Loan Bikes?

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alanp
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Had my car serviced the other day at a Honda dealer and was given a loan car to use/get home etc while my car was indisposed for the day. No money changed hands for this loan car as long as I accepted a £1000 charge if I damaged it and top up the fuel that you use, which is fair.
What experiences do you get at motorcycle dealers? Typically you have to pay for temporary insurance cover or walk home. I've seen bikers walking along in the rain after dropping their bikes off for service. Isn't it about time we were treated like my Honda car dealer treats its customers? I've had responses at dealers like 'it would cost us to insure it and can't afford it'/ 'we used to but a guy took a nearly new one and destroyed it'/ 'bikers just want to thrash them' etc. Yet if you ask to test ride their latest and greatest they throw you the keys if you leave your licence with them. I don't get it! Maybe they see big money coming their way if you go for a new bike but for other work the profits are much less so go take a hike!
Comments/experiences anyone?

pebble35
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Re: Loan Bikes?

I run a bike dealership and we do provide courtesy bikes for service and repair customers.

The bikes can vary from one of our brand spanking new H-D demonstrators to a used 125 or 50cc scooters. We do have a £500 excess on our insurance policy but do not charge for the use of the bikes or ask the customer to fill up with fuel.

However it is surprising to see the number of customers who see the provision of a loan bike as a right - these bikes cost the dealership money to run. Depreciation. servicing, tyres etc all cost. Even cleaning a bike that has been out in the wet for a day will take an hour or so to clean and get back to A1 condition.

A lot depends on the customer and their attitude - the guy we only see once every two or three years and who is tighter than a rat's backside when it comes to discussing his service bill and who just turns up demanding an FOC loan bike is more likely to get a 50cc scooter to get him to work (probably less than a mile away) than the customer who is in every week or two and is spending more cash with us who will get to play on a nice new demo bike for the day. .

If you support the dealership they will probably support you !

Navy Boy
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Re: Loan Bikes?

Pebble

An entirely understanable viewpoint there. It does pay to try and cultivate a relationship with your dealer as it's precisely these sort of areas where it can pay you back. I wish more dealers were like you!

I do however think there's a large variation between dealers in this area. Personally I'd be happy to sign the £500-1000 excess in order to use a loan bike but some dealerships simply don't offer it. more consistency across the board's needed me thinks.

Goulash
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Re: Loan Bikes?

With no disrespect to Pebble, i fail to see the difference between a customer who comes in for regular servicing at required intervals or someone who just likes visiting bike shops on a regular basis. They are both customers who pay the dealer for something, be it servicing or peripherals.

Either way if previously arranged, a loan bike should be provided if possible. My Honda dealer automatically offers me one everytime i go for a service, sometimes i take him up on the offer, other times not, but it's nice to get an offer in the first place.

If all bike dealerships can do is moan about the cost of running a loan bike, then they shouldn't run one, that simple. I get a loan car if i go get my car serviced, so why shouldn't i get a loan bike when i get my bike serviced? While i don't expect it as a right, it's nice to get the offer, without getting a rendition of Macbeth about all the trouble it's causing the dealer.

suprilia
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Re: Loan Bikes?

My first "big bike" was my Yahaha XJ6. When it came for its first service, the Yamaha dealer loaned me an almost new Fazer! I was in awe of that bike, and that I'd been entrusted with it. The dealer confirmed my suspicions, that they like to introduce customers to bikes on the upgrade path.

When I got the Aprilia Shiver 750GT, it was a rather different story. The loan bike was an old wreck. The dealership was on the ropes financially (big Euro debts at a time of a sinking pound) and had to put a stop the situation whereby customers were taking a nearly new loan bike, and bringing it back with an extra 300 miles on it.

roundincircles
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Re: Loan Bikes?

It would be interesting to charge a dealer £1 or so a mile for delivering a bike for a service. After all for the dealership to get income/revenue the customer incurs a non-refunded cost, ie delivering a bike and taking time out of the day!But that is transactional mentality which is fine if the retailer is transactional.There are many ways to do business.

I generally look for give and take and on a service bike delivery it's a lift home/to work or a loan bike. It gets costed in I'm sure.

