Kawasaki Dealership Bites the Dust

[ringadingh]

Originally Posted by Tiger J

My local dealer carries HD, Kawasaki, Star/Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki. However, they recently acquired the building next door (used to be a local hunting supply and gun store that got killed when Bass Pro and Cabelas moved nearby) and now they have converted it into a seperate HD showroom. I think they were the only or one of the only St. Louis area HD dealers that carried new metric lines as well in the same showroom. I wonder if HD was behind their decision to seperate the HD product.

The multi line dealers here have done the same thing with the HD's. The one dealer was told that if he didn't move and build a nice showroom ,that he would lose the HD franchise. Robinsons HD that was a longtime dealer lost their franchise and now just sells used bikes that they bring in from the states.

[jestephens]

One of my favorite places to go for service is a former Dealer, now Used-bike, shop in Ferguson, MO.

They are one of my favorites because they provide great customer service as well as reliable mechanic service. My current Kawasaki dealer isn't the closest to home, in fact almost 7 times further, but I bought my Vaquero from them, and return to them for the same reasons.
Someone mentioned it already, but so many dealers, of any brand, get an elitist attitude toward their brand or type (cruiser, dirt, sport, ATV) and forget how their bills get paid, by customers.

One of my favorite dealerships of all time is Gail's HD, near Kansas City (at least in my top 5). They seem to know what's going on, and hire good people. Even though I don't/won't do the HD thing, when I lived nearer I still tried to support them by attending their events, supporting the causes they were promoting, and their former dyno technician "Dyno-Mike" was a big help when I couldn't get my bike to run right after installing the hypercharger on my '05 Nomad. And I obviously still promote them by word of mouth.

It doesn't take much to keep people happy. Treat them fairly, and give them a good value (not the same thing as low-price).

[carolinakid1]

This dealer had a decent mechanic, but customer service up front really stunk. One salesman really abused me once when I was trying to negotiate a deal on a motorcycle so I wrote the owner an old fashion letter (not email), no response. At that point I knew they would not survive. True customer service is so rare today, that it becomes a premium that separates you from the competition.

[dyetube]

Originally Posted by carolinakid1

This dealer had a decent mechanic, but customer service up front really stunk. One salesman really abused me once when I was trying to negotiate a deal on a motorcycle so I wrote the owner an old fashion letter (not email), no response. At that point I knew they would not survive. True customer service is so rare today, that it becomes a premium that separates you from the competition.

You'd think these dealerships would want to give you the best customer service so they'd get your repeat business. While the Honda dealer here gives great CS both Kawasaki dealerships I've been to don't. They just want to take your money any way they can.

[brote]

You are right Mike the customer service was really bad plus they had to compete with Cycle World, the Honda / Harley dealer next to them. Great place is North Georgia Motorsports in Hoschton, GA just off 85.

[dmac]

Last summer I was sad to find out that the closest Kawi dealer to me, which I drive by everyday, quit handling Kawasaki. This dealership at one time had 5 brands, now they're down to two. My Honda dealer, where I bought my goldwing from, is great. I walk in, they know me by first name. One day I walked in and the manager was busy with a customer and he made it a point to come outside to say Hi before I left. Great customer service.

[cptmorganfred]

When I bought my nomad in 08 I was told that there wasn't much gas in it as they didn't keep gas on the premises for insurance reasons. Huh??? Anyway in less than 2 miles I was out of gas. So much for that customer dealership relationship. They knew it happened through a friend of mine who was in the store the next day but never brought it up with me and I chose to deal with it by telling the world. My son, 18 at the time was looking for a quad a couple years later and had done his research and was sure it would be a kawasaki. Went to the bank and arranged the financing and he and a buddy went to the dealer. The bike he wanted was on the floor and he asked permission to sit on it. At that time another customer came in and was talking with the owner or manager or whoever it was and he said to the customer "gee at least when you come in and sit on a bike you end up buying it". My son left, went to the Honda dealer and bought a Honda. I have more horror stories about this place but think I,ve made my point. Yes, it is sad when a dealership goes south but sometimes they bring a lot of it on themselves.

[ponch]

Good customer service comes down to see things through the customer's eyes. A good dealer will have employees that ask themselves "how would I want to be treated if I was a customer shopping here" etc. If you get treated badly, then either they didn't ask that question or they are sado-masochists. Or just ignorant. An interesting service might be an organization that keeps a database on customer satisfaction for dealerships. Kind of like Carfax but with the idea of the dealer being analyzed. I know such things exist for companies in general, like Vault.com and Glass Door.

