What's with crap motorcycle workshop service?

[FJRider]

Fail.

He was promised a service level that was not given. And he had to pay full price for it when he did complain.

Mechanic should be looking for a new job.

It wasn't a "Level of service" he was promised ... (although the mechanics attitude WAS less than desirable) ... it was the time frame. The speed of the contractor was outside the shops control. Then expected (and asked for) a discount because the contractor failed to deliver. Hardly the shops fault for that.

The later comment "Oh Nah that's fair enough (but not in my head)" shows a definite wimpish attitude on his part.

[Katman]

And let's not forget that all we have of this story is one side of it.

Thank fuck court cases don't get judged in the same manner.

[nzspokes]

Hardly the shops fault for that.

Yes it was. Failure to communicate. Failure to apologize. And worst was to "have a go at" the customer when he requested a discount.

[Big Dog]

If a service or product is considerably later than promised or substandard I often ask for a discount. Usually receive one too. If one is not possible I expect the person I am dealing with to advise me of such in a professional and courteous manner.

This is reasonable because I have either not received the service or product or not recieved it in the time frame agreed. This failure of the contract entitles me to renegotiate terms. This does not mean the other party has to agree, nor does it entitle me to remedy without a written contract stipulating remedies.

Let's say you dropped a film off for one hour processing. Paying a premium to have them in an hour instead of a week. If the shop could not deliver your photos for a week because their machine blew up would you still expect to pay the one hour price?

I have taken work to mechanics at a higher rate because of their assurance my car would be returned to me same day instead of "a few days" and I needed the car that day.

Better believe I would have expected a loaner or a discount if the car was not ready on time.


Stupid phone / Tapatalk, apologies in advance.

[jasonu]

It's a sad fact that a significant proportion of motorcyclists have an attitude that just oozes arrogance.

Poor business attitude or poor customer attitude? I think you'll find it's one of those chicken and egg stories.

Fair comments. But sometimes a business operator who might hope for a customers return business has to do a bit of tounge biting.

It wasn't a "Level of service" he was promised ... (although the mechanics attitude WAS less than desirable) ... it was the time frame. The speed of the contractor was outside the shops control. Then expected (and asked for) a discount because the contractor failed to deliver. Hardly the shops fault for that.
.

But he was dealing with and paying money to the bike shop and not the 3rd party ie the contractor. Yes the speed of the contractor is outside the bike shops control but this guy is the bike shops customer and they should do everything reasonable and appropriate to keep this guys future business. A workshop manager giving him a shitty attitude isn't right in this case.

[FJRider]

It's a sad fact that a significant proportion of motorcyclists have an attitude that just oozes arrogance.

The tough bad boy biker image motorcyclists get ... that we have to live up to ... you mean ... ???

Poor business attitude or poor customer attitude? I think you'll find it's one of those chicken and egg stories.

Poor staff attitude you mean ..?? I know it should be the same thing ... but staff attitudes have changed over the years too. Attitudes and behavior as reported in this threads first post used to be a instant dismissible offense. The company reputation being at stake.

Attitudes and standards sometimes demonstrated by management ... can lead some staff to believe it is acceptable ... and/or appropriate.

In an industry that is reliant on good staff/customer relations .. to get ongoing future work from the same customers ... poor customer attitude shouldn't change how a customer is treated (as much as they might believe it should). Repeat customers are their bread and butter.

[AllanB]

Stuffed if I'd be a motorcycle mechanic. New bikes would be OK, but the punter would still bitch at the price of a service. Used bikes with issues ......... bet they don't charge the full time they spend on a lot of these jobs and I'd offer that is possibly why a lot of the jobs take longer than expected. Would you expect to be charge for phone time of the mechanic chasing up parts etc?

The bloke who runs the garage down the road I use for WOFS and jobs I are not keep on or happy to pay for his time has stated most of his parts hunting/ordering is non-chargeable.

The main agent we use at work charges for everything and delivers as they see fit .....

[Katman]

Stuffed if I'd be a motorcycle mechanic. New bikes would be OK, but the punter would still bitch at the price of a service.

Quite honestly, in 10 years in business for myself I have not had one customer contest the price I've charged them on a job.

[TLDV8]

I have a 1990 rmx250 that i have been rebuilding and its rear shock was blown out.

They found that the shock shaft was pitted so asked me to bring in my spare and that was was stuffed also.

It would require a new shaft and what the cost was, ok cool, also said making the new shaft would take about a week.

2 weeks later and.. the shaft maker hasnt got back to them., and this happens a few more times to the point where only last week do they get it back and start reassembling the shock.

They give me a call "oh hey, its going to need a new bump stop with cost X and also needs a new bladder.

Whoever was 'making the new shaft wasn't to concerned about updating their client. (The shop)
The shop wasn't to concerned about updating their client (That would be you)

That's how it goes when folk are apathetic in general, welcome to the world of unaccountability.

Not all good tradesman are good communicators or good businessmen, some are none of those.

[FJRider]

Quite honestly, in 10 years in business for myself I have not had one customer contest the price I've charged them on a job.

Maybe ... your prices left them speechless ...

[Katman]

Maybe ... your prices left them speechless ...

I always thought it was my charm that did that.

[GrayWolf]

One thing I have noticed in NZ, is how both customer and supplier of services react in a 'bad' situation.

Example from personal experience,,, ex and I were booked in a hotel by the company (corporate booking). The receptionist then wanted to charge a $100 room 'cover'. My ex was about to pay it, and I stepped in to point out this was incorrect as it was a 'corporate' booking that was regular.
I was neither angry, or abusive, but was 'assertive' and firm.

Receptionist got shitty because they were challenged.... My ex was 'embarrassed' because I had 'made a scene'.

New Zealander's seem to have difficulty 'fronting' a supplier of poor service, as a national 'psyche' you seem to prefer to 'vote with your feet in silence'.
Nothing wrong with that really, but sometimes you do need to point out an error or poor service.

I have also noticed that (maybe because of said lack of fronting up by dissatisfied customers) a lot of service providers DO get shitty when challenged. Either they are not used to it, or, see it as a right to not be challenged by a dissatisfied client.

[FJRider]

I always thought it was my charm that did that.

Part of the charm of the internet's ... we get to miss such ...

[Robert Taylor]

If a service or product is considerably later than promised or substandard I often ask for a discount. Usually receive one too. If one is not possible I expect the person I am dealing with to advise me of such in a professional and courteous manner.

This is reasonable because I have either not received the service or product or not recieved it in the time frame agreed. This failure of the contract entitles me to renegotiate terms. This does not mean the other party has to agree, nor does it entitle me to remedy without a written contract stipulating remedies.

Let's say you dropped a film off for one hour processing. Paying a premium to have them in an hour instead of a week. If the shop could not deliver your photos for a week because their machine blew up would you still expect to pay the one hour price?

I have taken work to mechanics at a higher rate because of their assurance my car would be returned to me same day instead of "a few days" and I needed the car that day.

Better believe I would have expected a loaner or a discount if the car was not ready on time.


Stupid phone / Tapatalk, apologies in advance.

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?

[R650R]

In my experience a lot of bike shops are friendly as long as you know what you want and they know how to do it or source the part.

But if you have something specific they don't stock or need to do research to get they are gradually getting grumpier and less helpful as your question gets curlier.
A curly enough one can end up coating them a lot of money for little or no reward unless they bill you for the time it takes them to research your need.

I did a cost analysis on some of the queries that I got working in a bike shop.
I now know why most parts veterans are jaded.


Stupid phone / Tapatalk, apologies in advance.

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...

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.

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?

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...