Your opinions on what is fair.

[FROSTY]

Hey folks I'd like to ask you opinion on what you think is the fair thing to do/ be done in the following situation.
Customer came into bike shop saying "hey Ive got $*** to spend on a bike" Sales manager shows a number of bikes to customer in his price range-NONE he's any too keen on. Sales manager then remembers a (for example) Gsxr600 in the workshop because some numbnuts had knocked it over and done some minor damage-scratched bar end scratched indicator etc -including a 75mm crack in the fairing lower.He tells the customer. Hey look the bikes still a great bike. but repaired its outa your price range. as is I can do it for the money you've got.

The deal is that the bike is sold as it sits but subject to being mechanically sound and having a new WOF and rego.
A FULL inspection of the bike is carried out by a competent mechanic.
Some cosmetic issues are noted as expected but NO mechanical issues in any way. One of which is a 75mm crack in a lower fairing panel
The customer reads through the report which he is happy with and deal is all done--away he goes on his bike.
2 weeks later the customer goes back to the dealer with the bike wanting the 75mm crack to be repaired.
A junior member of the staff says hey no problem we can fix that for you.
Fairing is fixed and returned to the bike shop manager
The customer is contacted and told his fairing is ready and the cost of repair.
Customer gets upset because he wasn't told he would be charged to repair the fairing,He argues that the crack was in the fairing when he bought the bike and so should be repaired free
Manager replys.- Hang on ,You saw the bike and the marks in the fairing-including the crack.Its noted on the inspection report that there is a crack in the fairing. You then later bring the bike to us to be repaired. Why would you think we would repair it for free? We repaired it because you as a customer asked us to carry out work on your bike.

Whats FAIR in this situation??

[sondela]

Seems clear cut enough.. if they wanted the fairing fixed they shoulda negotiated at the time of buying, not once the deal was done..

[buellbabe]

Come on...its a no brainer.

[elevenhundred]

Bike owner pays.
I reckon he's had someone in his ear about that crack and he's suffering from a bit of buyers remorse.
He agreed to it and the deal was done.

[Dealer]

Customer pays. He should have arranged the repair as part of the sale if he wanted it done gratis.
Unless there was an agreement regarding remedial work its his bill.
How much dosh are we talking, ballpark?

[firefighter]

Fuck'em,

Make him pay for it.

Not at all the bike shops fault.

What a fucken shit.

[MSTRS]

Charge the bugger.

[Sidewinder]

bro wtf was the point in putting this on here, you answered the question your self lol!:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

[Swoop]

The bike owner pays.

He was aware of the deal.

[Stirts]

Seems pretty clear cut to me. But......

"Whats FAIR in this situation??"

Well the work is already done, and there is a bill to be paid. I would certainly find out exactly what Junior member of staff said to this customer. Find out if costs where discussed in any way, shape or form.

I would reiterate to the customer that.....
a) A deal is struck on the bike cheaper than advertised price.
b) A full report was given, which icluded cracked fairing, and he was happy with that deal.

Then I would ask the customer what do you expect us to do?
And if he still says "Dont charge me for it"
Tell him to fuck off and die!

But seriously, I would weigh up the "cost" of losing this customer and the 7 or so people he is going to tell "his side the story" to and maybe enter into negotiation for a discount on the bill.

[The Stranger]

Dealers make heaps as it is. The dealer should pay!

[MSTRS]

... maybe enter into negotiation ...

Only negotiation should be - When you pay the bill, then we give the fairing back. Or we can keep the fairing.

[Stirts]

Only negotiation should be - When you pay the bill, then we give the fairing back. Or we can keep the fairing.

Certainly if he is a right wank and you don't want to have them as an ongoing customer.

[nudemetalz]

Definitely BIKE OWNER pays. He was informed & saw that the crack was there to begin with so why should the shop pay?

[CookMySock]

If I was the bike shop I'd tell him to fuck off and then tell everyone who it was. Pricks who do that just make bike shops hate their work and their customers - not what I need.

