Why do we never learn?

In the past I have gotten AGCO parts from a local AGCO dealer, but it is always a struggle to work with them.  They are very backwards and write down the part number and your name and number on paper in a notebook and tell you they will call you when it is in.   Most of the time they can't tell you whether it is available or not, or what the price is, until it gets there.   Since then, I have gotten smarter and used many of the vendors on here to buy parts and have gotten any AGCO items from Albert and others at Dean Ag in Missouri and have always been impressed with their expertise and service and how fast I get my parts.   Well, three weeks ago, I went back to the local AGCO dealer to see if they had a complete sickle for the New Idea 290 mower/conditioner that I am fixing up.  They didn't have one, but they looked it up and it was $88 and he would order it on Monday.   Three weeks later and nothing.   So today I called on the way home to see if it had come in yet.  It was like I was never there three weeks ago.  He went back outside to check their inventory, and I had to remind him that I was there three weeks ago and they were supposed to order it.  It was like I was never there!   Now they are going to try and reorder again.  I should have just told them to kiss off, but I try to be nice and give them some business, especially in these tough times.   I used to go in there with my dad when I was knee high, and they all remember me since I was a little kid, but I am so dissapointed in their service it's pathetic.   I know I just am a pretend farmer and play with my equipment,  and don't use it to earn a living like many of you, but what if I was?   How could I continue to do business with someone that can't get me a part and it's three weeks later.   What if it was my only tractor that was down?   In the meantime, I called Dean Ag last Thursday am, and ordered a couple other small parts for the New Idea mower and they came to my house in the mail today, one week later, with a holiday weekend, and they came into their place in Missouri and then on up to me in Wisconsin.   Well, I guess I'll get off of my soapbox, but sometimes we try to do good things to people where we have been burned before, and we just don't seem to learn. 

I never could understand why some are like that.
We have an AGCO dealer in Coxsackie , New York that has been an Allis Chalmers dealer since 1935.
If the part you want needs some research done he will do it and he won't let you leave until he knows if he can get it or not.
If AGCO says the part is no longer available he will search every AGCO dealer's inventory in the US and Canada and most of the time he finds a dealer with that item still on their shelf.
He uses the words Integrity on his invoices and he means it.

Albert is the man!!

Reminds me of the experience I had this winter. Stihl chain saw died and I needed a carb rebuild kit. I get to the dealer monday am sharp to get the parts so it can be fixed for the following weekend. Give him the serial number, model number, and my cell phone. They said it would be there on wednesday. Get their wednesday and said the part can't be ordered as the model number didn't come up. I asked them to double check and it turns out they transcribed the model number. Bothered me that they did not bother to call me to confirm the model number. They said they could order it for me and I told them not to bother as I will deal with it.
Instead, I ordered it on e-bay for 8 bucks vs 22 from the dealer.

  how many of the people you guys talk to grew up when your equipment existed

I guess what annoys me is no one stocks anything any more. You go in and ask for a part and the reply is no but we can order it. Well in this day and age so can I, for less money, no tax and delivered to my front door. Makes it hard to support the local guy.

needed a belt for the variable speed on my B212, Simplicity dealer 12 mile away. took them 20 minutes to find the part number after I had photo copied the page out of the parts manual. Then they weren't sure it was still available. I told them I had found them on-line. they wanted to know why I didn't just order it online. So much for keeping business local.
     Also went to the Agco dealer, they just took over Allis Chalmers after Agco closed local AC dealer. wanted to order part for my 1935 U they told me I must want parts for a Minneapolis U,cause they did not know AC built a model U.

