Turnpike Acres Stove Shop - Ludlow MA

I am not sure just where to post this but here goes.
Does anyone know what is up with them?
I know they rarely answer their business phone and your lucky if they return your calls but lately the son who has done annual stove cleanings for me since 2008 isn't returning calls either.
Does anyone know if they have gone out of business ?

 

Not according to their website.

 

Hello

It is very hard for shops with alot of overhead to make ends meet these days! The rent and overhead is a real killer! Can anyone comment on this?

 

I have a lot to comment on here, but I won't! If you can't afford your business. ..don't sell me a stove.

 

well said! Although, I reserve the right of choice NOT to sell a stove to someone as well. Isn't capitalism grand?!

 

They are still in business. As for pellet sales, been quite brisk, and likely will continue to be so till, what, the end of March? As for service, I cant comment, but I drove by there on the turnpike on Tuesday and they LOOKED open.

 

The stores that do well sell alot more than stoves, right LW?
Also owning the Real Estate can be more beneficial in the long hall but that costs money!

Dodge Grain in Salem NH lost their stove expert so they just stopped selling stoves. They still sell alot of Wood Pellets and bedding.
When they did sell stoves, they would drag them out to a display in the fall and then start selling off their display units at a cheaper price in February and then store what was left until the next season.
Originally they sold Hudson River stoves, then Breckwells, then Napoleons, and the Last ones were Lennox Whitfields then they just gave up! Not an easy business? Right?

 

absolutely, Don, everyone's cost situation varies.....prevailing wages, storage, taxes, etc. Its a good idea to have a handle on your costs so you can figure out how much you need to make to keep the lights on and the doors open.....which is why you cant allow the customer to dictate costs. My price isn't good enough, that's fine, there's always my competition!

 

Don't always jump on the cheapest price IMO... Service after the sale is crucial to me.

 

Preaching to the choir, eaton, but its pretty tough when every dealer sez they "offer exceptional service"...........

 

Thanks Lousyweather I have bought my pellets from you since 2008. In retrospect I wished I had bought my stove there also. Funds were short at that time and I did the best I could.

 

yea, because value is so subjective.......some folks value service, some don't.....for some folks, the price is the number one qualifier, for others its service, etc. Hey, to each his/her own, we buy from whomever based on our needs, experiences, and prejudices...

 

Some disgruntled locals call my dealer Earth Sense Energy Systems the "pellet Nazis" since they give their customers priority when pellets are in short supply. A guy I know almost blew a gasket when they wouldn't sell him pellets a few years ago but I was able to buy what I needed. I bought my used St Croix there… he bought his stove from a dealer who couldn't get any pellets.

 

Im not sure how I feel about this, TBH. On the one hand, I understand taking care of your own customers, but on the other, seems shortsighted to throttle pellet sales by limiting to only your own stove customers....seems like it would spread ill will

 

I agree you usually get what you pay for. But life has a way of messing with your choices and at that time it was that pellet stove or no stove. The money was just not there for a trip to Squiers. ( I knew the product was better, unfamiliar with their service at that time).If you remember in 2008 you had to look far and wide for stoves or pellets. This Lennox Winslow PS40 stove has been ok but the service has sucked since day one, if it wasn't for the sons he'd have no business. Like I said I have it regularly cleaned by them every year since 2008. I think it has something to do with the convection blower. Guess I'll have to take ride over there today...shouldn't have to do that .....Madder than a wet hen!!

 

okay female pellet pig hear (could make it worse but won't tug on the heart strings) ....so be kind... Posting for info ....but just might make you chuckle too!
If you have to use a long backscratcher to knudge your convection blower to pony up.... Is that a good indication that the blower is failing or could that be a switch problem? Can't ask the flippin shop that sold me the stove because they are conveniently unavailable. I have a adjective for that shop but being a lady I will not say it just sweetly hum it under my breath!!

 

I use that same adjective /adverb/pronoun all the time