Oh fair? Whats fair is he can go get bent. Yeah, thats fair. :laugh:

Steve

[imdying]

Well the work is already done, and there is a bill to be paid. I would certainly find out exactly what Junior member of staff said to this customer. Find out if costs where discussed in any way, shape or form.Yes, this appears to be the only grey area. Need to make it clear to the junior staff member that if he actually did somewhat put his foot in it by offering the repair gratis, then that's life, but he needs to come clean so that the offer can be honoured. The rep of the business is more important than the dollars at this point, and it'll just be a lesson learnt etc etc. Of course if he's 100% suire no such offer was made, then the buyer must pay (with the ensuing shit fight that sounds like it's brewing). It's hard being young in the trade, but he needs to know that people do indeed make mistakes, and honesty is the best policy.

[vifferman]

Yeah, what Imdying said.

["D" FZ1]

Dealers make heaps as it is. The dealer should pay!

WHATEVER. You are obviously not a Bike Dealer.

[SMOKEU]

The dealer should have fixed it before they sold it.

[pzkpfw]

I voted buyer pays - mainly as it was in the report. (Did he sign the report to say he'd read it all?)

I'd note that maybe people ought to be given something in writing for estimates. This way the guy would have "known" he was going to be charged up front - he could be claiming the junior staff member was unclear about how the payment would work. (i.e. that he'd be charged or not).

Finally I'd wonder about the cost of the repair compared to the profit (if any) already made on the sale of the bike. Is it worth a deal being struck to generate an extra happy customer? Or is this guy going to be unhappy anyway and not bring back repeat business?


Geez, I'm gald I'm not in this kind of work. Sounds hard.

[Sidewinder]

The dealer should have fixed it before they sold it.

nah buyer knew it was like that at the time tho

[FROSTY]

Certainly if he is a right wank and you don't want to have them as an ongoing customer.
Ahh but I asked what was FAIR not what is the commercial reality of the situation.
Commercial reality is that the squeaky hinge rightly or wrongly gets the oil or the bike shop rightly or wrongly gets a reputation for being rip off artists if they dont .
So based on the information given being EXACTLY the full extent of matters and conversations wadda ya reckon is the FAIR solution?
Quite rightly the junior member of staff did not say "You need to pay for this repair" but then they also diddn't say or indicate "yes this will be repaired for free".

[Sidewinder]

Ahh but I asked what was FAIR not what is the commercial reality of the situation.
Commercial reality is that the squeaky hinge rightly or wrongly gets the oil or the bike shop rightly or wrongly gets a reputation for being rip off artists if they dont .
So based on the information given being EXACTLY the full extent of matters and conversations wadda ya reckon is the FAIR solution?
Quite rightly the junior member of staff did not say "You need to pay for this repair" but then they also diddn't say or indicate "yes this will be repaired for free".

yea thats why people shouldnt asume things either

[onearmedbandit]

+1 to what imdying said. It must be made clear what the junior staff member said at the time.

[NDORFN]

Hey folks I'd like to ask you opinion on what you think is the fair thing to do/ be done in the following situation.
A bike shop is advertising a bike for sale.
Customer comes in and views the bike and wants it.
A deal is struck on the bike cheaper than advertised price.
The deal is that the bike is sold as it sits but subject to being mechanically sound and having a new WOF and rego.
A FULL inspection of the bike is carried out by a competent mechanic.
Some cosmetic issues are noted as expected but NO mechanical issues in any way. One of which is a 75mm crack in a lower fairing panel
The customer reads through the report which he is happy with and deal is all done--away he goes on his bike.
2 weeks later the customer goes back to the dealer with the bike wanting the 75mm crack to be repaired.
A junior member of the staff says hey no problem we can fix that for you.
Fairing is fixed and returned to the bike shop manager
The customer is contacted and told his fairing is ready and the cost of repair.
Customer gets upset because he wasn't told he would be charged to repair the fairing,He argues that the crack was in the fairing when he bought the bike and so should be repaired free
Manager replys.- Hang on ,You saw the bike and the marks in the fairing-including the crack.Its noted on the inspection report that there is a crack in the fairing. You then later bring the bike to us to be repaired. Why would you think we would repair it for free? We repaired it because you as a customer asked us to carry out work on your bike.

