Service Honda - Why the love?

[SS109]

OK, I have heard time and time again where members here, and elsewhere, have recommended buying from Service Honda. Why?

[rant] :pissed:

The reason I ask is that I recently placed an order (my first) consisting of some small parts (seal, side panel grommets, etc.) for my son's TTR125. The order totalled a little over $45. I went with them over another highly recommended online shop because they were $5 cheaper overall. Unfortunately, the $5 saving was bull.

My total, with shipping, ended up being just under $65. However, it wasn't shipping that bumped it up so much (even though $13 for shipping is way high IMO), it was price increases on the parts!

Now, Jen pointed me to the standard disclaimer "prices subject to change without notice" on their site and that basically I'm SOL. Well, unless I want to return it all and incur the 25% restocking fee, ofcourse. :|

In all my years of ordering online, with many different companies, have I ever had a company change prices on multiple items then charge me without talking to me first by email or phone. Yes, all those other companies had/have that same little disclaimer but did they charge me the higher price without my knowledge and then basically say I got to take it or take the 25% restocking fee? Hell NO they didn't!

On a further gripe, their shipping policy is BS as well. You have no way of knowing how much your shipping is going to be for any purchase you make other than their...

Charges: Shipping and handling charges are based on the size, weight and number of packages in your order. The minimum shipping cost ranges between $9.00 - $15.00 depending on where you are located in the Continential U.S., Oversized or heavy items may have an additional shipping cost. This charge may not be calculated until the order is being prepared.

$9 to $15 minumum. What if they said $30 and I was unhappy with that? Too bad, you take it up the rear on the shipping or on the restocking fee.

So, screw Service Honda. I don't deal with companies like this and I will never do business with them again.

:yell: [/rant]

 

[BSWIFT]

No clue to the price of fuel where you are and labor isn't free. Sorry you have had what you feel is a bad experience. The folks I know at Service Honda are top notch. Fuel and labor are the biggest things in shipping expenses and they change rapidly. Items stocked to change based on availability and demand.

 

[IndyMX]

I've bought all of my OEM parts from Service for a few years now. I've only had one issue with them that was resolved with out issue as soon as it was brought to their attention.

 

[Patman]

In all MY years of bikes & parts buying I have never had ANY company serve me better than Service Honda and MX South. Both have proven to be top notch. I have honestly spent multiple thousands of dollars with Service Honda and they have always gone above & beyond in providing me excellent service, great prices and fast & fair shipping. I have bought everything from O rings & fasteners to plastic kits, tires & even a complete bike from them.

Did you call your order in or place it on line? Did you call SH about the issues you say you had? A lot of what I see in your post is person opinion which you are entitled to but seems a bit weak. Complaining about shipping based on what you think it should be is BS. Did you get a solid price from the other supplier? Did you agree with their shipping charges? If you want to feel better about the whole deal go to your local dealership and order your stuff. :laugh:

 

[SS109]

All my communication was via email.

Their current shipping policy is BS, not the actual cost, because there is no way to know exactly what it is going to cost you until you have actually bought from them online. They really need to update their online store to be more accurate in all phases.

My main gripe was with the price increases on the parts. Like I said, I have never had ANY online retailer jack up the agreed upon price at the time an order was placed. If you guys think that it is cool to do that to your customers then more power to you. However, IMO, it is pure bad business and I won't deal with them again.

 

[Patman]

See I call when placing an order. That way I get current, accurate and correct real time info on my order. I've had plenty of instances when I placed an order on the phone that additional information provided to me made me change my mind all together or modify the order on the spot.

Let me guess, you never called SH to discuss your concerns. Somethings are best handled on the phone. Would you purchase a new bike via email? If so I know some guys in Russia that would like your email addy.

 

[_JOE_]

All my communication was via email.

Their current shipping policy is BS, not the actual cost, because there is no way to know exactly what it is going to cost you until you have actually bought from them online. They really need to update their online store to be more accurate in all phases.

