| Author | Message | ||
     Dasbuell  |
Well... If they are not aware of a problem, they cannot address a problem. AND... in two of the things I referred to, they were not aware of the problems. The hats... we go in... they fail to make happy to those that come in... people walk out unhappy... we say nothing... we as individuals decide to not do business with them... we lose interest in the sponsorship... the club flounders. Who failed? Both of us. They failed to follow the program... we failed to advise them of customer dissatisfaction... NOTHING CHANGES. They don’t know how important it is to Buellers that these programs go as intended. They don’t realize that sends a message to us that they do not really care about us or Buells. They don’t realize that something as small as a stupid cheap hat handed out... or that is not handed out... costs them business. But is costs us something too. If the club members are not happy with the dealership... do you think people will attend the meetings or club rides... NO! The club fails. Have you read the thread I started related to the Hat Promotion Survey? I am going to direct the guy at Gail’s I deal with to that thread later at some point. That is why I started the thread... How are they to know this stuff, if no one tells them... if they loose business they DON”T EVEN KNOW they are losing. Why do I care? Because if this stuff does not change... it will continue to chase off business nationwide. If Buell sales does not grow... Willie G or some other rocket scientist at HD will say the Buell line is not worth continuing. All because when they fail... they lose business they did not know or cared they lose.. I want to buy other Buell models in the future... and if because of clueless dealerships... Buell fails... I don’t want to scrounge parts from a bike salvage yard to keep my XB going. Because no one said anything... and it failed because we as Buellers did not do our part! I have always said this club sponsorship will not fail because WE did not do OUR part. OUR part is to inform them what we expect. OUR part is to tell them when WE are disappointed. At some point if these failures and disappointments don’t get resolved, AFTER we have addressed them to the dealership... then it failed because of THEM and not us. If we stand back... see this stuff and say nothing... shake our heads... and say... “See, I knew this would not work!”... we just did our part on a self fulfilling prophecy. I will not be a part of that! I WANT THIS TO WORK! I want this to be a great club. I want them to stand and deliver on what they offered. When they don’t... I will not fail to constructively point that out. I WILL DO MY PART... what happens after that is out of my control! WE as a club have to do our part, point out where we are disappointed or dissatisfied. They have to realize that we have expectations as a club, and as a customer. If I have to step up and show them what they can’t see, don’t know about, or fail to see. I will! If nothing is said... what can we expect as a club... other than this concept to fail. The “person” acting like an azz about “gimme my hat”. As I posted before... if that was one of us... and we treated them like that... then how would you expect them to treat us? If we don’t act civil... can we expect them to take the group seriously? In a group this small... it will only takes a couple of azzes to sour them to the whole group... yes, one bad apple CAN spoil the bunch. The potential buyer. This guy found the club related to our Yahoo account and send me (the club) an email. He tells me about his disappointing visit to the dealership. Because a salesman does not know the product... something addressed in our negotiations... he walks out not sure what the price of a 04 XB12 is... and it sounds to him like it is in excess of $12,000. Why do we (I) care. Because this is a concern initially addressed to the dealership at the git-go! We might lose someone from becoming a XB/Buell fan! We lose a potential club member! Basically.... as this club/sponsor thing... I choose to become part of the solution, and not part of the problem! Letting them fall on their face, and saying ‘See I knew they would screw this up!” would be becoming part of the problem. I have found in how I want to live my life... I will always choose to do the right thing. Not the safe thing... not the politically correct thing... not the neutral thing... BUT the right thing. Maybe this is a social character flaw. I will fight a fight I KNOW I will lose... because I know there is the principal involved, even knowing I can’t win from the very