Somewhere early in the relationship, a manufacturer rep explained your dealer tier. There was a chart. It made sense at the time.
Since then it has been reassessed, probably more than once, against volume or training or both. Nobody called to tell you where you landed.
What the tier is attached to
Tiers usually govern more than pricing. They can carry rebate eligibility, co-op accrual rates, extended warranty terms on registered equipment, lead referral priority, and how quickly a claim gets looked at.
That means a tier change is not one price moving. It is several separate things moving at once, each in a different system, none of which announces itself on an invoice.
Why nobody notices a drop
Because the shop keeps buying the same equipment from the same distributor at prices that still look normal. A few percent on a price you have never had a reason to audit does not look like anything.
The rebate side is worse. A program you no longer qualify for does not send a rejection. It simply stops being a line you were ever going to see.
The training requirement is the one that catches most shops. Tiers often carry a minimum number of certified technicians. Two good techs leave in the same quarter, and the tier goes with them while everyone is busy covering the schedule.
The question worth asking this week
Call your rep and ask three things. What tier are we in today. What were we in twelve months ago. What are the current requirements to move up one.
Most owners who make that call learn something. Some learn they have been buying at the wrong number for a year.