Do you think this dealer recalcitrance (word of the day) is done knowingly (not wanting to deal with Kawasaki) or is it that they just don't have a clue on how to deal with warranty items. However, it sounds like the former to me.
IMHO it's a melange (nwod from me
) of that, and a lack of business sense. Many Dealerships have been living on thier laurals, and squeeking by selling new bikes. ohthers have diversified into quads and watersport products. This combined with dealerships that have been failing, only to be sold off / purchased bu someone hoping it would be profitable, has sent many swirling down the quality drainpipe.
Owners don't keep a tight reign on the people working for them, and accept the lack of income as acceptable, when really the tech's and sales force prolly aren't doing all they can to make the dealership a higher rated one within the network. The owner then becomes apathetic, and goes down with the ship... sells off the business to another fish, and the cycle continues.
The 2 dealers I have good faith in (Ultimate in Richmond, and Ohio Motorcycle in N.e. ohio) both have what I consider a success oriented management, they keep the employees educated, and are contantly fitering information back and forth to all departments... in otherwords, the owner does'nt sit in his office hoping all is ok, he makes sure the "machine" is working. They are all about customer satisfaction, to them it isn't just a bunch of "buzz word" used to advertise, but the way bussiness IS run.
A prime example of this is the mentality my pal Pete Danials has, he's the owner of Ultimate, and the kind fellow that I worked with to provide the best pricing on the GTPP for our group. He didn't have to do it, he thought about it when we spoke, and understood that he could draw bussiness from every state (except Fla.) by his offer. This in turn allowed him to get prestigiuos status with Kaw corporate placing him as one of the highest rated dealers in the USA today, by simply not being greedy, and at the same time making a "fair" profit for a 10 minute job. He wasn't looking to get rich off it, but quantity, and customer feedback turn into sales on his part, and this got his recognition corporatly as a top tier dealer.
the results of that are; he gets new bikes faster, parts priorities, and comps from his services. He was and is willing to go that "extra phone call" to get a satisfied customer, knowing it IS the way to a successful business....
Unlike many dealers / service managers, who don't have a clue of
what they could have if they just gave a damn.
I'm going to drop a note to him in his e-mail, he probably won't get back untill Tuesday as they aren't open Mondays, but I'll send him a link to this thread, and ask for his personal response on "why" dealers fail to give good service... I kinda know he is going to tell me Kaw does not permit him to do some things on the net that might "disparage other dealerships", but I think he can respond to me candidly, and I will relate his explanations.
(
he is not allowed to advertise his pricing for GTPP by corporate mandate... but
I as a customer AM allowed to relate the "pricing" I recieved from him, and to tell others he can repeat this for all... nice to be the back door man in the offer....
)