beginning. HOWEVER, the next guy/gal might not have to fight that fight. Helping others is the right thing to do... and yes, I often do that at personal expense. Some people say we are our brothers keeper. Whatever... I can’t see something that is just wrong... and let it continue. Walking away would be the easy thing to do, there is something in me that won’t let me do it. I have always stood up for others... even when it did not directly impact me. I have been this way all my life. One of my proud moments as a parent was when my son told me about a friend... and this was not a close friend, but just a buddy of my son. This kid get ill in the bathroom in school... and kids being jerks... kids are gathering around the sick kid... they start making fun of this kid vomiting... and do nothing to help this very ill kid. My son basically tells everyone to back off... and starts to help this kid get help. If that would have been my son ill, I would have wanted someone to help him. Scott did the right thing. He knew he could have caught crap from these jerks... he could have stood quiet, or shook his head and walked away. But he did not. He became part of the solution, and not part of the problem. I thought part of my duties in the position with the club was to be part of the solution. Until the club members tell me I am wrong to work and make this club work, or Gail herself throws me out of the dealership... I will be part of the solution. Everything I have done so far has been received well by the dealership, I have been asked how they can do better as a Buell dealer. They have been positive on receiving information on problems they were not aware of, and otherwise would have never know about. So far is has ended up being a win - win situation for both the club and the dealership. This club thing will not fail because I did not do my part... and I would hope every club member has this same attitude. I am sorry if this sounds negative, or like I am lashing out. That is not my intention. My intention is to let this be seen from a different perspective, and my motive for doing what I have done. When I set a goal... I am very passionate about it. When I do the right thing... I do whatever it takes to accomplish what is needed, and will until I accomplish the goal, or see I fought the fight... and even with all my effort I lost the fight. This club will not fail because we did not do our part. Now, if they are not up to doing their part... that is in their hands! Good night | ||
| Enp83 |
Woohoo, first post. I guess I'm the potential buyer Dasbuell mentioned. First off, Gail's new building is probably the nicest motorcycle dealership I've ever been in...they did a great job with the building. Second, the sales guy I talked to didn't feed me any BS really (minus the belts lasting 75k miles lol). When he didn't know something he said he didn't know and for most of the questions he wanted to find out the answers for himself. He showed me where the parts counter was to find out about the belts (how long they lasted and price on replacing one) and introduced me to...Sam or Chris maybe (?) when I asked about BRAG. I didn't expect too much from a Harley salesguy about Buells but at the very least he tried. It might be nice if they had a dedicated Buell sales person. I doubt the sales guy I talked to had ever riden a Buell, I could be wrong but it might be nice or help 'em out if they atleast road one to see they're a different kind of bread. Theres no way he could have gave me pros and cons compared to another sportbike. That might be asking much from the avg. HD sales guy but a dedicated Buell sales person probably could. On the price thing, I knew Buell has MSRP on the '05 XB12s on their website for $10,500. So I said something like "...and these go for about $10,500 right?" and the sales guy said "umm I think you're a little off on the price." While he looked it up on some handout he had (a price list for all bikes) I asked him if they charge any kind of fees like freight or set-up ect and he semi-enthusiasticly (sp?) said that they do. After looking at his handout he came up with $11,300 or $11,399. So I said "Oh so freight and set up around around $800 then?" and he said no. He said he didn't know what freight and set up would be on a XB12. So I'm thinking they're trying to ask $11,300-$11,399 + freight + set-up...who knows maybe even a "doc" fee or my personal favorite, an "established dealer" fee???  If and when I'm ready to buy a Buell (School/job situation will change this season) I'd like to support a somewhat local dealership and one that supports the local club but if they're asking $12k for a XB12 I'll definately be talking to the guys in Wichita, Topeka and else where. Last thing, when I asked him if they had any deals on leftover '04s he said ya, and I'm like well what are you guys asking for them and he just said "make an offer." I know a lot of people, cars & bikes, do that but I just hate that. Sorry if this was a long post, it's short compared to the last one though. Ride safe, Eric | ||
