| Author | Message | ||
     Wera44 |
Is the warranty void if you do the services yourself? I have always done all my own work and I dont want to pay ($175) for someone else to change my oil and check over my bike. | ||
| Poppinsexz |
No, just save all your reciepts and document all work done. | ||
| Jmr1283 |
if what you did caused the problem, then its up to u to fix it. same for a dealers shop. but if any part malfunctions because of poor qualities not by human mistake then the warranty is still going to cover it. | ||
| Wera44 |
Cool thanks again guys  | ||
| Jammin_joules |
Magnum Cartson Act (sp?) makes sure that owners of motor vehicles, using required specified parts that meet manufacturers requirements, does not void the warranty. Buy a service manual, don't skip steps. Keep receipts. FWIW, High Country Buell is offering 1k, 5k & 10K services at half off thru Jan. If you are in Colorado, we're always here for you. Open seven days a week. BWB sponsor too. ~jammer | ||
| Wera44 |
Thanks Jammer | ||
| Zac4mac |
This topic is a very slippery slope. IF you are going to do your own services, be sure you know what you're doing and are capable of a job BEFORE you do it. Keep records - notes, receipts even photos. Get acquainted with the service department you will use for warranty work. Make sure THEY are confident in your ability because they are the first line in a warranty issue. Best of fortune - Zack | ||
| Bptex |
Magnuson Moss warranty act. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson%E2%80%93Moss _Warranty_Act The key part of it is that a service contract is not a warranty. | ||
| Wera44 |
Great information, thanks again. | ||
| Redscuell |
Though 'own services' might not void the warranty, it could certainly raise questions that don't need to be asked. So for myself, I have the services done by the dealer (I'm on my second one, see my thread "be gentle, it's my first time") even though they tend to muck up more than they fix. | ||
| Wera44 |
I just dont trust anyone to treat/work on my bike like I would. | ||
| Zac4mac |
I say what I do because I work at a dealership now. Looking out from the inside has changed my perspective. I see the difference in treatment to a "good" customer and a "bad" one. Somebody wise once said "Make them WANT to help you". Simple shit, really. | ||
| Wera44 |
I own my own business and anyone who pays their bill is a good customer. Also why should I have to do anything other than pay the asked amount to get anyone to "want to help me" In my shop everyone get treated the same. Not a rip on you or your shop just a point of view. | ||
| Chadhargis |
There is a fine line between putting the customer first and putting your employees first. The President of Southwest Airlines wrote a book about it. The thinking is, happy employees make happy customers. If you run a business on the principle that "a paying customer is a good customer", you're selling your employees out. There are customers who pay, yet they take far more time and effort to satisfy than other customers. In my line of work, we call them "PITAs" (pain in the asses). They are the ones that no matter what you do for them, they want more. They make unreasonable demands. They never appreciate the hard work you do and never recognize when you go the extra mile to help them. These customers get bottom rung service. We'll do what we have to, but no more, because that's self defeating. Nothing we do will make them happy, so the bare minimum yields the same result as going above and beyond. Then there are the customers who are friendly, nice, appreciative, and understanding. They are the ones you want to do anything in your power to help, even if you have to bend the rules a little. I remember a job I had while I was in college selling insurance. I was working with a guy and he was telling a woman about a particular policy. She kept saying things like, "Well, this is all a bunch of legalized theft." "You guys are nothing but crooks". And junk like that. After a few minutes of this, the lady says, "Ok, I'll sign up...what do I need to do?" and the guy looked at her and said, "Honestly, we'd rather not have your business because you'd be a pain in the ass". I almost feel out of my chair. When I asked why he said that to her, he told me, "There is no way I'm going to have that lady calling into my back office staff and tying them up for hours to the point they can't help other customers....and that's exactly what she'd do". Bad customer service is pretty common...but so are bad customers. It should be a symbiotic relationship. You help me and I'll help you. When it comes to servicing my motorcycle, I do most of it myself. Not because I don't have a good dealer, but because it's more convenient and I enjoy it. But the times I've had my bike in for service, I've always been treated well, and I push as much business to my dealer as I can by recommending them to anyone in need. | ||
| Wera44 |
I do turn people away but not often. If I think its going to be a problem down the road for me or my employees I let the customer walk. | ||
| Zac4mac |
What really feels good to me is showing a PITA customer how to be a "good" customer. They are always amazed at how much better service they get. It's a "relationship" and you get out of it what you put in. Z | ||
| Ratsmc |
As a customer, I have the simple expectation that my dealer knows what they are doing. In my case, they have shown they don't and so I get close the the line of being a pain in the ass. It is important to note that I like the service shop and the staff there. I know they try hard and appreciate my business. The problem is that they just don't know enough about Buell's to make me comfortable that I am getting what I should. So, warranty work is their's, I'll do the service myself. | ||
| Jammin_joules |
chad ++1 By example today, fresh huh, but these things happen every day in the motorcycle business. Guy comes in and is looking at Rd Kings for his wife. She is 5'3" and has a Heritage, 2009. Seeing that bike is well suited to a shorter rider, I ask what it is she is looking for in her next bike that the Heritage does not meet. Now realize, this guy bought two bikes in 2009 and neither from us. I don't know if he is a buyer or a tire squeaker (the sound when you sit on a bike and straighten out the front as you pick it off the side stand) or was dissatisfied with who ever sold him two bikes this year. She wants cruise control. Softails have no Harley offered cruise. Now there are several things to get a Road King to fit such a person, one of which is seat mods. Bring the rider closer, and narrow it where her thighs are restricted as she tries to touch the ground. We have a company that does this very well for us. He even wants you to stay there as he mods the seat, mochs it up, has you sit on it so you get what you want. No come-backs that way. In the last several years of using this seat guy, I have never heard of a dissatisfied customer. Well this guy had that done on wife's seat and they were "very disappointed with him and don't want to take the time to go back again" So instead of trying to sell this guy a bike that will be very costly to modify and it will still not likely suit the wife, I approach parts mgr james and ask if there is an after market cruise ctrl out there. The only one known has marginal design and although we have made them work, they are a pain. This guy is not the kind of customer who would accept that and he would surely turn into a vocal critic of our attempts to help him. So I make a choice forgo the cost effective more risky approach and discuss lowering shocks with him for a new Road King. You only have one shot to pick the road you go down with a customer and they usually help you with the road signs they put out. They are responsible for where it takes them since no one wants to have a salesman tell them where to go. (Message edited by jammin_joules on December 17, 2009) | ||
| Milleniumx1 |
Amen to what Chad and Zac said. I've run global customer service operations for over a decade, before starting my own consulting firm to show companies how to get this right by focusing on people before profits. That doesn't make me an expert, but it does give me some cross-industry insight. It also makes me a GOOD customer, one with reasonable expectations and the ability to make people feel good about helping me. I recall calling one of my company's biggest $$ customers and telling them I was going to terminate their contract. Sure your gear malfunctioned, but don't ever call my customer service agent a "useless bitch". Guess which company changed its tune really quickly? Just because you pay doesn't mean I keep you. If you're more trouble than you're worth, I'll tell you so. I encourage the same with companies I consult for. Mike |
