Gainsville Powersports in Gainsville, TX
- Thread starter jeffd
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #27
Well, I vented here 1st.
We should let these guys know how we feel in either case....
If a dealership sucks, write a letter and let them know that you will no longer require their services and that you will be taking your business elsewhere (and that you will be glad to share your experiences with all your riding buddies and with folks in any organizations that you may belong to).
If a dealership is good and they get the big picture, write them a letter telling them how much you appreciate their customer service and good attitide - and support them by bringing them your business.
-=jeffd
We should let these guys know how we feel in either case....
If a dealership sucks, write a letter and let them know that you will no longer require their services and that you will be taking your business elsewhere (and that you will be glad to share your experiences with all your riding buddies and with folks in any organizations that you may belong to).
If a dealership is good and they get the big picture, write them a letter telling them how much you appreciate their customer service and good attitide - and support them by bringing them your business.
-=jeffd
truespode
Moderator / Wheelie King
- Jun 30, 1999
- 7,980
- 249
jeffd said:
I agree with that 100%. No matter what my opinion is of your encounter if you feel you were mis-treated you must let them know.
I don't necessarily disagree with Jeff being upset. I just do not expect a dealer to give a part off a bike on the floor.
I would ask a service or parts person before ever asking a sales person.
Having said that I only use shops that go above and beyond. I drive over 35 miles to Upstate Cycle b/c they go out of their way for their customers. I used to work 5 miles from them and they treated me like Gold. As a result now that I don't work so close I still go to them as much as possible.
They would give me a part off a bike on the floor if necessary... but I do not expect that kind of treatment.
I also have stopped using other closer dealers b/c they only did the minimum. I told them about it too. I never said they were bad at business... I simply explained to them how they only do what is required and do not go above and beyond. That is not enough to keep me as a customer.
That doesn't mean I bad mouth them though. When a dealer only does the required I still recommend them based on the positive I have seen and qualify it with my opinion that they do not go above and beyond like Upstate Cycle or Neeley's will do.
Ivan
- Oct 20, 2000
- 2,969
- 2
I wouldn't blame the guy for not pulling the part but would have been grateful if he would have. He probably was not in a position to make the call and if it was a bike on consignment and the owner happened to come down and see parts off of it, no matter how good the excuse, I bet there would have been hell to pay.
Regardless of the reason, attitude speaks loudly
Regardless of the reason, attitude speaks loudly
- Thread starter
- #30
Again, yes it would have been great if he actually did pull the part of one of the USED bikes.
The part that made me mad was his smug attitude and the fact that his only answer was "I CAN'T".
No effort was made in any way, shape, or form to help remedy the problem. He was more concerned with his pipe dream of selling the used bikes. I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut that both of them are still there today....
No effort and a smug attitude makes for bad business IMO.
The part that made me mad was his smug attitude and the fact that his only answer was "I CAN'T".
No effort was made in any way, shape, or form to help remedy the problem. He was more concerned with his pipe dream of selling the used bikes. I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut that both of them are still there today....
No effort and a smug attitude makes for bad business IMO.
You know, that guy should have been embarrassed about not having such a common and often needed part, enough that he would have tried to make amends somehow. In fact, by not being red faced, he made himself seem smug and arrogant, and there is nothing more infuriating than an arrogant vendor of any sort! It's like, "Oh well, we don't carry spark plugs. Have a nice day".
oldguy
Always Broken
- Dec 26, 1999
- 9,419
- 0
As an aside to the topic I have to say I am really spoiled by our local dealers. Thru the years they have always been there when Spider crashed and broke something (including himself) sometimes even before I got there.
This weekend our dealer (Rock River Powersports) came to the rescue. Spiders 250F was backfiring real bad as he went to staging for his first moto. In staging I thought I'd just richen the fuel screw a bit but discovered it was missing. I made a mad rush to our trailer got the stock screw but could not locate a screwdriver to install it with. Nobody had a screwdriver that would fit so he missed the gate drop. Now having 2 motos before his next class I went to both vendor trailers and neither had the ZIP TYE screw or a screwdriver. As a last resort I walked up to where the dealer was displaying bikes for sale and asked if he had one. Without hesitation he said no but then looked at each bike for sale where he found a Ziptye screw and immediately pulled it off. He just said bring it back at the end of the day. After Spiders moto I ran into him again and he said just keep it he would replace it when he got back to the shop and charged me $10. Granted I have bought our last 3 bikes from him and he knows Spiders racing quite well but there was no hesitation to get us running and I really believe he would do it for anyone just to keep them on the track.
Later in his last moto of the day Spider had a bad get off on the backside of the track and by the time I got to him Mike was there and helping him push the bike back to the pits and he was truly concerned about Spiders condition. The guy exudes the true spirit of the MX community.
This weekend our dealer (Rock River Powersports) came to the rescue. Spiders 250F was backfiring real bad as he went to staging for his first moto. In staging I thought I'd just richen the fuel screw a bit but discovered it was missing. I made a mad rush to our trailer got the stock screw but could not locate a screwdriver to install it with. Nobody had a screwdriver that would fit so he missed the gate drop. Now having 2 motos before his next class I went to both vendor trailers and neither had the ZIP TYE screw or a screwdriver. As a last resort I walked up to where the dealer was displaying bikes for sale and asked if he had one. Without hesitation he said no but then looked at each bike for sale where he found a Ziptye screw and immediately pulled it off. He just said bring it back at the end of the day. After Spiders moto I ran into him again and he said just keep it he would replace it when he got back to the shop and charged me $10. Granted I have bought our last 3 bikes from him and he knows Spiders racing quite well but there was no hesitation to get us running and I really believe he would do it for anyone just to keep them on the track.
