'jinasenas you can do a lot better'

Yesterday, I bought a double plough for my 12horse power Jinasena Agrimec tractor. I purchased it in Dambulla as that was the only place that stocked one, ploughs apparently being very rarely sold these days.

The salesman said if I was living in the area he will be able to show me how to fix it, as it is not very easy to do. I was surprised there was no sheet giving instructions, preferably in Sinhala about how to fit it.

The instruction sheet can then give information about the various terrains the plough can be used in and what other specifics are required like the rear wheel and the ploughing wheels if different, but sadly zilch was given.

I got a local boy to help me fix it as I did not know where to start, and he somehow struggled to do it. However we discovered we did not have the needed tools to fit it and also all the required nuts were not there.

My intention was to start ploughing my fields as soon as possible, but due to the lack of good service from the seller of the agricultural equipment, I waste a lot of learning time and also making mistakes. A company that prides itself on making products due to the expertise of the engineers they employ should also cover the end user by sending those very same engineers to the field to see how those machines are used and the problems encountered in the fields with putting it together in real conditions rather than a factory situation.

This is not the first time I have had problems with their service, as I am still awaiting a replacement wheel for the tractor, which was faulty when in was delivered. In addition there is not casing for the removed rotavator, so that the plough can be fixed and I have also had a whole host of other issues that I have not been able to satisfactorily resolve with their service people. They don’t realize that for a farmer service is what sells a product and bad service means that other farmers getting to know this will definitely not buy one of their products as a result.

I have still not got it to work and do a task, which should have only taken a day, and we are struggling to get it to work the way it should. So please speak with your customers and address their concerns by coming to the site, so you can serve us better. The appalling service stands out time and again.