Whats FAIR in this situation??

You're not talking about Colemans are you? If you are, the manager/salesman probably promised he'd get the fairing fixed if the customer brought it back in, then selectively forgot about it.

[Sidewinder]

You're not talking about Colemans are you? If you are, the manager/salesman probably promised he'd get the fairing fixed if the customer brought it back in, then selectively forgot about it.

happend before? get it in writing if you want it to last

[Headbanger]

WHATEVER. You are obviously not a Bike Dealer.

How does the bait taste?

[NDORFN]

happend before? get it in writing if you want it to last

That's not how I'm used to doing business down here south of the Bombays. Businesses are alot less profit driven. Salesmen go out of thier way for you. They actually want you to go back to them. Down this way, the shop would offer to fix it for nothing because that's precisely what it'd cost them to fix! And you can't put a price of customer retainership... you never know, someone you've been going out of your way for might just win Lotto, or get divorced!

[madbikeboy]

Ahh but I asked what was FAIR not what is the commercial reality of the situation.
Commercial reality is that the squeaky hinge rightly or wrongly gets the oil or the bike shop rightly or wrongly gets a reputation for being rip off artists if they dont .
So based on the information given being EXACTLY the full extent of matters and conversations wadda ya reckon is the FAIR solution?
Quite rightly the junior member of staff did not say "You need to pay for this repair" but then they also diddn't say or indicate "yes this will be repaired for free".

Tough one. The guy is obviously a wank stain. But... If your salesperson didn't spell the costs out, and if the guy didn't get a cost upfront, then he has a point to argue based on his perception of something that needed fixing as part of deal (clearly he'd be lying through his teeth). But...

[Sidewinder]

How does the bait taste?

far most the dealers i know are good guys!

[Sidewinder]

That's not how I'm used to doing business down here south of the Bombays. Businesses are alot less profit driven. Salesmen go out of thier way for you. They actually want you to go back to them. Down this way, the shop would offer to fix it for nothing because that's precisely what it'd cost them to fix! And you can't put a price of customer retainership... you never know, someone you've been going out of your way for might just win Lotto, or get divorced!

i know lol. i did a trade in on my vfr800 on my gsxr, no full lience so the ticked it up on my account lol

[FROSTY]

Dealers make heaps as it is. The dealer should pay!
Thats taking into account an outside influence that may or may not be true. The closure of a number of dealerships argues the contrary.
However is that relivant to this discussion?
Ok now for the sake of argument--to redress the balance.
The customer DROVE into the bike shop in His $200000 Ferarri and was the managing director of telecom spending his "performance bonus" on a bike"

[Sidewinder]

Thats taking into account an outside influence that may or may not be true. The closure of a number of dealerships argues the contrary.
However is that relivant to this discussion?
Ok now for the sake of argument--to redress the balance.
The customer DROVE into the bike shop in His $200000 Ferarri and was the managing director of telecom spending his "performance bonus" on a bike"

yea so why be such a tight ass then, and why wouldnt he just get a new bike?

[YellowDog]

Seems clear cut enough.. if they wanted the fairing fixed they shoulda negotiated at the time of buying, not once the deal was done..
Clearly someone has given him advice after he has got home with his discounted bike.

It is tough enough for bike shops to maintain a reasonable reputation without jokers like this creating crap for them by spreading their version of a hard done by story.

As a former business owner I would say: make sure the customer goes away happy, but not at any price.

[madbikeboy]

Thats taking into account an outside influence that may or may not be true. The closure of a number of dealerships argues the contrary.
However is that relivant to this discussion?
Ok now for the sake of argument--to redress the balance.
The customer DROVE into the bike shop in His $200000 Ferarri and was the managing director of telecom spending his "performance bonus" on a bike"

What a wank stain. It's always the rich fucks who stay rich by being mean assed scammers.

For the record, I'm on your side, but I reckon my previous post will be his argument. I'd personally tell him to fuck himself.

[NDORFN]

The dealer should have fixed it before they sold it.

