy customer. As the recently retired former owner of several businesses I understand all to well that, in spite of best efforts, occasionally things do not go according to plan. What matters then is how the business responds and handles the problem. So at that moment, things were still on par for a good experience.

Things have changed since 1980.

The price that I was quoted at the time of order to install the accessories on the X590 was excessive in my opinion. There was a minimum of one hour of labor at $90.00 per hour to install each accessory. I objected to paying $180 to install handful of bolts to install arm wrests and the brush guard. I also objected to paying another $90.00 to install the plug-and-play Bluetooth Mower Plus gadget. I understand that the Mulch-on-demand device would take a bit longer than the others, but it may have cost more than $90.00 to install. That nearly caused me to walk away. I installed everything myself at a leisurely pace in about three hours, and I had never done it before so I had to read the manuals as I went.

The above is nothing more than a solvable problem with the configuration of an order and my objection to what I felt was unreasonable labor charges. The real problems are as follows:

• The machine was delivered with the engine oil overfilled by approximately ½ quart.
• The right front headlight shell had quite a bit of overspray inside it that clouded the inside of the lens and stained the chrome reflector. I was able to clean and polish it but it is still not identical to the other headlight.
• The tire pressures were all WAY OFF. The front tires were underinflated at 7lbs and 9lbs. The rear tires were overinflated at 13lbs and 17lbs. The mower deck was not close to being level.
• The mower deck was SEVERELY out of being level when it was delivered. It was different but not substantially better after correcting the tire pressures. The front was off by approximately one inch and it was off left-to-right by the same amount. I couldn’t believe that it could be that far off, but it was. I re-read the manual to see if I was following the correct procedure to level the deck. I was. It was obvious that they made no effort whatsoever to properly install and setup the mower deck prior to delivery.

All of the above gives me a lack of confidence in LandPro and their service department. I don’t think that I am expecting too much to have the machine setup and ready to mow when it is delivered. Frankly, I am left with the impression that they really don’t want to be in the lawn and garden business, yet they are. I find that to be disappointing.

After reading quite a few similar comments here on GTT and elsewhere, sadly, I don’t think I am alone. I do hope that LandPro and John Deere will take a hard look at their operations and correct the things that lead to poor customer experiences before it is too late.

As much as I like the X590 so far, I hope that I didn’t make a mistake.

Well My Younger Brother Runs a Service & Parts department for a Deere dealer there Labor Rate is $87.00. There Normal set Up Charge is $87.00 Plus any shops supplies that has to be Used. Some of the set up You would have been charged they don't charge for Ie Leveling the deck, Tire Pressure the Normal set Up stuff when it come off the steel crate . If there are attachments it depends On what they have to do to the Tractor after that $87 Initial charge. They charge at a very reduced hourly rate ( set Up of a Rear PTO and a 3point Hitch On a X700 series ) It's done at a reduced Hourly rate I think it equal to about $30 to $35.00 Hr . Very simple accessories where they don't Have to disassemble the Tractor is Usually done for free. Attachments that are not going to Be Mounted for delivery are usually set Up free of charge. But that's the dealership outfit he works for They sell so Many Machines Between the 17 or 18 dealerships In there Outfit That it's Just not worth charging for every little thing. and they cover there costs & Labor

The dealership where I Bought My 2018 JD Generation II 2025R TLB they did Not charge Me for set Up at all I actually got a $2,500 discount on the Tractor as well. They did charge Me Labor Later On when they Installed the Tektite Cab 6 months Later as they Had to Modify some of the OEM accessories to work with a Tektite Cab But they Gave me a $500 discount so it all worked out In the end

I think it really depends On the Owners of the dealerships One's that want to Make the customer Happy and One that want to Make sure there Bottom end Is beyond Full Both are in it to make a Profit But some want to Make sure they Make a High Profit I am actually suprised the dealership outfit My Brother works for doesn't stick a lot of extra costs on a New Machine But they don't

 

[BruceRPA]

What makes you think they treat their ag customers any different?

