CAT dealer support in Afghanistan 2

[jumaj]

Hi, good people. I work in Afghanistan, operating and maintaining Caterpillar generators at a military site. I have had training and experience on Wartsila engines but not so much on Caterpillar. What can one do to get support from Caterpillar USA bypassing the local dealer who seems, at best, not interested in customer care? The USA office refer me to this dealer, who does not seem to have the expertise to qualify as a dealer. Anybody any ideas?

 

[MikeHalloran]

Your Friendly Local Dealer probably didn't sell those generators. Does he stand to make any money from supporting them? Probably not. So you can understand his disinterest. Not how it's supposed to work, of course.

Try to find out which dealer _did_ sell the generators, and seek support there.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[jumaj]

I have confirmed that this dealer sold the generators. My impression is they are salesmen lacking in technical know-how. They seem to be ready to sell anything even if it is not right for the application. They have spec'd synchronizing panels wrongly on two occassions and want the us to spend more to cover for their errors. My appeals to other CAT dealers met with the same standard response; "Go back to them". Nice.

 

[MikeHalloran]

Salesmen ... sell.
Expecting more of them leads to disappointment.

Do you have any specific technical questions that might be explored here?



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[catserveng]

If the normal channels for getting support aren't working you might have your military contacts get a hold of CAT's Defense and Federal Products group, right now they have a lot of pull and may be able to get some additional resources for you. You can also try getting a hold of someone in Geneva at EAME (CAT for Europe, Africa, Middle East).

After the first Gulf war, there was a feeding frenzy by most of the CAT dealers trying to sell product in the area, and things got pretty ugly. CAT hammered all the dealers down and tried to keep the normal channels working, but as yo can see not always working.

As mentoined above, if you have specific questions maybe someone here can help.

 

[thruthefence]

Doesn't HBR just dynamite unserviceable equipment & provide another new one at 20X list price? One of my Progressive acquaintances assures me that's true.......

 

[rmw]

That's KBR isn't it? Kellog/Brown & Root. Or have they merged with Halliburton now??? (Great Freudian slip).

I'm sure your progressive friend isn't wrong.

rmw

 

[jumaj]

Thanks people. I mean, just normal support one would expect from authorized dealers. For example, CAT has a liquid sampling schedule for oil and coolant. No feed-back on inquiring about the procedures on my part (or on their part for that matter). CAT mentions REMAN parts or rebuilt parts in exchange for used ones at a reduced price but same factory warranty. No deal here. Modifications carried out by the technicians recommended (seconded) by the dealer are ad hoc and clearly un-documentable (as long it runs they say). They don't have any knowledge of what parts go into the machines in place, meaning I cannot order parts without knowing the specific part numbers although they have all machine IDs. What use are they? The military people have bean counters in place running the maintenance section on a rotation of six months. No records or followups available. So, I am left holding the tail-end of a long tale, and hence my frustration. Other CAT dealers claim they cannot infringe on the territory.
Thanks, anyway. I shall try to get to the Swiss people. If I get any other problems I shall definitely ask here.
Thank you.

 

[thruthefence]

RMW, you are correct, KBR is the correct acronym. However, I believe they are in fact owned by Haliburton.

 

[dottaf]

jumaj
please contact me directly in the Cat EAME Headquarters in Geneva (you can find the phone number on the net). We can discuss in details your concerns and address them with the top management at the Local Dealer(with Cat Support).

Fabrizio Dotta
Cat EAME Geneva Switzerland