9/14/03
Goodbye Part One for those interested.
Need further proof of the direction the future holds for the local repair shop? Consider the lack of service support the factories provide the repair shops. Virtually everything the factories do is aimed at bringing down the service dealer.
Under-cut the service dealer with pricing that favors the big box stores both for whole goods and parts. Expecting the service dealers to cater to the wishes of the non servicing box stores. No longer providing technical service assistence to the servicing dealer.
The last one, no technical service assistence, is the primary focus of my current rant. Oh yeah, they all still provide yearly update seminars, most of which are pathetic in value, but try to get any assistence through the year. Forget it. Of all the manufacturers our shop deals with only 2, Japanese companies at that, have any sort of decent tech support. Honda and Echo. Everyone else blows chow.
The entire movement as I see it this. Follow the lead of Sears. They no longer have local service centers. They have regional service centers where everything is shipped to. One person with some training inspects and lists what to do. The repair is then turned over to a repair line of un-skilled minimum wage parts changers. They don't sharpen blades, they install new ones, don't repair carbs but install new ones, don't do valve jobs but install new engines or short blocks. Parts are cheap because the volume they buy they get huge manufacture discounts that the independent repair shop can't touch. Couple that with the low paid un-skilled parts changers and they can make good profit.
This may be fine while equipment is covered under warranty but is it the best way after the warranty? Do you want to pay for a short block instead of a valve job? Might be best to just buy a new mower. But isn't that what this is all about. Turning our country into a totally disposable society. That's why I predict that in the future, all residential grade power equipment will be treated like a toaster. Breaks and its replaced. A few service dealers will survive who have moved along to sales and service of commercial grade equipment only, but most will die. Welcome to the 21st century.