My point exactly - you should have bashed him - literally! [:@]

I think you need to re-read wnogood's post.... looks like his dealer has several bad days!

 

My beef is not with the dealer wanting to maximize his profits. But if you're going to sell one the world's most expensive lines of bikes, then charge some of the highest prices for parts, accessories and labor, then you better provide the service to go with it.

My RKC is without a doubt the finest motorcycle I've ever owned, but in my opinion, the quality of the dealer's customer service has not kept up with the quality of the product. I have had salespeople make promises they didn't (or couldn't) keep, parts guys tell me something has been ordered when it really wasn't, and service guys tell me stuff that I found out later was totally wrong.

Is the problem employees that just don't care about delivering superior customer service? Or lazy managers that aren't motivated towards excellence? Or dealers that only care about pushing product over the curb? Or is it the MoCo's lack of communication, training and support of the dealer network and its employees? I'm not sure but I know there is something missing somewhere.

This is American capitalism at work and it's all about making every dollar you can make. But along those same lines, America is all about free speech and if I get crappy service from any business I reserve the right to tell everyone I can about it.

 

I believe that whether you deal with a Harley Davidson Dealer over another is based soley on a matter of your expectation. If someone is shopping soley on price, and they are the cheapest there may be a reason for that. When I first got into this, I had my mind set on a particular set of bars. When I approached the one dealer about having these installed (which were around $350) he actually told me that he has sold those to a couple of customers and they actually ended up taking them off. He wasn't to high on them, and said that I should talk to them and why they didn't like it or try to find a set on a bike and sit on them first. He would order them, but he hated for me to waste the $350 on a set of bars that he knew customers didn't like. So that gave me sometime to do some homework on these and from what I found from others, I decided to look at something else. To me, the dealers help saved me time, money and grief. To me it's more about Value, that price.

Here is the best quote that I can remember to date.

"Price is only relevant, in the absense of value"

 

I got to say this,

1. I am not wealthy
2. I am not stupid
That said, this was my forst HD purchase. It was well researched, shopped and thought out. I decided I wanted to finance, although I did not have to. There are 10 dealers within 100 miles of my house. I decided not to but a new bike for personal reasons. I went to the closest dealer and struck up a conversation with a salesman I had never met on a Saturday. He spoent a lot of time with me knowing I wasn;t buying that day. I went to another dealership and did a credit app. Instant approval, not a good rate. I went back to dealer "A", 4 daughters and my wife in tow. I test rode the Road King Custom I was looking at. Again the salesman spent a lot of time with ALL of us on a Saturday. Didn't buy either. The following week, they got me financed at a rate equal to half of the other dealer's with no money down , if I wanted it. I went back and after some minimal dickering in price, bught the bike. The service manager soent over an hour with me going over the bike and introduced me to a service writer whom I would presumably deal with. I was also intoduced to a parts gyt and a clothing specialist. I bought nothing except the bike that day. I went back the next week and the clothing gal soent 2 hours with me and my wife looking at helmets, leathers (clearance leathers) and other stuff. I bought a jacket and clearance items and some boots. Maybe I am the guy that the Motor Company looks for, maybe not. What I am saying is that I had nothing but a positive experience froim this dealer and ALL of it's staff. The owner greeted me and my family. EVAEY time I walk in the place someone greets me bny name. Sometimes I am only there to ask questions, other times to buy parts. EACH time I am treated with respect and like I am the only one in the place. There are over 500 people at the monthly HOG chapter meetings every month. I think , although I know they are not perfect, they certainly do a lot right. They are selling new bikes at MSRP and below sometimes. I got , what I consider to abe a good deal on my used bike. If nyone is interested the dealer is Hampton Roads Harley Davidson in Yorktown VA. The sales man is Jason and the parts guy is Bobby. Maybe they spent the time because I am not overly demanding and I was genuinly excited about my buying experience, I don;t know. I do know they have made a loyal customer out of me. I can always ask for a get a discount on parts or go on a Friday night when thery have weekly specials. I too will call a spade a spade, but need to praise when it is warranted.
Nuff Said.
Mike

 

IMO, it is a heck of a lot easier to remember the bad or negitive experiences, and real easy to let them overshadow the positive. human nature I guess, at least for me. also it's pretty easy to jump on the bashing the stealer bandwagon.

but I do gotta say the price for a court of the SYN3 oil always puts me over the top. for my dime it seems they'd do better selling the oil much cheaper, that way I'd be in the store and more likely to purchase that "must have" impluse item. as it is, I do my preferred customer Amsoil purchase via email and the dealer misses the chance for me to be implusive again......

