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New rear tire

glazier

glazier

Junior Member
Yesterday I needed to go measure a job. Was a beautiful day, so I decided to take my bike. Quick check before riding off revealed a nail in the rear tire. No idea how it got there, but it was still holding air. Tire has almost 12,000 miles but still had some tread left. Figured it would cost about $300 - $350 for tire and installation, but then I remembered I bought the wheel and tire package with my ESP. Took it to the dealer just 10 minutes from my house. Not crazy about them, but didn't want to ride too far on a tire with a nail in it. They checked it out and said the tire was almost too far gone to honor a warranty and that I could have stuck a nail in it just to get a free tire. Huh??? I didn't, but now that they mentioned it, sounds like a good idea when my front tire needs replacing :D. Their fault for putting that crazy idea in my head :p. After sticking a gauge in the tread they said it had 3/32" left so it would be covered under warranty. Then when they checked my ESP on their computer, they tried to tell me I didn't have the tire and wheel coverage. Good thing I've been around long enough to know how this dealer operates, so I brought my paperwork with me just in case. After showing it to them, they had no choice but to put on a new tire for free!!!! My 2013 came with Dunlop 407's, but the 2014's have 407T's, which is supposed to be a better tire, so thats what I had them put on. Had to sit and wait on it, and it took 5 hours :(. Oh well, at least I got it done at no cost. Good thing the girl in the T-shirt department was HOT!!!! I think I bothered her for about 3 of those 5 hours, but we had fun. Also got some of those 90* valve stems a while back, so had them replace that as long as the tire was off. Going to be so much easier to check pressure and add air now. The straight valves were such a pain to get to. I'll hang on to the other one, so when I stick a nail in my front tire, they can change that valve stem at the same time :s
 
It did take the dealer a wee while to change the tyre but perhaps they were in no hurry to get you going again or maybe they thought that as you got a tyre for next to nothing you would have plenty money to buy other stuff you just needed time to find that something you had to buy
Hmmm where did the nail come from :p

Brian
 
think it's funny that somehow dealers think they can make more money by jerking customers around. With the ESP insurance they really don't lose any money unless they self fund and have an unusually excessive number of claims.

Our local dealer understands the importance of customer service and how important of a factor it plays in determining the point of diminishing returns in maximizing profitability. This is a great example, you knew the reputation of the dealer walking in. So, you we less likely to purchase accessories while you were waiting.

On the other hand at my dealer they have hot dogs out for the customers, a great staff that does not push a sale, happy to take a moment to answer a question and offer a 10% discount to the HOG members that belong to their sponsored chapter. They hire a band and have a BBQ once a month and sponsor many riding events for charity. The point is by getting involved and taking care of the customer they are constantly crowded and highly regarded. All it takes is a little money and effort to make money.

Sorry for the soapbox rant but since joining this board it amazes me how many Harley Dealers fall way short in the customer satisfaction department.
 
Good for you for sticking to your guns! It's sad a dealer will make you go through hoops to honor a service you paid for.
 
Lucky Doug said:
$350 saved works out to $70 per hour to sit on your butt. Wish I was that lucky.
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Interesting logic there, but since I had already paid extra for the tire and wheel coverage, I really didn't save anything. Only got what I had already paid for. And missing a days work cost me $$$$$ too, but you forgot to factor that into your equation :p
 
wfmacii said:
think it's funny that somehow dealers think they can make more money by jerking customers around. With the ESP insurance they really don't lose any money unless they self fund and have an unusually excessive number of claims.

Our local dealer understands the importance of customer service and how important of a factor it plays in determining the point of diminishing returns in maximizing profitability. This is a great example, you knew the reputation of the dealer walking in. So, you we less likely to purchase accessories while you were waiting.
Exactly right. Even though I was there 5 hours, I bought absolutely nothing. I'll wait til I go to a different dealer. There's several in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex to choose from, so there's plenty of competition.
And the dealer gets reimbursed 100% from Harley for anything they do under the ESP, so it's not like they were losing money.
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