I warn you now, I got started and couldn't shut up...
Lewis, I agree with you 120% on this.
A relationship is a bond that works both ways. I find that my dealer is open with me when I ask questions and I try to be very clear with all my needs or requests. The service manager and I have built a very good relationship and the salesman and I talk about other things than motorcycles. We're both gear heads and a little diversion sometimes is nice. I get e-mails from time to time from my service manager on unrelated topics, so there is an open communication going on.
Patty Bush, the owner, is an avid rider and participates in all the local dealer sponsored activities. There’s free coffee and donuts on Saturday morning, if you get there early enough. When they have there customer appreciation day sales, several a year, they send out to customers via e-mail an extra 5% discount to used over and above the 20% off sale.
They have Doc's bucks. For every $25 you spend they punch one punch on a ten punch card. Fill up the card and it's good for $25 against ANY purchase in the dealership, labor, parts, clothing etc.
It's very clear from the limited number of responses here that I'm in a very small minority of the CVO owners here. It's also clear to me that we are a very small minority of HD owners throughout the US. Obviously if the majority were being treated like those of you complaining about your deals, service or dirty bikes, HD would be out of business in months. So I have to assume that at least most of the HD dealerships are giving at least OK customer service.
It takes a lot to push my buttons and I think in some cases, not with my HD though, that I've been treated more favorably than others that might try to bully the people, regardless of the type of business it is. I was service manager for just over 10 years and I have been on the receiving end of lots of complaints.
Indulge me as I share just one more story of my past life.
While I was service manager for a Chevy/Pontiac dealership, the dealerships and GM have ongoing training. I was to participate in what GM called People to People. It was a week long class at GMI in Flint. It took us through difficult situations with customers and how do you handle certain problems. Basically how to improve your relationship with the customer while handling his ranting and raving about what he feels is a life or death problem. With my personality, I felt I did great.
So back to the dealership after the class.
It was spring and I had a good customer, an older gentleman, come in and as that we service his Chevette and he wanted a wax job at the same time. He left the car outside and left to come back the next day, he only lived about a half mile from the dealership. Being constantly short handed on people, I did the hand wax myself. The little car looked pretty good. He came in and paid the bill and left. He came back and was upset. He told me that we did not wax his car and he wanted his money back. Well as I said, I did the wax job myself. I explained to him as calmly as I could and he just kept going on and on about me lying to him. Now this was just two weeks after my People to People class. I had had enough of this guy and took him to the cashier and gave him his money back and told him that I never wanted to see him again. Sorry about the length of this, but most of you all know me by now.....
Well the next day he came back and went up front. He got the ear of the general manager. The general manager came back and talked to me and asked my side of the story; which I quickly to him. He got the customer and I together and we walked outside to the car. He asked the customer why he felt that we hadn't done what he wanted. He showed up scratches on the roof of the little car and said that he wanted the little scratches taken out. He then said that he wanted us to WAX the car to get rid of them and obviously we didn't wax the car because they were still there.
I very calmly explained to him that waxing and buffing are two different processes and that a light buffing would take care of the little broom and scrapper scratches from the winter snow. I told him that I had waxed his car personally as that IS what he asked for.
Bottom line is he got a free wax and buffing.
This just shows you that sometimes you think in your head of the problem, but when you relay that information it may not be understood as you think you described it.
From that point on I always went the customer's car and repeated what they were asking us to do. I do that today when I take anything in for service or repair of any kind. I always repeat myself and ask them to repeat back to me what they are going to do. I find this works a lot better. Even when we have our staff and production meetings, if I've been assigned a task, before I leave I repeat the task as I understand it AND a timeline of when the task completion is expected. This has cut short lots of extra work because we both understand what it is I'm to do.
Make sure your expectations are known completely. Even if you've had an issue with getting back a dirty bike, explain that this has happened once before and that you "expect" it to be in at least as clean of condition as when you brought it in, if not washed for you before you pick it up.
Communicate, communicate, communicate....
As for the people here with bad feelings experiences with your dealerships, I feel for you and wish you luck in finding one as great as mine.
My HD dealership exceeds my expectations all the time. It really is the little things that make you feel good. I like that very much.
Good luck to all on your quest for a great HD dealership.
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Topic: What does Your Dealer do Special? (Read 3620 times)