Later in his last moto of the day Spider had a bad get off on the backside of the track and by the time I got to him Mike was there and helping him push the bike back to the pits and he was truly concerned about Spiders condition. The guy exudes the true spirit of the MX community.
- Thread starter
- #35
Okiewan said:
Karma is a boomerang - I'm just sending back what I got from that place :fft:
Don't worry. You won't see me on the 10 o'clock news being taken away in cuffs with an inferno raging in the background.
I might be bitter, but I ain't psycho. :)
RYDMOTO
~SPONSOR~
- Feb 16, 2001
- 612
- 0
My opinion? he was under no obligation to take a part off a bike for you.Its his shop and he can run it any way he chooses.I may have asked to see the owner to confirm the shop policy.I would have left disappionted for sure and in the back of my mind I would not encourage buisness dealings with that shop with anybody.My thought is if he can't help out with the small stuff......in other words they would have lost my trust. It would be like knocking on somebodies door and asking for a drink of water.I would hope in their humanity they would step up and give me a drink.But they have every right to say no,and I have no right to be angry about it.Simply go to the next door.Would I have a right to complain to my friends as if I had a right to that drink of water? no way.May I evpress my disappointment in the lack of compassion? in every way yes.
While I would be disappointed that the dealer didn't help me, comparing your situation to oldguys is apples and oranges. Oldguy was dealing with a dealer who he has bought his last 3 bikes from and had a personal relationship with, also the dealer obviously supports racing and racers if he was at the track so he knows no one wants to lose motos and points for a simple breakdown. You walked in off the street unkown to the dealer (or so it seems from your first post) and asked him to cannibalize a product he had for sale on the floor. My guess is if this was a dealer you had bought your last 3 bikes from you likely would have left that day with a shift lever.
I was in there about a year ago checking out some 04 models with a friend. He was checking out a 04 YZF450. We were checking it out and noticed that there was oily handprints on the flywheel side and there were some parts zip tied to the footpeg. The cover was loose on the flywheel side. This was a brand new bike. We asked the sales guy about the bike and about what we found, he told us that a customer wanted the lighter flywheel for his WR450. They couldn't get one fast enough, so they sold on off the YZF and then put it back on the floor.
This thread has lasted four months. That is interesting. There have been replies from all sides of the question. I think it shows something that I see more and more in our society. It is the attitude that you are a special case. I think it is pretty arrogant and conceded of you to think that the dealer should be flamed for not going out of his way to help a guy who pulls in off the road and they will never see again. You didn't break your lever there in the garage Friday night. Don't you bear some responsibility for inspecting your ride before you load up? Who do you think you are?
Wayne
Wayne
Bottom line:
You got pissed when the dealer refused to cannibalize a $6000 bike to give you a $20 part.
What if someone walked in the door after you and wanted to buy said $6000 bike?
Why would the dealer risk a $6000 sale to sell you a $20 part? He'd have to be a complete fool to do that.
The Sales Manager was 100% right. Only a complete idiot would take a $6000 machine off the market to make a $20 sale, particularly to some guy they'll never see again.
Frankly, I think you've got big cajones for even asking them to do it.
You got pissed when the dealer refused to cannibalize a $6000 bike to give you a $20 part.
What if someone walked in the door after you and wanted to buy said $6000 bike?
Why would the dealer risk a $6000 sale to sell you a $20 part? He'd have to be a complete fool to do that.
The Sales Manager was 100% right. Only a complete idiot would take a $6000 machine off the market to make a $20 sale, particularly to some guy they'll never see again.
Frankly, I think you've got big cajones for even asking them to do it.
- Thread starter
- #42
Phht. It was a used bike and I was offering a new price for the very well worn part... The bike on the floor was pretty thrashed. There was another one right next to it (also used) that was much cleaner. No way was that bike a $6k bike. lol.
There were several other customers there that watched the whole thing unfold and everyone of them was just as shocked as I was that the dealer didn't offer any assistance at all in the matter.
I just think that too many times these dealers are too worried about the dollar signs in their eyes and thus they are short sighted when it comes to customer service. Customer service is a lost art these days.
There were several other customers there that watched the whole thing unfold and everyone of them was just as shocked as I was that the dealer didn't offer any assistance at all in the matter.
I just think that too many times these dealers are too worried about the dollar signs in their eyes and thus they are short sighted when it comes to customer service. Customer service is a lost art these days.
CR Swade
~SPONSOR~
- Jan 18, 2001
- 1,764
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jeffd said:
As is customer decency...trust me I see it everyday and all you can do is go off of gut, intuition and hope you don't get burned at the end of the day. I don't nescessarily agree w/ how this was handled, but I do know as a business owner it is hard to not count every single potential penny lost...especially when fuel is over $2.50/gallon and deadbeat A/R is at an all-time high.