Sandy Lake and Albert gets my business now.  < id="gwProxy" ="">< ="jsCall;" id="jsProxy" ="">

Being a parts person is a gerneally a thankless job cause you don't apperceiate a good parts guy till you've delt with a bad one.  I can understand the frustration of getting wrong parts and the stress that is involed in farming, I grew up on a farm.  I just recently got my butt chewed by a customer a few weeks ago cause I sent home one wrong part on his windrower.  The guy sends his 70 year old father up to get the parts and he has no idea of the model, he knew it was a Hesston though, so I got to figure out who owns this machine, hope we have the information on file, we did.  Okay, time figure out what parts he needs...well, I need that little one there that runs up against that bigger one and I think there's a chain or belt that drives it...it's kinda off to the side of the machine sorta ya know...I think they're all the same-that phrase will get you everytime cause there all the same till they get home and they don't fit, then you should have known better.  What happen to me this day was I got the parts looked up right that he needed and even charged him for the right parts but grabbed the wrong part that had an 1/8th inch differnce on shaft size out of the bin and sent it home.  Of course, he called back and blasted me on the phone, then I got the "Three dollar gas" speech and all that when he came back, I just felt like crap the rest of the day.  You can help twenty-five people and let one guy down and you'll be an idiot to him for the rest of your life.  I don't know how many times I've woke up in the middle of the night and wondered, "Did I remember to order that for that guy today?" and then you can't sleep for the rest of the night even though there is nothing that you can do about it.  You're expected to know 15-20 AGCO brands dating back as far as the 1940's to the present and people want you to stock parts for equipment ranging as far as a sickle mower to computerized software so they can make maps for their fields.  Parts availablity is a joke, if it's 1985 or older it's probably discontinued, if it's 1990 or newer you run a 40% chance that it's backordered it seems, and if it's a new machine the part might not even be available yet.  People are always upset if you don't have something in stock, even if you've never sold one before, if you have it in stock, the price is to high, you just can't win.  What never fails to amaze me is how little most people know about the machinery they run.  What oil does this gearbox take?  They are to lazy to go read the operators manual and they want me to go look it up for them, or how some people will bust the crap out of 'just out of warranty' machinery then expect you to still cover the damage some how.  Then you have the guy that won't fix anything till it breaks, it always breaks at 5:20 in the afternoon, do you have it on hand? What time do you close?  How long are you gonna be there?   I'll be there in 15 mintues can you wait? and then he pulls in at 6:30.  Looking up hydraulic lines on a tractor that you're not familar with is the worst and you have the guy on the phone, your parts breakdown will just show a mess of lines looking like a rats nest or a scribble drawn by a four year old.  The customer description will go something like this "It comes off of some valve here in the back and goes a little bit then there is a bend and it bends again and goes under the cab, there is another right here next to it, I don't know what this line is for it's just leaking...you got that one right?"  unless you've been on the other end of the phone with a description like that you will never understand what it's like.  Everyday the parts person's job gets harder because new stuff comes out and people want to keep the old going too, everyday there's more models, serial numbers, engine types, options, more parts you should be stocking and it just never ends.   All you can do is get up everyday and try to do the best you can no matter who you deal with.  If anything working on this side of the counter I feel has made me a better person because before if I was at the grocery store and the checkout person had a problem working the cash resgister I would have said something rude about it, but now having been in that situation with customers myself I understand what that person is going through.  I think everybody should have a chance to understand what that person is going through.

Matt I was laughing my ass off reading your description on the line on the tractor. I did the exact thing this spring when a hose busted on the 220A. I am the type that would chew you out for the wrong one,but I would also thank you for doing the right things. By the way did you send that order in today I talked to you about last week on the phone, I really need it its going to rain tomorrow and I HAVE to Have it in the morning..........................LOL

