| Author | Message | ||
     Oz666 |
Ok, a guy goes into a motorcycle service department on, let's say Monday and says: "Hi, I really need a favor, can you mount and balance a tire if I bring it in tomorrow? I really need it done because I'm leaving for Iceland Wednesday morning." If you were the service manager, what did this guy ask you to do? Breathless awaiting comment(s)  Oz | ||
| Sshbsn |
Er, bring some ice on wednesday morning? | ||
| Oz666 |
You may replace Iceland with anywhere waaaaay far away from that dealer - Iceland happens to be funnier in my particular case. Oz | ||
| Crusty |
I don't know about that dealership, but if you went into a certain Franchised Harley dealership in the Greater Boston area, they'd make an appointment . Then when you arrive on Wednesday afternoon to pick it up and found it hadn't even been started, the Service Manager would tell you, "Just because you made an appointment, it doesn't mean we're gonna work on your bike." | ||
| Daves |
Well, if you were in Appleton Wisconsin,it would mean that you wanted to have a tire mounted up while you wait on Tuesday. No biggie, bring it on in! Dave daves@h-dappleton.com | ||
| Newfie_buell |
Mail the damm thing here by express post, OR go to Cheapest Tires in Atlantic Canada on your way here. I picked up a complete set of rubber for the S1 for about $200.00 Canadian. | ||
| Ray_maines |
Q: "...what did this guy ask you to do?" A: Get up off of your dead a** and actually provide a customer with service. Totally unacceptable. Simply can't be done. | ||
| Oz666 |
No - it's better - I had gone to American Harley-Davidson/American Thunder Buell on Erie Avenue in Tonawanda, New York on Monday and asked the service manager
He said, "sure, bring it in, we can probably get it done Tuesday, Wednesday morning latest". I said, "fine." When I came in, he looked at the D220 and said, "where did you get this?" I said "at a supplier" (it was none of his business) The manager said, "we can't mount this, you didn't buy it here." Then he said, "who told you to bring it in?" I said, "you did!" He said "no way, I never would have told you that" I had at least 8 or 9 tires mounted at this dealer in the last couple of years. I had talked to this "gentleman" less than 24 hours earlier. I left and called the next closest dealer (~60 mi.), Stan's in Batavia, they said, "no problem, bring it in." As I was leaving American, I told them at the parts counter I would be back in the middle of August and I expected a refund for the rest of my gift card. I also told them they would never see me again. The only response I received was from a mechanic who said, "so what, we have plenty of work." After I told that mechanic that I intended to post this incident on a Buell web site which has over 2,000,000 hits he said, "who cares..." I was stunned and disappointed to learn when I was at Stan's that they were no longer a Buell dealer as of August 1st. Needless to say, I will not be leaving Wednesday afternoon. I am sure that Court will be pleased to know I did not yell. Oz | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
Oz, honestly for tire mounting you should try the import shops, if you are bringing the wheel in off the bike, they shoudln't have any problems at all, plus they tend to cost less then the HD dealers. | ||
| Loki |
I just went through this myself..... stop #1: HD shop, "you didn't buy it here and as a policy we won't mount and balance it either." stop #2: small time shop with no affiliation to any brand, "due to insurance liabilities we will not mount it unless you bought it here. We will balance it for you though." stop #3: even smaller shop non-descript shop, "yes I can and will. Do you want to pick it up this afternoon?" nah, I will stop buy tomorrow morning. "alright see you tomorrow" Thanks! stop back in the a.m. Any problems? "no" What is the tab? "$xx.xx if you take the carcass" consider it gone.... This guy has no problem with a tire being brought in and doing the work. In fact he looks forward to it, easy money that the other shops are turning down. btw: he took his time and checked the balance of the wheel first before mounting the new tire. He got it under a 1/4 oz of lead. | ||
| 2k4xb12 |
Wycked is right -- I get my tires done at the local Suzuki shop. It's a hell of alot closer than the HD shop, and they charge me $28 to do BOTH tires -- as opposed to $70 at the HD stealership. No attitudes toward brand -- in fact when I go by with the bike, I usually draw lots of attention from appreciative dealer staff. Nothing like the "attention" I get at the HD dealer. The Suzi shop I use actually has a tech with Buell experience, so it's a no-brainer... Also, they happen to be a Triumph dealer, so next year, if I happen to buy the Speed Triple I've been eyeing, guess who'll get my business... Steve. Remember -- it's a tire change, not rocket science. Our bikes might be "Different in every sense", but not when it comes to putting rubber on a rim. Steve. | ||
