So I got my bike serviced this week...

[Bardman]

So got my baby serviced this week at our local platinum approved yamaha dealer,
They had it under a nice bike cover inside there workshop, i wheeled it out and rode in to work and parked outside my office.
I noticed a few extra miles on the speedo from when i dropped it off, so knew that the mechanic had taken it for a run to check temp, etc.
After work when i went to head home i noticed some scuff marks in the tail section which i knew wernt there previously. Looks like it has been kicked on the left side as hes climbed on and then rubbed the right side as his leg has gone over.
After letting out a few choice words i shot back to the dealer where the mechanic came out and denied doing the damage.
Got his boss out, and got a result, they will send it to get painted.
Ok Great but still pist about it.
Anyone else had issues like this?

[sil3nt]

So did the boss get the mechanic to admit to doing it?

[jim.cox]

Anyone else had issues like this?

My mechanic has left greasy paw prints all over the bike, dropped it, kicked it and let the battery go flat. And he's about the slowest and most unreliable bastard out there

But thats ok - I do all my own servicing :)

[Bardman]

So did the boss get the mechanic to admit to doing it?

Mechanic never owned up but they said they would sort for me as im a "valued customer"

[onearmedbandit]

Sounds to me like they are doing the right thing. Sure the mechanic hasn't owned up to it, but they obviously value you as a customer enough to take your word for it without an admission or any evidence, and put it right.

[miloking]

Mechanic never owned up but they said they would sort for me as im a "valued customer"

I think its time to buy some tools, R1 workshop manual and learning the true value of DIY! (*its not always just about the "saved money")

[raftn]

I think its time to buy some tools, R1 workshop manual and learning the true value of DIY! (*its not always just about the "saved money")

Tools? .... are they like screw drivers and allen key thingys?

[Flip]

Had a new front tire fitted at a well known wellington dealership.

Got home and crossing the kerb the bike went "CLUNK". Looked around and found that the front axle bolt was loose and the bottom of the axle clamp had fallen off on the way home.

[aprilia_RS250]

Moral hazard for you. Little business lesson.... If you know they're lying to you, and they don't admit it and don't apologize don't ever do business with them again.

Even if they provide you with a remedy they will make you feel like they've thrown you a bone and then you'll be in their pocket.

[Mully]

Good work by the dealer.

Boo to the mechanic, but at least they sorted it.

[dipshit]

Anyone else had issues like this?

Unfortunately so. In fact the majority of times my bikes have come back worse from a service than when they went in.

So now I do most of the services myself regardless if the bike is new and inside the "compulsory" dealer service periods or not.

[YellowDog]

The guy must have known what he had done and to think for a minute that you might not notice any damage to your pride and joy is quite stupid.

I'd be seriously peed off too :yes:

[White trash]

Had a new front tire fitted at a well known wellington dealership.

Got home and crossing the kerb the bike went "CLUNK". Looked around and found that the front axle bolt was loose and the bottom of the axle clamp had fallen off on the way home.

And what did they do to fix it for you when you raised this potentially fatal oversight with them?

[Milts]

That's got to suck for you, especially having to fight to get an admission.

Regardless though there will always be the odd individual who may damage a bike and not own up to it, and there's not much that can be done about that. However (IMHO) one of the signs of a good bike shop is that they'll take responsibility and get it sorted for you without undue fuss.

[Eddieb]

I had 2 prominent bike shops in Wellington scratch paint off my Ducati 888 on 3 seperate occasions when I had it.

The first 2 times (different shops) were scraped rims, both times the shops fixed the problem.

The 3rd time, the owner of the same shop who had done it the 2nd time denied all responsibility and then in the same conversation let drop they had lied to me about whether they actually did WOF's or outsourced it, and claimed they shouldn't be responsible for damage to a bike they had accepted into their workshop for a WOF and then taken somewhere else to have the WOF done.

Neither of these shops was TSS who provide excellent work on my bikes these days.

[HenryDorsetCase]

Tools? .... are they like screw drivers and allen key thingys?

start with the biggest hammer you can carry, take it from there.

thank me later.

