My letter to the Victory management

[Tisunac]

My friend and I had a pretty bad experience at the Victory Demo Ride a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to share my letter to the Polaris management with you guys. I wanted to email them but there's no email on their website - just a customer service phone number and a physical address. The lady at the Customer Service was nice but she can't do much except to "understand" and "apologize" for the inconvenience and I understand that. I appreciate the fact that she was nice and professional over the phone.

 

I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with my opinion expressed in the letter but that was my (our) experience that day... I thought you might want to take it into consideration when thinking about your next bike. I know I'm not spending my hard-earned money there...

 

Here it is, for what it's worth:

 

Hi,

My name is Sinisa and I’m your ideal customer. I’m a 47 year old male, professional, married, two kids in college, homeowner, with a steady income. Motorcycles have been my passion for years and I presently own two of them. I have a shed built just for my motorcycles. I am a member of several motorcycle forums, receiving a couple of motorcycle magazines, attending an International Motorcycle Show in DC every year, I’ve attended the California Superbike School and I’m spending quite of bit of money for the accessories. My wife and I are using every available weekend to go for a ride, that’s “our time”, our “therapy” and we love it. Yes, I’m your guy….I’m the one you cater to, the one that will spend money to buy a motorcycle he wants.

During this year I’ve been researching which bike will replace my 15 year old touring bike, the one we use for a two-up riding. And I found one – Cross Country Tour fits the bill!... For a 6’3”, 250lb guy this bike fits like a glove right off the showroom. So, I started researching for a demo ride close by. The closest and soonest was the one at the Commonwealth Powersports in Prince George, Virginia. So my friend, a die-hard Harley guy, and I decided to go. I was ready to “convert” him into a Victory guy…

The demo ride was a complete disaster. Your employees were rude, condescending, and with a horrible customer service. From a 45 min delay (one of them were late 45 min and they couldn’t start without him, apparently), to complete lack of organization system (no sign-up sheet, some kind of “cards” system that they “invented” on the spot after first ride was a mess), to associates wearing unsafe gear (novelty helmets, unzipped jackets),…And finally, to RUDE Victory employee arguing with me after I pointed out a rattle in one CCT fairing and maybe a lack of power on the same bike. I did it in best intentions, expecting they will check that out. Instead, I’ve received an earful of insults how I need to learn how to ride and when to shift, that those are his bikes and they are perfectly fine and that I probably need to find something else on the market(!!!).

I couldn’t not believe it – is THAT the person who is the “first impression” of the company such is Victory? Does he represent how the Victory is taking care of their potential customers? I’ve expected a simple: “Hey, thanks for letting me know. I’ll check what’s going on with that bike a little later. Why don’t you try this one instead? You might like it better.”. Instead, I got a piece of his mind.

The bullying continued later with some “smart” comments about my riding style that were absolutely unnecessary and unprofessional. … After the third ride both of us decided we had enough humiliations and left. While buying some accessories at the dealership, the sales associate asked us how was the demo ride. After telling him about my experience he told me I’m the third rider who had the same experience and left early.

Needless to say, after this interaction with your employee I really couldn’t be objective about the bike(s). Suddenly, everything was wrong – the engine was underpowered, the plastic was thin and rattling, the gear shifter was loud,…. Or was I just looking for a “bad stuff”, overlooking a great handling, comfort, excellent design, nice breaks,….? At this point it’s irrelevant – I know I have to look elsewhere for my next bike. I guess your employee was right – there are so many bikes on the market and I need to find one that works for me. In the meantime, I will make sure that my riding buddies (both in my area and on the forums that I’m associated with) learn about my experience with your company.

I’m sure you are aware of the fact that you are not selling the motorcycles – you are selling a lifestyle. Motorcycles are a passion, not a necessity. We can live without them. We chose to spend money on them. And I can guarantee you one thing – whoever is ready to spend $20,000+ on a motorcycle do not want to be a part of the lifestyle your company promoted last weekend at the demo ride.

