Bad Dealership

[creggur]

Let me preface this little story with a confession: I'm the service manager at a pretty high-volume import car dealership - so I tend to give dealerships of any stripe the benefit of the doubt and hate being 'That Customer' because I know what these guys deal with on a day-to-day basis. Having said that:

I killed my rear tire a couple of weeks ago with a three inch lag bolt, with only five thousand miles on them I was a bit bummed, but stuff happens, soooo. I research tires and settle on Conti Trail Attacks for the kind of riding I do. I called my local dealer to get a price and it's some astronomical quote and they will have to order them - no problem - how much do you guys charge to mount and balance carry-in tires? $50.00 off-the-bike I'm told. Fine...

Order the tires from Jake Wilson and following Twisties' wheel removal thread, pulled them and headed out. I stopped by the dealership where I was greeted by Dave the service manager. I explain I need two tires mounted and balanced and asked if he had time to do them today. "No Problem", he says and starts to pull me up in the system. He searches my name, and asks if I've ever had the bike here before..."I bought it here and brought it in for its first service"...more searching and finally he finds me.
"What kind of bike is it?"
"Super Tenere"
*funny look from Dave*
"Do you have tubes?"
"No, the tires are tubeless"
*Funny look from me*
"Oh, okay, it will be $100.00"
*Another funny look from me, but I work 65-70 hours a week, want my bike back on the road and don't have time to run around looking for a place to mount the tires*
"Fine", I say, "How long do you need?"
"Couple of hours."
"I've got some errands so that's fine"

*Fast-forward two hours*

I walk in the service department and Dave is sitting behind the counter.
"Hi, Dave"
*Funny look from Dave*
"Can I help you?"
*Funny look from me*
"Umm, yeah, I dropped my tires off a couple hours ago to be mounted."
"Oh, yeah, hang on a sec" - walks into the shop and I hear a muffled, short conversation - Dave comes back out.
"Uh, we haven't gotten to them yet, we got busy up front and they haven't gotten the tubes back to us."
*Frustrated look from me*
"Why are you waiting on tubes"
"The only way I'm mounting them is with new tubes."
"Why would you be waiting on tubes for tubeless tires?"
"Ohhh, that's right these ARE tubeless."
*Another frustrated look from me*
"He's getting on them right now, it'll be about 15 minutes."
"Fine."

I wander up front and look at the new bikes, talk to the salesperson and general manager that I dealt with when I bought the Tenere and killed some time. After about twenty minutes I go back to the service area and see my wheels and new tires sitting there. I take a quick peak to ensure they were mounted in the proper direction, and Dave hands me an invoice and tells me to go to the parts area to cash out.

While I'm standing at the parts counter waiting for my credit card to process, talking to my sales guy again who was hanging out there, Dave comes scooting up behind the parts guy and mumbles something. The parts guy then says - "Oh, it's going to be $2.00 more for the tire disposal fee, or would you like to take your old tires?"

That was the breaking point:
I said, "Yep, I want you to put that two dollars on the bill, because it will be the last two dollars I ever spend in this place!"
My sales guy gets a funny look and the general manager walks up about the time I'm launching into the reason for my frustration - to include how on my first service I asked Dave specifically to not put too much oil in the bike, and they did anyway - my experience that morning, and how I hate acting like this because of my job, but I was completely done.
I wasn't yelling or making a scene, just recounting how I had little confidence in the service department after two poor experiences. The parts guy refused to put the two dollars on the bill so I threw two singles on the counter as I walked away - forever. ::010::
Can't imagine why motorcycle dealerships are dropping like flies...

 

[markjenn]

Yep, bad experience. Sorry for your troubles. Sounds like they need to get a new guy writing service orders.

It is amusing that the $2 tire disposal fee (which is legit) was the straw that broke the camel's back. This is about the only part of the whole deal they handled correctly.

- Mark

 

[jajpko]

How was your experience when you purchased the bike? Were you treated well and did the salesman know what he was doing?

I am in no way making lite of what happened to you,, but it sounds like you just got a really bad service manager who may or may not?? have been on dope.
Sometimes it only takes one person to screw up a shop. Just saying...

 

[Yamaguy55]

I've felt your pain, believe me. I'm kinda-sorta in the customer service business, and would be appalled if one of my group treated a customer like that. People in my field have been sacked for that stuff.
I use a dealer that is about 90 miles away, and there are two local, and several more between that dealer and my home. They do exactly what I ask, and if it costs more, I don't care, because I know it is done right. I'm very particular about things, and am willing to pay for it, but the royal run-around and half-a**ed work isn't tolerated.

I'd go back after a cool off and speak directly to the manager/owner and make it real plain why not only will you not be returning, but why you'll be very unlikely to recommend them to anyone. Good work should earn something, and bad work should have rewards as well.

 

[creggur]

How was your experience when you purchased the bike? Were you treated well and did the salesman know what he was doing?

I am in no way making lite of what happened to you,, but it sounds like you just got a really bad service manager who may or may not?? have been on dope.
Sometimes it only takes one person to screw up a shop. Just saying...

Sales experience was great. They are a small dealer and didn't know much about the Tenere, which I could forgive because it's not a high-volume bike, but as far as the sales part of it goes they were great. Nice folks and very fair to deal with.

Both of my experiences in the service department have been less-than-stellar. Again, I'm probably the least critical person you'll deal with because I understand what goes on in a service department, but come on - you're going to screw up the whole 'tube' thing twice, and then come in at the last minute with a $2.00 charge? I don't know if I can let that go...

