What's with crap motorcycle workshop service?

[Big Dog]

It is of course up to the dealer to keep the customer informed if there are going to be delays. Given the nature of motorcycles ( and many other things mechanical ) that is often the case. It is equally up to the customer to ensure that he / she is readily accessible to inform of same.
Its surprising the amount of stuff we get sent with no identification whatsoever, then they ring or e-mail ( or text which I dislike ) to find out how the job is going. ''I rang you 4 weeks ago to say I was sending my forks''. Okay, but we have had a zillion phone calls and e-mails since and hundreds of varied jobs. We are supposed to have a devastating degree of recall. This in spite of specifically asking the customer to include a note with all of the work requested and full contact details. Believe me, in our sector of the industry this happens all the time
Sub contractors add another dimension that often causes delay. We always spell that out.
Given also that margins are often quite tight to be asked for a discount is something we dont want to hear. We would rather lose the job. We lost a few steering damper sales a few years back because Ohlins werent happy with the ability of parts manufacturers to them to supply a key part to the material specification and very fine tolerances required. This was ongoing for months and we had backorders. We werent able to give the customers a firm date because Ohlins couldnt. And then it was from some quarters ''you better give us a better price because we have been waiting for so long''. My answer was no to that and that it really showed that Ohlins was concerned about only making product for sale that didnt have any tolerancing issues. Of course had it been one of the Chinese manufacturers they wouldnt have been preoccupied with such attention to quality.

No doubt there are many dealers that need to get their act together but that is just as relevant for customers. There are always two sides to every story and its an age old habit of grizzling ( often justified ) but also embellishing that grizzling. I have to wonder aloud how many dealers have been in reality unfairly maligned on forums worldwide and have lost business. And how many customers poking the acid are themselves very average in their field of work?

I agree. Customers can be hell to deal with. As a customer I make sure that all business's I deal with are over informed.
If you rang me and said to me "sorry mate, can't deliver your damper in schedule because Ohlins have production issues, I can sell you a lesser alternative or you can wait until they sort it out. What would you like to do" I am pretty sure I would be open yo dealing further with you and give you first crack at future business. As has been the case with many vendors. Some of whom I have enjoyed 10 years or more relationship with.

When I get difficult customers in the past I either take them with a grain of salt and accept the loss as a cost of business or charge them more I cover the loss. Either way no work starts and the clock does not start until the customer has made it clear what they want.

The longer that takes the more it costs them.

Personally I don't rant on the internet until I have looked at both sides.
When I do it is because I have sought an amicable solution and not reached one.

I admit I can be a prick. Usually only when the person I am negotiating with starts shovelling half truths and fallacies.


Stupid phone / Tapatalk, apologies in advance.

[Yamahardman]

I read the first page and a bit of the second page. I think the shitty epicenter that set off the guy was the whole "itts taking long, will i get a discount" thing.

Longer=more labour=more cost. So it is very counterintuative to give a discount in that matter, and would cause alot of people tp get a little hot in the collar.

That beng said, he treated you very unreasonably.

My father is a mechanic of forty plus years. One thing that eats him, and what he cant understand is, why do people whinge and bitch about labour time/ cost of mechanical engineers, when they happily pay a plumber electrician or builder much more, and they work out the back of a van, having less overhead costs etc.

[Big Dog]

After following this thread for a bit and going back to the start to read again I think the above post sums it up well.
A bit of proper communication is often key and that's from both sides, being contactable and friendly but not annoying reminders of progress.
I usually ask an estimate of time and say I'll ring if not heard by date x etc...



Agree with you pretty much there Robert, especially with marking and tagging/naming your parts. From working in freight industry for many years I've seen the worst case scenarios of what happens to stuff too.
So I'm always labelling stuff that gets sent anywhere and the address is on the box in more than one place in case of wet/spill/gravel rash from freight yard soccer...
People have to remember that workshops have lots of jobs on the go so with subbie jobs they cant be on the phone every five minutes tracking stuff.