I still cannot understand one thing, though – why would a company who prides itself in customer service (“Ride one and you’ll own one”, remember?) let people like THOSE representing them on the “first front line”, where all the potential buyers are coming to try the product and make a final decision about the purchase? That’s too bad….

 

Respectfully,

[SilvrT]

Interesting .... did you post this on a Victory forum? If not, I will do it for you.

 

I'd be interested in reading the response (if you get one).

 

Keep in mind the saying "don't let one bad apple spoil the basket".

[XV1100SE]

Sorry you had such a bad experience at a demo ride. From the sounds of it the organizer was late and at least one Victory employee doesn't know anything about sales or customer service.

 

I'm interested to know if you'll receive a reply from corporate. They won't offer you anything if they do respond other than the location of the next demo ride.

[Tisunac]

Yea, I'm really not expecting anything from them nor I did it to get a "deal" or something. As corny as it sounds, I believe in a good customer service - I will recommend every good service that I have and send everybody I know that way; and I will also try to "recognize" a bad service and let them know that.

 

My intention is to make Victory aware of it and maybe, just maybe they will see that as a potential problem and address that. For the sake of their sales, and for the sake of us riders. I hate to avoid the good product just because of a bad service. But I will do it. I will always go to a restaurant with exceptional service, even if their food is not as great. Also, you can have the best food in the world - if you have a crappy service I'm not coming back. Just my $0.02....

 

I hope I'll be able to ride them again (maybe in spring) under a better circumstances, and "adjust" my opinion about them as a company and also about their products. At this point, they lost me as a potential customer (and one of my buddies also decided to look elsewhere after this).....

 

I did not post it anywhere yet, so I certainly appreciate if you can pass it on to the Victory forum. I didn't mean to bash the motorcycle, even though I didn't like it as much as I expected - this is all about the poor customer service and how it can affect the potential customers...

[djh3]

I am betting most of the folks you dealt with were dealer people not employees of Victory. The dealer I have went to rides @ Sky Powersports of Lakeland has always been helpful, explained the route and provided a lead and follow guy to keep group together. As far as I have been told by dealer guys the only "Victory" employee was the truck driver that brought the bikes. I rode a Vision a couple years back and it did have a rattle that sounded to be in the trunk. Bike had 10k on it, and I told the dealer when I got back and he took it next ride out. I took a cross bike. I was told yes it did, but would be corrected under warranty i2f would have been a bike I bought.

I think you will find its more dealer representatives than Victory folks. But it sure does not help Victory's image or customer relationships. Dont throw the baby out with the water. See if another ride at a different dealer is available.

[MikeWa]

Sinisa

It is a very well written letter. And I agree with you. Victory needs to know about it or how in the world will they ever fix it. That other potential customers had the same experience speaks volumes about the incident. Even the parts guy should have been calling his boss aside at that point and informing him problems were brewing.

 

It really is to bad this Victory demo event fell apart. But I can tell you I have been to several Victory demo rides and they have all been very cordial and well organized. That said some of the new Indians are now sporting a very appealing trunk. Might be worth a look even though they are part of the same corporate as Victory.

 

Mike

[SilvrT]

 

I did not post it anywhere yet, so I certainly appreciate if you can pass it on to the Victory forum. I didn't mean to bash the motorcycle, even though I didn't like it as much as I expected - this is all about the poor customer service and how it can affect the potential customers...

 

I'll quote it to victoryforums.com

[Tisunac]

Oh yea, I will definitely try it again...hopefully with a better results. And we actually check with the dealership - they had nothing to do with the demo ride except providing the real estate. That's according to two associates at the dealership. They were very apologetic and were keep on telling us that they had no say-so in the organization of it.

 

And yea, the rude guy was the Victory truck driver. He was the one acting like he owns the place, treating everybody like a 4-th graders who came over to touch his precious bikes. His quote: "All these bikes are mine for a year and I KNOW they are perfect! I can burn tires and pop a wheely with any one of them any time!..." . I mean, it's pointless to waste a breath on somebody so immature and unprofessional...