| Dasbuell |
OH MY GOD !!!!!!! KC Bill has gone back in a time machine... and is back in school. BILL !!! Come back to the future!!! Does anyone have a flux-capacitor and a Deloren? We have to rescue KC Bill!!! Bill... hang in there... we are working on a rescue!!! Watch out for the school bullies!!! Come on guys... someone has to have a flux-capacitor!!!  | ||
| S1lightning  |
Hey Eric, where do you live in Overland Park?? I live in Stanley, and come spring I look for people to ride short rides with. And I have a 2004 XB12R that you are more than welcome to test run if you need a decision buster when it comes time. Let me know, also if you don't mind used I'll sell ya mine at a good price !!  | ||
| S1lightning |
Hey Sam, hows that new exhaust system working out??? | ||
| Dasbuell |
Duff... DON'T DO IT!!! (and watch out for that sign... it has sharp edges... it will hurt just like when you get a paper cut... don't you just hate that???)  | ||
| Shazam  |
Duff, post the picture please Dennis, remember................DECAF Eric, there is no better source of info than right here, nor a better bunch of guys to argue it with... welcome! Paul, your bike is for sale? I wonder will you part it? I would like to get the air from your front tire....It seems to be a lot heavier than what I've got now. I'm cheap though. I have not broken this Pipe yet. I am spending quality time with my Hot Rod "Roxanne", while I am without my two wheel fix....a lot of cleaning to do before I can start putting her back together....and alot of touch up paint on the interior.... you know that crappy assed masking tape that turns to cement if you leave it on for two weeks, anyone know how to get it off after two years? I spent about three hours last night with laquer thinner, adhesive disolver, and sandpaper plus razorknife, absolutely the worst job ever....beer helps. | ||
| Kccyclone  |
Sam, try GOOF-OFF you can pick it up at home depot. | ||
| Dtx |
Eric, I was pretty much in the same boat as you when I bought my bike (XB9SX) in December. There was a lot of things that turned me off about the dealership at sale time. But let me assure you, look past this lack of knowledge/enthusiasm, because the the bike is awesome, the club is great, and I have had good luck with Gail's service department. I put like 250 miles on my bike on Saturday and noticed an oil leak at one of my gas stops. When I made it back to KC at about 4:00 I stopped by the dealership to see if they could help/identify the problem. It was well after closing time and the service department replaced the leaky gasket and had me back on the road in no time! Excellent! Don't let them fool you. I think they really are trying and this whole Buell thing is really going to take off for them and us! | ||
| Dtx |
By the way, I am going to need someone to take a picture of my bike so I can post it with my messages. My digital camera can't seem to take a picture that is small enough in the kilo bite (KB)department. I even put my camera on the lowest quality setting and it was still over 100 KB. | ||
| Hanses25  |
Eric: Look around for the best deal, if you don't buy your bike here at least you can feel loyal by getting it serviced here locally. I didn't buy my bike here and I hope Gails would still take any business I throw their way. If you want to check around call Dave Stueve in Wisconsin he usually has some really good deals. 1-866-757-1651 ask for Dave in the sales dept! | ||
| Dasbuell |
DTX... I might be able to fix you up with the post-able photo... I have a few digital cameras and a few photo editing software programs. Come by my place some sunny day, or maybe I can get to you some weekend... and get you fixed. Sam... caffeine... me???  no way!!! | ||
| Shazam |
Thanks Larry DTX, E-mail me the picture you want to use.... I'll fix it for you and E-mail it back sam(removethis)@dandr(removethis)packaging.com C-ya | ||
| Shazam |
DTX, P.S. send the high quality one! | ||
| Dtx  |
Thanks Sam. Now I have a picture to go with my posts! | ||
| Gowindward  |
It was 80 degrees last week in Mexico and I was fishing. I hate snow....   | ||
| Shazam |
