Holeshot - Salesman of the year

[Tank]

My neighbour and I both wanted bikes.

We went to Holshot and told them that we are both looking for bikes. Was told that "they would look after us"

I was served by Jamie - the Suzuki Fest price for my mike was 11.5k +on road.

They looked after me and did it for 11k on the road.

My friend takes a test ride (Jamie kindly gave him the bike for a Sunday), friend likes bike and goes into Holshot about a week later and says "I liked it - Ill take one" Unfortunately Jamie is not around.

The bike was 10k+ORC - offers 9500 on road and he would buy then and there.

Salesman goes - nope - its a fantastic price - we will do the ORC - but other than that there is no movement on Suzuki Fest pricing.

My friend explains the deal I got and that we wanted to buy two bikes and the guy said "whatever".

Should he have split the difference of $250 my friend would have purchased the bike right there and then.

Instead he is buying elsewhere and the Saturday salesman lost them a sale.

No wonder some businesses struggle (not saying Holshot is btw) - with staff who simply cannot think.

/rant over

[mynameis]

Sounds pretty strange to me and I wonder why the deal was turned down. Seems reasonable and in my past dealing with Jamie and Carl at Holeshot, they have been awesome and listen to their customers.

What's the other side of the story??

[Devil]

Yep, Jamie and Carl are great guys. I'll be heading there again for my next bike.

[Tank]

Sounds pretty strange to me and I wonder why the deal was turned down. Seems reasonable and in my past dealing with Jamie and Carl at Holeshot, they have been awesome and listen to their customers.

What's the other side of the story??

Just to clarify Jamie was not there - He looked after me a couple of weeks ago and was awesome.

Other side of the story? - who knows - it sounded like a no-brainer to me? He had no trade-in etc and it was all straight forward. Hes a fairly nice bloke (well I like him - no not like that:love:)

[Korumba]

Red Baron lost a $20 Grand sale when I purchased the R1 last year, they had a Black model on the floor ready to go, but I struck the same type of thing the salesman was crap and also could not put a deal together.

Went to Henderson Yamaha and gave them $20,000,instead even tho I had to wait a week for the Bike.

[rwh]

How much does the ORC come to?

Richard

[mynameis]

Just to clarify Jamie was not there - He looked after me a couple of weeks ago and was awesome.

Other side of the story? - who knows - it sounded like a no-brainer to me? He had no trade-in etc and it was all straight forward. Hes a fairly nice bloke (well I like him - no not like that:love:)

Yeah I realise Jamie wasn't there, so who was this incompetent git then? I reckon if he still goes back to Jamie and let him know about what happened he will put it right.

Being the co-owner he has a bit of initiative and brains. Top guy mate. Go back. I hate arrogant business practice like such aye. Your mate should have kicked him in the nuts as well :D

[Tank]

How much does the ORC come to?

Richard

$250 apparently this makes 10 char

[Tank]

Yeah I realise Jamie wasn't there, so who was this incompetent git then? I reckon if he still goes back to Jamie and let him know about what happened he will put it right.

Being the co-owner he has a bit of initiative and brains. Top guy mate. Go back. I hate arrogant business practice like such aye. Your mate should have kicked him in the nuts as well :D

Well - I dont know about kicking him in the nuts - :doh:

But - he gave them the chance and they let him walk out the door - So I guess he will be off to Colemans (also nice blokes from what I have seen).

C

[007XX]

Jamie is a top guy...quite simply, if he's not around, I won't deal with anyone else there.

Hubby has been buying his bikes there for the past 6 years or so, so they know him. But Jamie has always given us unbiaised infos. He's one of the very few sales people I trust...I used to be one, so I should know! :laugh:

I reckon just speak to Jamie again, as firstly, he needs the feedback on what is happening when he's not around, and secondly, he might be able to make things good again.

[Aa7]

From what i've seen lately it seems to be common for some bike shop salesmen these days not to offer deals of even paying ORC and small ($500 or so) discounts which IMO is costing them business. My flatmate recently bought a new bike and one shop wouldnt drop at all and one offered the ticket price with free ORC nothing else. he basically said if you can match $XXXX i'll buy the bike from you however both shops lost out and he went to a third shop and asked if they wanted to sell a bike that afternoon and if so here is what he wants and how much he will pay. there is now a brand new bike sitting in the garage next to mine which had only a $200 discount from the ticket price and free ORC and two shops who have lost out on making ANY profits. maybe one day bike shops will realise that there is now more than one place to buy a specific branded bike from and its a customers choice who they buy from. i know which shop i'm going to when i buy my next bike. the other two i am going to visit also but only to take their bikes for a test ride as i will buy elsewhere from someone who will listen to my questions and offer a good deal.

