Dealers suck.

[Canuck]

Was at the local dealer yesterday to ask about checking the floats in my carbs and they didn,t seem interested to even look. Ok fine I,ll just drive it althought it seems alittle rich. Anyway as I was leaving I noticed a guy outside on the parking ramp pulling wrenches so went over to look. He,s got his bike tools on the ground and says he is taking his rear tire off. I say can,t the guys in the shop help and he says they said they are to busy. Isay you know you need a lift and alot more tools than that and he says I got no choice look at my tire, I do and the chords are showing:doh:. Then he says he made an appointment a week ago and now they are to busy. I see he has a RSTD and think that is the same as my Venture so to heck with these guys we,re taking this bike to my garage and doing this thing. So we load his parts in my truck and head for the garage. One hour later we are back to the dealer for a new tire and rear bake pads and heading back to the garage to put it all back together. One more hour and the drive shaft is greased with moly 60, the brakes are cleaned and installed and the tire is back on and properly torqued. Now just so everyone knows the info to do all this came from this site and all the guys who gave step by step instructions (and pictures:cool10:) should pat themselves on the back because without them this would not have happened. Dave said ( I think his name was Dave) thanks when he left so I thought I should pass the thanks on to you guys on this site for your effort to put the info on here without which we would still be sitting there cursing the dealer. Ride safe.

[Wanderer]

Funny! Sounds like a couple of the dealers around here.

There are other good ones, though. Glad you guys were able to

get the job done. My hats off to you for saving Dave's, or, whatever his

name was, bacon.

 

[BIG TOM]

Treating customers like that wont keep him in business much longer.....Thank goodness my dealer dosn't treat me like that....I don't understand the mentality of a business owner who treats his customers like crap...What a jerk...what was the dealerships name?????........

[LilBeaver]

Yup - My local Yamaha dealer is like that, so the Honda dealer gets all of my parts and service business on my RSV...

The two dealerships are polar opposites, it is crazy....

[OldBear]

Great story. Wonder if it would be worth establishing a "list" of special dealers like this one so the rest of our brothers and sisters know who to Avoid?

There are some REALLY good dealers out there, but, unfortunately there are also some REAL duds.....mayhap we should help 'em out as they work their way out of business....

 

After all, in todays climate don't dealers REALLY need repeat business (answer YES:hihi:) Therefore if the walk on a customer maybe we need to share the experience so our peers will go somewhere that their business will be appreciate!

[Snarley Bill]

thats why i do all my own work. no one touches my bike but me. if it is a problem that i don't want to spend the money to fix myself, i will let the dealer fix it and unload the bike. just don't trust mechanics with my stuff.

[Yammer Dan]

Sounds like the Dealer closest to me. Looks at my 1st Gen and won't talk to me. Guess they know better. If I want parts I have to go to the counter and speak first to get anyone to get anything. I just don't go there to buy anything anymore.

[Canuck]

Sad part is both of us have to use this dealer for parts like oil filters and tires and the like. I know one of his mechanics looks at this forum so what do we do. Honda dealer here is the only other choice but if your on a Yamaha you won,t get so much as a bolt from them. Next dealer is two hours away, for a filter. First time I needed them they used a can of WD-40 to quiet the drive splines on the back wheel ( bike was one week old). So what do you do. I just go to VentureRiders org and get the answer from you guys and do it myself. Again thanks to this forum I haven,t been stuck yet and if that means to odd afternoon pulling wrenches on someone elses bike, so be it.

[flb_78]

Treating customers like that wont keep him in business much longer.....

 

 

It seems to be the opposite way. They turned him down because they were too busy.

[painterman67]

yeah I was on the phone with a local dealor the other day for the second day in a row trying to order yet a second part in 2 days and she says" I dont mean to be mean but dont you think its time to get ride of that antique and buy a new bike". Needless to say both oreders were canceled and she was informed that I would no longer be doing buisiness with them again. Today I recieved a call from her maneger telling me my parts were there and wanted to know when I would pick them up and pay. He got a few more explicative words than she did.

 

 

Yes I know my bike is old, but the old girl found me. And we have grown quite contempt with each other.That dealor acted like my old bike should have been scrapped and put oout for scrapp metal.

 

 

Hope you all have better expieriences than I did. Someone said we should give names so here goes. It was Burlington Yamaha in Burlington NC

 

David

[Yammer Dan]

yeah I was on the phone with a local dealor the other day for the second day in a row trying to order yet a second part in 2 days and she says" I dont mean to be mean but dont you think its time to get ride of that antique and buy a new bike". Needless to say both oreders were canceled and she was informed that I would no longer be doing buisiness with them again. Today I recieved a call from her maneger telling me my parts were there and wanted to know when I would pick them up and pay. He got a few more explicative words than she did.

