Grass-Hungry Workhorses
After 20 years in the business and at the top of their game, Diamond Mowers knows a thing or two about customer satisfaction.
"The hallmark of our company when it was founded was immediate, speed-driven customer service," says Steve Schwartz, vice president of sales and marketing at Diamond Mowers. "In my position, I'm able to talk to our customers all the time, and that's what I hear. The level of customer engagement both during and after the sale is a true differentiator."
Of course, every company sets out to put its best foot forward for its customers. So how does Diamond Mowers make its high standard a reality?
"We have a team of folks in the building that respond to warranty and service calls on the spot — very rapidly — and our time to resolution is expected to be 24 hours," says Schwartz. "And I'm not talking about just responding to the call. I'm talking about the resolution."
Diamond Mowers manufactures a variety of durable, dependable boom mowers, rotary mowers, flail mowers, and forestry mulchers for municipalities, contractors, and landowners.
"With our mowing applications, it may seem generic, but there are a number of application concerns based on height, the type of vegetation you're cutting, the topography of where you're cutting, and more, so application-driven solutions are really important to customer delight," says Schwartz. "It's not a one-size-fits-all industry."
Diamond-level dealer support
When Diamond Mowers transitioned its wheel loader boom mower to a Final Tier 4 engine, the team evaluated numerous engine manufacturers to find the best fit. While they chose John Deere for a variety of reasons — including a solution that doesn't require the use of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) — the deciding factor came down to the two things they're most known for: service and support.
"The vast majority of our business is through a dealer network. So, whether it's tractor mounted or wheel-loader mounted, we're still utilizing our dealer network to be closer to the customer and be the servicing arm for the life of the products," says Schwartz. "It's critical that the products we bring to our dealers are within their wheelhouse, and 75% of our dealer network are John Deere Ag dealers to begin with."
"Overall support from John Deere is critical," says Matt Nelson, product manager at Diamond Mowers. "Problems can stem from either the tractor or the boom, and having someone there to keep our customers running is a big deal. That support network was the final differentiator for John Deere."
When figuring out the smoothest transition to Final Tier 4, Diamond Mowers laid out its functional requirements, including how much power and torque was needed as well as the footprint that was available, and passed them along to its engine distributor, Northstar Power.
"Northstar actually helped us choose the engine that best fit our application," says Nelson. "They were right there with us — all through design and validation." Northstar was able to assist Diamond Mowers in engineering a solution that met Final Tier 4 emissions standards and improved the product overall. "They helped us with everything," Nelson says.
Diamond Mowers places great pride in the service it can provide its customers, so it only makes sense that they'd work with manufacturers that can do the same.
“The support network was the final differentiator for John Deere.”