| Court |
Yelling would have accomplished no more I fear. I am sorry to hear about your experience. Were I a dealer my poilicy would be to provide a high level of service to customers based on the premise that, well their money is what turns the wheels of commerce. I'm uncertain what causes the sort of arrogance you describe wherein a dealer decides there are only certain types of work we do under certain conditions at certain times. I'm not certain I am an advocate of the 24/7, but I am an outspoken proponent of exceedingly good customer service. I'd want to be like Topeka Harey-Davidson (which used to have, and may still, one technician dedicated to handling only folks on the road and "ride in" unscheduled work)and create a realtionship where customers looked for reasons to buy bikes from me. I bought 5 motorcycles from them in one year, 3 of which were impulse (FLHTCUI, XCLR and 883 Sportster) purchases. You may want to give this guy a copy of Patricia Seybolds "Customers.Com" or "Delivering Top Notch Customer Service". I have a rather extensive CS library if he needs remedial training.  Court | ||
| R1DynaSquid |
I take my tires into a local indy shop. They dont care where I get the tires from & they will mount & balance them while I wait. | ||
| Darthane |
Who had that Harbor Freight tire changer and how much did it cost again?  | ||
| Bluelightning |
You mean this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=34542 | ||
| Darthane |
That would be the one, and by golly, it's even on sale. I think I'll buy one... ...now, anyone have recommendations for home tire balancers? When I was on the NE tour, I stopped in a guy's house in Rochester, NY to see if a tire swap would fix my head shake problem. He had one there that was pretty nice (almost as nice as the beautiful yellow Duc900M he had...), but I'll be damned if I can remember the brand name of it! | ||
| Buckinfubba |
wow....this happened at an hd dealership....totally shocking. good luck ozz have asafe trip. I could go on a rant but I won't . but none of this is shocking and one day the bad will be filtered out....don't know when but one day. the creme always rises to the top. | ||
| Newfie_buell |
Some people just don't care!!!!! I ordered my tires from the above link, and had them in less than one week. The local Kawasaki shop charged me $20.00 to mount and balance them because I had the wheels off the bike. That was Canadian!!!! | ||
| Oz666 |
I have multiple problems here: I asked the day before if a tire mount and balance could be done (at the service desk). If positions were reversed, I would assume the customer was bringing in the tire. The service manager was NOT the only employee I asked if the shop had time to do a tire change. I have NEVER purchased a tire there, and I don't own a fat-glide-wide-barge-chrome-shelf to bring in for the $100 oil change. (This may be the answer to my problem). If the service manager had informed me of the policy at that time I would have chalked it up to a new level of dealer greed. I.E., "that'll be $25 for the mount and balance and $225 for that racey tire what won't fit no Harley so we gone a have ta spaacial errder it - git, git, git" Then I would have gone to another shop with a tire machine and a spin balancer. This would have been done on Monday! NONE of this would have had as much impact if I had not been scrambling to get the bike repaired and prepped to leave Wednesday afternoon for NF. Because I need the tire changed on Tuesday, I could not drive BACK and work on the saddle bag with the stuff (if I say what's in it the EPA police will kick my door down) that takes 24 hours to cure. That will be about 11:00 PM tonight... So, if the Creek don't rise, tomorrow morning. Thanks to American Harley-Davidson in Tonawanda, New York for being so helpful and understanding. Remember, this website means nothing to you and you have plenty of work. Oz | ||
| Phillyblast |
Oz, Sorry to hear it. I moan about the unnamed local HD shop from time to time, so I should give props to the "longer drive and expensive" shop - Brian's HD/Buell in Langhorne, PA. Called 'em up on a Monday, said I had two brand spankin' new Avons I needed mounted, they said bring it in Wed. AM. Dropped off the tires the night before (can't carry 'em on the S2) and brought the bike in the next AM. They actually asked if I wanted to wait or pick it up later. I had a ride, and had to go to work, so I picked it up that night. When I got the bike back, the tires had been "scrubbed in" and the tech noticed my back brake light wasn't lighting, so they replaced the sensor, and only charged me for the part (like 20 bucks?), not the labor, since they had it apart anyway, and didn't have my work # to ask me about it. So props to Brians HD. Sucks, though. Have a safe trip when you get going. | ||
