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Koz5150
Posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2005 - 07:15 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

NoSuchThing@Buell.com

Why is a company that is trying so hard to advertise via electronic methods (online chat with Erik, promo CD's) unable to offer an email address for Customer Service?

From the Buell Website...

Q. Who do I contact for general questions about Buell?

A. Contact your dealer for all product, service, and promotion information. If the dealer is unable to assist you, write to:

Buell Customer Service
3700 W. Juneau Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53208

To speak with a Buell customer service representative call 414-343-8400. Sorry, we're unable to receive e-mail at this time.

Are they unable to set up a new address? Is the person who answers the Customer service line unable to read email? Are they scared of what people might send them?
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Daves
Posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2005 - 01:57 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Well I checked,
Honda NOPE
Suzuki NOPE
Kawasaki NOPE, unless it's concerning e commerce
BMW NOPE

I'm thinking they all know how many emails they would get per day. Jeez, I have trouble some days keeping up with mine!(that's a good thing by the way, keep them coming)
Plenty of them would be, well, you know.
Just give them a call.
Email it to me and I will call them for you or forward it to the right people for you.
What do you need them for Koz?
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Mikej
Posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2005 - 02:59 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Polaris/Victory: Yes (sort of)
http://www.polarisindustries.com/en-us/OurCompany/ContactUs/EmailConsumerService .htm
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Koz5150
Posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2005 - 03:31 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

I don't need them for anythinng. I was just reading a thread here concerning a guy who seemed like he was getting the run-around.
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/4062/142231.html?1124880195

Dave, I know you are there for us local guys (and alot that aren't local) but it's really not your job. You are a salesman, not the guy who should have to handle everyone's Dealer problems. (although, if Buell created that position, you woud be a good fit!)

You are right that none of the other Big Four have that address either, but I would think that if Buell has got someone answer the phone and read letters, they could have an email address. It may not seem like much, but it is much easier and quicker to get a written response and have something in hand when you have to confront a dealer that holds onto a bike for 4 weeks due to a leaky tire.

Please don't take this as a complaint thread, it is meant to be a New Idea/Thinking out of the Box type of thread.
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Dave
Posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2005 - 07:49 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

KOZ5150... Maybe you're looking at it from an odd angle? Instead of a bad thing, is it a good thing? I see where you are coming from but I don't view it as bad. Can you imagine the SPAM possibilities and wasted time?

When warranted, I've found that Buell is accessible via email when you pursue issues. Like any other game in life, bridges need to be navigated & not burned.

DAve
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Gentleman_jon
Posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2005 - 09:41 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

I work all day on a computer.
Today I had a question about a Linksys Wireless router that I bought for under $100.
I went to the site, got the customer service number, called a nice chap named Chris, who answered a series of questions that were a lot more technical than the ones I would ask Buell customer service.
I also had their email addy, and several other support alternatives such as a useful FAQ's section.
One the few times I called Buell customer service, a number that is does not fall easily to hand, I got Renee, a woman who knew absolutely nothing about motorcycles. Her normal answer to any question was, " Ask your dealer".
Court assures me this situation has been improved, I hope he is right.
I look at that kind of answer as some kind of sick joke. The dealer I bought my bike from, Atlantic County HD, went out of the Buell business shortly after I bought my bike.
The next one, Lighthouse HD, damaged my bike both times I had them service my bike, then they went out of the Buell business.
The next closest dealer, Eastern Harley Davidson, is a total incompetent. They do stock Buells though. In fact they have about 10 of them, and 7 are tubers: all brand new! The first and last time I asked them about Buell parts, they said, "No darling, we don't stock any parts for them, and you have to come down her to order it". Now there's an offer I could refuse:-)
Luckily, I can now use Daves, at Appleton HD, a mere thousand miles or so from my house: I don't know what I would do without him. Probably sell the damn thing.
Renee tells me that she is " unable to receive e-mail at this time".
That is a lie.
I mean, my cleaning lady is able to receive email:-) What she means is that the company doesn't care to give me their email addy. You can bet your sweet a*s that Daves has it:-)!
Frankly, if I sound just a little bitter about this treatment, it is because my motorcycle is one of the most expensive possessions, and the company that sold it to me treats me like crap.
Not only that, but they treat me worse than ANY other company I do business with. A lot worse.
I get excellent tech support from Macintosh, Epson, Canon,
and none of their equipment is as expensive as my bike, it is a lot more complicated and certainly doesn't carry anything like the kind of profit margin that the Buell does.
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Court
Posted on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 04:52 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Everyone is right.
The "solution set" requires carefully coordinated elements of politics, technology, ego and tact.
In the meantime, I had the pleasure of resolving issues for 6 Buell customers last month that technically should have PROPERLY received an "I'm sorry, the warranty is expired" answer....sort of the "Court of Appeals" as one person in Milwaukee calls it.

Everybody, kinda like in "Absence of Malice" is doing everything rigth...by the book...at present. But, customers want more. I'm confindent we'll get it.

