Crying Customers

[Billy Shafer]

I am getting real tired of all the crying customers.If you buy a 20 KW generator at Billy Bob and Bubbas part house. For 200.00 dollars. Don't come crying to me because it failed.

When are people going to wake up. If you want good quality equipment. It's going to cost you.

 

[Bret4207]

Most people can't afford to buy top of the line stuff. It's always been that way.

 

[paul]

Well, two sides to that coin I guess.

Are you paying your employees enough to afford the top of the line stuff?

Are you voting for those that keep taxes and paperwork down so that we don't bleed to death paying road, fuel, property, sales, income, inheritance, fees, fees, fees, and more fees so we have something left to buy top notch stuff? And that regulations don't outlaw everything that is simple, works, and affordable?

Most of us just try to get by on what we have.

But yes, we need to accept that if we buy cheap that is what we have, not expect it to preform for 40 years.

Paul

 

[Angle Iron]

(quoted from post at 05:26:35 11/04/14)
Most people can't afford to buy top of the line stuff. It's always been that way.

et they can afford the latest smartphone and contract that's out there, starbucks coffee, dinner out several times a week/month, trade cars on a whim but its unfair to charge a living wage rate to repair their box store junk, yes I see your point. Its their boss's fault.
Angle Iron

 

[jimg.allentown]

I would love to be able to afford the top of the line on everything that I use or buy. But, common sense and limited funds dictate otherwise.
I would love to have that $500 Kitchen Aid mixer, but common sense and limited funds dictated that I had to settle for the $100 Sunbeam model.
I wanted a MIG welder for some light work. The Miller was $1200 so I looked around and found one that did the job at Harbor Freight for $200. A HUGE difference in quality, but for the job I needed it for, the welder would have made the job cost more than its value. As much as I would prefer to stay with "made in USA," it isn't always practical.

 

[guido]

Hello Billy Shafer,

I am with you. Its not cheaper if you have to keep buying it!

Guido.

 

[Ron-MO]

I guess I see two sides to this. On one hand, as a customer I expect an item to be suitable for the purpose in which it was intended (perhaps even regardless of price) and last a reasonable amount of time given regular maintenance and care. On the other hand, I have seen customers that cannot be pleased, and they expect to purchase a $200 generator and never maintain it and be able to return it for a full refund or replacement when it fails. Common sense comes into play as well, and when I purchase from Harbor Freight, I expect that I might not be getting the same quality I would expect from buying brand name from a local merchant. Obviously this is not always the case as a few years ago I purchased a Stihl trimmer from a local merchant, and had it fail just after the warranty expired. I mistakenly assumed I was getting a better quality product than I would buy down at China Mart, but that one did not last as well ad the green trimmers from WM. Then you can always stop selling that item if you are not comfortable selling and standing behind that $200 generator. Respectfully.

 

[Jiles]

(quoted from post at 13:14:43 11/04/14) I am getting real tired of all the crying customers.If you buy a 20 KW generator at Billy Bob and Bubbas part house. For 200.00 dollars. Don't come crying to me because it failed.

When are people going to wake up. If you want good quality equipment. It's going to cost you.

I think some people cry because they pay AMERICAN made price for Communist made items!
Getting worse each day!

 

[john *.?-!.* cub owner]

(quoted from post at 07:14:43 11/04/14) I am getting real tired of all the crying customers.If you buy a 20 KW generator at Billy Bob and Bubbas part house. For 200.00 dollars. Don't come crying to me because it failed.

When are people going to wake up. If you want good quality equipment. It's going to cost you.

used to have a sign over my desk I looked at before I hit the road on trouble calls. "[b:0050027571][i:0050027571][color=red:0050027571]I am thankful for trouble, because if it weren't for trouble I wouldn't have a job[/color:0050027571][/i:0050027571][/b:0050027571]".

 

[NCWayne]

Put yourself on the other side of the coin. By that I mean that you have to hear them cry because they bought the latest and greatest, that is so full of technology that only the dealership can work on it, and then come crying about the cost to make repairs.

Personally I tell all of my customers that if they want a reliable machine, to buy one made before all the electronic controls got put on them. In many cases you can buy an old machine cheap, basically restore it to new condition, and have a machine that will do the same job as the brand new one, but for a lot smaller cost.

Ultimately if people would stop buying the JUNK, then the mfgs would have no incentive to keep making it. Unfortunately until our illustrious leaders cut back on some of the restrictive crap they throw on American businesses, and get them to stay here instead of moving overseas to avoid the outrageous taxes, etc, we're stuck with low wage folks that can only afford the junk.....((((Think about all of the folks in my area that used to work at Cannon Mills and made a really good wage. Nearly 7000 of them got let go and now many of them are still in minimum wage jobs making less than half of what they used to make.))))

All this happens because American businesses can't complete on a level playing field with other countries due to the US not strictly enforcing trade agreements, overtaxing companies and forcing them out, enacting EPA rulings that make it impossible to work without paying hefty fines for a drop of oil on the ground, along with having OSHA so far up their buts trying to keep idiots from killing themselves, and making the company responsible, as well as liable, if they do (wether the dead employee over rode a safety device to get himself killed or not). Saddly the cycle will continue unabated until we vote in leaders that are business men first, and politicians last.

