Repetitive Pattern

It seems that every time I put my bike into the shop, things just grind to a standstill. Wait, there was that one exception at Jamestown Harley, out in NY. They were awesome. But every other dealer I've ever dealt with has just been horrendous. Sit back and listen to my latest tale of woe (I'll rehash things a bit, if you don't mind.)

I dropped the bike off on December 7th. PRIOR to dropping it off, I inquired about their workload/schedule, to see what kind of delay I might be facing. I was told that due to the time of year, things were very slow in the shop. "No appointment is needed, just bring it on down!" came the cheerful voice on the other end of the line. (The voice was so cheerful and jolly, I half-envisioned a brotherly clap on the back from the service guy, while he hoisted a mug of ale to my health).

Fast-forward to the drop-off. No brotherly back-claps and no hoisted mugs of ale. In their place, I got "Customer appreciation" days, weekend closures, and other annoyances. Instead of "We'll get right on it", I received notice that it would probably be a week before they started looking at it. WTF? (You'd think I'd learn by now, and that when these warning signs appear, just take my bike and leave. Just leave, dummy!!)

After not one, but TWO weeks had gone by, I called the dealership and was told I was #2 in line to be looked at. Whoa, whoa, whoa...first, I called and was told to bring it right in, no lines, no waiting. Then, I was told there was going to be a week delay. Now it's been over two weeks, and nothing?? What are you guys doing down there??

This catches you up to where you already were, but wait, it gets even better! Here's what you missed during last week while I was out of the office!!

I gave them another week, but after again not hearing anything, I called again. This was SEVEN DAYS after my last phone call - the phone call where I was told I was #2 to be looked at. Guess what? After those 7 additional days had gone by, my bike had moved all the way up to....wait for it....wait..for..it...my bike had moved up to #1!!! I was next in line to be looked at!!

I almost lost it right then and there (I think my questions were understandable, under the circumstances); "You mean to tell me that in a whole week, you've only worked on one bike?? How can you have worked on only one bike in an entire week?? How does a factory-authorized Harley service department work on one bike per week and not catch hell from the factory for not turning in revenue???" His reply was that it was merely a slow time of year, so a lot of the techs take their vacation now. Fine, WHATEVER, just get going on my bike, please.

The next day, the dealership calls me to let me know they test-rode my bike, and yes, I was correct; there was a sound coming from the tranny. Excellent, now we're getting somewhere. Ok, so what did you find, I asked. Well, says he; you didn't give us authorization to work on the transmission when you dropped the bike off.

WHAT!?!?!?!? Of course I did!!! I signed the work order right in front of you!!! (At this point, I'm looking around for Candid Cameras to see if I'm on some kind of lunatic comedy show or something, because this guy has got to be frikkin' kidding me. Sadly; no cameras to be found, so I guess this is all really happening.) Ok, can I give you verbal authorization over the phone, to please start working on my bike?? I can? Excellent; PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE START WORKING ON MY BIKE!

Are you sitting down? Because luckily, I was, when he said his next sentence.

"Great, that'll be $680 dollars, just for the labor. We'll know what the parts will be, once we get in there and see what's going on."

Wait, wait, wait...how the hell can you know it's going to be $680 dollars in labor, when you haven't even turned a bolt or screw yet??

His reply; well, that's the most it could be, if we did a full tear-down and reassembly.

Me; "So you don't know yet if it's going to need a full tear-down and reassembly, so it's entirely possible that the labor won't even come close to that, right?" He agreed, and off he went to start working on things.

(How many guesses would you like that I'll hear; *SURPRISE!!* Sorry Mr. Magraw, you did need a full tear-down and reassembly after all.)

I'm so sick and tired of the Harley BS. There are a lot of other companies out there that are really working to keep their customers happy. Maybe it's time I start thinking about one of them.

I'll have time to mull things over. The current bike is paid off, so it'll be a while before I make a new purchase. If I do wind up making the break, I know Harley won't miss me in the least.

Believe me, the feeling will be mutual.