 

Victory people at the International Motorcycle Show in DC were very helpful and nice. They were asking everybody to come over to the dealership and ride the bikes. So I was expecting the same treatment from their people at the Demo Ride....

[etcswjoe]

I never thought about writing a letter probably should have. I rode the Vision off a Demo trailer and really liked it but shifting was very clunky so I asked the kid after the ride if it would smooth out some after it was broke in and he told me if I knew how to ride it would not clunk, after a few choice words about my riding experience the salesman from the dealership took me inside and told me if I would come back later I could take his personal bike for a spin but after the experience with the Demo trailer I had lost interest.

[Tisunac]

Sinisa

It is a very well written letter.

 

Thank you, Mike. BTW, English is my second language...

 

That said some of the new Indians are now sporting a very appealing trunk. Might be worth a look even though they are part of the same corporate as Victory.

Yea, Indian Roadmaster looks great, other Indian bikes at the Bike Show in DC (they didn't have a Roadmaster back then) looked like a quality products. But a starting price of $28K (with a few options goes over $30K) is out of my league, at this point. I might go for a demo ride in Greensboro, NC in a couple of weeks. To try them and to see how will Polaris organize that one hahaha...

 

THANK YOU FOR POSTING MY LETTER TO A VICTORY FORUM, RICK. Please let us all know what kind of response you got there... Please make sure riders there know the letter was not meant to bash the Victory bikes (I really appreciate ALL THE BIKES, quite honestly), just to paint a picture of how a bad customer service can deter a buying customer(s)...

[Tisunac]

I never thought about writing a letter probably should have. I rode the Vision off a Demo trailer and really liked it but shifting was very clunky so I asked the kid after the ride if it would smooth out some after it was broke in and he told me if I knew how to ride it would not clunk, after a few choice words about my riding experience the salesman from the dealership took me inside and told me if I would come back later I could take his personal bike for a spin but after the experience with the Demo trailer I had lost interest.

 

 

Well, it looks like attitude runs among Victory truck drivers. Like Joe, I had the same comment - if you know how to ride, you would like the bike. It's the best bike in the world, IF YOU KNOW WHEN TO SHIFT!...

 

Thanks Joe.

 

BTW, I've sent the copy of my letter to the Store Manager at that dealership - after he contacted me by email offering $750 off the new Victory bike. I'm waiting for his (their) response. Cause after all, that is reflecting (hurting) their business directly.

[Ventureless]

I am one that has talked with Sinisa about his experience. I was looking at Victories and really like the room and handling of them. But I have read some horror stories about the Vic customer service even on the Vic forums. SO in my mind now, I would hate to spend that much on a bike and then be stuck without riding if anything did happen. So for me, I am going back to looking for another used reliable Venture or Tour Deluxe and a new or used Vstrom for solo riding. Or possibly a Goldwing F6B if I find the right deal.

 

Sinisa I am trying to make the Waugh demo ride this weekend and meet up with you. Who knows maybe I will come away with a new Road Glide!!!!

[SilvrT]

I am one that has talked with Sinisa about his experience. I was looking at Victories and really like the room and handling of them. But I have read some horror stories about the Vic customer service even on the Vic forums. SO in my mind now, I would hate to spend that much on a bike and then be stuck without riding if anything did happen. So for me, I am going back to looking for another used reliable Venture or Tour Deluxe and a new or used Vstrom for solo riding. Or possibly a Goldwing F6B if I find the right deal.

 

sheeesh!

 

You can go to any motorcycle forum and hear horror stories about dealers ... heck, you can read them right here in this forum!

 

c'mon ... sounds like a lame excuse to me to rule out buying a bike just because of some bad experience with a dealer or a person representing a company.

 

(sorry, had to say it)

[Ventureless]

sheeesh!

 

You can go to any motorcycle forum and hear horror stories about dealers ... heck, you can read them right here in this forum!

 

c'mon ... sounds like a lame excuse to me to rule out buying a bike just because of some bad experience with a dealer or a person representing a company.