+1 What is with dealers selling broken bikes? They're just asking for trouble.

[Sidewinder]

+1 What is with dealers selling broken bikes? They're just asking for trouble.

nah the buyer knew so its his bad!!!!!

[Indiana_Jones]

Tell the customer to come in with the bike.

Kill the customer.

Put the bike back for sale.

Pocket the money.

Sell the bike with repairs done and use some of your windfall to buy a 12 pack.

-Indy

[FROSTY]

The dealer should have fixed it before they sold it.
For clarity here dude. The deal was done based on the bike being as it stands cosmetically. Ie the customer would not have gotten the bike at that price if it was an expectation on either parties part that the cosmetics would be fixed

[grusomhat]

The customer DROVE into the bike shop in His $200000 Ferarri "

Ouch

[Stirts]

So based on the information given being EXACTLY the full extent of matters and conversations wadda ya reckon is the FAIR solution?

As it is quite obvious that there has been some form of "misinterpretation" of the deal (God knows how, but this shit happens all the time). I think what would be fair and reasonable when taking the next steps in this situation would be to have a discussion with the customer. Explain your understanding of the agreement and then let the customer explain their side. Then come up with a resolution that both parties are happy with.

And as YellowDog so rightly put ....
"make sure the customer goes away happy, but not at any price"

[NDORFN]

There's always going to be people like the buyer... the only way to avoid them is to not sell bikes under those circumstances. Fix the fucken thing before you put it on the floor and you wont be taking any risks. It's that simple. Now the dealer has a lose-lose situation. Fix the fairing and loose profit, or stand his ground (which he rightfully can do) and lose some rep because you KNOW a buyer like that is going to make it his mission in life to let the world know about it.

[NDORFN]

For clarity here dude. The deal was done based on the bike being as it stands cosmetically. Ie the customer would not have gotten the bike at that price if it was an expectation on either parties part that the cosmetics would be fixed

Got the moral yet? Dealers sell nice bikes, scrap yards sell broken bikes. Scrap yards have big dogs to eat problematic customers, dealers don't have problematic customers because they sell nice bikes. Come on dude, in ANY business, sometimes you have to get out of certain dealings because they are more trouble than they're worth. If you're a dealer, you should make it policy to sell only bikes that you would be proud to own yourself, not bikes that require further work. Take some pride in your product and the profits will climb.

[FROSTY]

There's always going to be people like the buyer... the only way to avoid them is to not sell bikes under those circumstances. Fix the fucken thing before you put it on the floor and you wont be taking any risks.
Bugger you actually raised a point I diddn't clarify.-I'll add this to the OP
Customer came into bike shop saying "hey Ive got $*** to spend on a bike" Sales manager shows a number of bikes to customer in his price range-NONE he's any too keen on. Sales manager then remembers a (for example) Gsxr600 in the workshop because some numbnuts had knocked it over and done some minor damage-scratched bar end scratched indicator etc -including a 75mm crack in the fairing lower.He tells the customer. Hey look the bikes still a great bike. but repaired its outa your price range. as is I can do it for the money you've got.

[MSTRS]

No good deed goes unpunished.
The customer might think he's being clever, puts the shop in an awkward position, but the sale agreement was very clear. It's there in writing.

[Sidewinder]

Bugger you actually raised a point I diddn't clarify.-I'll add this to the OP
Customer came into bike shop saying "hey Ive got $*** to spend on a bike" Sales manager shows a number of bikes to customer in his price range-NONE he's any too keen on. Sales manager then remembers a (for example) Gsxr600 in the workshop because some numbnuts had knocked it over and done some minor damage-scratched bar end scratched indicator etc -including a 75mm crack in the fairing lower.He tells the customer. Hey look the bikes still a great bike. but repaired its outa your price range. as is I can do it for the money you've got.

and there you go.
tell the cunt to pull his head in
<img src=http://file015a.bebo.com/6/large/2008/11/23/05/6075184799a9480916984l.jpg>
<img src=http://file048a.bebo.com/4/large/2009/03/11/08/6075184799a10315674347l.jpg>
crashed gixxas dont realy show it

