The Continuing Quest For A Motorcycle Mechanic
I took the V-Strom in to Colorado Moto Service and they did good work, just lacked a bit in customer service.
I took the V-Strom to Colorado Moto Service for fluids and chain alignment and I knew they were busy but at least expected to hear from them soon as to what work they felt was needed and the cost. I was going to be leaving soon on this year’s OFMC bike trip but I was planning to ride the Kawi so it was not urgent. Still, I was expecting some sort of follow-up.
A week went past and I heard nothing. So I called. The guy working the desk said they were about to take a look and he’d send me an estimate right away. This was a Thursday. I got the estimate on Tuesday, 12 days after I had dropped the bike off.
The estimate called for all kinds of work to be done, a lot of which I felt was unnecessary, such as new tires front and back. Their criteria for recommending this was that based on the date of their manufacture they were old. Never mind that they had plenty of tread and the rear tire was new (on the bike at least) last year.
I called, said do this, don’t do that and told the guy I was leaving town on Friday. He took it to mean that I was leaving town on the bike they had in the shop and while that was not true I figured it didn’t hurt to let him think that. He promised to have it for me on Thursday.
On Thursday at about 11 a.m. I called. The guy at the desk said blah, blah, and we’ll have it for you by the end of the day tomorrow, does that sound good? I said loudly, adamantly, “No!” I reminded him I had told him I was leaving town the next morning and he said he would look into shifting the shop schedule to get it done and said he’d call me to tell me what would happen.
He didn’t call. At 4:20 I called. He said it would be done by close of business. When is that? 5 p.m. I explained that my wife was not there to give me a ride and I would need to take the light rail to the Broadway Station and get the bus heading out Mississippi and walk the last five blocks. It would be some time past close of business before I could get there. And it was raining hard at that moment. We did an e-pay and he said the key would be in a lock box. OK, not convenient but it would do.
I hung up and almost instantly our highly esteemed handyman, Dale, called about coming over to eyeball a job he was to be starting on the next morning. Would that work? I said I didn’t know and explained about the bike. He offered to take me there. Wow. Thank you. So he came, eyeballed the job, and we headed out. The guys at the shop were still there when we got there at 5:05 and the mechanic was just taking it for a test ride. So it all worked out and I got home dry.
Now, if the guy had just called me back as he said he would I could have simply gotten myself there before 5. I like these guys but their follow-through sucks. If you tell someone you’re going to do something you should do it. But they did a good job, the charge was reasonable, and I wouldn’t hesitate to take one of my bikes to them again. Although I would want to have a conversation with someone there about the need to follow through on promises.
All that said, they remain a good distance from where we live and getting there is not at all convenient. I would still be open for other options. And I would have an opportunity to explore other options sooner than I would have hoped. This story continues in my next post.
Biker Quote for Today
It’s not a new bike. It’s a new member of the family.
