A few will remember this ad slogan of the 1980's: “Today we ask is it real or is it AI?” Well, seldom does a day pass in our shop when an older tech doesn't loudly exclaim about the engineering of a product that makes it difficult to repair or service. I also have observed that a couple of much younger techs were not quite so vocal, but rather simply went around the less than friendly design and accomplished the repair. I really didn't think much about this until a recent video appeared about our society and education system “dumbing down” generation after generation to accept what is written and to not “think outside the box.”
I remember listening to Norm Swinford, Walt Buescher, Kevin Bien, and others talk about late night sessions of bouncing ideas off each other before the days of the internet. They came up with ways to sell more farm equipment by promoting the company and the product's features that met the need of the customer. Also, a lot of research went into exactly what those needs were. This took a lot of time, meetings, phone calls and then discernment of all the information. Today one can ask AI and within a few minutes an answer will pop up. The problem is the answer may be wrong! AI sweeps all known statements and assembles an answer. The fact that some of the inputs were false is sometimes undeterminable by AI's objective research.
My friend, John Rosendahl (the only service person I know of who got a thunderous 5-minute standing ovation at his retirement by dealers) was a “think outside the box” guy. When the new generation of tractors were in the engineering stage, he would take a valve, think what would happen if it stuck, stick it, see what the results were, and then write his service manual around this info. This was real intelligence--old style.
I asked my 16-year-old grandson to change the oil in my pickup. He didn't gripe about the umpteen trips under the truck on a creeper to remove the panel to access the components. When the job was done, he told me he had reset the oil life setting (I still have not figured out how to do this). I thought this proved my point about “dumbing down” and accepting whatever is put before them and only using computers. Then, however, he proceeded to tell me how he “popped in a few bucks last night” by changing the wheel studs in his neighbor's side by side.
"Yup Pap, their shop wanted 250 bucks and told him they had to have a special tool." He stated he looked at the retaining nuts, made a trip to Harbor Freight for a couple of cheap deep well 12 mm sockets, put them on his electric impact, and stuck them on a bench grinder to make a thin wall stud retainer removal tool. "Did the job and put a couple of 10's in my pocketbook, Pap," he smiled as he slapped his wallet. Hmmm…OK, maybe I am wrong; there is hope?
'Til next time, wishing you miles of smiles and real, not artificial, profits.
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Told from the perspective of an in-the-trenches owner/operator — Tim Brannon of B&G Equipment, Paris, Tenn. — Equipment Dealer Tips, Tales & Takeaways shares knowledge, experiences and tips/lessons with fellow rural equipment dealerships throughout North America. Covering all aspects required of an equipment dealership general manager, Brannon will inform, entertain and provide a teachable moment for current — and future — leaders within equipment dealerships. |
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