 

Surley every dealer wants all their customers happy rather it be Harley, Ford.......
The flat out truth is good help is hard to find!!
I cant understand how people go to work and could careless about what they do allday!
The onwers of these shops need to pay close attention to their help.
Reguardless of what you do, if everyone it least tried to do their job 100% we all would be a lot better off.
I dont need a fake smile or 20% off,I need 100% effort!
What smokes my *** is yes I'm one of the few who does try to do things 100%, rather it be at home or work.
1/2 the guy's in most of the shops I go in are more harmful than useful.
Sad to say there's very little pride in what a lot of us do now days.
No chit, the last 6 times I had work done something else was wrecked while doing it....WTF?
There's no reason to lie, take a short cut or not care...if so find another job!
No I'm not perfect, but I do sleep fairly well.

 

Bought my first Harley in Nov (RKC), second last week (Nightster), promptly spent $3k on chrome and other accessories forit (not done with the $ chrome/acc yet for the RKC), Nightster will require $1500 in accessories, very happy with my dealer. Been bike owner on and off for 25 years (metric), move around alot with job and Armytours. My experience tells me that the Harley dealersin general are much more knowledgeable about their products than the average metric dealer, seems that they have more mature and longer term employees, which have to be paid better as they get older and more experienced. Give all my business to one dealer for two main reasons, IMO they have the best service department with experienced mechanics (they are all gray haired) that will come out and talk to you andanswer any questions, dumb or not. Second the MSRP prices are right on the bikes, that is your starting point, I dont like BSing with finance and other tricks of the trade to get milked, want bottom line period, if I cantafford it I wait until I can. Wife bugged me for 23 years to get a Harley, finally at a stage in life where I can afford one and all that I want on it,rest of my sons are in spitting distance of 18 and the Army, so I pulled the trigger. She liked it so much she is getting onetoo (good wife). Shopped a5dealers here in So Fla, onlyfelt comfortable at Petersons North store in Miami, a smallish store that has competent staff IMO,often see the ownerthere on the floor or in the service dept, he is 70 ish and still walks the floor and is available. I know you can get cheaper parts andaccessories online but I like to see the stuff I am buying before I get it and only want HD stuff on the bike.For all the bashers, try going toa few metric dealers for a day and talk to the staff, very hard to find the depth of commitment and knowledge there that you do at ananerage Harley dealer.

Disclaimer, I dont work for Harley or any other related industry, just like their products.

 

I ordered my bike thru AAFES/ENCS while I was in Iraq so the dealer did not make much except a small fee. I was worried about customer service and being treated bad but was completely wrong. I picked my bike up 3 or 4 days after getting back and was treated great. My wife had called ahead to make sure the bike was ready and when we got there it was not. Well the service manager cracked the whip and got it ready for me ASAP. I have been back once for warrentee with part in hand. The counter guy said I would have to bring the bike in go get in fixed. I talked to the service manager and told him my bike was 60 miles away and was only a 15 minute job to fix. He used common sense and got me the part. I have not had any shop work done at my dealer but am satisified with them so far.

 

Good perspective from a fellow "burgher." I'm out here in Plum. I'll buy you an "Ahrrn City" if we ever meet up. <G>
Larry

[IMG]local://upfiles/14102/ED7BB6B54D834E5A90FBD84117BC10BB.jpg[/IMG]

 

Well I pretty much agree with what you said, but that doesn't mean I have to be happy with the way things are. could I do better? In one very important aspect YES!
Give each and every person that walks in the door the absolute best service I can.
Most people are NOT loyal to any one dealer not because of the prices, although that does play a part. But it is the lack of SERVICE and the feeling thatI getfrom when I walk in the door; I don't feel needed and appreciated.
When I walk in the door a of a dealer ship for first time or thousandth time, I expect if someone is available, to meet me, greet me and ask me if they MAY help me with anything.
If I say I'm going to parts, instead of just turning and walking away, offer to escort me there, not just point a finger in that general direction. while we are walking ask me ifI have shopped there before do I know any of the parts people, if I say no, then be sure to introduce me.
This service cost the dealer NOTHING, but he has a lot more to get in return.
And while we're at it, let's get the owners more involved on the floor. I buy a bike from them it sure would be nice if they came out and greeted me, after all I just made them their paycheck!
One thing I do have a gripe about is charging for an estimate and writing things up they haven't even confirmed are needed.
In my case they claim frame is bent at the tour pack extensions. They want two more hours to remove the tour pack and confirm it is or is not bent. why didn't they CONFIRM the bend BEFORE putting it on the estimate.
Why the extra charge? They have to remove the tour pack to replace it anyway, whether the frame is bent or not. And NO, they have no intentions of including the cost of the estimate into the repair cost. Just another way of getting another couple hundred dollars out of you or the insurance company.
Same with the guts and inner fairing. I have a radio on order to be replaced under warranty.
They will have to remove the fairing anyway to do that. But they want another hour and some odd to pull it apart under the estimate to decide if and what needs replaced.
I know it takes one or two men time to do that research. But of all the auto shops out there that do collision repair I personally don't know of any that charge for an estimate write up.
They know a lot of people won't be back to have the repauirs done, but that's just a part of the cost of doing business.