Not all franchised bike dealerships are equal

I'm not out to diss any of the local bike outlets
to me by this comparison - which arose from my
local franchised Japanese bikes dealership (they
do all four) - as compare different service levels
in different parts of the country.

The firm in question is a local outlet which has
gradually taken over the dealership franchises
as the sole-marque firms who held them have
folded one-by-one over the last 10-15 years or
so.

I'd always gathered dealership prices were to be
treated with suspicion if not outright skepticism
but, in all fairness, I don't think they set the rates
in the catalogues, and these would be the same
if I lived 100 or 200 miles further south and could
reasonably expect to attract a payrate about 15-
33% more than what I get for doing what I do.

It's more that I was able to go in on a Bank Holiday
Monday morning, check revised options (after-
market pattern parts for half the price of O.E.),
get home and scour the small-print of my current
insurance policy and get back to them from the
back of my mate's car later that afternoon with
a firm order.

It was at this point he outlined how his franchised
local dealership (same marque) were basically
Mon-Fri on the parts counter, with perhaps the
odd Saturday, but Bank Holiday Monday? To be
able to chat with a Parts Counter? Getaway!

Perhaps this is an advantage of multi-marque
franchising in that the odd one or three people
who come in on such days come in for every
marque on the books and, as such, it's worth
paying the staff to be around and open. Also,
they way the work is that the parts counter is
part of the shop-floor where they sell clothing
and accessories, rather than a dedicated parts
only outlet, often accessed via a different door
or even housed in a different building.

But yeah, I'm quite impressed. Apart from
maybe a reluctance on the part of some of the
younger staff to proceed with agreements made
over the phone by more senior colleagues once
said colleagues have gone home for the day,
mine seems genuinely to have been out to get
me parts I ended up needing via the most
economical route.

It's a shame that, for whatever reason, in this
instance the after-market pattern version didn't
work and also that it would not have been possible
to return it to its suppliers and have a replacement
just in case it was a problem with that particular unit
in time for me to collect and fit it and get the bike
down for work it's now booked in for. So full-price,
new, O.E. it's turning out that it will be.

But yeah, there are good franchised dealerships
around and some of the old myths don't bear too
much scrutiny in the light of actual performance.

At the same time I understand there are still a
great many around you can only order parts through
every third Thursday in March, and only then, if
it's a Leap Year.

G DAEB
COPYRIGHT (C) 2009 SIPSTON
--

 

****, but you're dull.

 

it's a troll

 

He's got a copyright on his dullness too.

 

<snore>

 

You're that boring **** that was around a while ago arent you?

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S (for sale)
Range Rover Vogue
Suzuki GSX-R600 Racebike (for sale)
Honda ST1100 Pan European

 

wasn't that you?

 

He has a brother.

 

Yes...NEXT.

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S (for sale)
Range Rover Vogue
Suzuki GSX-R600 Racebike (for sale)
Honda ST1100 Pan European