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From time to time we read posts here from new members that have just made a multi-thousand dollar purchase but seem to be missing key bits of information on that new purchase.
Are Honda sales STAFF failing to deal effectively/appropriately with the hand off of their products to the customer? If so, why is that?
No sales staff training. Most appear to be order takers.:yikes:Quote:
Originally Posted by unsub
My dealer does a great job handing off the two bikes I've bought from them. Des plaines Honda in Illinois is a great dealer.
But they didn't tell me how shitty the paint was and not to buy the damn thing until Honda fixed it.
Or that Honda would make some noises about listening to the problems, but had no intention of fixing anything.
My dealer did a great job of taking my money. Granted, I feel that I got a great deal on the bike but that was pretty much where it ended. They spent more time trying to sell me their extended warranty than actually providing any true direction or insight on my new vehicle. I decided the best avenue to knowledge was the owners manual and this forum. And their service department? Abysmal at best. Pointed out spots in paint (not the typical scratches) at time of purchase last August and they have yet to resolve after two follow up visits. I guess there wasn't enough room in the price for any level of service. I made my initial purchase there but will only return out of absolute dire necessity. They are the self proclaimed "world largest" Honda dealer so I guess sales is their forte.
My dealer sells almost every brand so the sales people (mostly 20 somethings) don't know the differences in models. I was told to do first service at 1000 miles and to run 91 octane, both which are false. Follow the owners manual and you can't go wrong. If you do what Honda says and it breaks, it's under warranty.
I bought mine there a couple of weeks ago and I asked about paint problems before hand. No one not even manager heard of such a thing but, I didn't have to worry because I was getting a new one out of the crate. At delivery, which was rushed because it was closing time, they had it wet but I saw scratches and swirls bad on one door. So they replaced a door and handed me a Honda paint bulletin. They lied all day long about paint. BUT the price WAS great! I did lose respect for the dealer with this deal.Quote:
Originally Posted by indiatango
Not to many good Honda dealers around my town either...Glad to take your money and then say goodbye...Most in the area have young salespeople that have almost no product knowledge at all and what they do tell you most times is pure BS...Fortunately I made friends a while back with the owner of a large Honda dealer in the central part of the state that is 1st class. They gave me good info, a great deal, and worked with me to custom paint my bike and install several aftermarket goodies....They are a very large trike dealer also and really take excellent care of their customers in my opinion...Dealer is 125 miles away, but with a Honda I don't plan on making a lot of service visits but will do so when necessary as I know they will do the work to my satisfaction...We need more good dealers like them......JMHO
The gang at Huntington Beach Honda are Honda only and a prominent dealership for Honda in So Cal, so the folks were pretty knowledgeable about the bike. But let's face it, after a few weeks of hanging out on the forums any one of us is probably going to know more than the typical well-informed salesperson because even if it's a Honda-only dealership they've still got over a dozen other models to familiarize themselves with. I wouldn't expect a salesperson that didn't own a F6B to know as much about the bike as those of us who own one, but they should know the basic ins and outs of each model for sure. My sales guy knew that you had to open a saddlebag to remove a side cover, for instance, and he knew that the preload adjuster was on the right side of the bike and the battery on the left. He knew how to operate the stereo, how to remove the seat, all the handlebar controls, etc. He knew the USB was in the left bag. A good level of knowledge.
When talking to the GM where I bought my F6B he flat out stated that I ( me) most likely know more about the bike than he did. He was very correct in his statement. A month before he had been selling Harlys. This is a tiny dealership and had been more geared towards the off-road and power equipment side of Honda. The repair shop is about the size of a 6-7 car garage. I bought mine in Oct 2013 and Choptop bought his in I believe Feb 2014 and they were still putting 1 year warrenty on the owners card. It sounds as though all the employees had been replaced in Sept 2013.
My salesman told me the 6 radio presets were shock adjustments
That is a GREAT FEATURE, I was unaware of that !!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Aron
A salesman at the Marina del Rey store was trying to convince me their only F6B on the floor, a Standard Model without the center stand, heated grips and self canceling turn signals was the Deluxe Model. When I asked why he thought it was the Deluxe Model with those options missing, he told me because the sign on the bike says so.
lol....Quote:
Originally Posted by Aron
Honda of the Ozark's couldn't get me off their lots fast enough the day I bought my bike. I stopped in because my Valkyrie was acting up and traded it on a new 2013. Once the deal was done they actually got impatient as I transferred my gear and other stuff from one bike to the other.
My dealer pretty much kissed my ass until I said "I'll take it."
After that, nothing.
Don't think my dealer sold many touring bikes, in fact, all the delivery guy told me was that it's a shaft drive bike and showed me how to open the gas cap.
The service manager where I bought my bike told me it had a 6-speed transmission. I knew, from prior reading, that it was 5-speed so I asked him, are you sure? He said, absolutely! Wonder why I never took my bike back to that dealer for service? In fact, I've never taken it back to any dealer for help and I don't plan to.
