With Spring getting going here in the northern hemisphere, many motorcycles are making their first appearances after a winter in the garage. They are coughing and spluttering their way into life, burning off any excess anti-corrosion coating they are wearing, and their owners are thinking about getting the bike to their dealer for a service, ready for summer.
Meanwhile, those of us who have been riding through the damp and soggy months will have clocked up some extra miles and, knowing how the hibernators can cause a rush on the service department at the dealers, will have already secured their spot on the engineer’s bench.
Motorcycle Servicing Stories
Inevitably, getting a motorcycle serviced at a dealership brings out stories, good and bad, about the quality of the servicing and the interaction with the dealer.
Just recently, I bought a low-mileage bike (3,600). While the dealer went through their usual routine of trying to up-sell me on everything, including gap insurance and service plans, the workshop dispatched the bike with a cable tie attaching the earth lead to the battery.
When I’m caught checking a motorcycle over that has just had a Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) completed by “skilled engineers in a state-of-the-art workshop”, the word paranoid has been muttered once or twice. This may be true, but when it is me who will be sitting on the bike, and I don’t know who did the PDI, I feel the need to check. Yep … I’m paranoid.
Having found the cable tie and given my feedback to the dealer, they said they would let the Service Manager know, and that was the last interaction I had with them. There was no callback, email, or suggestion that they even cared.
All of this got me thinking, and so I’ve been talking to people with negative or positive motorcycle service stories to tell in the hopes of determining why the service departments in some motorcycle dealerships are respected, and others loathed.
Dealers – The Good
Praise for dealers was split 50/50 between those who felt a general feeling of happiness without a specific story behind it and those who wanted to share particular situations where the dealer had gone the extra mile – mostly with manufacturers over warranty claims.
As I have mainly spoken with bikers around the “Shires” (Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire), Tina at Webb’s in Lincoln was a name that kept coming up. I’d be surprised to meet a Yamaha or Triumph owner within 50 miles of Lincoln who doesn’t know Tina. Andy, the gentleman who runs the spares and accessory department, is equally famous – although I’m sure Andy would say infamous.
Although the workshop staff delivers on Tina’s promises, Tina is the “face” of having your motorcycle serviced at Webb’s.
Listening to the stories, it was interesting to see how interchangeable Webb’s, the Dealer, was with Tina, the person. “I called Tina …” or “I called Webb’s …” were statements used equally.
The same is true of Richard and Dan at Chris Walker’s dealership in Grantham. They have an enviable ability to remember hundreds of customers and often go beyond answering the obvious question by doing whatever they can to help, even if that means grabbing the Boss (Chris Walker) for his input on the best tyres for a 1000SX.
Yet perhaps the most intriguing comments came regarding Padgett’s Motorcycles in Batley. It isn’t uncommon for people to travel a hundred-plus miles to Padgett’s to have their motorcycles serviced. The fact that the dealership has been run by the Padgett family for three … or perhaps four … generations carried significant weight with the bikers I spoke with.
“If they are still in business after all these years, they are doing it right” was one comment. “Good enough for Bruce Anstey and Ian Hutchinson, is good enough for me” was another.
As I needed to arrange a 6,000-mile service on my bike before the sunshine starts and the summer service rush fills the workshop, I called them and ended up talking to Fiona Padgett for 15 minutes about all sorts of things—including when, where, and how much my service will be.
Never once in that conversation did I feel like a commodity. I’m taking it on trust that if Padgett’s prepare motorcycles for the IOM TT, they can be trusted with my motorcycle. But that is pure trust based on Padgett’s reputation and my interaction with them.
I don’t imagine it will be the engineer who prepares the TT bikes who will service mine, but nobody I spoke with had anything other than good things to say about Padgett’s level of engagement and the quality of their work.
(And for those with doubts, I’ll pay full price for my service—the same as everyone else.)
Common Goodness
Engagement was the common thread throughout the positive dealer stories.
In turn, this generated trust that the dealer didn’t see just another motorcycle but your pride and joy. If anything looked like a problem, there would be open and transparent communication aimed at resolving the issue, not just the dealer reporting the size of the problem you now had.
Dealers – The Not So Good
The concept of a poor motorcycle dealer mostly started with comments on communication. Poor dealers were considered disinterested in people and their motorcycles, seeing prospective customers as just another job to book.
