The following is an extract from an email I sent to BMW earlier this week - they have yet to reply.
When I collected my bike from them I was kept waiting for 1 1/2 hours before their salesman dealt with me. They knew I was coming and I would have thought they would have had sufficient staff available to deal with me. The only other salesperson available spent all his time talking with Sam Manicom who was there promoting his book. No-one even acknowledged my presence to begin with - in fact until an hour had passed.
Did you think of interrupting the salesman's chat with Sam and make your displeasure known that you'd been waiting an age rather than stand around boiling with anger?
If I had known now how they would treat me I would have walked out and gone to another dealer.
Before collecting the bike I had booked the first service through their salesman (Andrew Harvey) as we were going on a European holiday. I confirmed the date of the service with him when the bike was collected. I completed the running in period sooner that I anticipated and rang CW Motorcycles to see if they could fit the first service in early. They had no record of any such booking for me and they had to 'juggle' their existing services to fit me in on the day I had originally arranged.
I am sure you could understand how I was beginning to feel about this at the time. Had I made the right decision to do buy a bike from this dealer or not?
I took the bike for it's service and was loaned one while this was being done. I was told to return at 2.00pm to collect it. When I returned Mr Studley pointed out to me that they had had to remove my crashbars to do the valve adjustment and I was going to be charged for this.
Strange, they haven't charged me for that yet and I have H&B's.
He seemed almost gleeful.
Somehow I find that hard to believe that someone could openly gloat about charging a customer extra for something.
The bike was not yet ready though. I waited until it was finally ready - at 3.30pm!! So I had to sit around waiting for 1 1/2 hours once again.
I've always agreed an approximate time to return but if there were delays they would call me on my cell so I could stay out and play a bit more
On top of the charge made for removing and refitting the crashbars I was also charged for the loan bike
They've never charged me at any time for a loan bike.
- this I was not told about when it was handed over to me and is the first time any dealer has ever charged me for such an item. When you have just spent over £10,000 with someone this smacks of penny pinching, in my opinion.
I had my holiday and you know all about the problems I with the bike on that! I would say that my holiday was not made pleasant because of the noises the bike was making (traced to a defective tyre) and I spent the time worrying about when the bike was going to break down. I feel that in view of these problems I have experienced BMW and CW could greatly restore their reputaions with me by offering to change my tyres - they have already done it for someone else, why not me?
I obviously need to have the warranty work done by a qualified dealer but CW don't appear to be interested.