By the way, and I stand ready to take another verbal lashing for spending my time at work, but one of the most difficult parts of the deal is getting FACTS. I don't mean your perspective on the problem but rather just name, location, daelr, VIN etc. You can appreciate what it's like when I call and say someguy/gal named Buelldude 7 from Bedrock is mad about something his dealer did/said/won't do. There is simply nothing actionable.

Once I get the facts, and I'll let those here I've had the pleasure to serve vouch, I can make serious headway.

Court
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Diablobrian
Posted on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 04:56 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Here Court comes to save the daaaay!
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Cruisin
Posted on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 07:25 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Our Hero!!!
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Reepicheep
Posted on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 07:50 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Funny, I called Buell customer support twice. The first was as a new Cyclone owner that had been jerked around by a Cincinnati dealer for about three months with regard to the shock recall. The dealer was confused (to put it nicely, a bald faced lier to put it accurately) and had been so for 3 months.

The guy on the other end of the phone heard my description of the problem, laughed, and said "when they tell you that, it's a cry for help". 15 minutes later 3 months of confusion was completley resolved. The problem was NOT at Buell.

I called them a second time to find out if my M2 was one of the ones that got the bad primary nut. It was close to the right time frame. I had to explain the situation (I believe it was Renee), she was not familiar with it but said she would look into it. Within a few minutes she got back on the line and said she found information on the issue I was asking about, and that my VIN indicated that my bike was not effected.

Now lets talk about my Belkin wireless router. Or lets not... it was a joke.

I don't doubt that people have had bad experiences, but all my interactions with Buell Customer support were extremely good.
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Peter
Posted on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 10:31 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)


quote:

Once I get the facts, and I'll let those here I've had the pleasure to serve vouch, I can make serious headway.



That is an accurate statement : )

Pete2 Dakar
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Pdxs3t
Posted on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 01:42 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Court "ROCKS"!
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Jerry_haughton
Posted on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 01:46 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

what Pdxs3t said. : )
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Csg_inc
Posted on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 03:21 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

I have no direct knowledge of how Court does what he does. But when I had a problem as one of the first owners of a 9r, not only did Buell Customer Service listen and try to answer my questions but I got call backs directly from the factory and then from Court with the answer. I think that was the first time I ever talked to him on the phone. It doesn't get any better in my opinion.
DAVE
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Daves
Posted on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 03:35 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

None of us knows how Court does what he does!

I still think that a phone call is just a lot more effective to resolving issues than an email.
Maybe just old fashioned me.
That is why I continue to resist the online,click here and add to the cart type of sales.
I want to interact with my customers every chance I get.
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Court
Posted on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 06:21 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

>>>.>>>>I want to interact with my customers every chance I get.

That's a HUGE part of any solution, establishing a dialogue.

Then put out the fire so you can see.

Determine what is fueling it.

Sort fact from opinion.

Generate solution sets.

Evaluate based on:
  • Deliverability - is it possible (committing to do something impossible adds fuel)
  • Feather non-ruffle-ability - create the fewest number of people who must "loose" to make a Buell customer "win". If you tell me your dealer is a horse's patoot, I don't care (I do, but in another role). My purpose is to satisfy a Buell customer, not establish the competency of the dealer or determine fault. All I want is Buell Customers treated fairly and issues resolved without delay.
  • Aura - I want a customer to Win AND know they, just the single individual ONENESS of them, is the absolute essence of why folks like Dave S and Erik Buell exist.
  • Content - is it a "real" solution?
  • Justice - are we doing the "right (terribly subjective) thing?
  • Education - are we smart enough to learn available lessons.



Just a few things I use here in the "Court of Appeals" where we specialize in Buell cases that deserve attention but just don't quite fit into any of the normal channels. Kinda fun, but a big responsibility, when I get that "I called and they told me to call you".

Okay. . . this is the part where I usually start to tell some of my "Buell Customer Service Classics" starting off with the day I told a guy who called the factory he was an idiot and that we at Buell, subscribing to a holistic approach to service, must first fix him. I had him chanting a mantra on the phone as Bret Schaller and a couple Buell engineers looked on in stitches.

To this day he is among the most loyal of Buell customers.

Remind me to tell you the story someday.



Back to work. . . last day of my midnight to 7pm 19-hour days. . . tomorrow night it’s party on the beach with Tommy Castro.

Court
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Unibear12r
Posted on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 10:56 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Thank you koz & jon.
Sometimes a little patience and politics works wonders. This dealer is proly still worth my time and effort.
Court, as a big gun, would be a last resort. 'Sides he's a busy guy.
You've got to appreciate the people on this board!
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Oldog
Posted on Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 11:33 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Court I don't care how you do what you do, and I am fortunate that I have not had to appear in the "court of appeals"
but thanks for your time and interest, this board next to my shop manual is one of the most usefull resources that I have access to
thanks to all who share in the spirit of friendship ....
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