 

[Cas]

It took me two cheap generators and about twenty years to wake up. Everbody does not wake up.

 

[Alan K]

That is true.

 

[Butch(OH)]

The answer to your question is never.

As a matter of fact you might as well brace for it to get worse. Generations of bumbling fools, as it would pertain to life's hard facts, are being prepared by our education system, Lord help them.

 

[D beatty]

I very seldom buy whats called top of the line and never buy bottom of line.Today with these computers you can look up products and see what there track record is and if you dig deep enough you can find just about find where every component on machine is built and that compaies track record.

 

[Ron-MO]

One other thing I will add is that Wal Mart and others like them have created the "satisfaction guaranteed" thinking, but now they only stand behind the product for a specific amount of time now, and even track serial numbers to enforce this to prevent the customer from buying a new one and returning the old one for a refund later. I was really shocked recently when we purchased a new Toyota truck that they in fact have a "lifetime warranty" on the power train on that truck with a $100 deductible standard (no deductible until 5 years or 100,000 I think). Of course they do not plan on anyone owning the truck long enough to replace an engine in 10-20 years, but no doubt they will replace a few. Back in the 1970's, before we were married, my wife purchased (believe it or not) a battery from JC Penney with a lifetime warranty - good for as long as you own the car. We sold that car approx 10 years ago, and while JC Penney no longer sold batteries, we were able to take the warranty, along with the title or registration and they sent us to Sears auto center to swap for a new battery up until the car was sold nearly 30 years later.

 

[Jiles]

(quoted from post at 17:07:37 11/04/14) One other thing I will add is that Wal Mart and others like them have created the "satisfaction guaranteed" thinking, but now they only stand behind the product for a specific amount of time now, and even track serial numbers to enforce this to prevent the customer from buying a new one and returning the old one for a refund later. I was really shocked recently when we purchased a new Toyota truck that they in fact have a "lifetime warranty" on the power train on that truck with a $100 deductible standard (no deductible until 5 years or 100,000 I think). Of course they do not plan on anyone owning the truck long enough to replace an engine in 10-20 years, but no doubt they will replace a few. Back in the 1970's, before we were married, my wife purchased (believe it or not) a battery from JC Penney with a lifetime warranty - good for as long as you own the car. We sold that car approx 10 years ago, and while JC Penney no longer sold batteries, we were able to take the warranty, along with the title or registration and they sent us to Sears auto center to swap for a new battery up until the car was sold nearly 30 years later.

Kmart sold me a "Lifetime Battery" and replaced it when it was SIX YEARS OLD and refused to replace it again at ELEVEN YEARS!! Said 10 years was the lifetime of battery!
Haven't darkened their door since.
I think at that time Penny's sold theirs for $90.00??? and Kmart sold for $60.00?? That was when a good battery could be bought for $40.00 ??
No wonder to me that Kmart is on their way out.

 

[Teakettle]

I too bought a JCPenney "lifetime" battery -- for my mom's car in 1979, and she kept the car for 20+ more years. I don't recall where Penney's told her to take it after they stopped selling batteries but I know she got something like five free ones over the years.

 

[wisbaker]

I'm seeing some shift on some things, there seems to be a lot of push back on the new trucks and tractors and to a lessor extent on cars.

I was stationed in Greece 25 years ago with the USAF. I was told the one of the reasons Greeks drove older cars is that there was a 50% tax on new ones, and that was also why used vehicles in Greece sometimes cost as much as new one stateside. To top it off when I started my tour you couldn't sell a vehicle that was over 7 years old tax free. Some of the older folks stationed on our detachment were on their 2nd or 3rd tour said 10-15 years earlier there were about 15 cars that got shipped in and the G.I.s would sell them between themselves when they rotated out. Then the Greeks changed the rules and they all got scrapped or shipped out of Greece.

This caused a backroom industry of rebuilding cars and I suspect a lot of it was off the books. I remember seeing older cars that had been wrecked and the hull was stripped of every usable part before scrapping things we would't pull in the US like windows and emergency brake handles, seats and interior trim was all pulled. You could find used cars that were older and were rebuilt and offered for sale.

 

[big fred]

I must be old fashioned. I don't see how complaining about customers is good business sense.

 

[David G]

They never will.

 

[Billy Shafer]

Not all my customers are crying ones.Some understand you get what you pay for. I understand very well about making do with what you have.But if you come to me for advice. Then go buy what I advised you not to buy. Don't cry to me because it failed the minute you cranked it up.

Don't pull up in your 60 thousand dollar wonder truck. Then drop off the cheap Chinese generator and get mad because I can't find parts for it. Sorry to complain. But sometimes I feel like I am talking to the wall. With some of these people.