When I return faulty goods to a retailer I ask for my transportation costs incurred due to their faulty exchange of goods/service. Of coarse I have a tongue in my cheek but I make a polite and serious point. It is their attitude to this request that is telling and the ones that understand that a customer decides where to place his business usually concede something - even if it is just acknowledgement ( or bugger off back to Mars )!

Captain Scarlet
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Re: Loan Bikes?

I'm with Pebs.

Most of us probably work in an office of some kind. A lot of us drive to a rather nice office actually. One made of steel and glass, possibly even architecturally interesting. We walk through open foyers, with stone and carpet floors, up solid wood or perhaps limestone stairs; use shiny lifts/elevators to get to our floors, before downing percolated coffee at our relatively well lit and well appointed desks, using probably expensive hardware in an almost certainly fairly conducive environment. Laying on this hospitality (which let’s face it, we all take for granted) costs money. Lots. And where do you think it (plus the big wage and bonus that we all 'deserve') comes from? Our companies customers. And they deserve to pay large, because well again let’s face it – they are happy to for the great service that we provide them with, right?

When I buy a Harley, BMW, or maybe even a Ducati or Honda nowadays, their showrooms are more often than not: large, bright, glossy, totally nice places to drift into next bike purchase dreams within. They lay on wifi so I can answer the occasional important work email in between iterations of solitaire, some generally drinkable coffee, a comfy chair to rest in, power for my laptop, maybe a snack machine, oh and least I forget: half intelligent, knowledgeable, polite and respectful employees to deal with my requests. I quite like that, in preference to the alternative. Which is perhaps one of the reasons that sees me sticking more with the premium brands. But I'm not naive. I know that if they give me top dollar for my part-ex, a massive discount on the one I'm buying, throw in 0% finance for good measure, cheap servicing, high in store amenities, wifi / coffee / food, free demo, subsidized track days, open events and free courtesy bikes, plus staff as knowledgeable as Ash and then pay them as much as I am fortunate enough to ‘earn’, they are not going to be in business for very long. And then just where will I rock up to on a Saturday afternoon, to be greeted like an old friend from a distinct lack of staff turnover? A few years ago I might have sat in the very cynical IMPO 'dealers make loads of money' camp. But it's a very different economic world globally now. And I currently think, a fair price for a fair service, no such thing as a free meal ticket...

chipper
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Re: Loan Bikes?

I agree with some of the points raised here but I do expect a courtesy bike to be offered for warranty work and ask for a loan bike when having services, sometimes I don`t ask because if I like the dealers it can be relaxing chilling there for a couple of hours while the service is done. To be honest the glass and metal showrooms are not my cup of tea so paying extra for the architecture don`t wash.

What I don`t like is paying £90 per hour labour charges for work on an air cooled twin. I know auto engineers working on £1.2 million pound aston Martins who don`t get a third of that per hour so being asked for that type of money and paying it is not going to happen.

Realistic pricing for servicing and the offer of a courtesey bike if required is a way of attracting customers and moaning about the recession does`nt cut ice with me as the recession affects customers too.

Chip

playlord
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Re: Loan Bikes?

At a slight angle to the topic but . . . I recall hearing a story of a US car dealership plagued with poor quality work by service engineers. They introduced this rule:

"When you complete a service on a customer's car, hand the keys back personally along with your card carrying your telephone number. Tell the customer that if they have any issues with the car, pertaining to the service, in the next N days (can't recall the timescale but it was very generous to the customer)call me at any time, 24 hours service.

If the customer calls you and their vehicle has broken down, you go to where they are, give them your car and tell them to carry on with their journey. You stay with the vehicle till it's fixed".

I needn't tell you how sudden and dramatic the quality of service improvement was.

kevash
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Re: Loan Bikes?

playlord wrote:
When you complete a service on a customer's car, hand the keys back personally along with your card carrying your telephone number.

Each Ducati engine now is built by two workers, whose names are recorded against the engine number. Ducati warranty claims have fallen dramatically in the last few years since this was introduced...

Captain Scarlet
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Re: Loan Bikes?