[red675]

sounds like a question for the audience on Who wants to be a Classic Millionnaire

- I'll go with the 96% poll result

[NDORFN]

Bugger you actually raised a point I diddn't clarify.-I'll add this to the OP
Customer came into bike shop saying "hey Ive got $*** to spend on a bike" Sales manager shows a number of bikes to customer in his price range-NONE he's any too keen on. Sales manager then remembers a (for example) Gsxr600 in the workshop because some numbnuts had knocked it over and done some minor damage-scratched bar end scratched indicator etc -including a 75mm crack in the fairing lower.He tells the customer. Hey look the bikes still a great bike. but repaired its outa your price range. as is I can do it for the money you've got.

There's the problem. The bike should've STAYED out of his price range. What did the salesman think the customer was going to do after he'd used up all his money on a bike that still needed work? Ride it around broken? Imagine what his wife did to him when he came home with an empty wallet and a broken bike! If the bike was going to be out of his price-range post-repair, then of course he's going to be back expecting freebies... he's just used up his last coin on a broken bike, and won't feel content until it's mint, he's just patronised your business to the tune of so many thousand and he probably feels that you owe him some patronism in return. That's customer mentality, and the only way to avoid it turning on you is not to sell them incomplete products.

[The Pastor]

The issue isnt the work being done, its the fact that the shop said it would be free and it wasnt. The staff member who told him this should be charged.

[steve_t]

Imagine what his wife did to him when he came home with an empty wallet and a broken bike!

:argue: LOL

[MSTRS]

The issue isnt the work being done, its the fact that the shop said it would be free and it wasnt. The staff member who told him this should be charged.

Where has that been said?

[Kiwi Graham]

Mate;
You were fair in pointing out the damage to the bike prior to him considering to buy it.
You were fair in documenting said damage in the form of a sold as seen report.
You were fair in repairing the fairing (presumably at a fair price) at his request.
It is unfair for you to have to carry this cost.

The guy is trying to pull a fast one.

Lesson to be learnt from this is to only sell bikes your happy to warrent I guess.

[pzkpfw]

Isn't it ironic?

In a thread that possibly hinges on misinterpretation, there are folk thinking the Ferrari was real, not a hypothetical "balance" to the "dealers are rich" claim; intended to focus discussion on the basic facts.


(Unless I'm wrong. Then it's not ironic, I'm just moronic.)

[steve_t]

What does boggle the mind is how after getting the deal that he got, the customer could think for even a split second that the fairing repair would be for free. How??!! :blank:
LOL.... I agree that it seems some people think the Ferrari is real :Pokey:

[The Pastor]

Where has that been said?
from the first post


A junior member of the staff says hey no problem we can fix that for you.
Fairing is fixed and returned to the bike shop manager
The customer is contacted and told his fairing is ready and the cost of repair.
Customer gets upset because he wasn't told he would be charged to repair the fairing

I mis-read that as the staff member told him it would be free, but this wasnt cleared up. Having re read it, and if the staff member did not say it would be repaired for free, then the owner should pay, if the staff member said something along the lines of it'll be repaired free or "we will take care of that for you" then the shop should.

We only have one side of the story hear, so its impossible to give a fair an unbiased opinion.

[CookMySock]

+1 What is with dealers selling broken bikes? They're just asking for trouble.Bogus. The salesman says "You can buy this bike for this much $$.. this shit on it is broken. Thats the deal - take it leave it." SOOOOO you take it or leave it. You don't take it, and then shaft him with the details. You don't HAVE to buy it.


There's always going to be people like the buyer... the only way to avoid them is to not sell bikes under those circumstances.LOL. There is another way to avoid them. You tell them to fuck off.


No good deed goes unpunished.Yeah, and thats what has to change. It fucking riles me up when cunts rip off bike shops. I could save three dollars and buy a bike battery from Repco, but I fucking don't coz I value my local bikeshop. I'd be up shit creek if they weren't here.


Steve

[Jonno.]

