NO LONGER ALOWED TO SELL TRAVIS PARTS ONLINE

[hearthtools]

As of 10/28/08 Travis Ind. policy is we can no longer sell parts ONLINE
to customers out of our service are.
Hearthtools.com Avalon / Lopi parts page is
NOW CLOSED.

Rod P
Climate Control Systems.

 

[rap69ri]

As of 10/28/08 Travis Ind. policy is we can no longer sell parts ONLINE
to customers out of our service are.
Hearthtools.com Avalon / Lopi parts page is
NOW CLOSED.

Rod P
Climate Control Systems.

That really sucks...I was looking at another Avalon stove to buy and fix up. This puts a crimp in that plan. Why the hell would they do that to you?

 

[hearthtools]

They are trying to protect their dealers
But they dont understad that 95% of THEIR dealers DO NOT stock parts or know the difference of a Combustion blower and a Convection blower

 

[Lulac]

Hello, I currently have an order in for a control board. Can you still fill the order?
Thanks,
Bob

 

[rap69ri]

They are trying to protect their dealers
But they dont understad that 95% of THEIR dealers DO NOT stock parts or know the difference of a Combustion blower and a Convection blower

And this is why we would rather buy from you. Most of the dealers I've dealt with don't seem to grasp the term service, or customer satisfaction.

Is there anything we could do?

 

[imacman]

Boy, this really stinks

Rod, I sent you a PM.

 

[hearthtools]

Hello, I currently have an order in for a control board. Can you still fill the order?
Thanks,
Bob

If we have it in stock
We are about 4 days behind on all orders from last week
because we ran out of parts
we just received a large order and this is when the rep called me to STOP selling on line.

 

[rap69ri]

I just fired off an email to Travis, because it's the least I could do. Maybe if enough of us get together and bombard Travis they'll have a change of heart.

Rod, I sent it to you as well at your parts address in case you were interested in reading it.

 

[tinkabranc]

Wonder if they will restrict selling stoves online too now

 

[hearthtools]

They are trying to protect their dealers
But they dont understad that 95% of THEIR dealers DO NOT stock parts or know the difference of a Combustion blower and a Convection blower

And this is why we would rather buy from you. Most of the dealers I've dealt with don't seem to grasp the term service, or customer satisfaction.

Is there anything we could do?

you could always send an email to them
or PM the Travis person that learks here. his User name is gawebster

He is in charge of Markiting Materials but he can pass the word.

 

[hearthtools]

Wonder if they will restrict selling stoves online too now

TRAVIS has NEVER ALLOWED stoves to be sold out of your dealers service area
Or your dealer will be dropped from dealer ship.

 

[rap69ri]

The email I used to contact Travis is: [email protected]

 

[webbie]

silly, IMHO.

As a dealer, I would have loved for my customers to be able to buy parts from a guy like Hearthtools....it would help me greatly!

You know what happens in these cases....ONE dealer starts yelling and screaming and the policy changes.

 

[imacman]

The email I used to contact Travis is: [email protected]

Thanks Rap

 

[rap69ri]

silly, IMHO.

As a dealer, I would have loved for my customers to be able to buy parts from a guy like Hearthtools....it would help me greatly!

You know what happens in these cases....ONE dealer starts yelling and screaming and the policy changes.

If a dealer were to offer quality service, and have parts in a timely manner they would have nothing to worry about. It's the dealers that act like they're doing you a favor that will lose out to Rod and others like him. They are actually doing us a favor by answering questions and selling us parts for our stoves even though we didn't buy our stoves from them.

And I agree, this is silly IMHO as well.

 

[Steveo]

I think they should do what other manufacturers are doing. Instead of not allowing online sales, they should make it so that online dealers can only advertise at list prices. That way the value of their product will not go down.

 

[imacman]

I just sent Travis an email about this, and trust me, I didn't pull any punches.

I basically told them what a mistake they made, and cited the 3 dealers (not by name) in my area that have not bothered to respond to my calls or emails asking about getting replacement parts for my Astoria.....for 2 1/2 months

That is the reason I bought from Rod and Hearthtools....at least someone answered the phone and sent emails!

