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wen bust on the 26th
Notice – F.R. Jones & Son (frjonesandson.co.uk)
That's a shame, very useful especially when the working day runs on....
yes noticed that earlier this week, had quite a few bits off them over the years, they had certain chainsaw chains very cheap in their clearance section recently
It seems so wrong when businesses continue to take orders and money when they know they're about to go into administration and those customers are going to lose their money.
No idea if this was the case here, but as a general rule, unless paid by cash or bank transfer, the customer can get a refund through their card (or paypal, if they used that). It tends to be suppliers that get burned rather than the consumer
I only ever purchased one thing from them, my Stihl battery leaf blower. I only bought this from them because there was some double discount/black Friday offer which made it very cheap.
I used to use their website to see how cheap things could be [they were very competitive] and then talk to my own dealer. My dealer was always about the same price as them in any case [even if they were a touch dearer, I would still trade with the local firm]. The local dealer will drop items off for me at home, even before I have paid for it, because we have built up a strong relationship, which is an essential factor in running this kind of business.
Plus the big difference between an online company and the local dealer is what happens if there is a problem/fault. It’s a damn site easier to take it back to your local dealer and just drop it off than try and deal with someone you have never met over the phone and then have to post the item back to the other end of the Country.
So yes it is very sad to see a good and well known business go, but an exceptional local dealer [if you are lucky enough to have one] is always a far better option.
To be fair, they were a local dealer, if you happened to live locally to them, of course ! But sold online as well. They used to stand at trade shows also. And did of lot of the Arb equipment too. If there happened to have been a fault with that battery blower your Stihl dealer has to deal with it whether you bought it from them, or not, it's part of the agreement to become a genuine dealer. Same as if your hilux broke under warranty, any Toyota dealership would be duty bound to fix it not just the one you purchased from.
But then you have to face your local dealer, whose staff you have become very friendly with over the years, who have lent you equipment for free to help you out when you have broken down, who let you have things without paying first, etc. etc. and tell them you have been trading with someone else but now can they mend it for you!
I know you can take it to any dealer, but in reality it’s not quite that simple. Also, a dealer like the one described, like the one I trade with, do deserve my loyalty/support. If I don’t buy from them, they might not be there when I need them, when I have broken down and they pull out all the stops to get a part to me or lend me a machine.
It has to work both ways.
My local main dealer went bust as well a while back (Countrywide Stores) So when I eventually had an issue with some kit bought from there I had no alternative than to take it to another franchise a bit further away, they dealt with the issue promptly and courteously, there was no embarrasment that I was trying it on, I ended up buying a few bits from them over the past few years but generally it's inconvenient and time consuming to make a trip there, best part of half a day wasted. i prefer to buy online as often it's faster to get the item/part I require
I think your scenario is a very different kettle of fish, of course there would be no embarrassment if you were to go to a new dealer you have never before traded with. You are a new customer to them and I am sure they would be delighted to take your business, hoping that it is the beginning of a long relationship. I imagine that you might even tell them who you used to trade with and they have ceased trading, therefore you are now trading with them.
That is a very different situation to the one I described.
In my case I have traded with my dealer for many years. I would be taking in a machine that I purchased elsewhere to someone who I would normally buy my machines from. You see the difference?
There would of course be no embarrassment in the situation you describe, but I would feel a little sheepish in the completely separate situation that I described, i.e. going to a dealer you have long traded with [not a new dealer to me], who has gone above and beyond to help you out on many occasions only then to openly display to them that you have shown no loyalty or appreciation for their endeavours on your behalf, by dropping on to their counter a new[ish] machine that you have bought elsewhere.
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