[Maha]

Jamie is a top guy...quite simply, if he's not around, I won't deal with anyone else there.


Hes the teeny weeny fulla aye?....i have purchased 3 bike's from there and would go back, in fact, right now they have a bike i really want, but i can pick the very same model in Palmerston North for about $1k less, wonder if Holeshot would match the better price?...:innocent:

[007XX]

Hes the teeny weeny fulla aye?....i have purchased 3 bike's from there and would go back, in fact, right now they have a bike i really want, but i can pick the very same model in Palmerston North for about $1k less, wonder if Holeshot would match the better price?...:innocent:

Definitely talk to Jamie...and yes, he is the little fella! I'm not saying he will match the price, that's for him to answer, but he definitely won't try to rip you off. Never has done to me.

He actually started in the Mechanical Dpt, then moved onto sales. Best thing Steven the owner could have done. :yes:

[mitchilin]

I went a bought a bike off Jamie today.Went to Holeshot last week and he wasn't there so went back today.Got my last bike off him and he seemed pretty good so he got my business again.Was straight up and follows through with what he say's.Top bloke.

[banditrider]

Have had similar experiences to those above. In one case the local shop missed out on a 2 bike sale (mate & I). We went out of town and saved a grand each + didn't pay on roads.

On my last 2 deals I've got a good trade in price, discounted price on the new bike and haven't had to pay on roads.

If you find a good guy stick with him and hopefully he'll remeber you next time around.

[Supermoto Junkie]

I had a a similar thing happen to me at Holeshot late last week,

Went into Cyclspot Honda (next door) first, had a look at the CB900 hornet and the CB1300 (starting to get some pressure from the wife about having bikes with no rear foot peegs, but thats another story) anyway, after having a good look at cyclespot, I wandered into Holeshot to see what they had in stock, was even carring Honda brochures, walked around for a while and a guy walked up and said "what you got there, oh...cb1300...you need to ride our new Bandit......heres a broshure.......give me a call someday to ride it as it is out on demo" then just walks off......anyway i walk around a bit more then find they have a bandit in the show room, this guy could even point it out to me, so i had a look over it , the guy walks past a few times....says nothing, so i left the broshure on the seat and walked out....along with my business

I can get treated like that at home by the wife....i not need to got the a bike shop and get it

[turtleman]

I had a a similar thing happen to me at Holeshot late last week,

.....anyway i walk around a bit more then find they have a bandit in the show room, this guy could even point it out to me, so i had a look over it , the guy walks past a few times....says nothing, so i left the broshure on the seat and walked out....along with my business



If it's a new bike, then it doesn't leave the shop floor until it's bought! Most dealers have a demo bike in a particular model (or sourced from the wholesaler and shared around a few franchises). This way the demo bike is the one that clocks up the mileage, gets scuffed etc.
I know if I buy a brand spankin' new bike that's exactly what I want - not something thats got a few hundred k's (or more) on it at probably thrash level revs all the way !!
Just my $0.02 worth :yes:

[Supermoto Junkie]

If it's a new bike, then it doesn't leave the shop floor until it's bought! Most dealers have a demo bike in a particular model (or sourced from the wholesaler and shared around a few franchises). This way the demo bike is the one that clocks up the mileage, gets scuffed etc.
I know if I buy a brand spankin' new bike that's exactly what I want - not something thats got a few hundred k's (or more) on it at probably thrash level revs all the way !!
Just my $0.02 worth :yes:

I totally agree, my point was that here shoved a brochure in my hand and and then walked off and didn't even say there was one in the showroom for me to look at,

I guess Jamie was away that day....

[eliot-ness]

I've bought a few bikes through Jamie, never had cause to complain and when I've pushed hard for bigger discounts he's chatted with Carl and always sorted it to my satisfaction. I always get regular customer discounts on spare parts and gear too. It pays to stick with the same dealer if you get good service.
The Suzuki Fest prices don't leave much room for haggling but it's worth a try. Call in again, you might be surprised, ask for a free helmet, boots or gloves too. I should know, I've got enough spare gear to last till I give up biking

[Northpoint]

I bought my Bandit at Holeshot off Jamie. Was a nice bloke... He gave me lots of advise which came in handy.

