Tractor Mike's video: How to Handle a Catastrophic Failure on a New Tractor

There's never been a mechanical device built that couldn't have an issue. Occasionally, even the best designed and manufactured products can have a major failure and it can happen to a new tractor. No one wants that, not the company that built it, not the dealer who sold it and definitely not the customer. But it happens and today's video will go behind the scenes to discuss how to resolve a situation where a tractor won't run and no one knows why. The letter came from Jeremy, who had an issue with the regeneration process on his nearly-new tractor. Every time the tractor went into the regen cycle, it would die and not restart. The dealer couldn't seem to diagnose or repair the problem and Jeremy had lost faith in it. He asked my advice on what to do. Having been a factory rep and a dealer, I know how painful these situations are and I've been at the receiving end of rants from angry customers when their equipment didn't live up to expectations. It may make you feel better to yell at the folks at the dealership, but in the end, that's not helping resolve the situation. Best course of action is to be patient and work through the channels to get the problem resolved. I advised Jeremy to insist that the dealer get the company's Regional Service Manager involved. In some instances, a dealer may be reluctant to do that, it implies that their service department can't fix the brand of equipment they represent. But when it's a failure that is defying all logic, it's time to call the RSM and let them know of the unique and chronic problem. They'll confer with engineering and technical people in the company, and try to recommend a fix that possibly the dealer hasn't tried yet. If all the recommended fixes don't work, it's time for them to discuss replacing the tractor with a new one, to take care of the customer and give time to further study the failure and try different resolutions. If that doesn't happen, I recommend a face-to-face meeting with the Regional Service Manager. You want to be calm, but firm, and don't start yelling or threatening to trash the company or dealer's reputation on social media, or to bring litigation. Those are last ditch efforts. If the RSM doesn't deal with the issue, it's time to call the home office. Don't do that until all efforts at resolving the problem through normal channels are exhausted. But, if the RSM isn't addressing the issue, a call to the company's home office can bring results and rain fire down to fix the issue. I would recommend telling my dealer before doing this action to make sure they're on board. In the end, Jeremy was taken care of. He had to pay for the hours he put on the old tractor, which is a common practice. His dealer ate a bunch of the hours trying to get the issue fixed, but the company presented him a brand new tractor that he's happy with. In the end, because he worked with his dealer, they became his advocate with the company and put pressure on them to take care of him. That's exactly the dealership relationship you want. I hope you never have a major failure on a new tractor like this, but if you do, work through the chain of command like Jeremy did and you'll get a better resolution and continue a good relationship with your local dealer. If you express a lot of anger and throw out threats, the dealer will decide quickly that he doesn't want your business anymore and be glad when you trade the tractor for a different brand. It's cheaper and less stress to work with the parties involved than it is to fight them. LINKS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT... The Tractor Fun Store: https://asktractormike.com/products-for-sale/ Support the Tractor Mike Channel: https://www.patreon.com/TractorMike Visit the Tractor Mike website: http://asktractormike.com/ Visit Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Ask-Tractor-Mike-312112962245304/ Copyright 2021 Tractor Mike LLC