A word from the “inside” on service, value, and differentiation:
Please bear with me, as I attempt to address many of the extremely valid comments that have been posted. I copied, pasted, and printed over three pages of comments, so in order to address them will require a lot of page space as well. (The forum didn't like my quoting style, so hopefully you can follow along)
To be fair, for those of you who don’t know, I am the GM at Twin Peaks—my family purchased the store in January. This isn’t intended to be an advertisement, but since I’ve now been on, “both sides,” I want to give you my feelings. My biggest concern is that many good things may be going on at many dealerships (including ours) but the word isn't getting out!
To answer the underlying question, “What makes you different?” Aside from below, please walk into Sun, Fay, etc. and ask to speak to the owner—for a problem, a sales question, a parts question, a service question, to help you unload a bike,because the coke machine stole 50 cents--whatever. Then come do that at our store. We’re not faceless names. You will see myself and Stan on the sales floor every Saturday, and most days in between. I personally deliver units. I introduce myself or Stan to (goal is EVERY) almost every customer who makes a new or used unit purchase. Anyone who wants it can have the direct extension to my office, or Stan’s office.
R1CH: You posted a lot of great comments, and I’d like to address many of them:
>The motorcycle dealership would give me a coupon for a free/reduced >price oil change/changes or first service. This would better introduce me >to the service dept and let me get a feel for what they do and feel >special.
Great idea, and we’ll look into that. Quite frankly, it hadn’t crossed my mind, but I see the value!
>The sales person actually calls me when a bike I was interested in >actually came in. (they claim to do this but even Co Powersports did not >do this for my R1 and I had to call Denver to find out it was in and leave >a credit card dep to hold one)
I feel we do a pretty good job of this. Anytime we are looking at a trade, one of the first things we do is round up the salesmen and ask if anyone has someone, “on the stick,” for a similar unit. In reality, this kind of followup IS what makes you feel special, because the salesman bothered to remember, and he cared enough to make the call.
>Deliver the bike to my house if I did not want to drive it away.
We deliver within about 10 miles at no charge. I’ve personally delivered units to Brighton, Allenspark!, and picked up a unit for service from Estes Park and Cheyenne (wrecked unit). Obviously there are costs associated with having a vehicle, driver, fuel, trailer, etc., so pickup and delivery is negotiated by location—but it’s certainly available.
>Have all my paperwork ready so I just have to sign and not waste time >if I call ahead to purchase a bike.
This is still in progress. We are working on a “no-bs” internet purchase strategy that would put you directly into the business office to sign paperwork, after agreements have been made, credit has been processed, etc.—all over the internet. The goal would be multi-faceted: you get fast in and out/low stress. You save money because our personnel costs would be lower. It’s a great concept, I don’t know if we’ll be able to make an “official” program happen this year, but it’s definitely on the hook.
>Actually call me the day special order parts come in.
Whew! One of my BIGGEST frustrations! When we purchased this store, there were literally special orders from October sitting around. In general, people were being contacted once, the customer and employee would lose track, and there was no followup. Because of our receiving schedule, we now have a system in place not for the same day, but that each customer is called the next day after a special order comes in. The customer is then called each Tuesday for 3 weeks, and if the part is not picked up, it’s returned to the vendor. We also offer the ability to ship special orders directly to you the day after we receive them. (Who wants to drive from Denver to Longmont for a baseball cap, or a carb jet?)_
>Give me priority service dept service by putting me ahead of other >people who had not purchased their bike from the dealership.
Our platinum card (maint. Agreement) customers receive this. However, with the exception of offbrand bikes (bikes we don’t sell), we DO offer “In by 10, out by 6, or it’s free”. No joke! We haven’t heavily advertised this program, but will as the season rolls along. Obviously, this applies to routine oil changes and tires, but isn’t that the kind of stuff it’s frustrating to wait 3 or 4 days for? Now, if we are performing an oil change, and notice other service issues, that could put us further out due to parts availability, but you always have the option of not performing other recommended services.
>Give 15 min priority service to any customer needing a tire changed >instead of having to drop the bike/wheel off.