There's the problem. The bike should've STAYED out of his price range. What did the salesman think the customer was going to do after he'd used up all his money on a bike that still needed work? Ride it around broken? Imagine what his wife did to him when he came home with an empty wallet and a broken bike! If the bike was going to be out of his price-range post-repair, then of course he's going to be back expecting freebies... he's just used up his last coin on a broken bike, and won't feel content until it's mint, he's just patronised your business to the tune of so many thousand and he probably feels that you owe him some patronism in return. That's customer mentality, and the only way to avoid it turning on you is not to sell them incomplete products.

Um, he could live with it. He had the choice between a complete no damage bike (assumed) and a higher value damaged GXR. The bike shop was doing him a huge favor, on the understanding he would get it repaired later when he could afford it or he could live with it as it were (it had cosmetic damage only).

Charge him.

[The Stranger]

WHATEVER. You are obviously not a Bike Dealer.


Thats taking into account an outside influence that may or may not be true. The closure of a number of dealerships argues the contrary.
However is that relivant to this discussion?
Ok now for the sake of argument--to redress the balance.
The customer DROVE into the bike shop in His $200000 Ferarri and was the managing director of telecom spending his "performance bonus" on a bike"

Damn, only 2 hits with that troll, it was too obvious eh.
Mind you, there's still time for Robert Taylor to find it.

[imdying]

So based on the information given being EXACTLY the full extent of matters and conversations wadda ya reckon is the FAIR solution?
Quite rightly the junior member of staff did not say "You need to pay for this repair" but then they also diddn't say or indicate "yes this will be repaired for free".Given it was a small crack, probably cheap through the dealers standard bodywork crowd, then only the dealer can calculate the value between happy and unhappy customer. Happy customers recommend you, unhappy customers slag you (rightly or wrongly, but you know how they will recite their version of events).

[pritch]

Frosty,

Is this guy a KBer? Out the bugger, no more shagging about. :devil2:

[FROSTY]

No good deed goes unpunished.
The customer might think he's being clever, puts the shop in an awkward position, but the sale agreement was very clear. It's there in writing.
and there you have the ONLY reason the shop would be concidering any kind of payment deal. The power of a big mouth is great.
Some days being a bike dealer is great --sometimes it really sucks.

[FROSTY]

Isn't it ironic?

In a thread that possibly hinges on misinterpretation, there are folk thinking the Ferrari was real, not a hypothetical "balance" to the "dealers are rich" claim; intended to focus discussion on the basic facts.


(Unless I'm wrong. Then it's not ironic, I'm just moronic.)
Ahh but was it said that it indeed was NOT real?

[NDORFN]

Tough decision huh? We're faced with it all the time in my field. Customer satisfaction is by leaps and bounds our most effective marketing tool, so it's probably somewhat easier for us to decide to swallow an expensive bullet from time to time. You should just talk to the dude. Maybe gauge how much loyalty you will potentially get from him and decide whether his future patronage will offset the cost of repairing it. If not, fuck him. But be subtle. Discount vouchers are a good (shallow but effective non-the-less) way to keep him from spitting the dummy. Shit, maybe even going halves will pay for itself in the long run. Whatever you decide, don't forget the maths... 1 unhappy customer = 50 happy customers in terms of reputation.

[PrincessBandit]

Customer sounds like a dork and just trying to screw more out of the dealer. Haven't read all the posts, but going by OP I stand by the opinion that some people are simply out to be greedy. This sounds like such a person.

Dealer shouldn't have to follow up. If the customer is likely to cause problems then hopefully the dealer has a good enough rep to be able to withstand a troublemaker.

[buellbabe]

Good point but I reckon sometimes some customers just aren't worth keeping.
If I was that particular customer and I had bought the bike KNOWING there was a minor crack on the fairing I certainly wouldn't expect it to be repaired for free when I had already accepted its existance as part of the DEAL.
I think thats totally wrong.

Maybe this customer is gonna turn out to be the type that is a royal pain in the butt and will be forever finding fault and nit-picking and expecting stuff for free...is that a customer you want?

