My local shops need help

[RST200]

I just posted a response to the Dynasty problem thread, and just had a couple other comments on local shops.

I've decided that the next purchase is going to be the MM350p. I've gone to the shop that I buy gas, wire, and welder to ask questions and see if they had one to look at. They told me that they did not stock that model..can order for me. I asked if they might be able to get one in to look at and maybe try out...they said they would get a salesman to get back to me. Never heard from him. Couple weeks later, stopped in to get refill on argon bottle...I mentioned the MM350p again...will have someone get back to you.... I bought my first welder from them earlier this year lincoln sp135+..I like to try to support local shops as much as I can. I even paid $80.00 more than online plus tax to purchase from them. I'll be buying online.

Lack of service, knowledge and price is what is putting these shops out of business. It's too bad that the MILLER Corporate positive attitude and customer service dosn't filter down to their dealers that are near by that I deal with.

Thanks for letting me vent. The whole point of this message is saying thanks to the Miller and Hobart site and the people here for great information.
Ryui

[fun4now]

lucky me i gues

i have a local shop that has been verry helpfull to me and anserd many of my ???. however they too do not stock many of the miller welders.in anser to my ? as to why they said that most people will opt to save the $100.00 or so and get the other brand .it is a shame that too many people feel the need to save upfront and usualy find in the end that they would have been better off to have spent it up front. yes the miller line is more $$$ . but look where you as a sp135 owner have ended up looking for advice. kind of ironic isent it.you too chose to save the $100.00 to get the sp135 insted of the MM135. that extra $100.00 i spent went to paying for this site among many other recorses available to us all.
that being said i opted to save the $100.00 by buying on line rather than at my local dealer,had they had a MM135 on the flore for me to take home i would have gotten 1 that day . but as i had to wait anyway i chose to save some $$ and order on line there lose for mot having 1 there for me to take home.(they did have the sp135 but so did home depot.) i rent my tank and get my gass and wire there and they seem verry aprecative of my buisnes and dont hold my online purchas aginst me i'm happy to say.

welcome aboard you will no dought truly injoy this forem, as we all here try to help regardles of the welder you have . we are here to help and welcome your comments and concerns
this place can become adictive

[Brad-Man]

I bought my MM175 online because the store tried to sell me that RED one (in stock) when I asked for BLUE (not in stock-and not wondering why)!

[Paul Seaman]

I like fun am lucky in the fact that my local dealer and I have a great repore. We talk and joke around but the fact that they know I try to always buy from them means I probably get a better deal than I deserve but I do buy all I can from them.

Peace,

[migmaniac70]

I think my local dealer{Depke} has the right idea, They have 2 stores, one in Urbana, one in champaign {Champaign/Urbana is a twin city} the Champaign store as 1/2 the red line 1/2 the blue line,the Urbana store as the other 1/2 the Champaign store does'nt So they pretty much have it coverd. If they dont have something you want they'll get one there within 48 hours.

[ASKANDY]

RST200,

What was the dealer you went to? I can have the FACTORY rep call you and he would know who in your area would have one to look at. If you were near me, I would take you right in to some of my customers who have them for you to try one. Because it is a high end specialty unit, not all dealers will stock it.


Andy

[klsm54]

I would go to the "Dealer Search" on the Miller site and look for dealers in your area. Give them all a call and see if any of them have a machine in stock that you can take a look at.

As far as the "bait and switch", it is a common practice. After working in this business for 20 years, I have run a lot of "bait and switch" sales. In my case though, we have always stocked blue and offered to order red, or yellow, or purple. It is hard for a dealer to stock all popular models of two, or more lines. In my area, Miller is king, so that is what we stock. But if we start seeing customers asking for a particular red machine, and walking out the door instead of buying blue, we would stock one or two of that red model. Now I would think that dealers that favor red would do the same thing if they had a lot of requests for a certain blue machine. But sadly, some inside sales people are not all that competent to even notice what people are asking for. And some of the larger companies are stuck with what their corporate purchasing decides they will stock....

There are good dealers out there, sometimes it takes a little hunting to find one, but a "good" dealer can be well worth the little extra you pay him. And sadly, the more on-line sales that happen each year, the less "good" dealers there will be... ...In the long run, it is the consumer who loses. When good people are not replaced at dealers due to flat or decreasing sales, soon there will be nobody to help with the problems. New people will become "Check-out" people as the dealer will not have the sales to support training costs. This, and some boards like it, is a wonderful resource, but if you weld long enough, you are going to find a time when on-site help is invaluable.

[RST200]

Fun4now
I just wanted to clarify something. The difference between the sp135+ and the mm135 was only $20.00. So the savings in money was not the reason I purchased the Lincoln. I went to the welding shop to purchase either the sp135+ or the mm135 knowing that the price would be higher than online. Being a former small business owner (retail) I try to support my local shops when I can. They had both in stock and convinced me that the Lincoln was a better welder, so that's what I bought from them. Had I known of this site and the Hobart site before I made the purchase I would have bought the miller (not that there is anything wrong with the sp135+). Now that I have more knowledge (gained mostly from the members like yourself and others here) on welders, I feel I am able to make better decisions without having to rely on welding shop salespeople.

Andy,
Thanks for the response.
I would like to take you up on your offer to have someone demo a 350p for me.
The shop is in St. Louis Park, MN. It is Reynolds welding supply. The people are nice, I've dealt with them over the years buying gas for O/A, rods and supplies. Just not real motivated to sell equipment to a little guy, even though I gave them a chance on every major purchase this year (plasma cutter, tig welder, auto-dark helmet, 30a spoolgun for the 251 or 350p).

Thanks,
Ryui

[fun4now]

Rst200

i'm sorry if you felt i was taking a shot at you. i was not , just trying to explain why some dealers (mine included) stock more red than blue.
odd as it may seem when my dealer was trying to sell me the TA185 insted of the dyn200 he did not have a TA in stock eather ?
although in his defence he stocks verry few welders and said give him a week and he would have a rep there with a TA185 to demo for me
i'm still getting the dyn200DX

again sorry if you felt i was atacking your decision.

[RST200]

Thanks James,
I'm sure I read more into it than there was.
I wasn't really angry, just wanted to clarify where I was coming from. Thanks, Ryui

[BCarlucci]

Hey guys,

I know i haven't posted in a long while been really busy over here, with things starting to pick up. Coming from a distributor we have 4 locations, and we currently have 2 MM350p's in the company, they're not of course in my store but within 2 to 3 days away for a customer to look at if need be. Most of your suppliers who only have one store are not willing to be bring in a 350p because it is a high end machine and could possibly sit there for 6-8 months before someone might buy it. As for the carrying "red" i know the only time i carry it is if a customer asks for it. I'd rather sell them a blue machine before a "red". Better made and just plain old better quality. Plus miller has most of the higher end machines in stock. Where here's a story for you, i have a customer who ordered a "red" large power source and wire feeder from me, i tried telling him blue was better and service was better but he wanted "Red", so here he is a month and half later still waiting on the wire feeder from them. Meanwhile Miller's equal was in stock in NJ and the guy could of had it in 2 days, shipped direct to him. I know most Distributors don't have guys who know a lot about the machines, but there are some of us out there who do. And treat the smaller customers just the same as a large customer.

BC