My main gripe was with the price increases on the parts. Like I said, I have never had ANY online retailer jack up the agreed upon price at the time an order was placed. If you guys think that it is cool to do that to your customers then more power to you. However, IMO, it is pure bad business and I won't deal with them again.

While I agree that it's BS you got charged more because of a "price increase" and I've never had that happen and have ordered lots of things from lots of places online. I would've called them on the phone when I found out. Whatever price is listed at the time of purchase should be what you get charged, period. That would be like walking into the showroom and picking out a 199 dollar helmet and then they tell you it's 250 when you go to ring out. :think:

 

[Patman]

Depending on local taxes that might actually be pretty close Joe. ;)

I'll also guess that if a person were to actually CALL a SH rep that the price issue would have been worked out to their satisfaction.

 

[denbsteph]

I buy pretty much all my parts for my Street and Dirt bike's from Bike Bandit. I talk to A REAL PERSON every time. No issues, no hassle's.

 

[VintageDirt]

I used to buy online because the local dealers never have anyting in stock and thought I was getting discount prices. But then just for grins I called the local dealership and ordered parts, it only took a week which was less than the usual wait, and after you factored in the shipping, IT WASN'T MORE EXPENSIVE. Plus you get to talk to some awesome people when you pick up the parts. But that's just me. And I'm only talking about Bobby J's Yamaha and Sandia BMW because for all that vintage crap your stuck with online ordering. Except for your weed whackers, chain saws and lawn mowers then go to Aragon's Lawn and Wood Center. I'm just sayin

 

[SS109]

See I call when placing an order. That way I get current, accurate and correct real time info on my order. I've had plenty of instances when I placed an order on the phone that additional information provided to me made me change my mind all together or modify the order on the spot.

Let me guess, you never called SH to discuss your concerns. Somethings are best handled on the phone. Would you purchase a new bike via email? If so I know some guys in Russia that would like your email addy.

I agree, talking to a live human when placing my order would have taken care of the problem. However, why have an online store then? I bet they are good people. However, you only get once to make a first impression and, for this customer, their's was not good.

As for the "buying a bike via email" question, ofcourse not. Then again, this isn't a bike. It is was just parts.

Eh, I had my rant and I feel better just getting it off my chest. Thanks for letting me vent.

 

[OldMaiconut]

Buying on the internet is evil. Support your local shops..there are good ones out there.

 

[_JOE_]

Buying on the internet is evil. Support your local shops..there are good ones out there.

This is fantastic advice! These are usually the guys working to better the sport in your local area. You might pay a bit more for things at first but if you can meet some of the guys there you may end up with some life long riding buddies.....and who knows maybe a nice discount on your stuff. :nod:

 

[Patman]

My local red/blue/yellow/green dealership is the one that drove me to sticking with SH. They prefer to cater to street & watercraft because of the larger margins. Parts? Why should they stock oil filters for dirt bikes? Glad to order it for you though. :laugh: The only local shop I deal with is the KTM shop, great folks but not well stocked on OEM Honda parts :)

 

[2strokerfun]

I've only got vintage bikes, so I order a lot online but am still able to get a whole lot more stuff through local dealer than most would guess. Never had a really bad experience. A few times I've made online order and don't get everything because out of stock, but price was reduced accordingly. Local honda dealer normally comes close to matching any online price I can find. Even my evil e--bay purchases have been good, although I've seen plent of things listed as New Old Stock, that obviously are used parts when you look closely at the pictures of the merchandise. The biggest gripe I ever had was when I bought a used wheel assembly on the 'bay as a backup for cannibal parts. Paid $25 shipping and then noticed the seller was only 45 miles away. Well, he put the wheel in a box and just dropped it off at my front door. Probably cost him $10 in gas. But, the truth is, I don't blame him. I probably would have done the same thing!
The one thing I have learned over the past seven years, though, is to make up my order, with parts #s and everything and then call to place the order if at all possible. It is usually faster, more accurate and you avoid the "out of stock" or "price increase" problems sometimes experienced. Plus the people at the vintage shops are usually top notch to talk to as a bonus!!