[johnnyflash]

+1 for Jamie, Yep we also had brilliant sevice from Jamie, also from carl in parts and the service guys, excellant..

[Wiki Drifter]

Bought my current bike off Jamie too, top dude :niceone:

[Bass]

in fact, right now they have a bike i really want...:innocent:

Oh I see!!
Get Mom off the back and suddenly the Sprint isn't good enough!
Traitor!!

Actually, we bought Nicky's bike off Holeshot and there was a problem with the carb. They accepted what I told them and sorted it smartly - actually they didn't even check what I told them but just replaced the whole carb.
Impressed!

[Katman]

anyway i walk around a bit more then find they have a bandit in the show room,

Was it the new 1250 or an old stock 1200?

[Jinx3d]

Yeah, in general m/c sales guys are a bit crap.

Botany honda told me I had shit taste in bikes cos I currently own a suzuki (when I discussed trading)

South Auckland Yamaha said, we dont bother with trades and there is no discount for buying cash. So I'm paying premium AND I have to sell my old bike?

I just noticed that my bike puts out the same torque as an R1 anyway and it about 2000 rpm down the rev range which makes it 20 times easier to ride!!

Sounds like I saved 21,500 bucks to me. I should thank them!

[discotex]

But - he gave them the chance and they let him walk out the door - So I guess he will be off to Colemans (also nice blokes from what I have seen).

Yeah their sales and parts guys are great. Not that I've bought a bike there but I've looked at plenty and talked about options.

Wasn't too impressed with the service dept when told they wouldn't service my bike because I didn't buy it from them. WTF?! I know they were busy (said two weeks before they found it I didn't buy it there) but suggesting I try Red Baron didn't really come across as great customer service.

The irony being that I found Red Baron's service dept extremely helpful and I'll probably go back to them as it's convenient to work. Not as convenient as Colemans but their service dept don't seem to want my $$.

Seems very much a who you get world when it comes to dealers.

[jafar]

I had a a similar thing happen to me at Holeshot late last week,

Went into Cyclspot Honda (next door) first, had a look at the CB900 hornet and the CB1300 (starting to get some pressure from the wife about having bikes with no rear foot peegs, but thats another story) anyway, after having a good look at cyclespot, I wandered into Holeshot to see what they had in stock, was even carring Honda brochures, walked around for a while and a guy walked up and said "what you got there, oh...cb1300...you need to ride our new Bandit......heres a broshure.......give me a call someday to ride it as it is out on demo" then just walks off......anyway i walk around a bit more then find they have a bandit in the show room, this guy could even point it out to me, so i had a look over it , the guy walks past a few times....says nothing, so i left the broshure on the seat and walked out....along with my business

I can get treated like that at home by the wife....i not need to got the a bike shop and get it

Get the CB1300, Honda will rego the bike for 12 months , Suzuki will only put 6 months on it. :devil2:

[skidMark]

because on a bike sale they make sweet fuck sall and you haggle so much thats they are gunna eventually go nope....

they are running a business not a friendly club...the purpose is to make money...they don't care because somebody else will buy it...for more money....

tell ur mate to not a be a jew.

[Storm]

Yeah they have to make a quid or two, but theres the short view and the long view. The short view says "fuck lowering the price/sweetening the deal, I've got kids to feed", whereas the long view says "look after them now and I get years of repeat business- tyres at x hundred a pop, servicing, etc"
Its all how you ask, ya cant just walk in and try the heavy routine, ask politely, if they cant do the deal you want, wish them a good day and go to the next shop. Never burn a bridge you might need one day

[vifferman]

Yeah they have to make a quid or two, but theres the short view and the long view. The short view says "fuck lowering the price/sweetening the deal, I've got kids to feed", whereas the long view says "look after them now and I get years of repeat business- tyres at x hundred a pop, servicing, etc"
Exactly!
Which is why in the past three years I've spent thousands on accessories, gear, servicing, etc. and not one cent of my coinage has gone to the shop that I bought the bike from. It was not so much a case of "I've got kids to feed" but more like, "We've ripped you off, we don't care that you know it, we've got your money so we don't give a crap!".

FWIW, although I've never bought much from Holeshot, I've heard so many good things about them, and had such good service from them in terms of test rides and so on, that I'd actually like to buy a bike from them.

