I just ordered an air filter, an oil seal, and an ignition coil. The parts system gets worse every time I call. Press 2 if you know your part #. So I pressed it. Got an order taker who took my order but I had one digit wrong. "Well it's for xxxx can you look it up by application?" "Sorry sir will have to transfer you to research." Never mind, I was able to look it up myself while on the phone. Gave my card # and hung up. Monday morning all 3 showed up in 3 different boxes from 3 different places all next day air. Mind you all were within CA so would have been here next day anyway. I never asked for NDA. When I called that number in the past I got the local parts counter and they knew what they were doing and told me where stuff was stocked. Is there a better way to get parts from Cummins? They seem to have gone full corporate.
Gone are the days when you could ask for the grey-haired guy by name and get a wealth of info and whether they had it right there or not
I'm surprised you got ahold of someone that could speak understandable english.
Cummins Is Going Full Corporate. All Independent shops that had Cummins sign hanging will be gone on short order. Cummins will only be regional by population. Only truck dealers will have Cummins authorized repair and parts and a few industrial.
Why
Ask cummins that.
To own market share. All the major players do this. And the beauty of it all is that they don't have to have the customers intrest in mind. They don't care if their customer service sucks. Where else could you go and who would you complain to? They now own your market and there's not much you can do to them to get their attention.
It was quite some years ago that Cummins corporate took over Cummins West that was owned by some family in the bay area, San Leandro I believe. Quality of parts and service has declined steadily since then. It was not so bad at first but every time I call in, it gets worse. Does anybody know if they have some sort of online parts ordering so I can look and see what is where and choose shipping myself?
Ever sense the takeover started I've dreaded dealing with the truck monkeys or the power guys.
No comment.
It's the same show in many cases dealing with cat and detroit.
Cat here is very good. I call or email one guy, he responds quickly, seems to know what he is doing, they usually have what I need in stock. He seems younger, hopefully he will be there a long time. It has been years since I did anything Detroit but I do deal with their dealership on other makes and models and they seem efficient. But both Cat and Detroit are still franchises owned by somebody.
Gordon owns most of the Freightliner dealerships in the NW, except one near by. Gordon really wants to get their mitts on it. Parts from this dealer tend to always be cheaper than Gordon. Freightliner has worked at lining up regional one dealer only. And Freightliner is Detroit.
For Detroit specific I am talking about Valley Power Systems here. Used to be Stewart/Stevenson but they left the area. I haven't dealt with trucks in many years, and FL even longer.
This is why I like the Cat online parts with sis. I can look up the parts , see where they are and order them without talking to anyone. Much quicker and usually mistake free unless I make the mistake.
Valley Power is subsidiary of Daimler, Daimler Truck owns Detroit.
I was told the Gordon family sold that business and someone else owns and runs the show now. I'll ask around again and see what is up.
Just got a phone call on Gordon's ownership. Larry Gordon kept the dealerships and sold Gordon Trucking. They have apparently been acquiring other dealerships as well. Apparently they now own the Freightliner dealership in Spokane. They got out of the freight business.
Guess this is one more reason I'm glad to have retired going on 7 years. Have to wonder if it is the same in other countries or is it just a USA thing?
Gordon took over the Spokane dealer almost four years ago.---gobble city.
https://www.valleypowersystems.com/about/ They still claim to be family owned.
They are nothing more than a franchise on the industrial side of Daimler Truck. There's one in Boise ID under another name, but they are not authorized in on highway for any late DD series engines.
Most of the time when I need parts from a dealer, I always show up in person and order there, but then I guess the cov crap messed that up for awhile.