 

[Bret4207]

(quoted from post at 10:01:27 11/04/14)

(quoted from post at 05:26:35 11/04/14)
Most people can't afford to buy top of the line stuff. It's always been that way.

et they can afford the latest smartphone and contract that's out there, starbucks coffee, dinner out several times a week/month, trade cars on a whim but its unfair to charge a living wage rate to repair their box store junk, yes I see your point. Its their boss's fault.
Angle Iron

I don't believe I said anything about their boss or any of the other stuff. I also don't know of any box stores selling $200.00 20Kw gens. It sounds to me like the guy is talking farmers or contractors, (who else wants a 20Kw gen?) buying a used gen for cheap and complaining because it was trashed to start with. Maybe you read a different post than I did , but I don't see anything at all about their bosses or what it costs to fix the gen.

 

[Bret4207]

(quoted from post at 23:32:35 11/04/14) Not all my customers are crying ones.Some understand you get what you pay for. I understand very well about making do with what you have.But if you come to me for advice. Then go buy what I advised you not to buy. Don't cry to me because it failed the minute you cranked it up.

Don't pull up in your 60 thousand dollar wonder truck. Then drop off the cheap Chinese generator and gThet mad because I can't find parts for it. Sorry to complain. But sometimes I feel like I am talking to the wall. With some of these people.

That clears it up Billy and I get it.

 

[mkirsch]

The crying customers is the cost of doing business. You've just got to shake your head as they walk out the door and move on to the next job. Maybe you'll luck out and they won't come back.

If it really bothers you badly enough, you're probably in the wrong line of work.

 

[buickanddeere]

(quoted from post at 08:26:35 11/04/14)
Most people can't afford to buy top of the line stuff. It's always been that way.

Most people can't afford good stuff because they have spent or lost more than the price of good stuff. By looking for deals and repairing bargain equipment.
Never enough money to do it right but enough money to do the job over again.

 

[Traditional Farmer]

It keeps you working so its not a bad deal,heck over half the tractors and some of the equipment I own I was able to afford because the previous owner thought they were good enough mechanic to work on them.They were wrong and I bought their screwups at bargain prices.They're a pain to get straight sometimes but no way I could have afforded them without the previous owner's 'help'.

 

[Buzzman72]

If people were more concerned with quality than price, Hudson and Packard would still be building cars and Chevrolet would be extinct. My point is, it's always been that way. And 40 years ago, TISCO parts were VERY inferior, when compared to JD, IH, and the other OEM's...but if people had only bought the better quality parts, in the long run this site wouldn't even exist.

So be thankful for those folks, because in the long run, they're why you have this forum where you can complain about 'em.

 

[Jiles]

(quoted from post at 13:14:43 11/04/14) I am getting real tired of all the crying customers.If you buy a 20 KW generator at Billy Bob and Bubbas part house. For 200.00 dollars. Don't come crying to me because it failed.

When are people going to wake up. If you want good quality equipment. It's going to cost you.

Hay Billy--I think I know what you are talking about.
Not exactly the same but over the years, I have sold MANY items. This includes homes and property.
There is a far more number of people that complain then there are that are satisfied.
I have sold tractors--In AS IS CONDITION--and let them know that and allow them to check any way they wanted to on my property. I would further inform them that there was no warranty-(I didn't get a warranty when I bought it!) A few days later they would call back and want me to fix something they didn't check. Like maybe the lights didn't work!!
I have bought nine homes over a period of 50 years and with six of these homes, the buyer called to complain about something.
I have NEVER called a seller to complain about anything.
Guess most people don't know what buy in as is condition means and expect an unexpressed warranty!
Last home I bought, the HVAC went out and I had to replace it within the first month!
I never called the previous owner and expect them to pay the bill-----there was NO WARRANTY!!

 

[Billy Shafer]

Been dealing with them for over forty years. But there comes a day when you want to slap some of them

 

[Billy Shafer]

The 20Kw was a bad example. What I should have said is that people. Buy gensets that in no way can power what they were told they would. Then come crying to me because they got lied to.

I do have one customer. Bought a 25KW Beam generator. At a flea market in Houston.Nice unit runs good with good voltage output.Only problem is. Everything is in in Chinese.

 

[Bret4207]

(quoted from post at 19:30:50 11/05/14) The 20Kw was a bad example. What I should have said is that people. Buy gensets that in no way can power what they were told they would. Then come crying to me because they got lied to.

I do have one customer. Bought a 25KW Beam generator. At a flea market in Houston.Nice unit runs good with good voltage output.Only problem is. Everything is in in Chinese.

Makes sense. About like the people I get coming to me with a yard sale cheapy chainsaw and they can't understand their $50.00 saw is going to cost $75.00 to fix before we even get to the bar and chain. They used to whine about costs in the gun shop and the body shop too. They can't afford to go buy new and top of the line and they can't afford to keep things pristine, so they you are. The secret, so I'm told, is to be able to not only fix the stuff, but to sell them on the idea they've made a good choice in having it fixed. I never had the knack for that.

 

[Traditional Farmer]

On the same note I have several tractor dealers I buy their trade in sometimes at bargain prices because they know I pay and haul them off and they don't hear back from me.