I have no way to know if they are or are not. I am left with the impression that they simply don’t care about Lawn & Garden equipment customers like me. A pair of tires for some of the farm tractors on their lot must cost more than what my little machine sold for.

 

[Ironhorse]

A couple of years ago I bought a zero turn at that very same dealership. I set the mower height at the same height I had been mowing at and started to mow. Well it wasn't cutting anything. Pulled it in the garage and it was over 1.5 inches higher than what it was set at nd it was not the same from side to side.

When it was Dunkle & Friend, they were great. When Valley Ag and Turf bought them out they went down hill. When land pro bought them out down hill yet again. I didn't even get a hat with the last purchase.

This year they didn't even take the toy shed to the fair.

 

[BruceRPA]

A couple of years ago I bought a zero turn at that very same dealership. I set the mower height at the same height I had been mowing at and started to mow. Well it wasn't cutting anything. Pulled it in the garage and it was over 1.5 inches higher than what it was set at nd it was not the same from side to side.

When it was Dunkle & Friend, they were great. When Valley Ag and Turf bought them out they went down hill. When land pro bought them out down hill yet again. I didn't even get a hat with the last purchase.

This year they didn't even take the toy shed to the fair.

Ouch! That does not reflect very well on them. It appears that not only am I not alone, the problem goes back several years — and they have made NO effort to correct the problem.
Frankly, if I had been aware of that I very well may have passed them by when I was visiting dealers to look at various machines and make my final decision.

 

[farmer52]

One would think the management stayed the same but that is not always the case. I am not a fan of the BIG conglomerates but that is what Deere is doing. Same with the auto dealers. Gone are the small one owner dealers.

FYI, my dealer is West Central Equipment in Martinsburg.

 

[demonspeed]

One would think the management stayed the same but that is not always the case. I am not a fan of the BIG conglomerates but that is what Deere is doing. Same with the auto dealers. Gone are the small one owner dealers.

FYI, my dealer is West Central Equipment in Martinsburg.

West Central in Butler here; however, my GX came from your location when it was Foster Wineland. I actually had it transferred to the Butler store after the original owner traded it in. Sales didn’t even have the year correct; I also beat them up pretty good to toss in extra parts and attachments as part of the deal 😆

I’ve never used WCE for service (I do all my own work and have the tech manuals to prove it lol), but their parts department is great. The online ordering is super convenient, and their pricing is right in line with the major e-commerce companies.

I’m really surprised how many of us are in the “local” area. It always seems like everyone else is the Midwest or New England.

 

[Dr Maphesto]

One would think the management stayed the same but that is not always the case. I am not a fan of the BIG conglomerates but that is what Deere is doing. Same with the auto dealers. Gone are the small one owner dealers.

FYI, my dealer is West Central Equipment in Martinsburg.

I don't know if this applies in this case, but often times management does stay in place, but bean counters see expenditures that are not "profit generators" and do away with them.
It's these "not profitable" acts that affects the customer's perception of the quality of service.

If the dealer can't afford to perform these small tasks at reduced rate or n/c, they are not charging enough up front. At that point these fees are a deceptive as "doc fees". Nonsense.

 

[SulleyBear]

To provide a little reference and some perspective, when we built our house back in 1980 I bought a John Deere 212 from the original family owned John Deere dealer in Centre Hall, PA. The dealership was eventually acquired by LandPro Equipment approximately three years ago. LandPro is a fairly large regional multi-site / multi brand farm and turf equipment company with 20 locations headquartered in Southwestern New York. That 212 served me very well over more than thirty-five years, as did the service department.

