Bad Miller Dealers

[Travis Beste]

Sorry for bringing up the beaten horse

As a follow up to my earlier rant-

I needed a few supplies so I ended up driving on down to the distributor that I had a negative first experience with that I complained about earlier. I actually got to put a face with the voice I spoke with on the phone. It seems that we both might have handled the situation incorrectly over the phone. He was pretty bummed that he lost a machine sale. We talked it over and he kept the store open an hour after closing time showing me a few things and giving me some advice. I purchased the things I needed and was on my way. While I was there he even offered to have me bring my machine down and show me the ropes, even though I had purchased it elsewhere. I've been back to buy more consumables once more this past week and he was quite helpful yet again.

I'm very glad to have given him a second chance at my business. I know once I'm ready to add a MIG and Plasma machine to my shop I'll be buying from him instead of online.

Before we all jump to conclusions that a dealer is bad just remember that everyone has bad days. If you get bad service multiple times then it may be time to look elsewhere, otherwise it might be worth it to give them another chance. I'm sure glad I did.

Travis Beste

[Paul Seaman]

Travis:
Thanks for taking the time to talk to the supplier and smoothing it over you will both gain in the long run. It is hard not to jump to conclusions sometimes it is the hardest to admit to them. Just by doing so I can tell that you are a man of integrity.
Thank you and be well,

[HAWK]

Travis,

Good point, good job, and good luck with the Dynasty 200DX! Everybody deserves a second chance. It's great if you need any service repair, you now have a good relationship with a local dealer. I agree with pj. It takes soemthing deep inside a person to go back to a bad situation and make it right. That is a good quality.

[klsm54]

From the distributor viewpoint, please don't hold it against me, as I've said in other posts, it is the "People" who make the dealer. Good people can make the difference, no matter who's sign is hanging from the building. We may be handcuffed to some extent by corporate restraints, but I don't believe any company headquarters are telling the counter people to mistreat their customers.

This business is no different than many other places that we all frequent. You can stop at one MacDonalds and be treated politely, and everything is in the bag when you leave. Then the next time you are greeted with grunts and scowls and when you open the bag, there is no straw, no napkins, and your fries are dumped upside down in the bottom of the bag. It is just a sad commentary on todays society, I guess.

That said, once you find a good dealer, cherish him and keep going back. An honest and fair dealer can save you money, not just by selling his products as cheap as the on-line place, but by making the right recommendations after he takes the time to listen to your needs. A good dealer will ask you questions about your shop, and the work you do before he reccomends anything to you.

I work for a company that has 60 plus locations, and I have heard some horror stories about how people have been treated at some of them. On the other hand we have some of the greatest, and helpful people in the industry. Unfortunately, there just aren't enough of those good people to go around. This is a vert "technology" oriented business, and there are many people doing the selling that are woefully lacking in the proper product and process training. Don't hold it against the guy who doesn't have all the answers, as long as he is willing to admit that he doesn't know. Most distributors have at least one technically competent person that the counter guy can go to and get you the answers, or we all have very competent resources with our vendor/manufacturer partners.

Something I was taught very early in this business, and I have repeated it to scores of new employees since. "Never give somebody the wrong information. They will respect you more for admitting that you don't know, and going out and finding the correct information". With all the new technology available today, even old-timers like me, have to consult with the experts on a regular basis to answer all of our customers questions.