Generac Service

[laketime]

Anyone have experience being an "authorized" service company for Generac?

 

[iMuse97]

I know a guy who is, but he has never done one, b/c he's an HVAC contractor who thought he'd learn another thing. He refers his standby power leads to me.

They put you through a class and you are then "authorized." I don't know if this will give you any leads. Wouldn't think so.

 

[brian john]

The guys I met from one company are decent and are diesel mechanics the other firms are electricians that went through the program and, well questionable at best.

 

[laketime]

I became a "dealer" because I had a customer request that specific brand of generator from me. The service deal is you have to take a class and then buy a $1000 repair start up kit. I got one lead from them this morning but declined because you need to be and authorized service man to work on their units. Seems like it would take a few service calls to reap the investment back. I will talk to Generac directly about numbers and get back to you guys.

 

[electricalperson]

we service generac generators. we are an authorized factory service company or whatever its called. i dont do that work just wire them

 

[laketime]

So did you go through the service training and buy the service repair kit?

 

[Ohmy]

Its a pretty good deal if you want to service generators and there are alot in your area. Your required to keep certain parts on your truck and most of the calls are troubleshooting old units. Its a nice thing to have if you do new installations because it puts you ahead of the other installers.

 

[sparky 134]

I was an authorized dealer for them in the past but cancelled. I was very unhappy with their dealer support.

I ordered a 100amp transfer switch, should have been 200amp. I called them to issue an RGA and was told, "No. It's your fault, not ours. We're not taking it back." I talked to an upper level of management and he had the same position.

Then my sales rep calls telling (not asking) me I should be stocking four units. I asked why and he said so you are prepared for a sale. Sales rep said I didn't have to pay for them upfront but I would have to pay flooring. I counter-offered. I said I would take the four units, charge Generac for the storage and pay for them after I sold them. He declined the offer. The 'kid' just couldn't understand why I didn't want to store four generators at my shop in hopes of a sale.

Then Generac delisted me from their website since I didn't purchase something like 10K in units the previous year. BUT all I had to do to stay listed was, you guessed it, buy four units !!!

Since Generac has such a large marketshare they can afford to treat their dealers as they wish.

I do install them and I get better pricing from Norwood Generators sales via the internet then I did when I was a dealer.

 

[gngren]

Since Generac has such a large marketshare they can afford to treat their dealers as they wish.

I do install them and I get better pricing from Norwood Generators sales via the internet then I did when I was a dealer.

You hit the nail on the head. We declined our service with them recently. They tried to change the rules so to speak. We get better pricing through on of our regular electrical suppliers than we did as a dealer.

 

[brantmacga]

I have a friend who's a dealer/authorized service center and does great with it; but he's not doing any other type of electrical contracting; only generators.

He gets very good prices, and some of the local supply houses actually buy directly from him because the prices are lower.

But keep in mind he's probably purchasing a couple hundred units every year, and his non-residential sales are the majority so we're talking high-dollar generators.

 

[active1]

Unless your in high volume gen sales and service it's not worth it. Home Depot sells for about the same as low leval dealer pricing. And Home Depot does not charge shipping. Dealers are expected to warrenty repair any unit, not just the ones you sold.

Their dealer tec support is poor. For end users they just get the dealers number for tec support. So I would get phone calls with people asking how to connect their generator.

For parts it can be very difficult to get thru to someone. Even the smallest order has to be faxed in on their form.

When I was a dealer they kept changing the rules. At one time I could go to their factory to pick up units, avoiding shipping charges. That stopped without notice. They started requiring higher minimum sales per year. Something around 10K. When I started I had to buy about $200 in spare parts. Now I believe it's much more. I believe many of the parts were for older models and never used.