 

 

Yes I know my bike is old, but the old girl found me. And we have grown quite contempt with each other.That dealor acted like my old bike should have been scrapped and put oout for scrapp metal.

 

 

Hope you all have better expieriences than I did. Someone said we should give names so here goes. It was Burlington Yamaha in Burlington NC

 

David

 

 

Another good one to stay away from.

[ronhenry4]

Sounds like the Dealer closest to me. Looks at my 1st Gen and won't talk to me. Guess they know better. If I want parts I have to go to the counter and speak first to get anyone to get anything. I just don't go there to buy anything anymore.

 

 

I wouldnt look at your old time so called motorcycle either should have been in the bone yard years ago... come off with some of that money you hide in the mattres and buy a second gen.

[Croissantwich]

Just thought I would inform you that Corey at Medicine Hat Motorcycle Service is the best Japanese bike mechanic in the area. He also sells tires, oil, filters, etc. You'll be glad you used his shop.

[Dragonslayer]

Was at the local dealer yesterday to ask about checking the floats in my carbs and they didn,t seem interested to even look. Ok fine I,ll just drive it althought it seems alittle rich. Anyway as I was leaving I noticed a guy outside on the parking ramp pulling wrenches so went over to look. He,s got his bike tools on the ground and says he is taking his rear tire off. I say can,t the guys in the shop help and he says they said they are to busy. Isay you know you need a lift and alot more tools than that and he says I got no choice look at my tire, I do and the chords are showing:doh:. Then he says he made an appointment a week ago and now they are to busy. I see he has a RSTD and think that is the same as my Venture so to heck with these guys we,re taking this bike to my garage and doing this thing. So we load his parts in my truck and head for the garage. One hour later we are back to the dealer for a new tire and rear bake pads and heading back to the garage to put it all back together. One more hour and the drive shaft is greased with moly 60, the brakes are cleaned and installed and the tire is back on and properly torqued. Now just so everyone knows the info to do all this came from this site and all the guys who gave step by step instructions (and pictures:cool10:) should pat themselves on the back because without them this would not have happened. Dave said ( I think his name was Dave) thanks when he left so I thought I should pass the thanks on to you guys on this site for your effort to put the info on here without which we would still be sitting there cursing the dealer. Ride safe.

Canuck,

Aren't you glad you followed my advice when I met you at the truck stop in Wyoming last Summer when I was on the way back from Sturgis. Didn't I tell you it was a great site full of great people always willing to help. I believe I also told you that there was a wealth of technical information and knowledgeable mechanical talent who could help with any problem you might have.

When I say I told you so, it's not that I'm trying to boost my self importance. For I am but a lowly messenger and you are the wiser one for seeking out the wisdom of the enlightened teachers of the truth. But, not only that, by being willing and able to help others you have truely displayed and exemplified the selfless gift of heartfelt compassion and service to a brother rider in need. You truely have acted in accordance with the underlying atmosphere of the good hearted that make this site great and therefore have made the world a better place because of your service.

You have verified and proven without doubt, as I have always known.

The world would be a much better place if more people followed my advice.

[Yammer Dan]

I wouldnt look at your old time so called motorcycle either should have been in the bone yard years ago... come off with some of that money you hide in the mattres and buy a second gen.

 

 

Mattress is almost flat but I got enough 1st Gen parts to stay ahead of those 2nd Gens for years. But that don't take much!!!

 

Read Steve's post about his ride on her and "Ugly" is still Knocking them dead without even trying!!

[mm482]

Thank you Gene for seeing the need and going out of your way to help a fellow rider.

 

Earl:thumbsup2:

[Sylvester]

I live in a rural area and about thrity minutes away there is a Yamaha dealer who has the absolutely best mechanic I have ever been around. He is Serbian and a five star Yamaha trained mechanic. Whatever he does is perfect. Problem is they over price their parts a lot. Now, about an hour away is the friendliest dealer with great parts department and pricing. They are the best place to buy a new machine also. But they have very mediocre mechanics. So I buy may parts from one and have the other install when I haven't the time to do my own work.