I never ask for discounts anymore but the places that I'm a regular at usually give me something without asking. Remember the guys we used to have at T&C when I was newbie, ask for discount they would pull out scissors and ask which part you wanted discounted/chopped off LOL...

I regularly negotiate on price before the work commences. Retail is for chumps.
I will however stump up without question of price if the value represented exceeds price expectation + service.

If there is no margin for a wiggle on price I am not offended. May not even take my business elsewhere.


Sometimes I will ask for a discount for no other reason than if there is a discount available I can afford it. If not I will need to keep saving, and I may be back. Recently that was a case a couple of times.
I wanted pants. The ones I wanted were on sale. I tried to buy them. They were out of my size. They were unable to accept my offer of the sale price. So I had to wait a month to have sufficient funds to pay the extra $15.

In the mean time I came across some pants that I did no like as much and needed some minor repairs. I offered them what I thought they were worth less what I thought it should cost to repair them. They also declined but countered with a price in between. I didn't like the pants that much. So I bought the first pair.

It's all about what is fair.


Stupid phone / Tapatalk, apologies in advance.

[R650R]

I will however stump up without question of price if the value represented exceeds price expectation + service.

.

I only shop at places that meet this criteria to start with, all two of them out of a potential eight shops...

[yevjenko]

Yawn fest. Must have gotten your cuddle then?

I thought it was the foreman that needed the cuddle :-)

sent from my phone (so scuze auto correct typos)

[Big Dog]

I only shop at places that meet this criteria to start with, all two of them out of a potential eight shops...

Dealing mostly with Dorkland shops there are at least that many who I will only deal with if they are the only dealer who has what I want.
Mostly because of shit service, a couple because I felt ripped off at the last transaction even some because they refused my money without good cause.
Perception is a wonderful thing... it is possible I was not ripped off... but still I avoid some stores because they gave me the impression that was the case.

Sadly this can be a bit of a shifting goal post with bikes.
Most bike shops are populated by enthusiasts rather than sales professionals.
Result, they can be pretty picky about when and where service is offered.

~ 85% I would say I am treated well by most shops.
~ 5% I would say I am treated fairly.
~ 14% I get value for money but at the cost of poor manners and shockingly unprofessional behavior. Which I don't mind if the price is right.
~ 1% of the time I am left with a range of feelings from I was ripped off to that was unfair. but I needed what I got so I paid my money.

The trouble is non professionals forget out of the last 10 transactions we only really remember the last 1 when comparing value and deciding on our next purchase... that is unless one of the last ten was a shocker. then that will be remembered first until we feel vindicated.

Shops are also quick to forget we are not dealing with a complaining curmudgeon (there are exceptions to every rule) we are dealing with an opportunity to make a loyal customer out of a bad situation.
IF we fail this opportunity it is likely that the unsatisfied customer will tell an average of 10 persons how their experience went.
With the advent of the internet and the anonymity this offers that means it is likely to also be embellished... and depending on the "real estate" the unhappy punter has on social media that could be thousands get to read about it.

Pre internet business courses taught it that:
* if you get one complaint there are an average of 9 other dissatisfied customers.
* if you treat that customer right they are likely to be loyal to you for 4 missed opportunities. (bad service, higher prices, poor products or services are examples of missed opportunities)
* if you treat that customer right they will tell an average of 4 persons who take action to deal with you within the next year.
* if you fail they will tell and average of 10 times the tale of how you let them down, usually over several year, even if they continue to trade with you. How impactful that is depends on factors such as how big was the audience each time, how credible is the complainer and how credible is the story.

I am not saying bike shops should give away their margin. I am saying a little customer service goes a long way.
As a rider I am good for about 10k a year to assorted vendors... how big a bite of the cherry each person gets is up to them.
That is not a lot compared to some riders who are more affluent but I also make about another > 20k (it varies a lot) in recommendations to other riders or potential riders.