Unfortunately, there are probably just as many bad dealers out there as there are good ones. And my local dealer, since changing hands and names 4 years ago, is one of the bad ones.
To start with they cannot keep any staff longer then about year. This includes all levels and areas of sales, all levels of service, and even the parts counter. So unless you go in regularly, you are always dealing with someone new. Hard to form any relations with a dealership when the people you deal with keep changing every few months.
Considering this trend did not start until the dealership changed hands, and that the only person that has not left since changing hands is the owner, it kind of points to the route of the problem being with the new owner herself. IMO
Now for latest reason for my poor rating of my local dealer, whose name I will not use, but is easy to figure out considering they and I reside in the same city.
To make a long story short, I started with one sales manager trying to find me a 2011 CVO SG and ended with a second sales manager waiting for a 2012 CVO SG they already had on the schedule for September. The first flat out lied about a few supposedly different deals he had on a bike for me. The second treated me like I was bothering him every single time I would stop in to check on the status of the 2012’s arrival. He would also not return my calls if I tried to call about the status.
Then to make an already strained relationship worse, my bike finally arrives on Tuesday of last week and no one bothers to call to tell me. I finally call in to inquire about the status at 2:00PM on Thursday since it had been a week since I last spoke to him about my bike’s status. He finally returns my call at 5:00PM saying it had arrived 2 days ago.
I of course immediately hope in my truck and head right down to the dealer, which is literally only 3 miles away from my house. My bike is on a lift but has not been touched yet and they say they will not get to it until first thing tomorrow morning. So I ask to get the paperwork started and the sales manager says he cannot until tomorrow morning either. Fine, so we set up an appointment for 9:00AM the next morning when they open to do all the paperwork.
Then the final straw for me was when I showed up the next morning at 9:00AM.
I walk in with all the paperwork and accessories for my trade, including the signed title and keys. I look around, and the sales manager is nowhere to be found. I wait a couple minutes and then ask the guy behind the parts counter if he has seen him. The guy says he’s in a meeting. At this point I am starting to get mad. A minute later I ask how long he is going to be. He says, about 30 minutes. That’s it, I have had all I can take and say you need to go tell him I am here and he needs to come out NOW, he can have his meeting after he talks to me. 30 seconds later the owner comes out and starts apologizing for the delay and says the sales manager called in sick and she would personally take care of me. So the parts guy just flat out lied to me as well. Apparently, lying to customers is a standard practice for EVERYONE at this dealership.
However, from that point on everything went as I would have expected all CVO sales to go, as I was treated like a person that was indeed spending over $32,000 on a new motorcycle. The owner personally took care of me as she took me to see and introduce me to the new finance girl, the previous guy left the week before. Then the owner took me to meet the service manager who also personally made sure my bike was ready, supervised the washing, drying and fueling, and then went over the check out with me himself. With the owner checking in during both the finance and service parts of the process, and chatting with me like she actually cared to have my business for a change.
But for me it was too little, too late. I had not only purchased my previous CVO there, albeit prior to her taking over, but also my wife’s brand new 2008 Nightster after she took ownership. I had also done all my service and purchased all my upgrades, which were numerous for the 2 bikes over the years, from them.
Unfortunately, my stories are not uncommon at this dealership. I have heard of many others from close friends, relatives, and other acquaintances.
Bottom line, I will never purchase another bike from, or even service my new bike at this dealership. I will travel over an hour one way to the next closest dealer, which is highly rated for their owner satisfaction and quality of service. And if they live up to that claim in person, they will have my business from now on, including my next CVO purchase when that ultimately comes around again.
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Topic: Pissed Off (Read 4382 times)