[mbrood]

Our local Yamaha shop seemed to take great pride in laughing at my 86 Venture. "Out of date" and "too old to service". They would sell parts but seemed to not want to use the parts finder... "Give me a part number...". They didn't want to carry any of the bigger bikes, maybe one or two... they wanted to sell dirt bikes and 4-wheel jobs and accessories... um... did I mention accessories? An easy 3/4 of the shop was just for that. Well, I do my own work and get the few parts on-line. Imagine my surprise when I phoned them for a special, very 'cosmetic' bolt and they were out of business... over 30 year here, in the same location. But in the last 15 years they had changed. If it wasn't new AND been sold by them, they just didn't want to be bothered. One block down the street is a "generic" bike shop, always friendly and helpful, always full service booths yet they always manage to "make time" for ya. They didn't have the bolt but if I bring one in... They had a Kawasaki bolt, right type, right size... and chromed like mine... $1.40

 

Who says service isn't king?

[Canuck]

Actually Bob your right about the forum and the advice, and it ain,t bragging when your right. The forum provided all the knowledge and from what I have been reading here I,m sure anyone else on the forum would have done the same given the oportunity. Maybe some of these dealers need the General Motors expierience of going broke as they sure seem easier to talk to and deal with lately. Some how I thought if a person was traveling on a motorcycle any where or in any country a dealer would be happy to change a tire or a light bulb or do an oil change to keep you on the road if your willing to pay for it as it used to be that way. Maybe I,m just a dreamer. Actually I take back the General Motors thing, I would hate to see anyone else suffer like that for any reason and I do hope they get back on their feet again.

[gunkylump]

Sad part is both of us have to use this dealer for parts like oil filters and tires and the like. I know one of his mechanics looks at this forum so what do we do. Honda dealer here is the only other choice but if your on a Yamaha you won,t get so much as a bolt from them. Next dealer is two hours away, for a filter. First time I needed them they used a can of WD-40 to quiet the drive splines on the back wheel ( bike was one week old). So what do you do. I just go to VentureRiders org and get the answer from you guys and do it myself. Again thanks to this forum I haven,t been stuck yet and if that means to odd afternoon pulling wrenches on someone elses bike, so be it.

 

Hey Canuck:

 

I get my oil and filters at Canadian Tire. They carry the fram filters, and I use the synthetic oil that they sell. A little pricey, but good oil! Hope this helps a wee bit.

 

randy:cool10:

[wes0778]

Sad part is both of us have to use this dealer for parts like oil filters and tires and the like.

 

Could you not get oil @ Wally World, Filters at Advanced Auto/AutoZone/O'Reilly and tires from Motorcycle Super Store?

[Guest seuadr]

Could you not get oil @ Wally World, Filters at Advanced Auto/AutoZone/O'Reilly and tires from Motorcycle Super Store?

i get all my oil and filters from advanced auto. if they don't have it, they will order it. they even said they can get moly60 and yamalube. I just use rotella, though and i know alot of people are kinda down on fram filters, but they've worked fine for me on all my vehicles for 15 years. plus on the bikes that have an o-ring, they GIVE you the oring in the box, so i replace it every time i change the oil. How handy is THAT?

 

we have a yamaha dealership around here that is also suzuki. I went in there for some parts, there are 3 kids who don't know a damn thing about anything, and an older woman who is great. the three kids argued with me about my 82 suzuki gs1100.. they said suzuki made no such bike

 

the older lady is the only person in the whole joint worth talking to. she got me the parts i needed in the time it took those kids to find the right parts fisch, since they didn't believe me when i told them the part number and fische/fische part number. i even described it to them in detail

idiots.

 

just my

 

- Jared

[kd4uvc]

Find a good independant shop nearby with a good reputation. Harley Davidson does a much better job with customer service than metrics and some will order parts and work on your bikes with good results. Independant motorcycle shops need repeat customers to bring in the money so they will work hard. Dealers don't give a damn.

[ediddy]

Poor service or no service is a sign of the times. I don't know where or when businesses forgot about customer service. Maybe they teach greed instead of service in schools now. It's not just metric dealers, harley dealers are just as bad if not worse. I go on a harely web site weekly and last week there was a warning from the moderator. No more posts about bad dealers would be allowed. There were so many posts about bad dealers and the guys on the site were flooding the bad dealers with emails. The moderator said that the best way he knew to have their site sutdown was to complain about dealers. Sounds like we live in Iran.

[kd4uvc]

By the way, the local dealer near me is going out of business due to customer satisfaction issues. The dealer next door, Harley Davidson, is doing everything he can to have good customer service: Live bands, Open 7 days a week, Long hours, He walks around and talks with customers so to get feedback, etc. I just wanted to try out a different bike. Oh, I do use independant shops.