ive moved on from being angry....

[SVRACER01]

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To just plain furious...
My street bike had developed a pretty good leak. So since I don't have a place or much time to fix my own shit most of the time and the bike needed a throttle body sync anyway I decided to just bring it to a shop.
I made an appointment ( a tues) and dropped it off the Saturday before.
A week goes by and I check on the bike. They tell me they are waiting for a countershaft seal. Perfect, that's exactly what I thought it was.
I call the next week and they tell me that the parts came in that day.
I call the next week....not done yet, just gotta do the TB sync.
1 more week goes by (4 if you're counting at home) and they tell me its done and I can pick it up the next day. Fine.
I get a ride over from work and get dropped off in the middle of the day.
The shop is about 1/4 mile from work.
I go in to pay for and pick up my bike.
They tell me its not done. WTF. He says they came in that day and found a small puddle of oil under the bike and they just want to check it out.
So I tell them that I'm pretty agitated, not only did they not call me and tell me not to come get the bike, but its sitting in the parking lot and not on a lift being worked on. Not to mention they've had the bike for 4 weeks, and now I need a ride back to work.
They tell me they will get right on it and get me a ride back to work, then roll my bike into the shop.
I get back to work and about 2 hours later they call me and tell me its all set. The leak appeared to be coming from the clutch push rod seal. I get slightly annoyed that the bike was in there for an oil leak for 4 weeks and they tell me its still got a leak. I don't care and go pick up the bike.
I ride from there to work and hear a strange noise coming from the sprocket. Bike appears to be running the same as it was when I brought it in. I park it at work and in a matter of minutes there is a 3x5 puddle of oil under the bike.
I call the next day and express my concern about the leak and the running issue. He tells me he's surprised it was that bad. They let it run for about 10 minutes with no leaks and that the running issue was due to my extremely worn chain. Granted, the chain was pretty bad, I live on the ocean with no garage and the chain was oem with over 10k on it.
Later that day I realize that they adjusted chain so tight that I could've played music on it. Furious, I called again. They said they didn't know why the tech adjusted it so tight but that I needed a new chain.
So I order a clutch push rod seal on Sunday and it shows up Thursday.
Today I get a chance to change the seal and it looks dry to me but I change it anyway.
I cut the old chain off and discover 4 freshly broken teeth off my rear sprocket thanks to their stellar chain adjustment..GRRRRRR!
I start the bike up and don't see any leaks.
I put the bike in gear and let the countershaft spin. About 15 seconds later the river of oil starts coming out of the C/S seal. DAMMIT! WTF!
The service dept isn't open tomorrow or Monday so ill have to wait until tues before I can go in and figure out what they are gonna do about the seal and my sprocket.
Do I go in kicking and screaming or cool calm and collected?

[Rossco]

Kickin' and screamin' ain't gonna help it. However cool, calm and collected might backfire if you aren't assertive enough.

Still have the stock sprocket? Bring that in and (try to) calmly explain to them what happened.

[SVRACER01]

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It's still on the bike. I'm sure that they will argue it was because the chain was so worn but I'm not buying it. My race bike had the original sprockets on it from 2001 until I took them off for a 520 kit in 08. Even then I could've kept running them.

[No Quarter]

Cool, Calm, and Assertive.

[Degsy]

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Tell them they have an opportunity tonyurn this into a win-win. They buy chain and sprockets of decent quality, you pay for installation. The charges you have already paid for oil leak have paid for that repair in full already so no additional charges for the oil leak repair.

[SVRACER01]

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I already have a chain. And after the fantastic job they did adjusting the last chain, I wouldn't let them adjust my blinds.

[01xj]

Screaming isn't going to get you any further but I wouldn't back down from exactly what you are looking for.

[jwm2k3]

Im impressed you not only have not named the shop, but didnt title the thread "XXXXXX Sucks again" like some people do.

[DucDave]

Im impressed you not only have not named the shop, but didnt title the thread "XXXXXX Sucks again" like some people do.

Brian...don't you work at a shop? Why not have it done there? (Even a Harley tech should be able to handle the stuff you need!?)

Honestly, I'd never take my bike back to that shop. I'd go to them calmly and ask for a refund on whatever they did that failed. They've had more than enough time to get it right. I'd take whatever they agreed to..even it it was nothing... and then go elsewhere for service. If they refund a reasonable amount, move on. If not, take it to the BBB (a scam itself really! and the dept of consumer affairs. Copies of invoices and pictures should be kept!)

That story does suck though....seriously!

[dhuze]

Brian...don't you work at a shop? Why not have it done there? (Even a Harley tech should be able to handle the stuff you need!?)