[Elusive1]

Unfortunately so. In fact the majority of times my bikes have come back worse from a service than when they went in.

So now I do most of the services myself regardless if the bike is new and inside the "compulsory" dealer service periods or not.

I reckon that's the way to go, get a service manual and some tools and do as much as you can yourself.

[AllanB]

Had a screen cracked - but they told me up front when I collected the bike and the dealer had already ordered a replacement (their cost of course). That's good service, accidents can happen.

Always blow on a hot pie before eating it.

[sthrn1]

For them to be fixing it is above and beyond as it's a he said you said area and without proof of damage they are being more than reasonable. Thumbs up to them!!

[Kickaha]

Mechanic never owned up but they said they would sort for me as im a "valued customer"

Maybe because he didn't do it,over the years we've had a lot of customers tell us about stuff we've damaged despite us noting damage, missing hubcaps etc etc, before we've done the work, clients always seem to notice stuff after they've had work done and say "it wasn't there before"

Sometimes depending on the value and the client we've fixed stuff we haven't done other times they've been politely told to fuck off


For them to be fixing it is above and beyond as it's a he said you said area and without proof of damage they are being more than reasonable. Thumbs up to them!!

Exactly

[cheshirecat]

I always take my bike to AN Other Welly dealer. It takes me 40 mins to drop it off, what with all the bike chat and 40 mins to pick it up, what with all the bike chat we didn't get through on the am drop off. It gets covered in greasy paw marks, and some of the 'little' jobs might or might not get done depending on how they feel and because they are so busy, what with all the bike chat and general pontificating on global matters of no doubt great importance but little consequence to us mortals.

I wouldn't dream of taking my pride and joy anywhere else though.

[skippa1]

I only hear half a story here......:wait:

[Flip]

And what did they do to fix it for you when you raised this potentially fatal oversight with them?

Actually no.

I never brought another thing from them or ever took my bike back to them for anything.

I did have a serious talk with the service manager.

[miloking]

Tools? .... are they like screw drivers and allen key thingys?

My favorite tool of all time is angle grinder...i can solve countless issues just with that one tool alone :D .....by the way anybody needs help servicing their bike??

[Bardman]

For them to be fixing it is above and beyond as it's a he said you said area and without proof of damage they are being more than reasonable. Thumbs up to them!!

I agree, just waiting for the call to take it in to be fixed,

The mechanic would not have done it intentionally and I wouldnt go through the hassle of getting the repair done,ie waiting for calls, not having the bike while repaired, if they hadnt scratched it.

[axdout]

Henderson Yamaha did a service/dynotune on my r6. got a k+n filter which they didn't line up properly and broke one of the tabs off, broke the locators of the side of the tank cowling, lost 3 of the those push in clips, failed to give me the usb cable and instructions for my new pc3, made a shitarse map and all for the low sum of $1400. Unfortunatley I only recently pulled it apart and noticed all the broken shit after they have shut down. Henderson Yamaha you are cocks.:angry:

[tri boy]

Unfortunately so. In fact the majority of times my bikes have come back worse from a service than when they went in.

So now I do most of the services myself regardless if the bike is new and inside the "compulsory" dealer service periods or not.


Elvis has entered the building.

[schrodingers cat]

Popped down the rod to my friendly local tyre chappies yesterday to get some other rubber fitted before a blast over to Akoroa.
Boss comes out and said 'Do we look like a bike shop mate? We don't do motorcycle wheels'

'Funny' Seez I 'since you've done numerous for me before'

" Well" he replies" fucking bike guys are just wankers. Ewwwwwwww you scratched my rim. Ohhhhhhhh but I said 38.25psi. Youse have been riding my bike it had much more fuel in it before and so on. Fuck them" he said

"I sympathise Barry," I tell him (Barry isn't his name but he looks like a Barry) "but frankly I don't give a toot. She's all care no responsibility to me. A bike isn't an investment it's a liability."

