Most complaints about BMW dealers are a result of an unrealistic customer's expectations of a dealer
BMW Park Lane - lesson learnt
- Thread starter Nico
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Yes Richard.. it's called 'Customer Services' and a small attempt might have won them a new customer..
OK but he is not a customer of theirs, is he? His opening post tells us very clearly that he has never spent a penny in the place.
Clearly the bod had no idea why the bolt was stuck, nor how long it might take to remove. All he tells us is that he could not do it but wants it done then and there, being reluctant to bring it back with an appointment. That it later took nothing more than 30 seconds at his local garage is irrelevant.
Customer Service is something BMW are quite big on, i think you'll find their definition of it is slightly different to some dealers,
Good Customer service retains business, but also attracts new business.
As mentioned before, there still seems to be this "Did you buy the bike from us sir/madam" approach, should it matter? likewise, should it matter if i had NEVER given the dealer any business in the past?
No.
Loyalty seems to get you a better service than the 'bloke who walked in off the street', a bit short-sighted really....
As an aside, when i worked in a dealership the parts dept were actually encouraged to answer the phone before serving a customer at the counter/workshop. The phone call will/can go somewhere else, the counter customer is there, so is unlikely to go elswhere.
Good practice?
Good Customer service retains business, but also attracts new business.
As mentioned before, there still seems to be this "Did you buy the bike from us sir/madam" approach, should it matter? likewise, should it matter if i had NEVER given the dealer any business in the past?
No.
Loyalty seems to get you a better service than the 'bloke who walked in off the street', a bit short-sighted really....
As an aside, when i worked in a dealership the parts dept were actually encouraged to answer the phone before serving a customer at the counter/workshop. The phone call will/can go somewhere else, the counter customer is there, so is unlikely to go elswhere.
Good practice?
Way back in 1985 I went into BMW Park Lane and ended buying an R80RT. It was my first big bike after a Suzuki GT250.
The salesman could not have been more helpful - we had a good play around on the 80RT and the K100 which had just come out.
Ended up him trusting me to ride bike with him pillion through the London rush hour.
Sad if they have deteriorated so much, I had nothing but good experiences back then.
The salesman could not have been more helpful - we had a good play around on the 80RT and the K100 which had just come out.
Ended up him trusting me to ride bike with him pillion through the London rush hour.
Sad if they have deteriorated so much, I had nothing but good experiences back then.
Give the guy 5 minutes and see if what he offered you was a better offer than what you expected - having more options can't be a bad thing and doesn't seem much to get all uppity about
Give the guy 5 minutes and see if what he offered you was a better offer than what you expected - having more options can't be a bad thing and doesn't seem much to get all uppity about
In one
I can imagine the howl of righteous indignation had matey later learned that someone had got a better deal.... And had not been offered it by the salesman.
Why? My only point was that Joe Blogg's garage was better in customer service than the BMW dealer, they started from the same situation i.e. they didn't know me and had to stop what they were doing to help me. To be fair, I did have my previous bike serviced once at Park Lane but did not metion that.
The bolt was stuck becuase it was too tight so I damaged it while trying to remove it using the torx key. Definitely my fault, but all the local garage did was using a hammer to move the bolt a bit, which was indeed effective.
Whereas the dealer told me that the engine oil would come out when removing the bolt which is complete bo**ocks and I can't believe I've heard this from people who service the same bike regularly!
I think everything has to put into context here, this was a 2 sec job and I could have easily walked out as a happy customer if only the dealer had been a bit more proactive.
When I asked for a quote for a new GSA a while ago the approach was equal, they started saying that my used bike would go into auction becuase of mileage / age, etc. to justify their extremely low p/x value.
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Give the guy 5 minutes and see if what he offered you was a better offer than what you expected - having more options can't be a bad thing and doesn't seem much to get all uppity about
Salesmen only do themselves favours - if he could give you such a great deal on a new bike then he could have dropped the price of the second-hand one also - what the salesman is doing is to trying to maximise his profit, it his job and I don't blame him, but he shouldn't piss-off the customers.
Some customers may think that getting a new bike for £800 more than a used one is a good deal.
The salesman would only know if the customer is interested by offering him a deal.
And it may not have occured to the customer that he could possibly afford a new bike unless the salesman tells him -
You listen, cogitate, then decide yes or no. Simple.
Perhaps your local garage had not seen enough 1200 riders to form an opinion, the opposite is true of Park Lane of course.
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But as salesman, if the CUSTOMER has told you several times what they want, then you should shut-up and do what the customer wants, even if you think it is wrong - if you don't you risk the customer walking - simples!
My bikes fine thank you, bought it out of the PARK LANE window,
I said I would have it, as it was wheeled out of the window, a showroom customer showed interest.
" Can I sit on the bike "
" Sorry No, its SOLD its a customers bike "
That made me feel real specail about the bike and the service.
Treated great , as I should be I spent £14k.
Last week just had to return bike for small problem, no questions asked sorted straight away.
May be I`m SPECAIL NEEDS
I said I would have it, as it was wheeled out of the window, a showroom customer showed interest.
" Can I sit on the bike "
" Sorry No, its SOLD its a customers bike "
That made me feel real specail about the bike and the service.
Treated great , as I should be I spent £14k.
Last week just had to return bike for small problem, no questions asked sorted straight away.
May be I`m SPECAIL NEEDS
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Well that fresh revelation changes everything.
What shoddy way to treat a customer. BuMW ought to be rightly ashamed of themselves.
What would it have cost them to sort out a customer's mangled bolt? Pennies, that's what.
When you consider the trouble someone has been to to buy and then attempt to fit a crud catcher, only to mangle a bolt in the process*, leaving them unable to complete the vital task that day. And then to have the inconvenience of having to ride to Battersea, only to be told to come back. It's disgraceful and something needs to be done about it.
*Smells like not fit for purpose, for starters. Poor quality control at the very least.
Come on we can still be friends even if we don't agree with each other, there is no need of taking the
Most customer experiences are subjective, otherwise the world would be very boring IMHO.
Dahoum
Registered user
Come on we can still be friends even if we don't agree with each other, there is no need of taking the
Most customer experiences are subjective, otherwise the world would be very boring IMHO.
Indeed it would be a very dull place...
Indeed it would be a very dull place...
I must sign up to one of your rideouts so I can be forgiven 
Yup, come along.
It'll be penance followed by absolution. 
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