All set to take delivery of our very first robot, a Trimble S6. Dealer calls and everything is in from the factory and ready for pick up. Send my man into town to pick up. Get a call from my man. The original quote did not include the power pack and chargers. That will be an additional $1600 on top of the $31,550 quoted for the gun. Like going to the car dealer and purchasing a new car and turning the key and ... nothing. 'Oh, you actually want to drive it? You'll have to buy a battery and we're the only ones that make that particular battery and it's going to cost you another $1600 to drive off the lot'. Who does that? Trimble, that's who. Grrrrrr. Willy not happy. Rant: Off.
Willy late for an appointment with a growler of ice cold IPA. Happy Memorial weekend all. Thank you to all the vets out there for your service and sacrifice. Be safe.
Willy out.
They all do it...
If it's not listed on the accepted quote, we are not getting it, even something as basic a a stylus...
The dealer's error (by mistake or on purpose) was to leave out those items on the quote.
Call your dealer. Tell im that due to that stunt, that the whole thing is coming back, and that you will buy through another dealer.
OR he can send the missing parts. For free. AND eat the postage.
N
I got to run one S6 for a time and it struck me that it didn't have a faceplate.
Do these instruments come with a faceplate / is this another extra ?
Had to have been the oddest instrument (minus the Geodimeter 142) that I had ever run.
I think if i ever had that type of money to purchase an instrument, Trimble would be the last place I would show up.
Was that growler going to be filled with the Glacier Bay IPA?:-P
Pablo B-)
> All set to take delivery of our very first robot, a Trimble S6. Dealer calls and everything is in from the factory and ready for pick up. Send my man into town to pick up. Get a call from my man. The original quote did not include the power pack and chargers. That will be an additional $1600 on top of the $31,550 quoted for the gun. Like going to the car dealer and purchasing a new car and turning the key and ... nothing. 'Oh, you actually want to drive it? You'll have to buy a battery and we're the only ones that make that particular battery and it's going to cost you another $1600 to drive off the lot'. Who does that? Trimble, that's who. Grrrrrr. Willy not happy. Rant: Off.
>
> Willy late for an appointment with a growler of ice cold IPA. Happy Memorial weekend all. Thank you to all the vets out there for your service and sacrifice. Be safe.
>
> Willy out.
Sorry to be a bit of a Debbie Downer but...Whether the dealer neglected to put those items on the quote or omitted intentionally for additional charge have the same warning. You will have to be careful on future dealings, purchase or support.
Let's hope the dealer will make things right.
Great instrument - worked with it on past jobs. The model must be getting close to its 10 year anniversary.
Remember Willi, that dealer is basically a franchise. Thus there is always a higher power.
It seems they miss-represented the product. Whether knowingly, intentionally or just haphazard is not important. It happened. They screwed up IMVHO. Who in the world would not expect batteries and chargers to be part of "the deal"?
Take your gun back and demand a full refund. I doubt they'll provide any travel expenses, but your point is well made. Key word - demand. Don't back down.
If they defer and say no way, then go higher up. Find the higher authority with Trimble (they have lots). Perhaps check with your state commerce commission for authenticity of a business. Are they legitimate? Is Trimble being hosed here, or just their customers?
Worst case is you are stuck. Best case is Trimble pulls their dealer status and then they are flapping in the wind. Hopefully, you didn't trade in an old one and you still have the equipment to work.
Good luck.
PS - I'm not real pleased with Trimble either, but it is what I have. Can't wait to sell it all and move to Belize.
Hopefully it can be dealt with at the dealer level. Going to the higher ups, although I do not reject the idea (a colleague did it with success), will have a negative effect for a long time. Dealers do not like to see clients bring matters to manufacturers. In a small place such as Alaska, how suportive will the support be? The customer will be flagged for years, as he went above. If relationship is sour from the get go, that is bad news.
From the consumer point of view, when a man enters into a new phase and purchases new system, the Dealer knows that he needs everything to be able to hit the ground running.
To not cover all bases and run the checklist to what is necessary for that to happen, surely when the client is asking questions, it it absolutely good business to spell out what it will take to set it up, turn it on and use it successfully.
While bargaining over the price, the Dealer should give a quote on "a package" and/or quote it "piece by piece".
An old trick used to be "destination fees".
I'd suggest that the Dealer meet you somewhere in the middle with no shipping expenses.
:-O
Leica is the opposite, they throw in everything except the kitchen sink. It takes two days to weed out all the stuff you don't need, like the left handed frickelfracker. The SECO frickelfracker with Leica written on it costs $2000.
The Trimble controller is the faceplate. The S6 has a little screen on the wrong side. I have a TCU that I can clip on it which is the face plate or I use the TSC2 with no faceplate.
That's just an ominous way to start a new relationship, regardless of what brand the equipment is.
I have a couple of options when I buy new equipment every year. I can buy from the "dealer" or I can buy direct from the manufacturer through my local tech support representative.
Sometimes the dealer can get me a lower price, but if I buy direct from the manufacturer's representative 1) he knows the type of work I do and what I need better than I do and 2) when his cell phone rings for support and it's one of my party chiefs calling from the field, it gets picked up rather than going to voice mail to call back later. Number two is priceless.
The flip side of that is that dealers are people. Some of them take note when you back down and take crap. It's about dealing with people. Stand up when it's right and stand down when you blow it...
Is there an aftermarket doo-hickey that's cheaper?
Maybe there is and the dealer was trying to do you a favor. Not likely, but maybe ...
>frickelfracker
I hadn't heard of that one. Is it more like a doohickey or a thingamabob?
It's the bridge between the doohickey and the thingamabob.
Let's not place the blame completely on the dealer. There's two problems, as a dealer that we come across...
1. The customer wants to nut the dealer. So, the dealer leaves out things that they may or may not need later to keep the price low enough to make the sale.
2. The dealer includes everything including , the kitchen sink and loses the bid,because,it's higher, even though incomparable to a lower priced item.
I guess there is always,the bad dealer thrown,in there as well, normally they don't last very long though. Cant count the times though that I hear surveyors complain about bad dealers but,continue to support them. Absolutely ridicious!
CSDS is a good dealer, they are good about including what we need but they don't go overboard. Also their support team answers the phone and are very helpful.
Trimble is a little odd, the power kit is a separate box. They may think the customer already has one. If we bought a brand new S6 we wouldn't want another power kit.
I disagree. Leica produces quality (and yes pricy) accessories that complement their quality instruments.
If I am going spend $35,000 on two GNSS receivers, I am not going to go cheap on the accessories. SECO makes a lot of great products, and I am a fan. However, I prefer to use genuine parts to run the equipment.
Some people like to jerry-rig, and that's cool. I follow manufacturer's recommendations. Personal choice. So far I can't complain, the equipment has been good to me.
