Hi all, I am known for my blunt opinions and I often speak my mind and sometimes put my foot in my mouth! But I would like to know what are your experiences with motorcycle shops? How do you see customer care? And what do you expect from a shop/dealer? This is how I see it: I expect to be acknowledged when I enter a store and at least to be asked if I need any help then once welcomed left to do what I ask i.e look around in peace. I like to have my questions answered and expect customer care/support to sort out any complaints that I may have for example. All I ever expect is a smile, hello, and maybe some help and even a cup of tea... What are your expectations and experiences?
I want the same mate, friendly but not OTT. Knowledgable but not a show off. Rob Willshers before crescent bought it was a great shop for me, always smiling and interested, but never gobby or pushy. You opening a shop then Arthur?
I like to be acknowledged but left to my own devices until I choose to approach a staff member. If they're doing work for me I want to be kept in the loop. To me it's the most important part of customer service. Even if it's bad news or just to say 'no news yet', let me know.
I want the same as Arthur, I want to be treated as I treat others, I don't expect to be ignored, talked down to or have a yes man agreeing with everything I say, I want an honest unbiased opinion, pro's and cons nothings perfect so let me make up my own mind. If someone says they are going to ring back or do anything by a date bloody do it! I've lost count of times I have gone out of my way to wait for a call or delivery only to be disappointed. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I do not have much patience at the best of times and I also speak out when I am hacked off about something. Much like Arthur said really. Whilst I hate being pestered I also dislike being treated as the 'invisible man', especially if staff are talking to each other about their last night out and I am standing there obviously waiting to be dealt with. This often leads to a snarky verbal assault followed by me walking out. Yep I know, petulant kid.....but I am just being honest. It is so important to be greeted, asked if you need help, get a smile, get good professional answers or at least 'I will found out for you' and then to get what you wanted, when they say they can supply it or do it. Nothing hacks me off more than broken promises. When they say, well it's because....whatever.......I just say, thats your problem, not mine, so what are you going to do to resolve it. I am at MCT tomorrow for my suspension work, I know I will be treated how I like to be treated and they will be treated with the respect they deserve. Friendly, helpful, trustworthy, and efficient and effective and reasonable prices too. What more could I ask for ?
I bought my Mrs 600RR new last year ..... now i would not have usually bought a new bike but the person we were speaking to at the dealership was there because they were having a special event and he took time to speak to us.... not down or above and was interested in my MRS bike and what she wanted and that's what i wanted i have got mine so speak to her. To put you in the picture the guy we first spoke to could not sell us the bike we had to do a deal with someone else. The guy we bought it off seemed really nice, we seen him about 4 weeks after buying the bike he was on a ride out for that company .. did he come across and say hello ...no chance... went into the dealership to see the new Blade did he come across ....no ........would i buy another bike there.... yes if the deal was good but no loyalty I sold cars for 15 years so i do know what needs to be done ..... after we bought the bike he did not even phone to say how is the new bike to the Mrs......when i sold cars i always did this the next day and thanked them for there custom
Same as Arthur really, but if I can't get their attention, I ignore them, try helmets, jackets on, sit on the bikes and generally piss them off. Then I leave and go on the net!!!
There's nothing worse than surly service or some bored twat behind the parts department counter who looks at you like you're a total retard when you've just asked a bone question that he knows the answer to That or some guy who's trying to sell you something and doesn't seem to know what he's talking about. When I bought my car I had to walk the salesman through the finance sums about 3 times before he understood. He even had to go get the sales manager who also took a couple of goes at explaining it before the light went on in his head ffs!
I feel the best shop I have ever been to is the Dainese pro Shop in Bristol. Welcome to Bristol Dainese Pro Shop they always make u feel welcome for starters. They are knowledgeable and very approachable which is very important. I went in the start of last year, said I was not buying but looking at a 2 piece. And even after that took great care to answer all my questions, gave me tips and advice on what to look for. I went back a month or 2 later as they are by far the best place to deal with. Not the cheapest but I did not want bargain basement but good quality leathers which I got. Compared to many bike shops in the bristol area, the pro shop always make me feel that i'm happy I went and spent my money in there. So far over the past 5 years I have bought, 3 pairs of gloves. All have been great, my 2 piece leathers and many other bits. Gave me loads of advice when trying on different leathers, what to look for, the price difference and how each pair of leathers are different to the next I try one. The biggest thing with a bike shop is the person you deal with. not the shop etc... And why I like the pro shop, mainly as they guy who runs it is a people person and willing to help others make a good choice without doing the hard sell
Some very good replies from you all! Villian I wish I could open a shop on a high street as it would bring me closer to more bikes and riders as you all know I love to chat about bikes and to riders about what they ride just to get new info and feelers on what people are doing with theres, why they ride and all the other things that we all enjoy! I think thats the one thing that some shops staff lack is the passion! The raw passion to ride and be interested in bikes as a whole. For me I can only promote products that work its not the chit chat that sells it its the enthusiasm of a good product that projects to the customer how good an item is I think if its good it will sell its self to a degree but the seller has to have an interest in the underling factor of the product, for example how can you sell a motorcycle if you have no interest in riding them.. I have had some poor customer experiences over the last two years and I did write about one of them and broke my all time rule and mentioned the name of the store where it happened sadly the store called me to question why my comments were written by me about them, this made me look bad as I am also in the trade and was made to feel that I was commenting only to make myself look better! This was NOT the case as I only wrote what had happened to me as part of my experience and it was not just once! So I began to think what is it that people want? Do I expect to much! There is an old saying "the service is remembered long after the price is forgotten!" As for my comments re the shop in question they are highly respected by me but the time in question may have just been an off day for the staff member I like to say its a case of you can bake a hundred cakes and only ever hear of the bad bad ONE, anyway in this case my experence is not just down to me time and time again I hear of much the same stories! That said I should not have said anything on the net as like I said I am also in the trade but felt at the time why can I not share what happened with others?