Done. Possibly not in 15 minutes pending how much is in front of you, but you are more than welcome to wait while we mount your tires. Our service consultants will do their best to give you a REALISTIC wait time. Oh, and by the way, wheels off the bike, labor is <call us> a great price (not as other posted in previous threads)!
>Have enough people staffed to answer phones in less than 3 mins for >parts, service, and sales.
We just added 4 phones, and changed phone call routing. Unfortunately we do still have the automated attendant, but you get routed directly to service and parts (sales coming soon after two more phones are live). **IF** there is not an answer within 6 rings in those departments, you will get voicemail for that department. Our goal is to return that call within 10 minutes. The more detailed the message that is left, the more efficient we’ll be when we return the call. (i.e. Call Joe @ 555-1212 vs. I need to know a price and availability on XYZ, Call Joe @ 555-1212.) Wouldn’t you rather have an answer immediately when we call you back?
>Have clean restroom that are not shared by mechanics.
Done. And…working on lighting/paint scheme to not have them seem so dreary.
>Area with tv for wifes/children while they wait for decision on bike >purchase or service dept Perhaps include Parts counters with tv/mx rr >supermoto racing videos to watch while waiting, Dish network with >hardrive to record MX, SX RoadRace, Enduro, Supermoto, Freestyle >events and have them played back.
You’ll probably have to wait until next year for this, but we plan a “Stan’s Style” waiting area with plasma TV, complimentary gourmet coffee, soda fountain, etc. Unfortunately, we can’t complete the plumbing and construction required at this time of year.
>Other differentiator could include
>For dirtbike racers, include a packet that includes all the >Motorcross/Supercross organizations, with events for the year calendar, >website, and contact information.
>For trail riders include good maps of the area, where to go riding in >Colorado, how to street legalize bike and other necessary informations
>For street include maps of favorite trips/rides, must see places and >events for the year, website like CSC to meet up for rides.
Outstanding ideas, and I will start working on this immediately!
>Have access to Internet with links to current bike shootouts, race orgs, >CSC, other important information
Space might not allow this in our store, but a great idea!
>Work with race orgs SRAC RMXA RMEC MRA for 1 free race or reduced >cost entry fee or org fee for those joining those orgs for the first time. >Introduce racing, more people for orgs, more bike and parts sales.
How about a cost-subsidized track day, or a cost-subsidized racing school? Just a thought.
>Rental of bullet proof bikes TTr125 xr250 KLX300 to introduce people to >the joy of motorcycling, possibly supply courtesy bike while one is down >over the weekend.
My insurance agent is trembling and sweating…it’s certainly possible, but the **I** word is what really makes this tough. Courtesy bikes are available in special circumstances (I sent a guy home on a used Victory today while we worked on his)
>Discount to motorcycle driving schools or supply a street legal ttr125 (or >small street bike) to take drivers test on.
I provide two Virago 250’s to Ricky Orlando’s school, and a DR200 for Rocky Mountain Motorcycle training. Additionally, I attend the graduations of those schools, introduce the store, and offer a free helmet to anyone chooses to purchase a bike from us. If the helmet isn’t what you want, I’ll give you a credit toward what you want.
Additionally, most of the manufacturers provide incentives for attending ATV training—but there’s very little available here. We’re working on a solution there as well.
And finally…..
> Price is utmost important, the only time service is considered is if a dealership has >poor service or a bad reputation.
I’ll have to challenge this statement based on, “all of the above”. If you really believe that price is the utmost important, you’re not allowing a dealership the profit necessary to provide the very things you say you would like to see.
My opinion, VALUE for PRICE paid is the most important—and we’re not perfect. However, we have the mindset that we CAN do these things, we CAN provide much of what folks want, and we can do it better than the guy who sells bikes $50 cheaper than we do.
In other words, do you want Michelins, or recaps? ‘cause you can’t get Michelins at recap prices!
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Originally Posted by Punkin";p="186964
IF or WHEN Aprilia gets off their ass and gets me something besides 2004 product (currently waiting until around Sept. 2005), we'll do our best. Until then, it's frustrating to try and support a brand that has not done much to support us.