The shop shouldn't have to foot the bill but they need to be polite about it...and yeah...as suggested, offer a discount voucher...it means more $$s to be spent in the shop at some point LOL.

[FROSTY]

Hey thanks a million for the feedback folks.
This is a past tense (sp) situation. Recent past but past none the less.
At the end of the day the dealer went 50/50 on the repair for one reason only which was that the junior staff member did not spell out 100% clearly that the customer would be paying for the repair.
In their defense they believed they had no reason to do so.
It was I have no doubt a carefully contrived plot because the customer had not dealt or spoken to the junior staff member until the day he bought the bike in for repair. He had been back to the shop on at least two occasions before aparently happy as a sandboy with his bargain bike.
The day the manager was out was the day the junior staff member was hit up for the repair.

[Mystic13]

I would have gone for 50/50. As fair. The deal is you can't know whether the bike owner was trying to pull a quick one or not.

A possible situation is;

Rider after a few weeks thinks, yep I'll get the crack fixed. Comes in and says Rider - "Hey can you fix this crack for me."
Junior - The junior happily replies yeah sure no problems.
Rider - Expecting a quote or to be given a price is pleasantly surprised the shop is just going to do it for him and is thrilled. I can see someone thinking that what the staff member said implied a freebie. You see bike shops ALWAYS give you a price or an idea of price. Rider thinks to himself these are shit hot people i love this place.
Manager - Calls rider and says done and the final bill is BIG BUCKS.
Rider - In a state of shock says "what, the bloke I saw said no problems in doing it"

I think miscommunication is likely. I think junior potentially made an error. I think you can't place this specifically at anyones feet. If the rider is young then I would lean in their favour even more. If this is the first bike they've really bought (Dad helped last time) then I'd see them as being greener in terms of these transactions.

The bike shop made a mistake in not training the junior sufficiently but i think they will have learned the lesson.

The preceeding comments by most of you make a fair few assumptions based on your experience of life to this point. If this was one of your first purchases years ago I'd like to think you'd agree with me.

If the bike shop got off at 50/50 then they got off lightly.

[Bronson]

50/50? Should have been charged at least cost for the job & then told to piss off.

[caseye]

What a crock of shit! the bike owner pays or he doenst get his bloody fairing back.
in this day and age no one attempts this sort of rip off without knowing theres a good chance they will be sprung.
The bike shop loses No Matter what.

On the one hand if they simply allow the guy to walk away with his now Fixed bike for free,he will simply tell all and sundry what an easy mark they are, because he's THAT sort of arsehole.

On the other hand if they stand their ground as they should be able to do, they're still a bunch of natsies to anyone who will listen to the rip off customer.

"The customer is always right" WRONG! when a customer has a genuine complaint they are that shop/businesses best advertising if they can accomodate them.

When a customer attempts a blatant rip off as this one did,the law and ethical standards should prevail and he/she should be told in no uncertain
terms to take a hike.

In particular business catagories in this town (Dorkland) there is now a register of all those types who try to rip companies off, if their name comes up they're instantly denied credit/service and guess what they slink off into the darkness where they damn well belong.
Fairness, is a two way street, no one minds trying to help someone who genuinely stuffs up and asks for help/assistance (monetary or service) wise.

Almost all of the answers have been in the positive for the shop Frosty, take heart and next time I hope the shop stands tall and bloody proud that their service and customer support is second to none and that they can cope with a bit of negative feedback.
This is of course my own personal opinion, I've spent thirty plus years in customer service, I've told maybe 3 clients flat out No! in all that time, to thier credit they all became life long customers and friends, but hey they're older like me and their word still means something.

[mossy1200]

Call it learning curve and talk to staff about selling bikes that are not ready for resale.It would have been a better idea to show him the bike and let him know it would soon be ready for resale when repaired if he was prepared to pay a little more than the 10grand and let him mull it over.Sell mint product and leave tard me with the rest.Damaged bikes leaving your shop get seen by other bikers and its not a good look long term anyway.Get the best rep you can.I have purchaced my last 6 new bikes from the same bikeshop.You want good customers to return for your high reputation.

Once bitten twice shy.Never again I say.

