| Author | Message | ||
     Wsplrll |
I had to vent since I had a frustrating experience today. Picked up a nail in my rear tire. Called the dealer and they quoted me 155.00 for a Pirelli rear for my City X. I could have gotten it for 125.00 online or 135.00 down the road and had a buddy help me remove the wheel. but no - get it done and be done since this dealer is close and conveniant. I go to get the bike today. Tire was 175! WTF - "Well that is what the computer price is" I don't feel like fighting that battle I tell them I am not happy. But at least I got it done in a day. I go out to look the bike over to make sure my sliders are back on etc.....my rims are all scuffed and scraped. I mean gouges. There is one rough patch like 10 inches long! Yeah they tried to paint the black powder coat with brush. So good try. I go back in and bring the guy out and show him. I said dude....my rim is all f'ed up! I could have had the gas station on my block do that and charge me 150 less ! ( total charge was 255.00 plus tax. So tomorrow the service manager is supposed to call me ( I give him one hour before I call ) So I am giving them a chance before I start naming names. Does anybody give a s$#@ anymore about the kind of work they do ???? How about accountability? Makes you sick. | ||
| Brad_buell |
That's Totally Unacceptable.....!!!!!!  I would have lost it right there. I Really hope that that make it right for you. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Dealer gouged up my wheels changing my tires too. One of the reasons I don't go to them any more for anything.  | ||
| Loki |
I actually had a shop tell me they would not be held responsible, if they gouged the powder coat on my wheels. Just to make matters worse, they did. | ||
| Statik |
I sure hope you did not pay. I would have taken my bike and only paid for the tire. ($135) | ||
| Thansesxb9rs |
If you paid with a credit card, contest the charge and have it reduced. If this is at all possible. I would think you could do this since they damaged your bike. | ||
| Ctyxrnr |
i would accept nothing less than a NEW wheel. also print out a page off of the internet that advertises the low price for the tire. they SHould come close to matching their competition. screw what the computer price is. all the prices are overinflated anyways. gotta hate that Matrix pricing. | ||
| Hammeroid |
Doesn't the warranty cover wheels and tires??? | ||
| Mrvvrroomm |
Just remember: No one cares more about YOUR bike than YOU do. | ||
| Brineusaf |
You have to get the special wheel and tire warranty, it is an add-on option I think. | ||
| Firebolteric_ma |
LET SOMEONE ELSE WORK ON YOUR BIKE AND EXPECT SOMEONE ELSE TO SCREW IT UP! EXPLAIN TO ME... WHY IS COMMON SENSE SO UNCOMMON? | ||
| Ctyxrnr |
warranty won't cover someones screw up for damaging the wheel. the dealer is responsible. | ||
| 12r |
Big up for Chapel-Ash here in England. Wheels and tyres are treated with care, expertly balanced and cleaned. Expensive but worth it. | ||
| Aldaytona |
Warranty = manufacturer defects. What anyone else does is customer pay. | ||
| Wsplrll |
So - Service Manager called. He told me that they would replace the wheel no problem. I said - well just FYI - I don't appreciate them trying to cover a mistake - badly at that. Talked to the GM and told him this was my experiance - take it for what it is worth. I am accepting that you are resolving it for me without being asked and that is fine. But my experience was not good. Do I trust that they will do good work if they try to cover their asses? Especially with a bike you know? He apologized and thanked me for telling him. He gave me a gift certificate. The apology took awhile but it made a difference. It is called SERVICE. | ||
| Ghalsey |
Glad it worked out for ya. In the end anyway. | ||
| Wsplrll |
"Big up for Chapel-Ash here in England. Wheels and tyres are treated with care, expertly balanced and cleaned. Expensive but worth it." How much did they charge out of curiosity? | ||
| Pwnzor |
"Big up for Chapel-Ash here in England. Wheels and tyres are treated with care, expertly balanced and cleaned. Expensive but worth it." That reminds me, when did it become acceptable to return a polished wheel with greasy hand prints all over it???? | ||
| Djkaplan |
I was quoted $285 to change a rear tire from my local HD dealer 4 years ago. I laughed in the service managers face because I really thought he was joking. That was no joke. | ||
| Debueller |
I understand that $200 plus is common for a new tire with installation at a H-D gift shop.  Thank goodness I don't go that route. My Uly has used 9 new tires in the last 10 months. That would be at least $2000 to keep my bike in tires. Unacceptable. | ||
| Pammy |
Let me tell you a story from the OTHER side of the fence... A customer brings in a wheel to have the tire replaced. He also brings in the tire...We look the rim over as a matter of policy. There are marks on the inner (painted) part of the rim. The marks kind of look like a dotted line. I assume the guy(who removed his own wheel) had dropped the chain while removing said wheel(I have done it myself). I have seen it a million times. So I didn't call him. We do the work, he picks up the wheel/tire and goes home. A couple of hours later he is back demanding a new wheel. He shows me the marks and I tell him that I have already seen them. He claims that they weren't there before we changed the tire. I say they were. I show him my tire machine which is not capable of touching the rim in the area of the marks.He threatens to sue me(his wife is a lawyer). Only because he was a friend of a really good customer did I buy him a brand new wheel. I sold the old wheel to another customer and guess what...the wheel wasn't straight. Yep. I was used and abused by this joker...Won't happen again. Expensive lesson learned. If I had it to do over again, it wouldn't have happened then. Still gripes my hiney to this very day...can you tell?  This post was certainly not written to diminish anyones experience with troubling mechanics. (Message edited by pammy on August 11, 2006) | ||
| Pwnzor |