What I don't get is that there are so many stories of shit customer service about most (probably all) of the bike shops floating around. Is it something in the nature of being in the trade, or the kind of customers they have, that leads some of these guys to be arseholes? Don't they know word gets around very quickly in the motorcycling community?

Something else I'll say is that I've had both very good and very bad service from most of the bike shops I've dealt with. It seems to depend on the person you deal with, the time of the month, phases of the moon, or whatever. Some are mostly good, with the occasional glitch, and some have a mixture of good and bad salespeople. I tend to be a fairly loyal person, and if someone is honest with me, and treats me OK, then I don't care so much about price. I recognise they're in business to make money, so I'm not going to go from shop to shop trying to achieve the best deal.

[007XX]

Yeah they have to make a quid or two, but theres the short view and the long view. The short view says "fuck lowering the price/sweetening the deal, I've got kids to feed", whereas the long view says "look after them now and I get years of repeat business- tyres at x hundred a pop, servicing, etc"
Its all how you ask, ya cant just walk in and try the heavy routine, ask politely, if they cant do the deal you want, wish them a good day and go to the next shop. Never burn a bridge you might need one day

Exactly!!! well said...:niceone:

Also, bear in mind that being in retail sales is a very double edged sword when it comes to greeting the customer: you're either too pushy or not enough...

I've known the Holeshot guys to be quite laid back in their approach, and I personally prefer that. They had a guiy there for a while who obviously was new, and would just "hover" at about a meter of me at all time...man, that was seriously annoying!!!:no:

[Tank]

because on a bike sale they make sweet fuck sall and you haggle so much thats they are gunna eventually go nope....

they are running a business not a friendly club...the purpose is to make money...they don't care because somebody else will buy it...for more money....

tell ur mate to not a be a jew.

What a fucken stupid reply

Haggling too much ?? WTF - We were purchasing 2 brand new bikes, and they would get out service etc for years to come.

They threw that away for the sake of not giving a $500 discount (he would have settled for $250 (but they didn't even offer that, or discount on gear) - this is AFTER they said they would look after us. We are talking about just over a 1% discount.

Yeah - they are running a business. As do I and my neighbour (we don't run friendly clubs either) - that's why we know this was stupid.

"They know somebody else will buy it" - We DUH that means they would have sold 2 bikes not just the one. And they would have had more $$$ in the bank because of it. I take it you don't have a MBA huh?

As for the Jew comment - only idiots don't negotiate on high value items, bikes, cars, houses - that doesnt make them tight - just sensible, and people that don't are well, just stupid.

That's why we have all the other stuff as well and arnt financed up to our arsehole (or beyond)

[skidMark]

What a fucken stupid reply

Haggling too much ?? WTF - We were purchasing 2 brand new bikes, and they would get out service etc for years to come.

They threw that away for the sake of not giving a $500 discount (he would have settled for $250 (but they didn't even offer that, or discount on gear) - this is AFTER they said they would look after us. We are talking about just over a 1% discount.

Yeah - they are running a business. As do I and my neighbour (we don't run friendly clubs either) - that's why we know this was stupid.

"They know somebody else will buy it" - We DUH that means they would have sold 2 bikes not just the one. And they would have had more $$$ in the bank because of it. I take it you don't have a MBA huh?

As for the Jew comment - only idiots don't negotiate on high value items, bikes, cars, houses - that doesnt make them tight - just sensible, and people that don't are well, just stupid.

That's why we have all the other stuff as well and arnt financed up to our arsehole (or beyond)


shit me.....

i only used a small hook.

big fishy took a bite.

[Tank]

shit me.....

i only used a small hook.

big fishy took a bite.

Even I have to laugh at that! <_<

[Tank]

The story has a happy ending.

Went to to colmans to buy the bike this morning. Decided to swing past Jamie just in case. He was there, was helpful and gave ORC + a clothing voucher.

Bike was sold in 5 mins.

At least one of he staff there have some brains.

[mitchilin]

I asked Jamie on thursday if he knew of this thread,when I was sorting my bike out.He didn't know about it then.I think he might have checked it out(he sounded pretty interested) and was keen to make some amends.

[boman]

I too have bought a bike off Jamie. No complants. Gave a good discount on gear also. Will be going back for sure.

[grusomhat]

You can see just from this thread that being nice to your customers will pay off. A thread in a forum like this is great publicity, especially when it's full of great comments like this. Good on yah Holeshot