"To be honest the glass and metal showrooms are not my cup of tea so paying extra for the architecture don`t wash ... and moaning about the recession does`nt cut ice with me as the recession affects customers too"
... fair comments. But do appreciate that employees of motorcycles shops also deserve santised and semi-nice working conditions, which all has to be paid for somehow. And just because customers wallets are hurting, they don't have a monopoly on that. If consideration only ran one direction they'd not have a dealer to visit at all.

I do think curtosey bikes should be available to cover service and warranty work. But a nominal fee to cover general wear and tear is acceptable IMHO. It's not just the tyres and chain wear, the occaisonal bodywork scuff or the thrashing a select few customer will give them, but also the loss in residual value too. The dealer is taking the brunt of all of that, even if you do pay fifteen quid or whatever to have it for the day and return it brimmed with fuel.

I totally agree that service costs seem way too high in the main. Some of it is regional of course. If your mechanic lives in Chelsea so that he can work at Warrs in the Kings Road, you have to pay him more, so don't expect much change out of a ton per hour. Colwyn Bay Yamaha or whoever might have lower overheads? It is nice to see Ducati and others identify that owners aren't happy with service costs, so have begun to either make servicing simpler, faster and therefore cheaper (Multistrada etc) or designed long intervals as standard (Rocket III, 10k).

Again though there are still hidden costs for the dealer to suffer such as sending mechanics to manufacturers for training on new models, which aside the actual course and residential costs, also take them away from fee earning work in the shop. It's all for the benefit of us the customers, but it's all to the detriment of the dealers balance sheet.

I'm not saying no dealers take the rise whilst offering poor service. Just that the dealers who charge you a fair price for bikes, service and loan bikes plus provide a congenial establishment to visit and knowledgeable friendly staff, should in all probability be cut a little slack.

roundincircles
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Re: Loan Bikes?

I will give you an example how shiny metal and glass showrooms can cause distrust. In December I had a 3 litre diesel car oil serviced at £200. Following week went to a Suzuki car dealer for an oil service on a 1.6 litre petrol car and he said it would cost £300. I said December usually attracts lower offers so he said £250. I then shared my cost of £200 for a 3 litre car and he agreed to do it for £200. That conversation took 3 minutes at most. Bad taste for me as happy to take the customer if they don't negotiate.

Anyway a Midlands based BMW bike dealership has moved to a new glass showroom, despite Mr KA illustrating his MCN article today with the old premises :-), and they will happily tell you that they charge £70 per hour for the workshop. That may be reasonable if backed up with customer satisfaction but it always sounds a lot of dosh on a per hour basis.

chipper
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Re: Loan Bikes?

Cap`n I am not commenting on the working conditions of mechanics or salespeople in showrooms but the cost of servicing. In any state of the art workshop a mechanic should get his hands dirty and with better facilities should be able to work more efficiently thus the company being more competitive and passing this on to the customer.

I am talking from my own experience of an American motorcycle dealer in Birmingham, not Mayfair charging £90 per hour labour charges. When warranty work had to be done on a motorcycle I was quoted £15 a day for a loan bike, needless to say I did not pay this but managed to persuade them to loan me a bike FOC.

As regards having a monopoly on the recession, I work in an industry where the buzzword is more for less and run a team of craftsmen whose hourly rate is a lot less than a motorcycle mechanic with a worksop included. With this in mind I regard servicing charges as excessive and have no sympathy for organisations who are out of sync with the current economic climate. Like everyone in this country else they should be working harder to bring in your custom.

Chipper

Captain Scarlet
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Re: Loan Bikes?

I personally see an absolute direct correlation between the price paid for services rendered vs the suppliers premises, infrastructure, resourcing and regional/tailored opex costs. If you do not, viva la difference, it was just MHO.

As customers we all have the choice of telling organisations who we feel are out of synch with our own thoughts, that either they must flex to meet our demands or we take our business elsewhere. That is our perogative and preference.

I just don't see the number of bike shops growing, and other obvious factors aside, with an inquisitive mind - you do have to wonder, just why?

I would certainly like to hear the more insightful thoughts of Pebble35 and Shuggs on this topic, because they see a more balanced perspective from both sides of the fence, being both passionate bikers and being in the trade too.

dogfm
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Re: Loan Bikes?