Oh boy Arthur, I could talk all day on this subject, something I taught my staff as a number one rule - People care how much you know once they know how much you care. Stand up, greet your customer and look/be happy to see them. Research that I have read says that someone will form an opinion of you within nine seconds (yep, that specific) of meeting you. If you spend that nine seconds sitting on your backside instead of standing and greeting your customer you'll spend the rest of your time with them trying to change the impression they have of you, but get it right at the beginning and you've got a reasonable chance of a sale. I'm gonna shut up now, I feel very passionate about good customer service. JD
A Fine example of this is the Parts dept at Hunts Honda .The guys always have loads of time for you nothing is to much trouble and will always try there best to give you some discount.
I deal with Tippetts for some of my Honda spares they are VERY helpful and have been for years! Nice people..
i just like somebody who comes across as they have all the time in the world for you, happy to stand and chat about anything you want to chat about and capable of giving very helpful advice when needed, as many people will agree prices dont have to be cheap as i will pay more if i am happy with the service that i am recieving
My x cars sales manager said many things make a bad garage these are just a couple 1. Targets ..... they become more important than the product your selling don't let it happen 2. Opinions.... people as you say make opinions about someone keep these to yourself and you will sell more than anyone 3. The job is done ......its never done till the person either moves into outer space or dies 4. Hello.... say that to everyone you make eye contact with ....they will speak to you one day you never know 5. The customer will always come back ...... not unless you know whats going on with him I think the biggest make a garage makes is not keeping in touch with you ... imagine that number of times you have been in the garage what you bought ....know imagine that garage phoned you at the end of the month .....Hello Mr such and such i see you were bought such and such how was it did it do the job ..... great remember just gives a call if you need anything else..... were do you go for your next item.....simples
I only feel comfortable in my local Honda dealership when I have something to purchase, they are friendly enough but they don't make you feel welcome if you are not buying? Its noteworthy that a look around lead to me purchasing my current bike so my local dealership are missing something. Marshalls of Peterborough were completely the opposite, I went in for a look around and ended up in the workshop with the owner showing me a Blade that had been adapted for a disability. They gave me coffee and time I will certainly make them a dealership of choice just because of their customer care ethic.
A thing I always consider important is positive feedback. We don't think twice about contacting someone to complain, but how often do we let them know we think they've done a good job. Hardly ever.
I work for Virgin who drive an ethos of the customer always comes first, sure things go wrong but these values are installed into everything we do. In terms of bike shops, only one place makes me feel loved, Kent Motor Cycles. Not always the cheapest but they always make me feel welcome and that nothings too much.
Again loads of good posts from you all! Its interesting reading how people feel about they way they like to be treated.. Also that such small things make us happy, Hello's, Tea, Chat etc etc.. I like the personal touch with dealers as it makes me feel looked after, valued and welcome! I will not go into detail about my experiences of late but I do feel like I was asked to explain my posts re my experience on the Internet even though I had done no wrong I posted that I was treated rudely and had to apologies for witting about it! Imo it should have been the other way round I should have been asked why I was so poorly treated and an apology made on behalf of the person in question! My partner will not be so easily persuaded as she was highly offended and will never step foot in said place again! And the same goes for my good mate as he also thinks stuff you I am not welcome so will take my business else where.. Anyway water under the bridge for me! I hope to learn better customer care from the contributions that people have made but then I come from a family that has been dealing with people all my life and my father passed on to me simple manors from a child. HOWEVER I still have bad days but I try not to place my upset onto others..
The thing is, somedays I'd still gladly climb a bell tower with an M107 and lay waste to the larger part of my customer database. I'm aware I have impulse control issues.