 

[goldstar]

I was recently contacted by Generac and asked to become a dealer. This is the cover page for the info they sent me :

Thank you for your interest in our dealership program! Becoming an Authorized Generac Dealer is a great way to expand your business, not only bringing in new customers, but giving you a reason to reconnect with your old clients. Our dealership program is very flexible. You can offer your customers the sale and installation of a generator, the service and warranty work on an already installed generator, or you can give them the entire package.

If you are mostly interested in doing the sales and installations of our generators, you will start out at our direct level. You will have access to purchase both portable and standby generators, all the way up to 150kw. . Our air-cooled residential line (8kw ? 20kw) has the option of coming pre-packaged with a corresponding automatic transfer switch, or you can choose from our many switch options, depending on your application. Our commercial liquid cooled series has the option of single or three phase, natural gas or liquid propane vapor, and in many cases, a steel or aluminum enclosure. While we only require that you purchase one unit per year from us, we?ve found that many dealers become very successful with a little effort. A little bit of advertising can go a long way. Perhaps you install a 20kw whole house generator in a home, leave some brochures with the neighbors, and all of a sudden you?re estimating a bunch of different houses. We do ask that you purchase one unit from us when you would like to activate your sales dealership. Most people will wait until they have their first committed sale, and use that as their first purchase. This way, you?re not coming up with money out of your pocket to partner with us. We don?t require that you stock any generators, so just buy them as you need them! There are five documents that I need you to fill out in order to set up your sales account:

Non-Exclusive Buy/Sell Agreement
New Account Information Sheet
Dealer Access Login Request
Dealer Order Form
Credit Card Information Sheet

When completed, these documents can be faxed to 262-472-6484. We ask that you put an original copy of the Buy/Sell Agreement in the mail for us. It only takes a couple days to get you a dealer number, and your initial order will be entered right away. Please ask me about the lead times before you place your order, so I can give you an accurate estimate of when your generator will arrive. If you are interested in financing, we have a couple of third party financing options. We?ve partnered with BillMeLaterBusiness.com to offer you pseudo net 30 terms, and also GE Floorplanning to give you a 180 day pay as sold option. These programs are available to you after you?ve become a dealer and completed your first purchase.

Perhaps you don?t want to do the sales or installations of the generators, but would like to do the service and warranty work. Or, you?re already doing sales/installations, but would like to offer your customer the whole package and need to open your service account. Your first step is to sign up for one of our training classes. Please visit www.generac.com. Click on service and support. You?ll see two options. Our factory training is held at our training facility in Eagle, WI. Our field training is the traveling class. You?ll need to take the air-cooled class first, which will allow you to work on the air-cooled products when you complete your dealership requirements. If you would like to move up from there, you can take the commercial class. After completing your air-cooled class, you?ll be issued a tech ID number and you?ll be asked to fill out a service evaluation. Upon approval of the evaluation, you?ll need to purchase a parts kit and sign a service agreement. At that time, you?ll be issued a dealer number and be added to our dealer locator online. You can check out our dealer locator at www.generac.com . There are four documents that I need to set up your service account:

Service Dealer Application
Non-Exclusive Service Agreement
Dealer Access Login Request
Parts Kit Order form

When completed, these documents can be faxed to 262-472-6484. Please make sure you have a valid tech id number before sending in the paperwork. After successfully completing the air-cooled class, you will be mailed your tech id number. It can take up to 4 weeks to process your service paperwork, so please plan accordingly. Your parts kit will be shipped out shortly after approval.

I?d love to discuss the details of this dealership opportunity with you. Together we can come up with a plan to ensure your success! I?m here to answer questions Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM central time. Please ask me about our freight policy, lead times, dealer locator, lead generation system and how you can receive our confidential dealer price list.

BTW, the level 1 parts kit is now $1125.00

 

[goldstar]

BTW, if you're buying Generac generators from sources "on line" and experience a problem, you will not get any tech support from Generac unless you have a "tech ID #". I had a problem recently where a piston blew through the side of a generator. I had to contact an authorized dealer to come out a repair the unit. It took about 45 days to complete.