| Oz666 |
Clarification: American H-D, when they mounted and balanced in the PAST: $25 Stan's H-D, further away, and soon to be a former Buell dealer: <$18 and they know my name. I was trying to save TIME, not money... Oz | ||
| American_hd |
It was brought to our attention that there was an unhappy customer posting on this website. Mounting a tire that was not bought at an authorized dealership can not be done due to liability reasons. This policy has been in effect for the past six months. Many tires that customers bring in from other distributors have a high balance displacement that can cause a high speed wobble and possibly an accident. If this happens, the tire manufacturer as well as the party that mounts the tires will be held liable. Thank you, Jeff | ||
| Mikej |
Apparently they do care, or at least take the time to find out what's being said. Hopefully there is data to back up the high balance point displacement claim if the tires bought elsewhere are the same make and model as the ones the shop sells. Not looking to get into a whizzing contest, just questioning the "liability" claim vs the price differential. I'll let you two fight this one out. | ||
| Josh_ |
My local shops either simply won't do it, or double the mounting price for carry-in tires. I figure either is fair. If I really wanted to save money I'd change 'em myself. | ||
| Bomber |
many businesses have let go of possible revenue streams to avoid what are seen (by their insurance companies, most likely) as higher-than-normal risks -- these tactics do not always make sense to innocent standbys, and are generally poorly explained (it's our policy), but it's a trend most everywhere my guess is that smaller indie shops are not yet affected, as their insurance carriers havn't bothered paying attention to them on the scale of HD shops, which, if nothing else, represent very deep pockets to a potential litigator, I would imagine | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
Jeff, Thank you for coming in and seeing what was being said. If this is policy, is this policy posted where customers can read it? | ||
| Newfie_buell |
Hey Jeff, Take it from a well informed and educated insurance professional!!!! Did you ask your insurer if that kind of activity would be a problem to your General Liability or Standard Garage Policy? After all your in the motorcycle business and changing/mounting tires would fall within the scope of your operations. If the tire is new and has a problem/defect it goes back to its manufacturer for warranty/liability issues. Yes you would probably be caught into some legal defence costs but thats what Insurance Policies cover as well. Look at the problems that plagued Firestone a couple years ago. I don't think very many installers were tagged on that one. If we all had to worry about liability issues then we would all be afraid to leave the house in the morning. Isn't that why we pass the risk to major insurers, so we all can live a little better. Hang on cause this one is good, 45yr old inexperienced biker "I want to buy that dang big Electra Glide over thar in the corner!!" Bike Salesperson "Wait a second sir, I wouldn't recommend that bike as your first one!" Yeah right - that bike would be out the door in two seconds flat - THATS a much bigger liability issue than mounting a tire that was bought somewhere else!!!!! One other thing as you mention High Balance Displacement, isn't that why we balance a tire!!!If not do your tires come from your manufacturer/distributor already perfectly balanced. Get a damm waiver signed if you afraid of the quality of the tire!!! Just my thoughts - for what their worth!!! I just HATE it when people use lame excuses like yours. Ozz, mail me the tire and I'll have it mounted here on the island when you arrive, we can use my garage. If your old one will make it that far. | ||
| Oz666 |
The service manager said the policy had been in place two weeks or so... I still have the receipt for the tire or tires I had mounted in April or May which were not bought at an "authorized dealership" whatever that is. Once again, the service manager told me on Monday that it could be done, only to cite a "policy" on Tuesday which prevented it. This "policy" seems to change at the dealers convenience. Regardless, I should have been informed Monday, when I asked. Please note, it would seem that American HD is not interested in me as a customer or promoter. Their only apparent concern seems to be their reputation and liability. BTW, the tire took 3/4 oz. to balance. (Three squares) Unhappy (ex)customer, Oz | ||
| Newfie_buell |
Yeah, He touched a NERVE today!!!!!  | ||
| Oz666 |
Hmmm, I guess the "we don't care about a website" was not exactly correct...  Oz |