Pammy, when you notice damage on something a customer drops off, it is YOUR JOB to note it and make sure the customer knows about it BEFORE YOU PROCEED. In fact, that inspection should be done with the customer present, no other way. Simple. It is this basic failure to meet my most rudimentary standards of quality, when $85.00 per hour and premium rates for parts are at stake, that has driven me out of the dealerships for good. (Message edited by pwnzor on August 11, 2006) | ||
| Fullpower |
sorry you got burned pammy. customers like that...... well they make their own bed. | ||
| Skyguy |
The only time my bike went to a dealership and was left there I made a big deal about taking many pictures with my camera. It made them unhappy but I told them it was for their protection. After all they would not want to me to notice something for the first time when I picked it up! | ||
| Pammy |
"Pammy, when you notice damage on something a customer drops off, it is YOUR JOB to note it and make sure the customer knows about it BEFORE YOU PROCEED." We do, as a rule, as I stated in the post above. It was my call to call this customer(or not) on the marks that I noted on his wheel. I chose not to (errantly) based on the assumption that he evidently knew what he had done. (after all we didn't take the wheel off and have never used chain in our tire changing process)I could certainly tell what had happened. I surely could not tell that his wheel was tweaked (on inspection). Point is that I caused no harm to the man's wheel and yet I was persecuted for the incident. A case of me being to trusting. Was I stupid? You betcha...Will it ever happen again? Not likely. I was just pointing out that there are seedy characters that VISIT shops as well as work at them. Nothing more. Another example: A customer drives up into my parking lot. He wants a Dyno-Tune. I walk out into the lot to check over his bike. I also check his rear tire(as always) before the tune. He has a throttle stop adjuster sticking outta his brand spanky new, 300 series tire. I mean right in the meat of the tire. O-U-C-H. I point this out to the guy and he immediately says "that must have happened in your parking lot!" Keep in mind that no one here had even set eyes on this ride before his arrival 5 minutes prior. I tell him that it is a throttle stop adjuster and it must be from his own bike. He refuses to believe my scenerio and I show him, on his own bike, the little threaded hole that once held the offending part. I then left him alone to his own thoughts for awhile. He followed me in awhile later and proclaimed that he was going to sue the bike mfg for allowing the adjuster to fall out so easily. Now as per your proposal. Had I not seen that adjuster sticking out of his tire (if it was on the inside rotation) and rolled it around to the dyno. I would be liable for the expensive tire and coinsiding labor. I think not. I am not chastizing anyone nor am I excusing poor customer service. I am just relating similar stories from the "other side of the counter". Believe me, I can see things from where you are. I just want you to have a preview from our side. | ||
| Pwnzor |
I understand that a lot of customers are act like tools. But that's life, people act that way. Thing is, in retail you are automatically in the position of a big target. I definitely understand there are two sides to every viewpoint. I've been blamed and paid for damage I didn't cause, it's part of operational costs, which I built into my business long ago. Someone will always say you scratched it when you didn't. Thing is, without fail, EVERY time I have taken my bike to the dealer for ANYTHING, there has ALWAYS been an issue. One time it was my wheel getting gouged up. Another time they didn't change my oil but they charged me for it. Another time they cut my speedo sensor wires. Every time when I got my bike back it was filthy. And they always reset my trip meters and turn off my high beams. WHen a mechanic gets in my car and changes the radio station I have a fit. Same thing at the HD dealer, I always had to make a stink for anyone to acknowledge that they screwed up. I don't have any of these problems any more. I get my tires at Wheel Works in Stanton and I get all my mechanical service right here on Ayamonte Street in Mission Viejo. Friendly mechanic and great prices! Didn't mean to bust your chops there Pammy, sorry if I came off a bit rough. I don't think all dealers are bad, just the ones I know for sure here in So Cal. I also take the testimony of BadWebbers at full face value in this regard. They have a lot more credibility with me when it comes right down to it. | ||
| Debueller |
With dishonest customers (Pammy's situation) and incompentent help (Wsplrll's situation)), it's no wonder it costs so damn much for a simple tire change. | ||
| Djkaplan |
"Thing is, without fail, EVERY time I have taken my bike to the dealer for ANYTHING, there has ALWAYS been an issue." Only one time did I ever get what I thought was top quality work with no BS at a HD dealership. It was warranty work that Earl Smalls in Marietta, Georgia did. That was a long time ago, but I'm still greatful to them for helping me out when I really needed it. Their work was phenomenal (at the time - I have no idea now). No one but me touches my bike now that I don't have to worry about voiding my warranty. | ||
| Pammy |
Not critisizing you AT ALL, here. Hell, I pitch a fit when someone puts the toilet paper on backwards. "WHen a mechanic gets in my car and changes the radio station I have a fit." But my mentor once told me, "if that's all you have to bitch about, you're pickin' in high cotton." We always have to turn the gas off on carbed bikes and that pisses people off. I have no choice. I have to do it and I (almost)always tell them that we have done it. But it still causes some consternation when they forget to turn it back on. Oh, my chops are in perfect working order. No cause for worry there. Again, just a view from "the other" side. We have to 'mop up' after some other shops(not just dealers). So your point is definitely not moot with me. There are a lot of great dealers and indies out there but you are liable to find a surly individual in any one of them. Doesn't mean you need to discount the whole establishment. Civility goes a long way.(Even when you are the victim) I have learned that in my many years on this earth. Sometimes in a harsh way.  | ||
| Pwnzor |
But my mentor once told me, "if that's all you have to bitch about, you're pickin' in high cotton." $85.00 per hour is some pretty high cotton to me. |
