My dealer has asked me why I send customers to his competition. I run through the littany of past dealings where they have "gotten" me. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Being the dinosaur that I am I do my best to share their "customer service".
I have two dealer stories;
Local Yammie/Kawa dealer sold me a 2003 Concours. All went well enough except for some scratches on the windscreen (noted on delivery) and a missing ignition key (also noted).
When I went to claim my replacement windshield and key I was asked to pay for them (and they key was a blank - they told me to get it cut) at my expense.
Then they charged almost $500 for first service - but never cracked the valve cover - so they lied about doing the work. When I had a coolant leak they tried to give my bike the sunshine treatement . . . my complaints (and the lack of significant volume) cost them their Kawa dealership.
When I bought the FJR I got it from another, less conveniently located dealer for about $500 less - yet they made me feel like my business was appreciated.
When I next rolled by the original dealer they actually did not understand why I would purchase from someone else . .
The other concerns a botched major repair to my car. The aftermarket warranty company and the dealer both refused to consider compensating me for the cost of the repair so we headed off to small claims court where, as you can imagine the defendants were asked to share the $4500 cost.
When I next went to get my oil changed the dealer informed me that they would not have time to service my vehicle.
No problem. I went to Costco and got the same service (oil/filter/tire rotation) there for less than half of what the dealer would have charged. I also infomed the manufacturer's customer service that I WAS about to purchase a new car from them but that the action of their dealer not only cost them the sale to me, but that I would be quite vocal about the experience and it would likely cost them additional sales . . . . they said they'd review the situation at the weekly 'issues' meeting . . . .
The players:
The good:
Quebec small claims court
Costco (Quality basic car service cheap)
Deshaies Motosports (Yammie reseller who sold me my FJR)
The Bad:
M.R. Chicoine (Yammie reseller who used to handle Kawasaki)
des Sources Dodge Chrysler (who serviced my LHS and broke it)
The ugly
PPP Warranty Services (who declined to pay for a covered defect)