Impressed

I went to the dealership Saturday morning to sign up for their MVP program; "Motorcycle Value Program". It's a bit pricey out of the gate ($2,300), but I'm now paid-up for all my services for the next 10 years.  That's not a typo - 10 years.  And, the plan is transferrable to another bike.  So if I move on to another bike in 5 years, the services on that bike are covered as well (up to a 10 year limit, in total).

In talking to both the finance guy, as well as the service guy, they both were saying that the 20k service on my new bike includes changing the fork oil.  Ok, no biggie, right?  Well, apparently something with this new bike (I haven't delved into the service manual yet to see why) requires a whole lot of work to access the tubes.  The labor charge on that service is 7 hours.  Zoinks.  Just think about what that equates to for cost!  And while I'm capable of doing my own services, I am planning on letting the dealership to them - especially now.  They will do a better job of checking many more things than I would, and; I'll get a free wash and wax each time.

But back to being impressed.  Each visit I've made to this dealership, I've been very impressed with how I'm treated.  Each person seems genuinely interested in getting to know me, making sure I don't have any questions about anything, and just being very helpful and friendly.

Case in point; when I was there on Saturday, I happened to mention to the service manager (Bob) that my iPod wasn't being recognized by the radio.  (I assume it's because my iPod is ancient, and its software version is completely out of date).  Bob asks me if I have the bike with me and I said yes.  He tells me to bring it right in and they'll flash the radio for me.  I don't even have an appointment, but they took my bike right in and had it looked at.  As it turned out, my radio came with the absolute newest software vesion avaialble - even one vesion newer than what the dealership had.  But they took the time to explain what they found, and said they do expect that it's because my iPod is so old.  They asked if I had any other devices that I could test on it, and I said yep, that I would let them know how I made out.  (I haven't tested any others yet, but will tonight.  If my friend's iPhone works then I'll be buying a new iPod tomorrow.)

When it was time for me to roll out and get going, it had started to rain a bit.  Each service guy within earshot (including Bob), wished me safe riding, watch out for the slick spots, watch out for the idiots, etc.  It was like I was leaving a buddy's house or something.  Nobody just walked by and said nothing as I rolled out of the service area - every person was wishing me well.  I could get used to that kind of treatment.

Ride Hard, Take Chances