If it makes you feel better the guy sounds like the kind of rider who will bin it soon.What goes around comes around.KARMA!

[ukusa]

obviously bike owner should pay, but if no joy go for the re-break option.

[2much]

crashed gixxas dont realy show it

That's coz you're doin it wrong. Don't worry son, practice makes perfect...

<img src='http://i448.photobucket.com/albums/qq209/2much_nz/bloodyboots.jpg'>

N frosty, if I was the dealer I'd have sent a few mates round to his address to clarify the situation.

[MDR2]

Owner pays.

Owner does not get bike till bill is paid in full.

I can't believe somebody would try that on even.:crazy:

[FROSTY]

A bit of a footnote really. Dealers meet up in various places from time to time. A bit of a chat was had about this subject. Turns out the person concerned has a reputation for doing exactly this sort of thing.
Aparently his last stunt was to book in an oil n filter change then get his missus to change it to a full service over the phone.
He comes in totally "shocked" that the bike shop charged so much for a simple oil and filter change.He was only prepared to pay for the work he asked to be done. He denied even having a wife even though her name was on the HP paperwork at another bike shop.

[imdying]

Well in that case... go pour petrol on his lawn. Whether you light it or not, well, that's up to you isn't it ;)

[88bros]

I get this *&$% all the time at work, (sell car parts for ford and holden) so youd imagine how many taxi guys we get.. all wanting a 2004 commodore engine for $400 bucks, discount the price hard out, deliver it for free and they bitch on and on about how much it cost to put the engine in and want us to pay for some of it!

Id tell the dude that bought the bike to shove the faring up his ass... in a respectfull manner.. or something

[FROSTY]

i get this *&$% all the time at work, (sell car parts for ford and holden) so youd imagine how many taxi guys we get.. All wanting a 2004 commodore engine for $400 bucks, discount the price hard out, deliver it for free and they bitch on and on about how much it cost to put the engine in and want us to pay for some of it!

Id tell the dude that bought the bike to shove the faring up his ass... In a respectfull manner.. Or something
fmh ???..........

[88bros]

fmh ???..........

whats that mean?

[FROSTY]

If ya sell holden n ford parts they ya gotta be at either Autolab or FHM or maybee that other crowd on rosebank road.

[steve_t]

A bit of a footnote really. Dealers meet up in various places from time to time. A bit of a chat was had about this subject. Turns out the person concerned has a reputation for doing exactly this sort of thing.
Aparently his last stunt was to book in an oil n filter change then get his missus to change it to a full service over the phone.
He comes in totally "shocked" that the bike shop charged so much for a simple oil and filter change.He was only prepared to pay for the work he asked to be done. He denied even having a wife even though her name was on the HP paperwork at another bike shop.

The plot thickens... as I'd said before, there's no way the guy could honestly have expected to get the fairing repaired for free after getting a discount off the bike being as is. My mate manages a restaurant and people constantly try to scam free stuff or discounts by saying the food was cold or didn't taste good but only after they've eaten 90% of the meal!! :angry2::angry2: And these scammers don't get their comeuppins so don't get dissuaded from doing the same again in the future :bash::bash:

[88bros]

If ya sell holden n ford parts they ya gotta be at either Autolab or FHM or maybee that other crowd on rosebank road.

advanced for ford and holden, just off rosebank.. (the best one hehehe) so if anyone needs any give me a yell.

[Mully]

advanced for ford and holden, just off rosebank.. (the best one hehehe) so if anyone needs any give me a yell.

Can you do one VY Acclaim wheel? (I have a set to sell, but one is broked).

FOCUS: Frosty, find out where the prick lives/works and go kick the fucking thing over.

Problem not solved, but some stress relieved.

[88bros]

Can you do one VY Acclaim wheel? (I have a set to sell, but one is broked).

yea man should be able to is it an alloy you mean? flick me a pic if its ill see what i got

chris@advancedparts.co.nz

:rockon:

[Bronson]

Well in that case... go pour petrol on his lawn. Whether you light it or not, well, that's up to you isn't it ;)

Name & shame the prick