zeta xray
Expert Class
Posts: 416
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posted April 07, 2005 10:14 PM
Sh*tty dealer vs. great dealer sorta long rant
Before I bought my ZX10, I would hang out at Corpus Christi Cycle Plaza in Corpus Christi, TX to check out the new toys. As a "regular" I had heard their salesmen's speil many times, before buying my own bike. "You need to buy the bike from us, even if our price is higher because we have the best service around and the best mechanics available. If you don't buy the bike from us, we won't service it." Then the standard customer reply: "You are an authorized dealer, you have to service it, no matter where I buy it." Standard dealership response: "We might take it in but who knows when we will get to it, it may be months."
Well, in spite of the fact that this dealership has policies that I disagree with, I bought my bike there. Mainly because they extended an "olive branch" and offered me a discounted price on my ZX10. I naively thought they might be changing their ways. They NEVER offered any kind of "deal" to anyone, as far as I could tell.
Finally the day arrived where I needed that superior service(?). One of the mounting tabs on the tail had cracked. I took the bike in. The service manager was out that day. One of the service guys came out and looked at my bike. "Sure, no problem. We will order the part and we will call you when it comes in." So far so good.
About 10 days later, I get a call from the service manager. I assumed he called because my part was in. Wrong. He called to tell me that Kawasaki wouldn't warranty anything like that. I informed him that I am a member of multiple ZX10 forums and that other members were having no trouble getting it warrantied. After going around and around with the service manager he finally said that I could bring the bike in and leave it and he would see what they could do. "Leave it.... How long would I have to leave it?" He said I would probably have to leave the bike for a week or so. I told him they didn't need to keep my bike for a week to find out if Kawasaki would warranty a cracked tail. That was the only possible solution he would offer.
My next attempt was to talk to the GM of the dealership, Bob Silvernail. I went to the dealership to talk to him. He didn't even want to look at the bike. He said he knew that Kawasaki would not warranty the part. I told him about other riders experiences with their dealers and that Kawasaki knew that the tails occasionally cracked and would warranty it without question. NO NO NO. Finally I got the response that it would be wasting their peoples time and my time to attempt to get the tail warrantied. They wouldn't even make a call to ask. At that point I sarcastically reminded him that there would have been one slight complication in the transaction anyway. My bike came out of the crate as a blue bike. I swapped for green parts soon after the bike was purchased. That seemed to confirm to Mr. Silvernail that there was absolutly NO WAY that Kawasaki would ever warranty any of my colored parts.
On a whim, before my warranty expired, I decided to go try another dealer. I went to Dale's Fun Center in Victoria, Texas. At Dale's, I talked to David Kendrick, the service manager. After a short conversation he said, "Are you the one that swapped for the green bodywork? Your bike was originally blue wasn't it?" I told him he was right. He knew about it because the green parts came from a bike that they had sold at their dealership. He looked at the tail and invited me inside. We went to his office, where he called Kawasaki. Less than 3 minutes later, Kawasaki agreed to warranty the parts with no hassle what so ever.
A week or so later, a friend of mine went into Corpus Christi Cycle Plaza and asked to talk to the owner, Joe Werkhoven(sp?) and the GM, Bob Silvernail. He wanted to find out why Mr. Silvernail had refused to do anything about helping me. Mr. Silveranail's explanation was that I didn't have the original panels on my bike and that there was no use to attempt to get Kawasaki to do anything. "We have a good working relationship with Kawasaki and we will not do anything to jeopardize that relationship." He insinuated that to warranty green panels on a bike that came out of the crate blue, amounted to dealer fraud. I was not at this meeting, but I can assure you that When he was telling me NO NO NO, he had completely forgotten about the color swap until I reminded him. By that time he had made it abundantly clear to me that they were not going to do anything about it.
About a week ago, I was at a local M/C accessory shop "spreading the word" about my adventure. When I finished my rant, the owner of the shop told me to hold on for a minute. He went to the back of his shop and asked an employee to come out. He told him to tell me about the story they had heard the day before about a guy with a ZX6R. The ZX6R owner had gone in for a warranty repair. Corpus Christi Cycle Plaza had refused to warranty his bike but the GM said they would sell him the part for $120.00. He reluctantly agreed. When he went to pick up the bike, they charged him $160 for the part and wouldn't budge from that price no matter how much he protested. Deja vu, all over again.