Central Motorsports in Mt. Pleasant, MI. is one of the best dealers that I have ever dealt with..I got to know the owner and his son and I am sure this helps, but they treated me with respect before I met them and I was impressed by the sales persons knowledge of the bikes. Service and Parts are the best I have seen in all my years of riding bikes, which includes many different brands...They have won my business as long as I receive the attention and care that they have demonstrated in the past......Ride safe
Mine didn't know anything about the bike. I asked to show me the location of the usb port and he said since its not in the front cubby, my bike didnt have it
I had a wing so I kind of tuned out while the guy explained the obvious. That's all he could do. I did stop into to pick up an oil filter last weekend. After 15 minutes l left. Two of them could not figure out what filter went on an F6. It was kind of sad. At one point I was going to tell them it was the same one as the regular wing but I just said F it and left!
I bought from a small country dealer.
The dealership owner is the salesman, the shop foreman and head mechanic , the service manager, the parts manager, and finance manager.
He actually has a staff of 3; two mechanics and a secretary.
Can't beat that for personal service.
When I bought mine the salesman went crazy trying to find the reverse switch and right side glove compartment (my GW had these). I did get a great deal, though. They also sold my 2007 GW for me on Ebay for no charge except for regular Ebay fees.
Bought a 2013 f6b new, traded my Harley,dealer bent over back wards to explain the bike. Bought the bike at desplaines Honda.
Bought my 15' at Rod's Power Sports in Lincoln. Curt was my salesperson, and a long time GW rider. This was the second bike I bought from him. He took the time to walk me through the features, how to remove side covers, radio settings, etc. He is a pro, and the dealership, except for one individual, is top notch. The are a large dealership, but call me by name when I am in the store.
Can't say enough good stuff about these guys.... From sales to service. Grade A shop all the way around! :yes::yes::yes:
Wow so many terrible dealer posts. I can't say I've had the same issues. Both dealers I use here in Tampa, Powersports and Motorsports are both really great. Knowledgable, great customer service, always willing to help in anyway to make a deal, great for helping with parts and doing the research on things they don't know. When I come in they know who I am and always ask about the bikes. I may know more than they do about the features and functions but that doesn't surprise me they have a lot of models to sell. Overall though they seem pretty well educated on the products. I'm the exception sometimes as a consumer, I do a lot of research before I go buy so I know what I want. I need them to be good at the sale portion of the deal, how to finance, best prices, trade in values, etc. If you go in and buy a Goldwing and you know nothing about them then I would say shame on you for being an uneducated consumer. Your the one buying it not them. I agree they should have basic working knowledge of each machine, and at least mine do but the finer details I already know. But if you go in looking for a bike with no clue that's not really there problem. It's not like going in to order dinner, "hey what's good today?", if your there for a bike you should at least know what you want and the basics about it otherwise you'll get what they want to sell you not what you want.
I'm in sales as a profession and I want to learn as much about my products as I can so I'm educated when a customer has questions and my dealers seem to be pretty good about it.
Bought my 2013 F6B with touring shield, heated grips, center stand, luggage rack and backrest from
:no:CARTER MOTORSPORTS :no:
in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
As a group, they were simply the worst bunch of people I have ever done business with....I won't bore everyone with all the details but everything from long before the sale was final to months after that, attempting to get them to live up to their word was a time consuming affair. In my opinion, some of the stuff that went down was more than bad service.....pretty sure they intentionally took advantage of me as I was buying the bike out of province and they figured it would be more difficult for me to pursue the issues from the east coast.
Terrible terrible organization. I did however continue to pursue all issues through the Better Business Bureau ...until I got to a certain point at which time I just cut my losses and replaced the broken side cover panel.
Funny, as they didn't even have to work on the sale.....I just walked in off the street and told them I would be back to buy an F6B in 6 months....which I did. They just could have sold me what was agreed to and lived up to their side of the deal and made a few bucks but instead they turned it into a $hitshow and Honda Canada wouldn't step up to the plate as they said it was a dealer issue. Very bad experience for one of the best bikes I have ever owned...no need for this besides stupidity, laziness, lack of product knowledge and what in my opinion was potentially an incorrect odometer reading. (There were a hell of a lot of keys marks on the ignition switch, paint scratch's and abuse and a broken body panel for something with 0.4 km on it. Always wondered if a dealer can reset a digital odometer since buying this bike) Will never buy another Honda product simply due to this experience.
On rain days, every now and again when I have the time, I will sit for half an hour at the computer and write half a dozen bad reviews of the company and post online. I will have my ounce of flesh out of them one way or the other...what comes around goes round.
tink
Bought my bike at Big St. Charles Motorsports. Got a decent price. They matched another dealers price. Bike had been on the showroom. Scuffs all over it , they didn't bother to detail it. Filthy. Sticky even. They had no gas to put in it. Had to stop and get gas for the 40 mile ride home. I will pay more somewhere else next time.
Wow, thanks for coming...have a nice day.
Worst experience I ever had for $17,000. If you had been there Stro we would have kicked all there azzes just like the old days.
OOH RAH! Like when we stormed Mount Suribachi!
Kudos to my dealer in Tampa, Extreme Motorsports where the Owner and sales guy rides an F6B and sells one or two a month. Service has been good.
When we mounted who?Quote:
Originally Posted by stroguy