[Loafer]

With the economy the way it is, they should have the red carpet out for everyone coming through their doors. I almost never buy on the first visit, how I get treated will determine whether I retun there when I am going to purchase.

[rflnomad]

I agree that customer service is weak. And I am amazed at the same time. With sales being less than record setting, one would think people would be treated much better. I am not talking about groveling, but basic respect and attention what people ask for. I have asked our local Kawi, Honda, Suzi and Ducati multi store for more apparel. They respond "Why?" "You are just going to buy it online anyway." So my response is "well, if you insist!"
Their tire specials are not good. I go to an independant store and have him do it.

My bigger grief is with H-D, though. If I even mention the old Wide Glide they just laugh. In fact, the parts and service people tell me to take it to an independant shop; they will not touch it. (I wouldn't let them anyway!!) If I went in to drop 20K on a bike & shirts & foof, I am welcome. But after that, I am a second class citizen.

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by rflnomad

I agree that customer service is weak. And I am amazed at the same time. With sales being less than record setting, one would think people would be treated much better. I am not talking about groveling, but basic respect and attention what people ask for. I have asked our local Kawi, Honda, Suzi and Ducati multi store for more apparel. They respond "Why?" "You are just going to buy it online anyway." So my response is "well, if you insist!"
Their tire specials are not good. I go to an independant store and have him do it.

My bigger grief is with H-D, though. If I even mention the old Wide Glide they just laugh. In fact, the parts and service people tell me to take it to an independant shop; they will not touch it. (I wouldn't let them anyway!!) If I went in to drop 20K on a bike & shirts & foof, I am welcome. But after that, I am a second class citizen.

Many dealers won't work on bikes over 10 years old, not just HD. My buddy with a 1985 GoldWing went to the Honda dealer to get a headlight replaced and they wouldn't touch it.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by rflnomad

I agree that customer service is weak. And I am amazed at the same time. With sales being less than record setting, one would think people would be treated much better. I am not talking about groveling, but basic respect and attention what people ask for. I have asked our local Kawi, Honda, Suzi and Ducati multi store for more apparel. They respond "Why?" "You are just going to buy it online anyway." So my response is "well, if you insist!"
Their tire specials are not good. I go to an independant store and have him do it.

My bigger grief is with H-D, though. If I even mention the old Wide Glide they just laugh. In fact, the parts and service people tell me to take it to an independant shop; they will not touch it. (I wouldn't let them anyway!!) If I went in to drop 20K on a bike & shirts & foof, I am welcome. But after that, I am a second class citizen.

A friend of mine that has an HD told me the local HD dealer won't work on anything that is pre-twin cam on the big twins. They say the same thing, take it to an independent. Funny thing is, HD has parts for bikes way before 1999. May be it's just a case of HD wanting to sell newer stuff. Keeping an old bike on the road doesn't sell the new one on the showroom floor. Apple Computer did the same thing. I used to work for an Apple shop and they basically killed their inventory past a certain point. I had to source parts from third parties on older computers. If you go to the Apple Store, they won't fix a computer that is more than 3 years old. They want you to buy new.

[cactusjack]

I think it's more of a liability issue with bike dealers. Maybe the HD dealers don't have techs old enough to have ever worked on the Evo engines, let alone panheads and shovelheads?

I'm thinking it's something along the lines of working on older bikes bolts can seize, studs can snap and plastic (Goldwings) gets brittle and breaks. It probably just isn't cost-effective to do the work.

[remcbride]

Maybe the metric bike companies need to get into the clothing business like HD..that seems to supplement. HD. Income

[ponch]

The thing internet retailers can't compete effectively with is superior customer service from a local vendor. I would argue that if service is outstanding, someone would pay 10-15% more than some online retailer or distant competition that uses the internet. This means building relationships with customers before they even buy anything and extends well after they do. There is an old saying: Good news travels fast, bad news travels faster. Nothing will kill a business faster than a bad reputation, especially is a small to medium sized local market. It's not rocket science at all, but it is a lesson that is lost on many businesses. As the old saying goes as well, shyte rolls down hill. If a business owner does not lead by example, mistreats employees, or doesn't instruct employees well, the results will be obvious. Lots of times a crappy customer service attitude can come out of crappy management and leadership.