I ordered a X590 in late April. After my first ten hours, at this point I am very happy with the machine. The only thing that I am disappointed in is the experience that I had with the dealer. My disappointment is NOT about the nearly two-month order lead-time. I understand the supply chain disruptions are, for the most part, beyond the control of the dealer. (I will spare you my rant about that. It would probably get me tossed out of here anyway! ;-) ) My disappointment has to do with the operations within the dealership. The sales process was OK. Not great, just OK. The communication and attention to detail certainly could have been better. At the time that I placed the order I went to great lengths, including printing the JD X590 spec sheet, to ensure that the machine would be ordered and delivered with the HDAP tires (thanks to the many posts here on GTT!). I was assured repeatedly at the time of order that it would be. Six weeks or so later the delivery truck with the machine arrived in my driveway – with the turf tires. I refused the delivery. To be fair, the manager of the dealership agreed to install the HDAP tires on the machine as ordered. I did not get the confirmation phone call as he promised, but the machine was delivered as ordered the following week. If that were the only problem, I would be a very happy customer. As the recently retired former owner of several businesses I understand all to well that, in spite of best efforts, occasionally things do not go according to plan. What matters then is how the business responds and handles the problem. So at that moment, things were still on par for a good experience.

Things have changed since 1980.

The price that I was quoted at the time of order to install the accessories on the X590 was excessive in my opinion. There was a minimum of one hour of labor at $90.00 per hour to install each accessory. I objected to paying $180 to install handful of bolts to install arm wrests and the brush guard. I also objected to paying another $90.00 to install the plug-and-play Bluetooth Mower Plus gadget. I understand that the Mulch-on-demand device would take a bit longer than the others, but it may have cost more than $90.00 to install. That nearly caused me to walk away. I installed everything myself at a leisurely pace in about three hours, and I had never done it before so I had to read the manuals as I went.

The above is nothing more than a solvable problem with the configuration of an order and my objection to what I felt was unreasonable labor charges. The real problems are as follows:

• The machine was delivered with the engine oil overfilled by approximately ½ quart.
• The right front headlight shell had quite a bit of overspray inside it that clouded the inside of the lens and stained the chrome reflector. I was able to clean and polish it but it is still not identical to the other headlight.
• The tire pressures were all WAY OFF. The front tires were underinflated at 7lbs and 9lbs. The rear tires were overinflated at 13lbs and 17lbs. The mower deck was not close to being level.
• The mower deck was SEVERELY out of being level when it was delivered. It was different but not substantially better after correcting the tire pressures. The front was off by approximately one inch and it was off left-to-right by the same amount. I couldn’t believe that it could be that far off, but it was. I re-read the manual to see if I was following the correct procedure to level the deck. I was. It was obvious that they made no effort whatsoever to properly install and setup the mower deck prior to delivery.

All of the above gives me a lack of confidence in LandPro and their service department. I don’t think that I am expecting too much to have the machine setup and ready to mow when it is delivered. Frankly, I am left with the impression that they really don’t want to be in the lawn and garden business, yet they are. I find that to be disappointing.

After reading quite a few similar comments here on GTT and elsewhere, sadly, I don’t think I am alone. I do hope that LandPro and John Deere will take a hard look at their operations and correct the things that lead to poor customer experiences before it is too late.

As much as I like the X590 so far, I hope that I didn’t make a mistake.

Did you share your specific concerns with the stores owner or dealership manager? I found some things which I was not happy about when I was shopping for my tractor and I contacted the stores owner, as the location I deal with is one of 17 stores that he owns.

He was very responsive, very appreciative that I contacted him and he resolved all issues and concerns. In fact, he asked me to come in and speak with the sales staff and share my concerns with them as well and he was present at the meeting. He also followed up with me after the sale and I have his personal email address should I ever need it.

The reason I contacted the owner of the dealership, instead of the Store manager was this was during a time when the long time manager had retired and the store was searching for a replacement for the manager who retired with the ownership change.

As a business owner myself I would want to know these issues were occurring if I owned the business. While there is a "Chain of Command", if as the customer you aren't getting the satisfaction, I strongly believe in sharing the concerns with those who can resolve the issues. Just as I will acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of someone in a good transactional relationship, I will also point out the areas where they need improvements.

Communication is key in most of these matters.