I may call the general manager next week and fill him in on what went on - seems like he wants to run a good operation - and may not be aware of what's going on in his service department...

 

[nondairycreamer]

I once worked in a large metric shop as a service writer. The service manager was the most inept clown in the building but could bullshit the general manager. One evening the service manager's brother in law stops by and tells us his cocaine story for the day and then goes looking for the general manager. Another plus for the service manager. I got to witness some really bad customer relations, like the time someone was on the phone with him and he just hung up the phone. A few minutes later the guy came through the door screaming and I was expecting serious blows to follow. A similar situation when the service manager for a multi-store truck company when his bike was still not finished after two weeks, I had got the some repair out in 24 hours on another bike, and this guy was nose to nose screaming at the service manager. The general manager shows up and gets the bullshit treatment out of ear range down the hall I finally learned the general manager would blame screw ups on me. The service manager told him I had a bad memory and would forget to do things but he was know for smoking pot every day on the back lot. And he had requested that any bikes he checked in, he should see through and the same for me. I determined later this was to enable him to erase repair orders when he sold service for cash to the boys from the 'hood. Everyone wondered how he built a $250,000 house in the 2001 recession and bought two scooters for himself and his wife and took a trip to Disney. All in the same year. And his wife was a clerk at a nursing home so no big winners except by stealing. When I advised one of the owners that I could not prove anything but the computers needed to be changed to prevent repair order erasing, there followed a long string of repair orders that were empty but still in the system. Someone remarked on this and he said the customers were balking at the cost and taking their bikes out so he just left them empty. He still recorded the tech's flat rate numbers so they got paid. And the management never reconciled receipts, cash and checks with sales recorded. It was like watching the Three Stooges on a grand scale. Eventually he was caught when the guy that replaced me refused to cover his tracks for him and the idiot was fired. Had the balls to come back the next day asking for his job. And again two weeks later with the "I've been to church, been saved" bullshit. By then the owners were talking embezzling charges because they could put him away longer. They had by then found at least $50,000 in lost income from service. They quit talking about it after that and I never checked back with friends to find the outcome. I found it sad that of the three stores they owned, ours was the largest and had the largest service department but the smallest store with only one tech was doing 5 to 10 thousand dollars a month more business. And they never had a clue. But they had once told a tech the only reason they kept a service department was to satisfy contract agreements with the factories. Their sales were good which was all they really watched.

I heard later that the owners put cameras everywhere to watch the employees. So when someone with lack of talent has a title or is more trusted by owners or management, I'm reminded of the adage: scum rises to the top.

 

[oregon-rider]

My son works in a dealership out here in remote Oregon and they have helped more stranded people from all over no matter what brand they ride . They sell Yamaha and Honda and I have saw many Harley riders broke down here and they even help them also.The bottom line is they have picked so much new business by giving great service to everyone ! Some people just don't get it. Sorry for your bad experience and that dealers loss. ::021::

 

[EricV]

Creggur - I think you did the right thing. $50/tire for a 10 minute job is outrageous. My local Yamaha dealer, (where I bought the bike), charges $25/tire+ $2 tire disposal fees and $3 shop fee. Right across the street at the Victory/Polaris dealer, where the best tech in town works, they charge me $9/tire+2 tire disposal fee. This is all for walk in tires, and they usually have them back the same day or next day, depending on when I bring them in. The Yamaha dealer is slower, most often the next day, but sometimes the same day in winter or 3 days in peak season.

Don't limit yourself to Yamaha or even Japanese dealers. The techs move around. The Victory shop has a tech that is 5 star Yamaha rated and trained and keeps up on his training for all brands. I went in to get a valve check and they told me he was gone for training to the end of the month and I was happy to wait until he came back. Cost was only a little cheaper than the Yamaha dealer, but they had zero problems getting any Yamaha parts I needed or doing work on a non-Victory bike. I also sent some peeps there that were broken down on the road and they stayed open late to get them in and fix their bike so they could keep traveling. That's a huge plus for me.

Just saying, if there is another dealer local to you, swing on by and talk to the service dept. Ask if they have a tech that can work on Yamahas, or at least if they will do tires for you and what their walk in prices are. If you hunt around a little, you'll find a dealership that's hungry and willing to work for the money and do right by the customers. When you do, treat them right too and refer your riding friends there, making sure they tell them you sent them. You probably won't get a discount, but you will get even more respect for showing them you value their work and service.

 

[Maxified]

creggur - sorry for your lousy experience. If you are in the Tampa area, I have a local dealer in Holiday (R&B Cycles) who charges $20 to mount/balance if you bring in your own skins and $15 if you buy from him. Oh yeah, he absorbs the tire disposal fee...

 

[JHKolb]

It is interesting that the cost doubled after they asked for what bike. Why would that have made a difference if you had brought just the wheels in, not like they had to remove them as well as fit the new tires.

There often seems to be a big disconnect between Sales Departments and Parts/Service Departments, even at Car dealerships. You would think they would all be under the same roof, under the same guidelines but they appear to be run as completely separate businesses.

 

[Karson]

Something is definitely ass-backwards with how their service department is run...you're only doing yourself a favor in coming to the conclusion that your business can be had elsewhere.

if i have a good experience or bad with a particular business, i take the time to write a review under their google result. google is pretty much ubiquitous nowadays, and chiming in with this experience might give them a wake-up call or warn someone looking for maintenance just like you