Honestly, I'd never take my bike back to that shop. I'd go to them calmly and ask for a refund on whatever they did that failed. They've had more than enough time to get it right. I'd take whatever they agreed to..even it it was nothing... and then go elsewhere for service. If they refund a reasonable amount, move on. If not, take it to the BBB (a scam itself really! and the dept of consumer affairs. Copies of invoices and pictures should be kept!)

That story does suck though....seriously!

This.

Personally they would not have had 4 weeks to pretend to fix my bike. My appointment was for Tuesday. You get a reasonable amount of time to order parts if needed and then you'd better be fixing it or I'm taking it back and you can shove your parts.
I'd also name the shop because they suck (I know where you went.) And they'd never see any money from me ever again.

[Cheese]

I'd go with either Degsy's or Dave's option although with Degsy's you should press for the name and an appointment with their best mechanic to "make it right."

I had a similar time experience with a local shop. They had my gixxer for 4 weeks to replace a stator and regulator. Parts on back order, mechanics out, the usual list of excuses. Of course, it's delays like this that drive irrational decisions like buying a second bike, which I'm glad I did.

[SVRACER01]

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I could do it at work if I had time and an open lift. We are very busy and coming in on my day off to work on my bike isn't an option since there isn't an open lift.
I could've done the seal but not the sync.

[nhbubba]

Im impressed you not only have not named the shop, but didnt title the thread "XXXXXX Sucks again" like some people do.

Exactly what is wrong with telling the world that XXXXXX sucks and should be avoided?

[Tricky Mike]

I go in calm, collected and very honest about what is going to be acceptable. I make a point to mention that I'm willing to remain calm as long as they fix the issue. Anything that is not acceptable is not accepted...
Whatever the outcome, good or bad, it's unlikely that I'll buy a valve stem cap there in the future, but I see no need to tell them this.
The last thing you want to do is go in there yelling and screaming. It gives them a card to play.

[Tunertype]

Exactly what is wrong with telling the world that XXXXXX sucks and should be avoided?

+1 I wouldn't want to end up getting work done at this place. Its a public service to mention the shop that did your work. If they don't give you a full refund I would report them to the BBB and if it was a significant chunk of change and the BBB doesn't work I'd take them to small claims court as well after taking it to a different garage to get it fixed and using the new mechanics statement.

[Dogbone]

If you paid on a CC, call them and dispute the charges. Let them know about the faulty claims of completed work and more than likely the CC will fight for you.

Palm Bomb has done this in the past. I believe it isn't as easily accomplished now as it was when he did, but even so.....

I'd be throwing a fit over them keeping the bike a month and not only not completing the prescribed work but also causing extra damage. In addition to the credit card dispute, I'd be on the phone the with the owner of the shop explaining the situation and the steps I've taken as a result.

[BluGixxer]

Calm cool colective, but assertive and persistant, always give them a way out of the situation to save face.
Negotiatethe money already paid, they won't take money out of there pocket to rite things. Get what you can with the best deal , without wasting weeks of down time with your bike.
Make sure they know you are on several local forums, but don't threaten them, if they are any kind of reputable business , they will get the hint of how fast bad news can travel.

[SVRACER01]

when all is settled i may give up the name of the shop. it all depends on what goes down.
i may mention the credit card thing while i am there if things are going my way.
i was wondering if i could even ask for refund and just bring it somewhere else.

[DucDave]

when all is settled i may give up the name of the shop. it all depends on what goes down.
i may mention the credit card thing while i am there if things are going my way.
i was wondering if i could even ask for refund and just bring it somewhere else.

You can ask for anything....

...you might be surprised at what they find acceptable. At the end of the day, no one benefits from an unhappy customer and if they're as busy as you say they are, they aren't likely to cry 'poor'.

Good luck Brian...let us know how you make out!

[SVRACER01]

my shop is busy...i dont know about them

[nhbubba]

What is your shop? Been looking for a decent place in "Portsmouth-ish".

[SVRACER01]

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I work at the Harley dealer in Rochester.

[SVRACER01]

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Motorbikes Plus I hear is a good place to go. They are the ktm dealer in Portsmouth.

[breakdirt916]

Old bikes are time bombs as money pits...buy a new busa

J/k

I've experienced this a couple of times and the calm approach was definitely the right one as it got the issue resolved. But don't be a pussy. You're f'n ox dude.

[Awesome]

They're just going to dodge accountability. As soon as they do, start getting real heated. Especially if there are customers around. Or you can stay calm and just show the the sandwichboard size sign you made that you'll be standing at the front door with.