As far as the "Fair Displays" and such annual events, the dealerships have so little inventory, many of them didn't have their normal fair displays simply because they don't have any equipment to display. They have to plan ahead and pay for the space they occupy and they certainly don't want to be paying for display space when they have nothing to display. There is a lot of cost in staffing and transporting all of the equipment to the fair grounds and then returning all of the items to the dealership. Why incur the costs when there is already such high demands on the inventory they are receiving?

My local dealer was telling me they weren't even going to take any of the lawn and garden items to the fair as they didn't have the inventory to do so. And what customer wants their new machine to be taken to where its going to be crawled all over by kids, etc. with sticky fingers, etc. simply so the dealer has something to show at the fair? I know I wouldn't want my equipment treated like a its a piece of playground equipment.

Due to the continuing changing circumstances, many traditional things will continue to be disrupted until things do, hopefully, return to normal.............

 

[demonspeed]

As far as the "Fair Displays" and such annual events, the dealerships have so little inventory, many of them didn't have their normal fair displays simply because they don't have any equipment to display. They have to plan ahead and pay for the space they occupy and they certainly don't want to be paying for display space when they have nothing to display. There is a lot of cost in staffing and transporting all of the equipment to the fair grounds and then returning all of the items to the dealership. Why incur the costs when there is already such high demands on the inventory they are receiving?

My local dealer was telling me they weren't even going to take any of the lawn and garden items to the fair as they didn't have the inventory to do so. And what customer wants their new machine to be taken to where its going to be crawled all over by kids, etc. with sticky fingers, etc. simply so the dealer has something to show at the fair? I know I wouldn't want my equipment treated like a its a piece of playground equipment.

Due to the continuing changing circumstances, many traditional things will continue to be disrupted until things do, hopefully, return to normal.............

While it’s been a few years since I have been “home” to the county fair, the displays had already dwindled five years ago. Actually, another local equipment seemed to take over the much nicer display. On the other hand, there’s also the possibility that I recall childhood with rose colored glasses.

That said, your point with inventory (not to mention covid) is probably more to blame than anything. Last year was just the third time since 1874 that the fair was cancelled - the previous two instances were during WWII and the Spanish Flu.

 

[BruceRPA]

One would think the management stayed the same but that is not always the case. I am not a fan of the BIG conglomerates but that is what Deere is doing. Same with the auto dealers. Gone are the small one owner dealers.

FYI, my dealer is West Central Equipment in Martinsburg.

I agree about the big conglomerates. They lose track of how important building relationships and providing good customer service is. Our outstanding local Honda dealer lost all of my business when they sold to a large conglomerate. The formerly excellent service department that made me such a loyal customer became so regimented by the new corporate structure that they were not able to maintain the relationships with customers that made them so successful.

I am located just outside of State College in Centre County. My local JD dealer is roughly 30 minutes from here. Martinsburg is roughly an hour away. That is well within range for me to take the machine for warranty service if necessary. I do get to the area occasionally so I can stop by and pick up parts and supplies for maintenance.

 

[Rule292]

You need my latest "experience" (Not at Centre Hall). Bought a BB2048 box blade and told the salesman OK to leave on pallet to put in truck bed.

Salesman goes looking for tractor with forks and another yahoo working in the yard comes up with a skid steer with forks and the forks fully offset to the left hand side.

The maroon fetches the box blade and brings it over to the truck proceeds to lift the BB about 4 feet above the truck bed (making me cringe that it's going to fall off the pallet) and then pulls forward fast and drops the pallet forks with a jerk and the corner of the fork carrier put a dent/gouge in the outside of the truck bed above the taillights. Yeah the truck is "older" but it had no dents until this winner put one in. 😡

I'd love to see what someone with a $100k Ford Platinum would have done to the fellow.

 

[BruceRPA]

You need my latest "experience" (Not at Centre Hall). Bought a BB2048 box blade and told the salesman OK to leave on pallet to put in truck bed.

Salesman goes looking for tractor with forks and another yahoo working in the yard comes up with a skid steer with forks and the forks fully offset to the left hand side.