I know what you mean Matt. I was a parts man at a CaseIH dealer for four years. One thing I was a mechanic first and also a farmer so I could understand better what was wanted by most customers than my fellow parts men. But sometimes things just don't go according to plan. Once a made up a hydraulic hose for a guy for his skidder and accidentally used the wrong die in the crimper. Blew the hose. I had done the job a thousand times but this time I screwed up. Man was he mad but he was right and I took it on the chin. Once a guy walked in and wanted a part for his plow. I thought he had said a 700 but he said a 710. Now I only looked in the book for a few minutes when I asked again the model number. He said I TOLD you a 710. He then blew a gasket when I put the book back and grabbed the correct book. I hadn't gotten him the wrong part even and after a few minutes had the right part but he proceeded to chew me up and down like he had been waiting on a part for a week. I just bit my tongue. Another guy came in to get parts for his New Idea spreader. He was a customer of another dealer that had quit. I asked him the model number and he didn't know. He said to get the books out and he'd show me which one. He picked out the one he supposedly had and then said they were all the same anyway and we had the part he pointed to (a couple of nylon bushings) and at the same time he wanted a belt for his Gleaner L2. Now we had no books for Gleaners as we were a CaseIH dealer but I called the closest dealer and explained we needed a double vee belt for the cylinder drive on an L2. Looks like one choice for his serial number (he did have the serial number) so I got it the next day. His wife picked it up. A few hours later I got a call and the part for his spreader was wrong and the belt was wrong and he said he was going to drag me across the counter. I was feeling bad about he whole thing and said bring the stuff in and we'll get him fixed up ASAP. His Dad brought the stuff back with the correct model number for his spreader and he brought back the belt. AGCO ships it's belts in a box. Anyhow I explained that Gene didn't know the model of his spreader and just guessed at it but his Dad would hear none of it. Then I looked at the belt and AGCO had shipped the wrong belt inside the right box. Part number on the box was correct but the belt was wrong and his Dad was going ballistic that I hadn't opened the box when it came in. Well if anyone knows how busy a parts department is and how many boxes of parts come in day in a large dealership you'd know you don't have time to open every box. It was just bad luck and it was his fault on the spreader part. Anyhow you just learn to take a beating every once in a while and try to smooth things over. I learned too. Later that year a guy came in and needed a part for an old Owatonna elevator. I asked the model and he insisted that they were al the same. He left mad when I wouldn't order the part without a model number. He needed the boot at the bottom of it. We didn't even have books for them but I would call the company if he had a model number. Eventually he came in with a model number and I called but part wasn't available. I told him I had an old Owattonna elevator he could have for parts if he wanted so after work we went to my place and looked it over and it was totally different from his which he could hardly believe cause he was still convinced they were all the same.

Forgot to say in previous post that I was disgusted but didn't take it out on the parts man either, doesn't do any good for them or you.

 Thou I know of two case/Ih places that are 40 miles apart that people will drive the 40 miles not to do business with the one, wonder why. 

  Sometimes its the quality and sincere professionalism to help the customers that make a difference that makes a place excel as to just be in existance.

All I can say is that I'm sure there are bad fish out there, but the AGCO or old AC dealerships that I have been around have been some of the best people I have met, and seem to have the time to always be frendly and have time to talk to you even if you live hundreds of miles away. My local AGCO/AC dealers (Haney equip.and B@G/tbran) have always been good to me and have most of the time parts in invatory and if not they will send them direct to me from AGCO and thats something that the local JD folks will not do. You also usually talk to the owners and they know there business if its parts, service, sales or other info. unlike the collage kids at the tri-green JD dealers.

I buy from my buddy at Franzen Equip in IA, or Sandy Lake, or Schmidt in KS, or one of the vendors here. I don't really have a "local" AGCO dealer, but I don't really miss one because of the good job these guys do.

I manage production and shipping at work but i do some default sales because I happen to be the only one available at the time. There are good customers and bad customers. If you are on of those guys that believes that no matter what, the customer is always right, be prepared to have alot of bad days. New customers always get the benefit of the doubt. Career whiners get warned each sale might be their last. Guys that want discounts get charged extra. Good customers that pay on time and always are good to deal with get the rewards.  

For most anything I need parts for--tractors, lawn equipment, bicycles, etc.--I usually just order it from places on the Internet. Nothing personal against dealers, it's just that most times I go in they have to order what I need anyway. Plus I don't have to leave the house.