 

[whenfoxforks-ruled]

Ordering non-current bike parts over the internet is iffy with any company, unless they specialize in it. Still saying Service is the best thing since remote control. Vintage Bob

 

[oldguy]

I made a couple purchases from service over the years and was always satisfied until last summer. my kid blew up his 250F with 4 hours on it. When I went to Eric Gorr's shop he gave me a parts list and since we were getting a hefty discount from a somewaht local Yamaha shop figured I could get them cheaper than he could. I looked up the entire parts list on Services site with prices and then called the local guy. Went about ordering and at the end asked for the price $2100. I knew from services prices that was high and asked if he had applied my discount when he told me their discount program was no longer available. I told him not to bother orderring anything and immediatly called service and ordered the parts (web site prices totalled $1600) at the end I asked if they could discount anymore since it was a wallet buster for me. The guy came back and dropped another $470 and shipped free (plus I saved sales tax). The box of parts minus a couple backordered (came 3 days later) was here in 2 days.
Service got my business that day now I go to the local guy when I need something small to get the bike out that day (and it seems he rarely has it in stock). Service gets the big orders

 

[nikki]

We've purchased bikes, quads, motors, and a boat load of parts from Service Honda over the past 10 years, and had them wrench on some of our stuff too. But we also live 25-30 minutes from the shop, so we phone in or stop by to do business with them, and have always picked up our parts. Never ordered anything online or done the shipping thing with them, so I don't have any experience with that. But we have been very happy customers with all of our purchases, no complaints at all. We will continue to support Service Honda for the years to come!

 

[Senior KX Rider]

The guys at SH are 1st rate


N O PROBLEMS WITH ANYTHING

 

[RM_guy]

You guys are lucky. I usually end up talking to real dead humans. It sucks because no one else sees them.

 

[AJ Waggoner]

SS109-

I understand how you feel, and I want to assure you this isn't a normal scenario ,
it seems how/when you ordered was during a restructure of the website and its database. I appreciate your input and it will help us to continually improve or customer service.
In looking into this , it would be a big help to me if i could get your name and invoice number as well as the method you used when ordering thru the website
(there are three ways to order)
I would really appreciate ,if you would contact me at:
ajwaggoner@servicehonda.com

Thank you.

Sincerely,
AJ Waggoner
Operations Manager
Service Powersports

 

[whenfoxforks-ruled]

Oh yes, SS109, because they live up to their name! Thank You Service Honda, and ESPECIALLY AJ! He is the man. Vintage Bob

 

[SS109]

SS109-

I understand how you feel, and I want to assure you this isn't a normal scenario ,
it seems how/when you ordered was during a restructure of the website and its database. I appreciate your input and it will help us to continually improve or customer service.
In looking into this , it would be a big help to me if i could get your name and invoice number as well as the method you used when ordering thru the website
(there are three ways to order)
I would really appreciate ,if you would contact me at:
ajwaggoner@servicehonda.com

Thank you.

Sincerely,
AJ Waggoner
Operations Manager
Service Powersports

Well, I will definately give you credit for directly responding to me here in an open and public forum. That shows some class IMO and I will send the info you requested.

 

[SS109]

OK, my order finally arrived. Guess what? They "cancelled" one of my items (I ordered two and they sent one, cancelled the other) yet I still show that I was charged for it.

Oh yeah, it says...

Part number XXXXX-XXXX-XX Duplicated needs only Qty 1

WTF? Nice to tell me what I need. Yeah, this keeps getting better. :|

 

[ellandoh]

just wondering, not to be rude but, do you even attempt to straighten these things out before ranting someone on the net?


Mailorder Parts:
1.800.828.5498
Fax 219 931 5557
Parts@servicehonda.com
Pooh@servicehonda.com
Jen@servicehonda.com
Mark@servicehonda.com
Kevin@servicehonda.com