The maroon fetches the box blade and brings it over to the truck proceeds to lift the BB about 4 feet above the truck bed (making me cringe that it's going to fall off the pallet) and then pulls forward fast and drops the pallet forks with a jerk and the corner of the fork carrier put a dent/gouge in the outside of the truck bed above the taillights. Yeah the truck is "older" but it had no dents until this winner put one in. 😡

I'd love to see what someone with a $100k Ford Platinum would have done to the fellow.

Wow! Thats terrible! I hope that the dealer took care of you and compensated you for the damage.

 

[bkeller500]

Well it seems we are going to get what we pay for........What I mean by that is we as consumers want a great deal on our purchases and we still expect a little extra care and consideration from the vendor. But as we all know the cost of running a business keeps climbing as does labor and taxes, and energy and rent and overhead and insurance and on and on. That great deal erodes profits for the vendor who is just like us when he makes his purchases. As profits are reduced there is no room to provide above and beyond service. I know it wouldn't take much time for a JD dealer to properly set up a new mower and have it in perfect shape for that first mow, but that comes with cost to the dealer. I see both sides of the argument and each case is different. Customer satisfaction is key to running a business and we as consumers need to give our vendors an opportunity to make things right........but we also need to give them the ability to make a profit. We will need them down the road for parts and service and support, which is a ongoing cost that must come from the profits. There is no perfect answer here other than support the businesses that earn your business and walk away from the ones that don't.

 

[Festus]

Well it seems we are going to get what we pay for........What I mean by that is we as consumers want a great deal on our purchases and we still expect a little extra care and consideration from the vendor. But as we all know the cost of running a business keeps climbing as does labor and taxes, and energy and rent and overhead and insurance and on and on. That great deal erodes profits for the vendor who is just like us when he makes his purchases. As profits are reduced there is no room to provide above and beyond service. I know it wouldn't take much time for a JD dealer to properly set up a new mower and have it in perfect shape for that first mow, but that comes with cost to the dealer. I see both sides of the argument and each case is different. Customer satisfaction is key to running a business and we as consumers need to give our vendors an opportunity to make things right........but we also need to give them the ability to make a profit. We will need them down the road for parts and service and support, which is a ongoing cost that must come from the profits. There is no perfect answer here other than support the businesses that earn your business and walk away from the ones that don't.

You hit the nail on the head, keller.
Many buyers will get quotes from several dealers and shop them against each other to squeeze every last penny. Then they are upset that the dealer that will sell at the lowest price doesn't have enough staff to greet customers in a timely manner, or doesn't send every machine out with a full tank of fuel, has min. wage kids with no experience setting up new machines, etc. Good customer service & dealer experience is partially attitude and philosophy, but it also has a financial cost.

 

[demonspeed]

Well it seems we are going to get what we pay for........What I mean by that is we as consumers want a great deal on our purchases and we still expect a little extra care and consideration from the vendor. But as we all know the cost of running a business keeps climbing as does labor and taxes, and energy and rent and overhead and insurance and on and on. That great deal erodes profits for the vendor who is just like us when he makes his purchases. As profits are reduced there is no room to provide above and beyond service. I know it wouldn't take much time for a JD dealer to properly set up a new mower and have it in perfect shape for that first mow, but that comes with cost to the dealer. I see both sides of the argument and each case is different. Customer satisfaction is key to running a business and we as consumers need to give our vendors an opportunity to make things right........but we also need to give them the ability to make a profit. We will need them down the road for parts and service and support, which is a ongoing cost that must come from the profits. There is no perfect answer here other than support the businesses that earn your business and walk away from the ones that don't.

I take it you’d find it reasonable when buying a new car to then be responsible for getting adding two quarts of oil and getting it aligned after you first get it home.
The PDI - predelivery inspection - is a cost of doing business and built in to every sale.

 

[x738]

The PDI - predelivery inspection - is a cost of doing business and built in to every sale.

And yet one of the most common recommendations on here for owners of new machines is to check the tire pressure -- because they are probably still way too high (at what is assumed to be the shipping crate pressure) rather than the recommended lawn cutting pressure....