Finally. Picking up the bike today.
The bike was supposed to be ready on April 14th but apparently, there was a problem with the shipment. Then, I was notified that the bike had arrived at the dealership in a container with 10 other bikes and would be ready June 25th. It turns out that wasn't good either and Cray, the sales guy advised me that it might take another week because the dealership changed ownership and somehow the bike was in the original dealers name, and the new dealer couldn't register it for licensing purposes. He was apologetic and mentioned that his hands were tied by "the back office". I had booked friday and monday as vacation days to get in lots of km in order to break in the bike and this news was disappointing to say the least.
It's easier to blow a guy off (that sounds a bit weird) over the phone, but it's harder to do that face to face, so I decided that it's time to visit the dealership and discuss the topic with the "guy in the back office". This was my first visit to Serpa BMW (nee Open Road BMW) and since I bought the bike over the phone, Cray had never met be before. I got a small chuckle when approaching him, after obviously looking at the bikes and parts on the showroom floor. He greeted me with his patented high energy greeting "you can have one in any colour that you want". When I responded with "I already have one - and it's black. Hi, my name is Mike May", his energy drained, he slouched a bit in defeat (knowing that he was about to have an uncomfortable conversation with no safe harbour to ride out the storm). We sat at his desk and he provided a more detailed version of the story that was provided on the phone, and then we got to the point - I wanted to meet the back office guy and discuss the steps needed to get the bike. Long story short - it was promised for Friday (April 27) or Monday the latest and... they delivered on the early date, which is a good way to make borscht out of beets.
The issue was caused when the dealership was sold, management tried to save as much money as possible so it delayed inventory transfer to minimize carrying costs, and reduced staff to 1 mechanic and 1 sales guy. They got caught with their pants down when the weather turned nice, and myself and probably 10 to 18 other guys were disappointed.
Next, I need to get some parts on the bike and then, depending on weather, ride it to a friend's cottage on Rosseau. Cold weather may be a problem, so let's see where that goes.
The bike was supposed to be ready on April 14th but apparently, there was a problem with the shipment. Then, I was notified that the bike had arrived at the dealership in a container with 10 other bikes and would be ready June 25th. It turns out that wasn't good either and Cray, the sales guy advised me that it might take another week because the dealership changed ownership and somehow the bike was in the original dealers name, and the new dealer couldn't register it for licensing purposes. He was apologetic and mentioned that his hands were tied by "the back office". I had booked friday and monday as vacation days to get in lots of km in order to break in the bike and this news was disappointing to say the least.
It's easier to blow a guy off (that sounds a bit weird) over the phone, but it's harder to do that face to face, so I decided that it's time to visit the dealership and discuss the topic with the "guy in the back office". This was my first visit to Serpa BMW (nee Open Road BMW) and since I bought the bike over the phone, Cray had never met be before. I got a small chuckle when approaching him, after obviously looking at the bikes and parts on the showroom floor. He greeted me with his patented high energy greeting "you can have one in any colour that you want". When I responded with "I already have one - and it's black. Hi, my name is Mike May", his energy drained, he slouched a bit in defeat (knowing that he was about to have an uncomfortable conversation with no safe harbour to ride out the storm). We sat at his desk and he provided a more detailed version of the story that was provided on the phone, and then we got to the point - I wanted to meet the back office guy and discuss the steps needed to get the bike. Long story short - it was promised for Friday (April 27) or Monday the latest and... they delivered on the early date, which is a good way to make borscht out of beets.
The issue was caused when the dealership was sold, management tried to save as much money as possible so it delayed inventory transfer to minimize carrying costs, and reduced staff to 1 mechanic and 1 sales guy. They got caught with their pants down when the weather turned nice, and myself and probably 10 to 18 other guys were disappointed.
Next, I need to get some parts on the bike and then, depending on weather, ride it to a friend's cottage on Rosseau. Cold weather may be a problem, so let's see where that goes.
Glad things worked out! Ram Mounts has really good gear for mounting your phone/GPS. I got a cool beer holder for my bike. Shop Whitehorsegear.com for great selection and deals. Make sure you wear pants under your chaps, especially if it stays this cold!
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