 

(sorry, had to say it)

 

 

I did not rule out completely a Victory. But I have read lots of stuff about how bad the warranty process is and how unavailable parts are. So that tells me that if I do buy one and it breaks down, I might be sitting a while waiting for back ordered parts to get back on teh road. That is what concerns me. Also the fact that I do not see to many Vics with high mileage. So does that mean they aren't as reliable yet or maybe they just don't get ridden much. I am not bashing the bikes at all either, but for my money, I want the most reliable that I can get.

[SilvrT]

I did not rule out completely a Victory. But I have read lots of stuff about how bad the warranty process is and how unavailable parts are. So that tells me that if I do buy one and it breaks down, I might be sitting a while waiting for back ordered parts to get back on teh road. That is what concerns me. Also the fact that I do not see to many Vics with high mileage. So does that mean they aren't as reliable yet or maybe they just don't get ridden much. I am not bashing the bikes at all either, but for my money, I want the most reliable that I can get.

 

My comment was directed to anyone, not you specifically although I did quote your words.

 

Parts, to my knowledge, are not "un available". Further, there are many, many factory and third party accessories and new ones are coming out regularly. There are small companies dedicated to building and selling Vic accessories as well as custom engine parts and builders for nothing else but Victory.

 

Back ordered parts are common everywhere. It's the "sign of the times" and it solely depends on what that part is. You can get left "sitting awhile" with any bike make.

 

No, you won't see too many Vics with high mileage simply because they haven't been around that long and didn't really get into the touring market until what... 2008 or 9 when the Vision came out. Before that their models were cruisers. Now how many cruisers do you see with high mileage? That said, there are a few Vic owners I know of with over 100,000 trouble-free miles.

 

Guys, I "get it" ... but if you live your life a skeptic, you're not gonna "live".

Edited October 14, 2014 by SilvrT

[Tisunac]

One thing is worth repeating - both Ventureless and I were SOLD on Victory! He was about to buy a Vision and I really liked a CCT but was considering a Vision, too. Him and I never met (yet) but emailed each other numerous times about Victory motorcycles, comparing them to our Ventures, pro's and con's,... We are both big guys and Victory was a logical choice for both of us. So, it's not just that the guy was a jerk (and he was) but that kinda paint the picture about the company, too. They've decided to hire him as their representative at the event where riders come to try the bike and make their $20000+ purchasing decision.

 

If I'm buying a $5000 used bike, I'm not expecting anything from the manufacturer. If I'm buying a new bike, I'm expecting to be taking care of. Before I buy it, during the purchase, and after the purchase when I need a service or just an advice. And I accept there are good and bad dealerships and they will win or lose deals based on that. But Victory hire those guys to be their "face" when dealing with potential customers. If they didn't put any thought in that first step, how will they take care of me AFTER they take my money?

 

I need a car and, unfortunately, I have to deal with "those people" every once in a while. I don't NEED a bike, I want a bike. It's a luxury. And for that much money, at least I would expect a respect. At least.

[Tisunac]

And Rick, I really REALLY appreciate that you took time to represent the "other" side. Maybe a more reasonable, less passionate side of the coin. I like the fact that you point out the facts that I might overlook solely based on the fact that I'm (pardon my French) pissed cause I was treated poorly by some jerk at the demo ride. My concerns become bigger and my passion toward the comfort and handling got replaced by my disappointment with the plastic. It's easy to get blindsided with testosterone when some guy laugh at your face and say that you don't know how to handle such a great bike...

 

So, thank you again Rick.

[SilvrT]

And Rick, I really REALLY appreciate that you took time to represent the "other" side. Maybe a more reasonable, less passionate side of the coin. I like the fact that you point out the facts that I might overlook solely based on the fact that I'm (pardon my French) pissed cause I was treated poorly by some jerk at the demo ride. My concerns become bigger and my passion toward the comfort and handling got replaced by my disappointment with the plastic. It's easy to get blindsided with testosterone when some guy laugh at your face and say that you don't know how to handle such a great bike...

 

So, thank you again Rick.

 

You're very welcome sir!