"All the same," says NotBarry "I've had a gutsful so I won't be doing them. I don't do bike warrents either now" he said. "Know why? Fucking Harley owners."
"They're all 'I'd let you ride the missus before I'd let you touch my bike mate'"

"NotBarry," I tell him "I can see you're having a bad day so I'll go elsewhere. I'm mostly a calm gentleman so I'll take it all in my stride and it won't affect our business/customer dynamic. I agree, most bike wankers are precious twats"

And off I go. To a bike shop. Where I got treated like a piece of shit because they would rather spend 30min sourcing and selling a $8 gasket than do a bit of honest work.

As for doing your on work? Good on ya! Unfortunately the great unwashed cannot distinguish between an excellent job and a barely adequate job.

Develop a relationship with a mechanic you know and trust. Realise he is human and has good days and bad. He is not trying to screw you. More likely you are trying to screw him for his labour (some familiar?).

For sure you can learn. By your mistakes.

Just pay the man and don't be a wanker to him. Can you do that? Can you really?

Have a nice day

[ynot slow]

Find a company you can trust,my 12000km service was done by a franchise dealer,the invoice stated what was done,hmmm tyre check for pressure,was 42/48 when I dropped it off(cold),next day was the same,minor detail for sure,but was invoiced as checked when it wasn't,then you wonder did they replace the plugs($80 easy money if not),did they take 3hrs(other firm might quote 1 3/4 -2hrs)so plenty of variables.That was the last service from them,last one involved the valve checks etc and went to the guys who sold the bike,get good service and good prices.

Same for the car,have good relationship with our guy(not easy when you move town etc)they have good prices for labour.

[Owl]

It happens Bardman, but at least they're doing something about it.

In my experience, if the boss gets wanky about damage issues, staff are less likely to own up. I even know an employer that tore strips off an employee in front of a customer, when in fact it was the employer who caused the damage. What a fucktard he was!:mad:

We have a pretty good record with vehicle damage and more often than not it's caused by an outside party. Either way, we're responsible, we take care of it and then sort who's paying. Screwing over a customer is unacceptable!

[MarkH]

Tools? .... are they like screw drivers and allen key thingys?

You'll be needing a socket set too.


Develop a relationship with a mechanic you know and trust. Realise he is human and has good days and bad. He is not trying to screw you. More likely you are trying to screw him for his labour (some familiar?).

I like to do as much myself as I can, but for tyres & WOFs I go to Haldane's and I never try to screw them for their labour. I don't think that they have screwed me either, they charge what they charge and I pay it - after all I did choose to go to them. I'm certainly not going to pay someone to drain oil, change a filter and fill the oil, but I'm not going to try to change a tyre myself.

I do have a workshop manual and many jobs aren't that hard to do myself. I was a little nervous about changing the drive belt, but that was actually a very easy job. It didn't hurt to have a rattle gun & air compressor though.

[nsrpaul]

Anyone else had issues like this?

there was a guy called barry

[notme]

Had an interesting few years providing specialist servicing of equipment for other companies - one thing that really helped us win repeat business and quelled any and all arguments when it came to the bill was that we took photos of the equipment before, during, and after.

Digital photos cost buggerall, they are easy to keep on file under that serivce job, and if the customer wants to know for example why it took 3 hours to replace a 20 cent part, you can show them the photos of the 3 million screws and covers and so on that you had to disassemble to get to the part.

Also helps with the "That wasn't scratched when I left it with you" type of issues.

I'm surprised bike shops don't implement a similar system...any service managers out there listening?

[miloking]

Henderson Yamaha did a service/dynotune on my r6. got a k+n filter which they didn't line up properly and broke one of the tabs off, broke the locators of the side of the tank cowling, lost 3 of the those push in clips, failed to give me the usb cable and instructions for my new pc3, made a shitarse map and all for the low sum of $1400. Unfortunatley I only recently pulled it apart and noticed all the broken shit after they have shut down. Henderson Yamaha you are cocks.:angry:

They havent shut down, they merely moved to Wairau rd, Glenfield (makes me wonder why)......so hop on your R6 and go to give them some bollocking!