How not to do customer service

[fodder650]

Ive taken my bike to a local mechanic. My bikes been sitting for over a year and needed the usual cleaning up. You know inspection, carbs cleaned, chain lubed just the usual bring a bike out of retirement stuff.

Drop the bike off and he says that it will be 1-2 weeks to get it all done. Hes the only mechanic in the shop and hes overloaded with work because everyones getting their bikes out. Im fine with that. He has a reputation for quality work

So i call 13 days later and Im told he had to order a think he said carb rebuild kit might be wrong and that it will be another 7-10 business days while he waits for it. And then he follows up with telling me that if everyone who had dropped a bike off called for updates. He'd never get any work done.

You know I can almost deal with that.  But its this that got me..

"Dont call me. I'll call you"

So i was supposed to just assume he was taking care of things when I hadnt heard back in two weeks? That Im not supposed to care about my bike being at his shop. And that if it took another couple weeks to just smile and be ok with it without a call or anything?

Sorry but at $3.50 a gallon its time to park my Ford and use the bike and isnt it just plain customer service to let the customer know whats going on?! Plus since he has possession of my bike. I really can't argue. Not that he might be bitter and do something. But heck I dont want to risk it.

Just needed to vent. Just want my GS so I can go riding, commuting, and stop looking at other bikes for sale when I have one already.

[The Buddha]

Your problem sounds like the classic sitting and cake up and your mechanic sounds like the regular cluless monkey.
You send me your carbs and $45 and it will run like a top.
Cool.
Buddha.

[The Antibody]

I would pick it up and go somewhere else. If you leave it there, you're only letting him win. He doesn't deserve your business. It will probably show him the light as well. Customer service is sooo important.

  -Anti 

[kml.krk]

take the bike from this guy, send the carbs to Buddha and the remainder of the job you could do by yourself  it's fun, seriously!
cheers
KML

[bucks1605]

Sounds like he just lost a customer, and any of the customer's friends who ride.

[Ronin]

Go by to pick it up! If he refuses call the police right in front of him.Don't leave without Your bike. :thumb:Take your title with you,you may need it!

[gmark]

If his costomer service is that bad think about how his SERVICE will be. Get your bike back.

[fodder650]

Im going to give him until friday and then go get it if he hasnt called by then. Some people just have a bad day. But yes he's lost my business and I won't recommend him to anyone else.

[ohgood]

Im going to give him until friday and then go get it if he hasnt called by then. Some people just have a bad day. But yes he's lost my business and I won't recommend him to anyone else.

three weeks is plenty of time to screw up a bike. i can do it in ... minutes.

[frankieG]

if it is a "dealership" and not just some shop you can complain straight to the manufacturer

[fodder650]

Its not a dealership. I dont have a truck to transport the bike on. It was running but I didnt feel it was running well enough to make the run to the dealership. Besides he had a good reputation and was close to home so why bother?

At least thats what I thought

[fodder650]

Well got the call shes done. Dropped it off April 2nd and getting it back tonight hopefully.

$218 in parts
8 hours labor
total - $800

But he read me a huge list of what he did to it. I knew that he had bought a jet kit for it because my jets were clogged or something like that. Been awhile since i remember the reason. But he did rejet it to accelerate better. Plus he did some work on the choke so that it warms up quicker.

But he basically did all the things to it that I should have when I decided to pull it out of the garage and ride it.

Now that we are up to $3.75 a gallon here for gas. I will be really happy to use it again. It only has 6800 miles on it and I hope to put a lot more on it this summer.

I may be using search and asking a lot of stupid questions this summer. I plan on learning how to work on it myself. To save myself the money and just to avoid having to do this all over again.

[beRto]

Sorry to hear about your experience; I've never brought my bike to a shop, but I don't think it should take over a month to do 8 hours labour!

Anyways, I think you will find it rewarding to work on the GS yourself. Lots of experts on this forum (unfortunately I'm not one of them)... so ask away!

[The Buddha]

Oh yea, clogged jets always need a kit to be fixed ... 
WTF, is he too "posh" to spray carbs cleaner on them.
Heck I brush my teeth with carb cleaner ... 
Cool.
Buddha.

[fodder650]

I know he cleaned the carbs with the machine i mentioned earlier.

Well this does force me to learn how to take care of the bike myself. Ive got my service manual. Got the one repair manual that used to be sold her on this site as well. Just need to actually do it. Been thinking of buying a fixer upper and using that as a learning tool

[ohgood]

I know he cleaned the carbs with the machine i mentioned earlier.

Well this does force me to learn how to take care of the bike myself. Ive got my service manual. Got the one repair manual that used to be sold her on this site as well. Just need to actually do it. Been thinking of buying a fixer upper and using that as a learning tool

ok, i'm not going to say you got hosed, but that's allot of money for a cleanup. sure, everyone is in business to make money, can't blame him for that.

you could have done the same job for about $100, including your time and normal salary being spent on the bike. (i'm assuming you're not bill gates   )

yes, waiting for the jets could take forever. i still have not recieved a ordered set of jets from months ago. color me angry about that.

yes, the gs is easy to work on, and carbs suck sometimes. shipping + labor for someone like srinath to do it isn't that bad a deal, if you don't mind the bike just sitting in the mean time. me, i'm just stubborn (read, DUMB) enough to keep trying again and a again

good luck with your ride, and I hope you don't have to get soaked by a shop next time fueling goes south.

[fodder650]

ok just because sometimes i feel like i should be a completist. Heres the info from the receipt. Oh and I rode it to work and outside of the idle being set at 1900 (about 400-500 to high) it ran nicely.

2 manifold seals - $8.50
2 Air box boots - $40
2 Carb ORing +sc (l?) K**s $30
2 Piolor Jets +40 + 1 $11
2 Valve shims $13
Battery $40
Motor Oil 19.50
Oil filter, fuel filter 10.50
Spark Plugs and Brake Fluid 12.50
Air Filter 24.95
shop supplies $10
inspect $28.30
Parts total 218.95

labor items
test an replace battery
remove and steam carbs - remove old fuel
asst with listed parts
reseal manifolds
adjust valves - sync carbs
service - change filters, air. oil, gas
flush and bleed brakes
lube and adjust chain
inspect
lube cablles
test run
modify carb and choke