 

I wish you good luck no matter what brand you decide to go with.

 

Hey, here's an idea ... why not hold off until Yamaha releases their new model (the one that will replace the Venture ... if they ever do that is).

[BigLenny]

Im with SilverT on this one.

 

When I was looking to buy my RSTD in 2007, the local Yamaha dealer was a complete **shole and until this day ranks as one of the most failed customer experiences I've ever had. He even made sure he told me if I buy somewhere else to not be coming to his store for warranty repair. Crazy! Guess what I did? I found a Yamaha dealer about and hour away that gave me probably one of the best buying experiences I've ever had. I didn't throw the Yamaha brand out of my hunt because of the bad experience I had with the one dealer. If i would've nixed Yammy off of my list, I would not have been afforded the wonderful experience I have had while owning and riding my RSTD.

 

I hate that you had that experience. I have been to several Victory test rides when they have come to the local Victory dealership. It was a fun time and the truck driver was pretty dang cool. You must've ran into a guy or guys that Victory needs to know about. Good thing you informed them.

[Ventureless]

One other thing I will add is that we have a limited amount of dealerships within a couple hour ride. One is the dealership where Sinisa went for the demo. I just changed this. I guess Tisunac did say the employees at the dealership were ok.

 

The next dealership thinks it is high and mighty and will not work with customers at all whether it be service or sales. So I imagine any warranty type work would be a nightmare there.

 

The third and last Vic dealer that I know of within 2 hours has barely any bikes and a small service department from what I see. Now while they may be knowledgable, I have no idea because they don't sell many Vics. At least from what I have read and heard from local biking community.

 

So that is another reason for me to shy away from Victory. And trust me as Tisunac said, I was sold on Victory. In my mind there was no other bike for me. So I am in no way bashing the bikes themselves. I love the ride and the looks (yes even the Vision is a good looking bike to me). Just everything that happens with or around the bike as far as maintenance and sales.

 

Big Lenny - While I understand not dismissing a certain brand because of one dealership, you had the luxury of another dealership an hour away. I have 3 crappy Vic dealers within 2 hours away so how far am I going to go just to own that bike. I can't find that one good dealer 3 or 4 hours away for that bike. With 2 young kids and lots of extra curricular activities along with work and volunteering 3 days a week at the school, I don't have the time to go 3 or 4 hours away anytime I need something for the bike. Now on the other hand, I have a Honda/Yamaha dealer 6 miles from my house that is willing to bend over backwards to satisfy the customer and keep them coming back whether it be service or sales. If i needed something done, they would order parts and they would be here next day free of shipping charges. And if they did any work (unusual as I do my own unless it is under warranty) I would drop it off on my way to the kid's 9AM soccer game and I would stop and pick it up at 2PM after the last soccer game. There is also a Yamaha/Suzuki/Kawasaki dealer that offers the same level of service 35 miles or so from my house. I just would not have that with Victory.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Ventureless

[Ventureless]

 

Hey, here's an idea ... why not hold off until Yamaha releases their new model (the one that will replace the Venture ... if they ever do that is).

 

If they come out with a new Venture based on the newer Vmax motor before Xmas, it will likely be at the top of my list. But I am not holding my breath!!

[djh3]

WOW I have not talked to a factory rep as it were on a demo ride. I would be surprised at someone keeping a job talking to customers like that.

As far as the shifting goes my RSV aint the quitest thing, far as that goes anything with straight cut gears. I can understand a "you get a feel for shifting" difference in bikes. I think they all have different characteristics. But telling someone they dont know how to ride is just wrong, telling them it may be a learning curve from what they currently have is a different story.

[BigLenny]

Ventureless,

 

You make a very valid point about how far a good Victory dealer is from you. You're definitely in a pickle there. Unfortunately, with all of the circumstances you are facing, it appears Vic just isn't going to be the brand for you.

[Freebird]

Whatever the case about the bike itself, I think that the letter was very well done.

[Tisunac]

Whatever the case about the bike itself, I think that the letter was very well done.

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you....Did I mentioned English is my second language?