Forums | MacLife

macnuke wrote:

just goes to prove.. if you want it done right.. do it yourself.

Everything I have done is right.  Maybe I have to become a dealer myself so I can get the parts direct.  In Europe, there is a website that you can go to and order the parts for your machine.  The parts get shipped to the nearest dealer and you pick them up.  It supposedly works with most of the brands over there.  Why can't they have that here?  They won't even let you have access to a parts diagram.  I could just phone them up with the part numbers I need and have them order.  Even better would be to order the parts online and have them shipped to the dealer.  Then the dealer can't screw up my order.

then again, when you are paying someone, and they smurf up bigtime, it's perfectly OK to just shoot them.

Only in Texas...

Orion wrote:

Only in Texas...

naww... we do it here in looziana also

Sounds like somebody should get a sizable discount when the parts finally come in.  Complain to the owners!  Remember, it's the sqeaky tractor wheel that gets the grease.

This dealer has three parts people now.  The one has been there forever, he even worked at the old IH dealer and transfered to this place when they bought out the IH dealership back in 1984.  You can come in there with a part and he can sometimes have a new one for you by the time you get to the counter.  That's what I call speedy service!  This guy was just hired maybe 6 months ago and has alot to learn.  The guy he replaced wasn't much good either, but at least he never screwed up my orders.  He just took a long time to find your parts, mostly because he wasn't much good with computers.  The trouble is that most parst people have no idea what the machine looks like apart from what the diagram shows.  I was a parts guy for awhile at the small engine shop, but I also did all of the fixing, so I knew exactly how things went together.  It got so that I could identify commonly used parts by sight and could pull them from the shelf without looking them up.  I wish they had the parts people in the shops for some technical training before they let them behind the counter.


I plan to let them know how disappointed I am, but I don't think the owner will care.  He's too busy with his manure digester business that he also runs to give a damn about some little farmer who had to wait a few days.

Well, the saga continues.  I called yesterday.  No gaskets.  One order had come in but the part they sent was the flange, not the gasket.  Me thinks someone ordered the wrong part.  So, I was in town this afternoon and I stopped in.  They looked a bit panicked when I told them I was there for the gaskets.  The water manifold one had come in that morning, but the gasket they had to reorder yesterday didn't come in.  In fact, it didn't even show up on their order forms.  (Hmm, maybe someone was forgetful again???)  So, they re-reordered it this morning.  They claim it will be there tomorrow.  I didn't wait.  I got the tractor back together, reusing what was left of that exhaust pipe gasket.  It leaks a tiny bit, but I will be damned if I am gonna wait for them.

The problem now is that the smurfing water manifold leaks.  The damn gasket didn't seal properly.  Either the gasket shifted when I put it together, or the damn head is no longer smooth there.  They bead blasted the head and didn't re-machine the exhaust manifold face or the water manifold face.  Bead blasting leaves a slightly pitted surface, somewhat like an orange rind, just not as rough.  It makes sealing a gasket damn hard.  Me thinks I will write a nice little letter to them and tell them what smurfy service I have been getting.  Maybe a forward to the BBB will get them to listen. 


Well, I guess I know what I will be doing tomorrow.  I have a tractor to tear down again to get at that damn gasket.  It took less time to completely strip the engine down and rebuild it two years ago than it has taken to get this damn head problem fixed.  The tractor runs better than new (thanks to an upgraded carb!) now, but this gasket snafu has really left me with a sour taste in my mouth.  That dealership was my favorite one in the area, but they may have just lost a customer.  We were even contemplating buying some equipment there next year, but they will not be getting that business now.  I would rather drive 30 miles to the next nearest IH dealer than to deal with this smurf anymore. 

Orion wrote:

[b]WHY CAN'T PEOPLE JUST DO THEIR JOB RIGHT FOR A CHANGE!!!!! 

...Because some businesses want to staff their businesses while only offering minimum wage, and you get what you pay for. Some businesses don't have a lot of employment candidates to choose from and have to take what they can get.

ConnertheCat wrote:

So, the guy forgot two things initally... In my opinion that could be either on his end or the shipper - and something that wouldn't illicet the wrath you initially gave him, particularly if you ordered many parts (which it seems you may have).

The latter half does show some general smurf though... then again, you said he was new?

*attempts to be a poor devil's advocate*

Well, lets just say that this isn't the first time I have had orders screwed up by this guy.  Everyone wants to talk to the head guy because he can get at least 3 people handled to every one that the other two can do.  He's the one that has some part numbers memorized so he doesn't even have to look them up.  Someone will ask for a certain part and you will hear him shout the part number from the back where he is helping another customer. "That's a 347564R1.  Third row on the right." 


What is really funny is seeing the head guy with a phone on each ear, while still helping a customer at the counter.  That guy is amazing.  I don't know what I will do if he ever retires.

Last edited by Orion (2006-08-30 8:11 pm)