Support your dealer

This would be a lot easier if yous guys would answer the phone, return messages, snail mail me an update, anything that resembles some form of contact between you and the customer.

And then they wonder why people order online


that is all, carry on

 

Happening more and more lately.........wholesale is BOOMING, and this is why.....

 

On the flip side, we went to a local dealer on Saturday, tried on some gear to see what fits & what didn't, then went home empty handed to order what we wanted online. With free shipping and delivery to the front door, we'd make out like bandits, right?

Every damn online site we tried offers tons of merchandise, but doesn't actually stock any of it. Yeah, they advertise free upgrade to 2-day priority shipping for orders over $100 (and we were way, way over $100 here), but the order won't ship for 7-10 days after it's placed! How is that 2-day shipping?

Yes, I agree that the actual transportation part of the shipping process itself would be two or fewer days, but when you don't start the clock for nearly two weeks, that's not such a hard target to hit, is it?

I went back to the dealer Tuesday at lunch and bought the stuff we saw. Yeah, it cost more, but they were there and we had our stuff when we wanted it.

Sometimes online ain't so grand, either.

 

...hire people that actually have some clue what a motorcycle is to man the parts counter, similarly I know inventory costs money but at least stock stuff that makes some semblance of sense to people that work on motorcycles (see above)...

 

Yup, and that's one thing the $8/hr. counter person dealership business model won't support. This is why most dealerships suck.

 

Exactly, back in the bronze age we had two dealerships down here that covered three of the Japanese big four, one of them sucked, the other was great (I worked at one of them years ago, the suckage on the other guys part had nothing to do with their product line, we got ALL of their service)...Anyway, they both folded over time...

Then, just a few years back we got a full line dealership, these guys were carrying everything, they had space out the ass, the location was pretty good...But they had a few problems, their floor plan sucked, their staff from sales to parts to, well you name it, blew goats, they didn't know squat, and their inventory reflected that...They're gone now...I hated seeing that, I wanted them to do well, but they were never going to develop a clientele...

 

My local parts guy rocks! He'll order things for me and let me pay for them when I pick them up. He's brought things to me when I couldn't make it there on time. And he knows bikes and parts from top to bottom. JT at Honda of Fairfield is the man!

 

Those guys are priceless, they make you want to support a dealership...Find somebody halfway smart who lives, breathes, and sleeps bikes and you're off to a good start...

 

I know a guy like that, lives, breaths bikes, you buy a $10 part and you get a days worth of education on that part. When your bored and want to go hang out in his shop and learn, it no problem. He's the kind of guy that wants to sell you the right parts not just sell you parts to make money. Its just too bad he doesnt live near me anymore, and finding a replacement for a guy like that is difficult

 

It is very hard to find those people. I would have killed to have just a handfull of them at my place. Usually when you have one that has the enthusiasm, he (or she) did not know how to actually handle customers.

 

Augusta Triumph Ducati

 

Good point, "enthusiasm" does not mean show the world how smart you are (and conversely how stupid the customer is), it means support that dude (or dudette) across the counter...There's always somebody smarter, care about that customer and know your business and make things right...

 

Then there's the customer(s) who comes in to get a set of 1st over rings. When you bring the rings, base, head and exhaust gasket they accuse you of tryin' to sell `em stough they didn't ask for.

Let no good deed go unpunished...

 

Yeah, but T smells and my kids learn all the cuss words....

 

When people come in to shops, try things on, find out what they need, then order online, you're taking away revenue from the dealer that has to pay for the inventory that you are trying on and for the people giving the advice that you need. Because you're taking that revenue away, they don't have enough coming in to be able to pay higher wages to higher skilled people which is why many of the folks behind the counter aren't has knowledgeable and helpful. Because the local shops don't buy in the quantities of the mega-online shops, they can't sell as low and maintain a reasonable profit margin.
So, you can support your local shop and pay a few bucks more or simply use him as a fitting room and take your business elsewhere. Enough people do the 2nd part and the local shops will be gone.

 

Internet sales should to have to pay sales tax

That will help the States AND your local business.

 

Chicken and egg.

 

Took the words right out of my mouth...People will pay more for good service, and this predates the internet, we had customers coming from over 100 miles away (one way) routinely for parts and service because they liked and trusted the folks that staffed the shop, and we'd go the extra mile for them...Little things can go a long way...

 

The average dealer doesnt care about you, he cares about making the sale.

With the help of the internet, the tables have turned. With 1000's of dealers at your fingertips, the average consumer doesnt care about the dealer. He cares about saving as much money as possible during the sale.

 

That's a lousy situation for new guys just getting into motorcycling though...