If you are considering buying a Kawasaki or Yamaha product in Corpus Christi, Texas, I would strongly suggest that you steer clear of Corpus Christi Cycle Plaza. If you want a Kawasaki and want good service after the sale, spend a little bit of extra time and drive to Dale's Fun Center in Victoria. You will not regret it.
  
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Hells Dark Lord
Needs a life
living life, and loving it.
Posts: 7981
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posted April 08, 2005 03:39 AM
Document the incident with a certified letter, send a copy to the dealer that screwed up, and CC. a copy to Kawaskai.
I had a similar thing happen while in Daytona bike week a few years ago. I called Kawasaki customer service and they responded with a very nasty letter to the dealer, refunded my money, and sent me a copy of the letter they sent to the dealer. After that I dont know what happened, but I would bet that it wasnt a pleasant expierence for the dealer...
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When in doubt, lean farther and go faster....
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redelk
Moderator
Please... speak to the hand.
Posts: 3212
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posted April 08, 2005 09:40 AM
Good read, ZX. Though some might argue that it is "your view" of what happened and your friend's information is "second hand", the point seems rather clear in this case. Even after explaining that KMC had honored the legitmate claims of other 10R owners with similar problems, they seemed uninterested in even contacting KMC and confirming that this was or even was NOT the case.
To claim that they do not wish to "jeopardize" their relationship with KMC is nothing but insulting. IMHO, the dealer's relationship with their CUSTOMER should always be foremost. not with their supplier. Though this and the issue with the 6R owner might not be "the norm" with this dealership, it appears that it did happen.
I know that myself and my company has not pleased every one of my customers over the past 47 years, but I do take pride in the fact that we have always done every thing possible to resolve any problem or issue they may have had with our products. Though my efforts might not have been to the liking of each and every one of them, at least I put out some effort. That is more than I can say for the dealer in CC.
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There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.
-Ernest Hemingway
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fish_antlers
Administrator
The Truth is Out There
Posts: 21894
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posted April 08, 2005 04:19 PM
It would be interesting to have Joe Werkhoven and the Bob Silvernail respond to this here, in public.
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What business is it of yours where I'm from, Friendo?
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zeta xray
Expert Class
Posts: 416
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posted April 09, 2005 01:18 PM
I would like to see them respond, also. I think I will see if I can get a neutral party to approach them for a direct response.
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It is good to be green.
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MadMike
Moderator
FEAR THE BLACK FLAG!!!!!!!!
Posts: 6579
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posted April 13, 2005 09:43 AM
someone should email them and let them know and see if they respond??? now that would be funny
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200-MPH CLUB MEMBER!
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zeta xray
Expert Class
Posts: 416
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posted May 12, 2005 04:11 PM
I thought this was behind me. I had decided just to never go in Corpus Christi Cycle Plaza again. But then....
Today, I had lunch with friend who had visited Cycle Plaza just before we met. He said the owner approached him and he wanted to know if I was "still whinning?" There were several other things were said that really pissed me off, as well. It just went to show their attitude. But then one thing came up that put me over the top. The owner, Joe Werkoven, said that they had considered calling Kawasaki to report the other dealer for warranty fraud, since they had warranteed a green tail on bike that came out of the crate as a blue bike.
I called Kawasaki Customer Service and discussed the whole deal with them. I talked to a Ryan. Ryan assured me that the warranty repair performed at Dale's Fun Center was approved by KMC and there was absolutely no issue with the color swap or any other aspect of the warranty repair. I also told him that "another dealer" had mentioned that they thought about calling KMC to turn in the good guys for warranty fraud...... That seemed to get a rise out of Ryan and he wanted to know what dealer had said that. I told him. Ryan wrote everything up and attached it to the service record. As I have always said, I think Kawasaki is a quality company and really wants to take care of their customers. Unfortunately, not all dealers have the same noble intentions.
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It is good to be green.
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