Generally I get a loan bike when I get either of my bikes serviced as I travel some distance to use particular dealers. I think the decline in the number of dealers is not only due to economic factors but also encroachment of corporate imperatives. By this I mean the manufacturer dictating procedures and processes in the dealers business, independent minded dealers are falling by the wayside as they lose control of aspects of their business- some must feel like employees rather than entrepreneurs.

pebble35
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Re: Loan Bikes?

It can be very difficult to comment objectively on labour rates for other dealerships without knowing the underlying cost base in the dealer's area.

The cost of running a workshop goes a long way beyond just the technician's wages. Agreed he may only be on £15 per hour ? But add a bit on top for National Insurance. Holiday pay ? Allow a bit for sickness ? Training ? It all adds up.

What about the costs of renting the premises ? How much per year for each square foot of workshop space ? Insurance ? Heat and light ? Rates ?

And the time the technicians charge need to cover other 'non-productive' after-sales staff like the workshop manager and admin people.

Don't forget the need for special tools and diagnostic machinery. We blew about £3k on new diagnostic computers for just one manufacturer last year. And £2.5k on tooling from another manufacturer the year before (that was to look after just one bike we sold !)

And the tax man takes 20% of the hourly rate in VAT.

And once all these costs are covered the business owner may actually expect to make a profit - after all that is why he turns up to work every day like the rest of us.......................

I once had a customer complaining bitterly about our hourly labour rate. He was a plumber who had done a call out for me at home a few months earlier. This was in normal working hours and not an emergency. When I pointed out that I had been charged £85 minimum one hour charge even though he was only there for about 30 minutes he found our hourly rate a bit more acceptable !

Labour rates will vary across different areas of the country. Our labour rate is probably the cheapest H-D and Ducati dealer rate in the country. We would like to increase it but our market place will not bear that at the present time.

Before criticising your local dealer too harshly step back and take a look at what their overheads are. Even stop and look at what you do - if you are a plumber/lawyer/doctor/dentist look at your hourly rate - is it comparable ? What does your local locksmith charge you for a call out ?

If you feel your local dealer is charging too much look around at the alternatives. Independents can do a good job but the franchised dealerships may have better access to special tooling/technical info that may make the job quicker. And it may be worth supporting the franchised dealer to make sure they are still in business to to support you in the long term ...................

Not necessarily trying to defend the rates charged by some dealers here - just trying to put a bit of a perspective on the background and numbers !

Captain Scarlet
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Re: Loan Bikes?

Good posts all. This is a quality written well balanced thread and I guess it's postings like these that see us returning to the site for continued views and knowledge sharing.

sutty
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Re: Loan Bikes?

In 2003 was working in Netherlands,my new CBR 600F needed a 3(or 4?)k service.
The purchase delearship in Preston,now gone,wanted 125/135 pounds.The official Eindhoven dealer did it for 65eu,with oil/filter change which is not advised.
No axe to grind on this, but have been told UK "commercial" property,must earn its keep.
@ 20% a year I was led to believe, not sure I do believe this, but BMW and Mercedes drivers know the way abroad for servicing.

roundincircles
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Re: Loan Bikes?

Pebble35: A well composed summary that does credit to bike dealerships.

I guess it is the rogue or less than straightforwards dealers that leave scars. I had a warranty/first service done on a BMW some years ago. There was two particular warranty issue, was the ABS working and was the tempreture readout correct. On arrival I bumped into the technician and he said no problem on either issue as he hooked up the computer for the ABS as part of the first service procedure and just checked the temperature gauge by comparing it with other bikes in the shop.

When I came to pay there was an £70 charge which I challenged. Eventually the Dealer Principal got involved and defended the cost by pointing to the computer readout not the issue of fair charge. So I asked what was his source of information and it was the computer which only charged in half hour increments. I did not pay.

So how many workshops are directed to 'recover' their daily hours by 'filling out' charges to the customer? Some do ,some don't I guess.

It is a well known practice that some Dealer Principal's boast about how much annual income each technician brings in but that's business - make a return,re-invest, pay the bank's, reward the risk taking shareholders and survive!

Just can't help believe that the transparent and straightforward dealerships build their business with loyal customers and a groundswell of goodwill. End of to-days Sermon.

shuggiemac
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Re: Loan Bikes?