I hope that everybody on this forum that owns a Travis Ind. stove sees this thread, and sends them a stern message.

[email protected]

And boy, am I ever glad that I got my order in to HearthTools when I did.....phew

 

[derrickp]

This is insane I have to drive 60 miles to reach a dealer that carries my parts and then get sub par service or the blank look when I ask for a specific part. When I can order online and get the right part the first time shipped right to my door.

Derrick

 

[rap69ri]

Just sent a PM to Travis rep:

gawebster,

I want to thank Travis for making life difficult for myself, my friends and family members that have your stoves, by taking away the only reputable and responsive dealer we had to call upon for assistance with problems and parts. I fell like Travis' decision was made on a whim, and does not take into consideration the many people that have no choice but to purchase their parts online.

Travis is doing themselves and their loyal customers a disservice by not allowing Climate Control Systems to sell parts to us when our local dealers, you say are the most professional and dedicated, won't give us the time of day after they make the stove sale. When my local dealer(s) would not pick up the phone to call me back, or order parts for a stove that was nonfunctional in under a month, it was Climate Control Systems that was there to help out.

Thanks again,

Rick in Rhode Island

 

[imacman]

This is insane I have to drive 60 miles to reach a dealer that carries my parts and then get sub par service or the blank look when I ask for a specific part. When I can order online and get the right part the first time shipped right to my door.

Derrick

derrick...send them an email and voice your displeasure at your current situation!! if enough people do that, something might change. As my father always said, "the squeaky hinge gets the oil, the quiet one doesn't).

 

[webbie]

Hah, guys....

The squeaky DEALER get's the grease.......

But this is a pretty simple win-win situation. Most dealers would approve. But business is not a democracy. Dealers have been know to issue threats and ultimatums to manufacturers - and manufacturers often take them too seriously. Yes, you have to consider what dealers say and want - but at the same time if the customer is not happy, both the dealers and the maker will suffer.

 

[minnow]

So what would prevent someone from placing an order for parts over the phone ??

 

[webbie]

So what would prevent someone from placing an order for parts over the phone ??

Probably nothing - but you can't sell them online - or advertise them online...is my guess. A fine line, for sure......

As I said, many manufacturers welcomed this... Jotul, in fact, transferred many older parts to Woodmans Associates and sent customers there.

Of course, every manufacturer is entitled to their own business decisions....as we have heard, Harman parts and service are almost impossible to get except from the same dealer you bought your stove from. Some forum members have run into problems with this when a dealer closes up shop or treats them wrong.

 

[rap69ri]

So what would prevent someone from placing an order for parts over the phone ??

I though of that as well, and I guess that would be something Rod could do to get around the issue. He just needs to keep the pics on the site so we know what to ask for over the phone.

 

[hearthtools]

Thanks for all your support
I have been out of cell range doing service calls.
I got a voice mail from the National sales manager on my cell phone asking me to call him because he has had email messages and stated this site.


there would be no way I could do phone orders for many reasons
One is i dont have the extra staff or the phone lines to take orders it takes a lot of time to do phone orders because we have to put in the info are self and then re enter it into the credit card system. takes a lot extra time to do this.

Two
Travis policy for stove sales is you can not sell stoves out of your service area.
This is to protect the dealer territory I UNDERSTAND THIS 100% and do not sell stoves out of my area
but I have Fresno dealers that are one hour a way selling in my area because people think they can get a better deal in the city. When they are paying more for the stove and gas to get down to look at it. then they are getting a half a$$ install by a sub contractor that knows nothing about the stove.
and dont get the service because they will not come up the hill to check out the stove that is not working because they dont have a service department.


im sure they are making the parts policy just the same as the stove policy
if one dealer bitched about me selling parts they would pull my dealership.

I still value Travis wood and some pellet products even thou my Avalon stove sales are down 75% from two years ago.
I sell very little travis gas and if I do it is only Freestand and now they took the large Salish bay gas stove away and dumped it.
you have to be a Lopi dealer to have a large freestanding gas stove.