g6civcx
10-08-2006, 09:22 AM
This is about 2 bike shops in my area so they have nothing to do with Nissans or even cars in general. I was just thinking about it in planning for the next season, and I wanted to share my experience with vendors and consumers alike.
Shop #1 is further out. It's about a 1.5 hour one-way to them. Their prices are a little higher. However, their service and support is superior.
Shop #2 is literally down the street. Their prices are rock bottom. However, their service is crap and there is no support.
The kicker for me was how both shops respond on the local forum. Any time there is a complaint, #1 would jump right on it and promptly communicate with the poster to work it out. Usually the owner would jump right on and ask how to make it right, and then follow up on it.
If you had a problem, #2 generally calls you stupid. Then all the employees would come on and call you stupid. Then they would say there is some sort of conspiracy against them. I guess that's how they do it.
I gave #2 a try once and got burned badly. I regret ever going there to begin with. Eventually there were some problems at #2. The employees and managers got into a big fight and there was some incidents with theft and vandalism committed by former employees. Figures.
#2 split up and the good people went to another shop while the bad people stuck around and formed another shop. The same people are there and the same game is still there.
It's no big deal really, but I was just adding up all my receipts from the last 2 seasons and try to figure out my budget for next season. Guess what I found out.
Since we use #1 exclusively, between my stepfather and I, we grossed well over $40,000 in sales for that shop. We got all 3 of our bikes from there, as well as all of our gear and equipment. It's not that much compared to all the racers they support. There is one guy who bought all 3 Ducati 999Rs they had (well over $100k total in bikes alone).
Then I remembered all the people I referred to #1. Just in my neighbourhood alone, I probably referred at least 3 people who bought bikes from them. I can remember maybe another dozen that I referred to them.
The reason I wanted to tell this story was to let vendors know how important it is to maintain a good relationship with your customers, and also to let consumers know how much power they have when they refer people.
It was just such a shame that shop #2 lost all that business. Honestly, if the service was the same at both shop, I would rather pay #2 more money because they are closer.
And if you're curious, I started with the R6 platform when they first came out in 03. I spent 2 seasons prepping the chassis, trying to get as much track time and classroom time as possible. I didn't get my racing license yet but I'm working hard and taking it one day at a time. Money and time for track days are hard to come by. I didn't like the new R6 platform and especially how Yamaha was dicking everybody over. I got rid of it and sat out this season. I'm changing platform to the Kawasaki for next season and hoping to get my license.
New platform = new bike and equipment = more money for #1. I guess that's how they're successful while #2 is still trying to lowball the market.
Shop #1 is further out. It's about a 1.5 hour one-way to them. Their prices are a little higher. However, their service and support is superior.
Shop #2 is literally down the street. Their prices are rock bottom. However, their service is crap and there is no support.
The kicker for me was how both shops respond on the local forum. Any time there is a complaint, #1 would jump right on it and promptly communicate with the poster to work it out. Usually the owner would jump right on and ask how to make it right, and then follow up on it.
If you had a problem, #2 generally calls you stupid. Then all the employees would come on and call you stupid. Then they would say there is some sort of conspiracy against them. I guess that's how they do it.
I gave #2 a try once and got burned badly. I regret ever going there to begin with. Eventually there were some problems at #2. The employees and managers got into a big fight and there was some incidents with theft and vandalism committed by former employees. Figures.
#2 split up and the good people went to another shop while the bad people stuck around and formed another shop. The same people are there and the same game is still there.
It's no big deal really, but I was just adding up all my receipts from the last 2 seasons and try to figure out my budget for next season. Guess what I found out.
Since we use #1 exclusively, between my stepfather and I, we grossed well over $40,000 in sales for that shop. We got all 3 of our bikes from there, as well as all of our gear and equipment. It's not that much compared to all the racers they support. There is one guy who bought all 3 Ducati 999Rs they had (well over $100k total in bikes alone).
Then I remembered all the people I referred to #1. Just in my neighbourhood alone, I probably referred at least 3 people who bought bikes from them. I can remember maybe another dozen that I referred to them.
The reason I wanted to tell this story was to let vendors know how important it is to maintain a good relationship with your customers, and also to let consumers know how much power they have when they refer people.
It was just such a shame that shop #2 lost all that business. Honestly, if the service was the same at both shop, I would rather pay #2 more money because they are closer.
And if you're curious, I started with the R6 platform when they first came out in 03. I spent 2 seasons prepping the chassis, trying to get as much track time and classroom time as possible. I didn't get my racing license yet but I'm working hard and taking it one day at a time. Money and time for track days are hard to come by. I didn't like the new R6 platform and especially how Yamaha was dicking everybody over. I got rid of it and sat out this season. I'm changing platform to the Kawasaki for next season and hoping to get my license.
New platform = new bike and equipment = more money for #1. I guess that's how they're successful while #2 is still trying to lowball the market.