Wow this is getting good. I can see this from both sides of the equation.

Yes I would like to have a loan bike and or car but it is not that common and I can understand why businesses can not afford to do it. It would be cost prohibitive to keep a fleet of bikes and/or cars available for every person who came in for a service. I am not at all sure why people think it should be a given that a replacement item be available when you are getting your own serviced. There is not a whole lot of precedence for it in industry or in any other consumer field that I can readily think of. If your mobile phone, PC, TV cooker, milling machine, theodolite, measuring arm or what ever needs work you don't expect to get a replacement while it is being looked at.

Dealers generally work on one hell of a lot lower margins on new vehicles than many think and it is the major reason why we do not do it ourselves. I am not going to get back into a debate about them being greedy because the vast majority are not and those people who make the general statements have zero knowledge of the reality from the other side. To keep the showrooms and businesses going then they have to be profitable and as they have small margins on new machines to start with plus hard competition and customers demanding discounts then they can not survive on revenue from new machine sales alone. It is very simplistic to look at things just as the cost per hour and if someone is working on your bike then there has, generally, been one hell of an investment gone into that person to get them trained and keep them up to date. Then factor in rent, rates, power, insurance, employee costs, equipment etc etc then ninety quid an hour is not just covering the wages of the guy working on your car or bike but his costs and that of the guys in the stock room holding and ordering the parts, the admin people, the guy who cleans the bog etc etc.

I have just taken delivery of a brand new car and I did ask the dealer if they give out loaners during service times. They told me straight up that generally they can not but if I book it in advance they will try to help if they can but not be surprised if they can't. It does not put me off using them as after all I am asking for something for nothing and they have done a great job in the provision of the car so far.

As for bikes well I service all of them myself anyway with the exception of the Ducatis and I know that they can't give bikes out on loan like that as they would need to have five or six at least to satisfy each customer each day. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Captain Scarlet
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Re: Loan Bikes?

"To keep the showrooms and businesses going then they have to be profitable and as they have small margins on new machines to start with plus hard competition and customers demanding discounts then they can not survive on revenue from new machine sales alone"
... exactly. Everyone, in the UK, moans about the price of petrol and many of how petrol stations are raking it it. And yet when was the last time you saw a petrol station that only sold fuel? Not much mark up in fuel for the retailer nowadays (it's all tax for the government), it's only a carrot to intise the motorist to hopefully come into the shops they build into the forecourts and buy other goods to help the owners stay afloat.

So bike dealers have to make money on clothing, servicing and so forth in addition to tighter margins on the financial millstones sat on the showroom floor - which are another up front cost, they don't arrive on a sale or return basis!

Just as garages are best known for offering fuel, and yet that's not the main source of income for their owners, this also extends to the motorcycle market too. Harley is actually a brand aware fashion and merchandise emporium first and foremost, because they makes more money selling clothes than they do actually selling bikes - fact! :-D

"There is no such thing as a free lunch"
... #6 :-D

chipper
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Re: Loan Bikes?

Gentlemen I hear what you are saying, businesses have to diversify to make a profit. This is not an unusual practice however to be simplistic if someone overprices their services they will not get custom.

I am not slagging a particular dealer off merely stating a fact that £90 pound per hour service charges on an air cooled motorcycle is not on. If you dropped off a £60,000 Porsche that is what you would pay. These figures are not even relative.

I am not a skinflint and pay good money for a good job and expect people to charge for their services but a reasonable rate. Do I service any of my vehicles, never I have a mechanic who I trust and just ask for the bill in the knowledge that it is fair and reasonable.

I take the T8 in for the first service tomorrow 500 mile and have to pay a charge. This was explained to me before so I won`t grumble. Will I have the bike serviced there after probably so because they will supply me with a loan bike if needed and offer me a discount on servicing. Speaks volumes.

Chipper

PS I am quite a good customer who rarely moans but expects a deal.

chipper
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Re: Loan Bikes?

Gentlemen I hear what you are saying, businesses have to diversify to make a profit. This is not an unusual practice however to be simplistic if someone overprices their services they will not get custom.

I am not slagging a particular dealer off merely stating a fact that £90 pound per hour service charges on an air cooled motorcycle is not on. If you dropped off a £60,000 Porsche that is what you would pay. These figures are not even relative.