That perspective often carried over to the perceived quality of the work. Once there is a breakdown in the process of getting your motorcycle serviced by a dealer, any trust or goodwill evaporates.
One of my conversations centred around an owner needing the first service completed on a new motorcycle they had bought. The dealer they purchased the bike from was booked solid and could only offer service dates weeks away. It’s not what you want to hear when your motorcycle has 600 miles on it, and you would like to keep riding it.
Having shopped around and chosen an alternative dealer, they arrived 30 minutes earlier than the booked time. While waiting outside the dealership, one of the workshop staff returned from a test ride on a customer’s motorcycle. They arrived fully on the herbs and were heard gleefully testifying to the others in the workshop about the bike’s performance.
After having his 600-mile service completed, the owner declined the dealer’s offer to have the bike test-ridden to ensure everything was as it should be and hasn’t returned to the dealer since.
Another story centred around a centralised booking system used by a dealership with multiple locations. To “better serve their clients”, you could no longer talk directly to the service department at your local dealer and had to go through their centralised booking system.
The work required was small: activating an already-fitted accessory would take roughly 10 minutes. The manufacturer supplied detailed instructions with the accessory, so the exact steps required were fully documented. However, the option to call the local dealer and ask if a technician was available for 10 minutes no longer existed.
From there, the situation got worse. It took longer to register the customer and the motorcycle on the dealer’s system than the work being requested.
An HPI Check reports information held against a motorcycle by finance and insurance companies, the DVLA (DMV in the USA), the Police and other industry bodies.
The dealer’s call centre then explained that they needed to complete an HPI check, after which the call centre called the local dealer for a quote. The dealer charged circa £100 per hour in 30-minute blocks. The call centre relayed that the local dealership had quoted £50 to activate the accessory.
When asked what the workshop would be doing with the other 20 minutes, the call centre justified the time as necessary in case the internet was slow.
Strangely, the detailed installation instructions from the manufacturer did not indicate the need for internet connectivity. Only a plug is needed to put the motorcycle into maintenance mode, followed by half a dozen button presses on the bike’s screen.
The official manufacturer’s plug costs £35, or one from eBay can be bought for £10.
After sourcing a plug, the customer decided never to visit the dealer again. They now ride 70 miles to a well-known multi-franchise dealer in Batley for all their servicing.
Dealers – The Conclusion
I couldn’t include some of the stories I was told, as I only have one side of the story. While we never want it to happen, genuine mistakes can be made, and I can’t agree with the idea that people in the workshops got out of bed each day intending to do a lousy job.
Most of us have an emotional attachment to our motorcycles. They are more than just a mode of transport. The very fact that many motorcycles spend six months of the year cossetted away in a garage, protected from the ravages of winter, speaks volumes.
Trust in the dealership starts with the people we directly interact with. If they are personable, knowledgeable – truly knowledgeable – about motorcycles and helpful, then trust is formed.
Trust isn’t the perceived efficiency that comes from a centralised call centre or booking system. It may be more efficient for the dealer, but for most, motorcycle ownership is a passion and not something to be treated as a commodity.
Failing to appreciate that appears to have a significantly detrimental effect on the dealer’s reputation. Naturally, a personable service manager can’t compensate for loose bolts, leaking oil filters, poorly adjusted chains, or other reported horror stories. However, you first need to trust the dealer to find out how good the workshop is.
The simplest of favours can be all it takes to start building a relationship, but crank the handle and spoon-feed us your version of customer service, and apparently, you’ll alienate us.
It wasn’t surprising to discover that most of us consider our motorcycles one of our most prized possessions. We need to trust the person working on our motorcycle, and this starts with how the dealer engages with us.
Treat us like a commodity whose primary purpose is to part with money, and it seems people will go elsewhere, no matter how good the workshop.
Clarity
Thank you to the people who took the time to tell me their servicing stories. Naturally, there was an abundance of negativity in the responses. Statistically, bad news is shared seven times compared to just once for good news.
After balancing the comments for that one-sided ratio, the overwhelming desire was for a local dealer who is genuinely interested in you and your motorcycle, not your wallet.
I’ve not been specific about the dealers reportedly giving poor service, as they haven’t had the opportunity to reply. Opinions will always vary, so please do your own research.
Caveat Emptor – as they say in Latin.