Well, I stopped in at Gail's this afternoon, delivering some parts to Chris. The Buell's at the front door looked pretty good. I persuaded Jimmy in sales to round me up a hat. My thanks to Gail's for a pleasurable dealer experience today. I am probably the first person in history to walk out of there with more money than I walked in with. I ALMOST bought a hoodie.....but damn....$58! I think I'll put that in the "5 more sets of tires this year" jar. | ||
| Hanses25 |
Drake The pic looks good hey I'm thinking about adding another tip to my exhaust. Then I'll have a make shift D&D. I'll have to call it a J&J. Did the leak present itself on your way to Topeka on Sunday? We went out and road to Lawrence got parking tickets "Thaks Larry" then went to Sams for some "Kick him While He's Waiting Fun." Give me a call because for some reason I didn't save your phone number in my phone, and have recieved enough calls that its no longer in my call log. Sam I would have thought that with all the moola you have floating around the hoodie would be cheap. I agree that going to the dealership is like going to the boobie shaker in that you usually leave with less money. Good self control. (Message edited by hanses25 on February 09, 2005) | ||
| Shazam |
Also looking over the board....I found that I have been given credit for donating $100 to the Buell racing contingency award plan, This was KCBRAG's donation and I am trying to get the mistake corrected, I assure you there was a letter included with the check stating verbatim what I posted earlier. "On behalf of the KCMOB....." Sorry, I know this makes me look like a pimp, and you all continue to just look like yourselves but I tried  | ||
| Hanses25 |
When you wear your 50 helmet you kinda resemble a "PIMP." | ||
| Shazam |
JJ, I had a large sum of cash in my pocket....and wanted the hoodie. Ask me some other time why I don't own it. Loren, how long was the harpoon you used on that whale? looks like about half of it is still sticking out the nose.....Man! I fixed the picture:  | ||
| Kccyclone |
JJ as I recall, I was the only one who put money in the meter at all. Maybe if one of you cheap @#!!*&% could come up with a quarter we wouldn't have gotten tickets. Remind the others if they don't pay them in 10 days that the penalty is another 10.00....see ya | ||
| Dtx |
Hanses25, I like that! J&J On Saturday I actually changed my mind and rode to Warrensburg, MO to see my brother racing motocross, instead of going to topeka. It was a nice little ride. Blain is getting faster and faster everytime I see him race. | ||
| Hanses25 |
Larry Did you already pay your ticket? I thought we were all going to revolt against the system and not pay, we all tore ours up! Once again you spell team with an I. Just kidding I'm way to cheap to pay another 10 bucks after 10 days. I'll remind the others tonight. Your Jewish ways are rubbing off on me, with regard to money that is. | ||
| Duff24  |
Drake, you should come by this week and check out my new exhaust setup...better bring your sunglasses. I'll think about putting up pics later you bass terds...Hey larry I'll be sure and give you and extra $.25 for the bills this month just in case we need to park in Lawrence again...  | ||
| Hanses25 |
Dennis I found some underground footage of you at work!! check this out. http://www.m90.org/view_image.php?image_id=2734 http://www.m90.org/view_image.php?image_id=2641 (Message edited by hanses25 on February 09, 2005) (Message edited by hanses25 on February 09, 2005) (Message edited by hanses25 on February 09, 2005) | ||
| Hanses25 |
Sam I had to post the video of you practicing driving to the hospital in preparation for your new addition to the family. http://www.m90.org/view_image.php?image_id=2704 This is why I quit riding motorcross jumps are getting more technical every day. http://www.stillruns.com/vviddeos/98.mpg (Message edited by hanses25 on February 09, 2005) | ||
| Shazam |
JJ, that first vid is Awesome...is that thing real? reminds me of the time I cleared out the sonar room in a LHA(aircraft carrier) with a 25mm cannon and some depleted uranium  true story! second vid. I feel like I might get arrested for even watching third, looks like an ex-lax commercial....can't get home fast enough! (Message edited by shazam on February 09, 2005) | ||
| Hanses25 |
Sam I want to hear the story of you and the air craft carrier. If you can get your bike impounded I wanna know what you can do with an aircraft carrier. All the video's are real as far as I can tell. http://www.stillruns.com/vviddeos/68.mpg This is funny (Message edited by hanses25 on February 09, 2005) | ||
| Duff24 |
Welp...you asked for it...   |