I am not a skinflint and pay good money for a good job and expect people to charge for their services but a reasonable rate. Do I service any of my vehicles, never I have a mechanic who I trust and just ask for the bill in the knowledge that it is fair and reasonable.

I take the T8 in for the first service tomorrow 500 mile and have to pay a charge. This was explained to me before so I won`t grumble. Will I have the bike serviced there after probably so because they will supply me with a loan bike if needed and offer me a discount on servicing. Speaks volumes.

Chipper

PS I am quite a good customer who rarely moans but expects a deal.

shuggiemac
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Re: Loan Bikes?

chipper wrote:

I am not slagging a particular dealer off merely stating a fact that £90 pound per hour service charges on an air cooled motorcycle is not on. If you dropped off a £60,000 Porsche that is what you would pay. These figures are not even relative.

Chipper that is an interesting point. If you took a vintage VW beetle to the same Porsche dealer do you think they would charge you less to work on it? The costs of running the service organisation do not differ a jot if the mechanic is working in a shiney Porsche badged workshop on a GT3 or your lawnmower. The parts prices do but that is all. The cost of establishing the workshop, training the guy, keeping him current etc is the same. Just because a bike is an air cooled twin does not, to my mind mean that it is in essence any cheaper to work on than a Porsche. If I were to take the Monkeystrada to a workshop to be worked on I would not think it justifiable to expect them to charge me any less for working on it than my Ducati 999. Or another example - that stupid new Aston Martin city car, costing 33k pounds, I bet will still incurr the same labour rate for service at the Aston dealer as a DB9 costing a gazillion.

In my industrial world, customers are charged exactly the same labour rate for working on a 50,000 Euro installation as they would be on a half million install.

I hear what you are saying but the reality is, that in today's market people just don't sit and make up a fictitious price that they think they can rip people off with. They take their costs over all factors and apply a percentage mark up to reach a minimum to keep the business running and then look to apply a little extra to make a profit. Of course they try to make that bit as good as they can but the market ultimately sets the levels and if they can't be competitive then they die. God alone knows in our bike business I would love to set prices higher as if the market would let me do it then I would be able to join the wife in the firm full time and not as I have to handle it just now. If someone comes back to us with a product of ours with a warranty claim, then we try to give them a loan item but very often we can't. First of all there is no legal obligation to do it but we try to support our customers within the limits that we have. However when I give them say a high end intercom unit then I can no longer sell that unit as new so I lose a good chunk of the margin on it for zero return. Give them my demo, you may say but then I can not show prospective other customers the unit and would have to make another demo unit thus then not being able to sell that as a new one. As I say we try and often do help out but there is a significant cost involved that most customers don't see, care about or appreciate, not even when they are the beneficiary.

We have toyed with the idea of selling bikes and I tell you right now that if we did then I simply could not afford to buy enough stock that would enable me to hand them out for free to each and every service customer.

chipper
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Re: Loan Bikes?

Shuggiemac

I agree with what you are saying concerning hourly rates but I feel you miss the point. A £7000 air cooled twin should not be charged £90 per hour for labour charges. If I was spending £60,ooo then I would expect an increased labour charge and would have the disposable to cover it.I would not bring a knacker to the thoroughbreds yard as I would not require a book to be stamped.

I am not saying people are making up fictious prices but today more than ever businesses must be competetive as the simple fact is the punter has not got the same money in his pocket.

In my own businesses I have always charged reasonable rates and to be honest if I could not afford to do the job I did not do it. I am and have been involved in top end high quality work possibly the rolls royce end of the construction industry and high volume affordable work so I am aware of the costs in running businesses and profit margins. Even in the top end work rates are being slashed and I am agrieved that some motorcycle dealers do not realise the current situation and price accordingly.

Anyway I digress the T8 was serviced today, 1st service £60 and a speed triple was loaned to me so I could go home and carry out transportation duties to football. I must say I enjoyed the triple immensely but did not have enough time to enjoy it fully. One thing I must add about loan bikes is how many people have gone into a dealers for a service and taken a demo or loan bike out and bought it.
Nearly done it today!

Chipper