Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > General Motorcycles only > Dealer Service!

[dickieducati]

i will put it to the MT as i, and i think a great many others are getting fed up with rubbish service.

as you say you will be able to put the details in the comments section such as "service carried out superbly, picked up, cleaned bike, finished early etc"

or

"didnt do what they said they would, overcharged agreed price, didnt return calls etc"

cant really see any problems with that.

i have a few comments waiting already!

[BDG]

Martin, not sure where you live in the North West but Woods in Abergele in North Wales are very good. I have 2 official franchised dealers closer to me but i happily drive further to Woods, and they always sort out a courtesy bike so i can get home.

Their number is 01745 822922 and its an esay journey down the A55.

[BDG]

Originally posted by Dseered

Just remember though that an easy journey for BDG is about 3 thousand miles in a week followed by a Pie on top of a sand dune

Hey, don't be cheeky now, its kebabs not pies on top of dunes.
I'm off on a hairdressing tour of French salons next, just had the Dainese haircut done this afternoon for the tour

[MARTIN H]

I have thought of using Woods the next time, I actually phoned them today to check the service price with them. I felt a bit guilty inquiring about the service as it already been done at FS. I dont like messing people about but I was that wound up by what was going on! I had a think about it and decided the next time I would book it in there get the girlfriend to follow me down in the car and have a night or two at Portmeirion and gain some brownie points of her!

I would have used Ducati Leeds but the wait was too long, which was partly my fault as I had got a quite early service date of them but then mentioned the dash unit needed replacing, they ordered the dash before easter but due to the extended holidays they take over there (Italy not Yorkshire) they realised it would not have arrived in time and bumped my service date right back another month or so. I would not have minded if the bike had been serviced with the faulty dash and then taken back for the new unit fitting whenever. But the girl phoned me to tell me what was going on and it was too late I had lost my slot! I am not really blaming them but if they had let me know I would have insisted on having the bike serviced on the original date.

The whole thing with Fylde Superbikes has been farcial! I dont normally get wound up by such things but I have had a pretty traumatic week with other much much more important matters (I will post about that later) because of this I probably will not be using the bike that much in the next few weeks anyway. I had dropped my car off for a service on Monday morning in Barton near Preston which is about half the way between where I live and Blackpool. On returning home by dinnertime Monday everything went mad and I really needed my car back and the easiest way was to take my bike in to blackpool for the service and get a taxi to Barton to collect my car as I really needed it back. Actually getting my bike serviced was really the last thing on my mind early last week. Sorry if this does not make sense but it will on reading my next post.

Cheers everybody

Martin

[RD]

Martin,

Sorry to learn of your ordeal. I too would not feel confident with that type of service both personally and mechanically, that is absolutely outrageous.
This is exactly my reason for my post regarding .‘Servicing and repair recommendations’ - In my opinion it is far better to use a highly recommended company rather than use an unknown company and subsequently have regrets.‘ to avoid unprofessional dealers who charge exorbitant fees for shoddy work.

I also agree with dickieducati and other members that an eBay style ‘Feedback’ system would be a very good idea for all concerned. Perhaps even a league table for dealers and agents, maybe with some sort of visible graph ?

I know two bikers who have both used the same Ducati/Jap bike dealership and both have received bad service. The pair don’t know each other and they both own Jap bikes but to say that they are unhappy is a total understatement. I have used this dealer prior to being made aware of their plight but only for clothing and parts, Now I would never consider them for servicing my motorcycle. They are a friendly and chatty group, however when one parts with several hundred pounds for a service it is not personalities that count it is the professionalism, attention to detail and exceptional workmanship that matters most.

Best wishes and good luck with your future endeavours.

[fyldesuperbikes]

I was interested to read the feelings and feedback on the forum today especially by Martin H reference his Multistrada.

I consider it unfair at this stage to talk about Martins comments behind his back and state our side of the story until we have discussed this incident together when he collects his bike today.

As Aftersales Manager at Fylde Superbikes for the last two and a half years, I feel that we do our utmost to ensure that customers are happy at all times.

In most cases a lack of communication due to busy times or waiting of parts accounts for 80% of any problems that ourselves or any other dealer will experience.

Sharing of information on forums such as these is essential to both promote good business practice and allow members to share their feelings.

However surely it makes more sense to address the problem first with the dealer (ourselves or any other) and once the issue has been resolved to its best, then and only then, is it fair to post the issue onto forums.

I will agree with the members here that a feedback system is a good idea, and we have already started making steps to include our own forum to offer advice and allow feedback from customers to be shared with others. This way Ducati owners will be able to see all the good we do as a dealer rather than the isolated incidents where things go wrong.

We have offered free diagnostics, telephone advice, free mail order, 10% owners club discounts and much more for a few years now and take over 100 calls a day from Ducati owners who value our service. Unfortunately these people do not share their praise onto forums as they are too busy enjoying their bikes!

Why not put this to the test and give myself or one of our fully trained Ducati technicians a call for free advice or to order parts for your Ducati and judge for yourself if we are as really as incompetent as this minority of people are making out.

Then please feel free to share your GOOD comments, as I am sure your opinions will change overnight.

Robbie Macdonald
Aftersales Manager
Fylde Superbikes
01253 298833

[revdecal]

Nice to hear a reply from the horses mouth.

Good on ya matey!

[JPM]

Bit after the horse has bolted though...

Where do you live Martin? I live 10 minutes away from D/Mcr and pass the place twice a day, great for the odd spare, but I stick my bike in a van and take it to the only Ducati Dealer I trust - JHP, if that doesn't say anything nothing will.

Robbie what's your stance on DCR's 03 bike being sold to him as an 04 model then? from your very establishment

[Rushjob]

Unfortunately these people do not share their praise onto forums as they are too busy enjoying their bikes!

Next time you type something, deselect condescending mode first!
Either that or get to know what this forum is about.
Check out the existing dealer ratings on the site maybe?
I think you'll find that praise is given on here when and where it's due.
The flip side of that is thatwe also warn our mates about problems in order that a potential customer makes an informed decision where to take a bike.
There are a number of Ducati dealer and service outlets who only seem to get positive comments, I wonder why that is?
Effective customer service maybe?
There are constructive ways to enter a dialogue with people.
As a supposed customer service champion within your organisation, I'd expect that to be a basic tenet of your job description.

[jobr]

I only have experience of FS / DM on the phone and it wasn't good.

Rang DM for a part, messed about on hold to be eventually told can't help computer down ring Flyde etc.

Rang Flyde spoke to a nice enough guy who after lots of checking couldn't help. Had a right laugh on the phone with him had to otherwise I would have cried, in the back ground the whole time was the mother of all arguments with lots of swearing and threats being banged around. Sort of thing that would put you off for life. Guy on the phone didn't even seem embarrased in that he was talking to a customer on the phone whilst people obviously very close as you could hear every word decided to start WW3.