riderr1150gsadv
Well-known member
I have heard that if you want to make a million $ as a BMW dealer, you start with two and quit when you have one left over..... Win win right? 
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45 days out for service…
- Thread starter motodan
- Start date
Earlier this month I needed to take my Triumph Bonneville SE in for routine service. I called the nearest dealership (100 miles away) and asked if I could drop it off the next day(a Wednesday) as I was going out of town for a few days and it would be convenient for me to drop it off as I would be going by the dealership (I don't own a trailer), and would be coming back by the following Tuesday. The service manager asked (1) Where was I located?, and (2) Where did I buy my bike? (I purchased it from a different dealership as this dealership wasn't selling Triumph when I bought my Bonneville). The service manager explained that routine maintenance was booked out 21 days or more. I asked if I could still drop it off per my schedule and was told "Sure, but don't it expect it back before 3 weeks or more." I did, and while I was waiting for my wife to drive by to pick me up so we could continue our short vacation, the service manager came by and said, "Can you call your wife? We'll have your bike finished by the end of the day." Wow! What happened to the 21 day service wait? I explained that I still couldn't pick it up until I returned through town the next week. No problem was the answer. It was ready to go when I was ready to pick it up.
What's this got to do with a BMW forum? I've had similar experiences with my local BMW dealer -- I've been told similar wait times for service on my '15 RT. I've still dropped it off on my schedule, and I've always had the service finished well before the "way out there" promised time. Giving a pessimistic service time, then beat it if they can. You're happier (maybe), and they can boast about how they were able to get to your bike sooner than expected. With the bike on hand, they're able to schedule it onto the service lift as it's "right there, right now".
Of course, as always, YMMV.
What's this got to do with a BMW forum? I've had similar experiences with my local BMW dealer -- I've been told similar wait times for service on my '15 RT. I've still dropped it off on my schedule, and I've always had the service finished well before the "way out there" promised time. Giving a pessimistic service time, then beat it if they can. You're happier (maybe), and they can boast about how they were able to get to your bike sooner than expected. With the bike on hand, they're able to schedule it onto the service lift as it's "right there, right now".
Of course, as always, YMMV.
52184
GTRider
stevenrankin
Active member
Scotty
I didn't learn from Scotty but I found early to over estimate time to repair than under. St.
I didn't learn from Scotty but I found early to over estimate time to repair than under. St.
pauls1150
MOA #24991, south of Los Angeles
Scotty was absolutely right! Always pad the estimate, standard CYA procedure.
Another case (a slight tangent):
Many years ago, I was asked by one of my managers - he had a purely mechanical background (and not a great one at that), knew Diddley about anything electrical or electronic - "How long will it take to fix this?"
I told him, "Well, we don't really know where exactly the problem is, so I can't give you an answer to that."
He kept bugging me - How long? How long will it take?
Really pissed him off... he needed to update the holy schedule...
And, by the way, the staff engineer [with several awards and patents] who designed it was literally two doors down the hall; why didn't the manager go see him instead...? Oh well.
A couple of weeks later, he actually brought in the wife's vacuum cleaner (to our high-tech aerospace communications lab) and asked me to fix it! He had installed a new power switch, and couldn't figger out that he had mis-wired it... grrr...
Another case (a slight tangent):
Many years ago, I was asked by one of my managers - he had a purely mechanical background (and not a great one at that), knew Diddley about anything electrical or electronic - "How long will it take to fix this?"
I told him, "Well, we don't really know where exactly the problem is, so I can't give you an answer to that."
He kept bugging me - How long? How long will it take?
Really pissed him off... he needed to update the holy schedule...
And, by the way, the staff engineer [with several awards and patents] who designed it was literally two doors down the hall; why didn't the manager go see him instead...? Oh well.
A couple of weeks later, he actually brought in the wife's vacuum cleaner (to our high-tech aerospace communications lab) and asked me to fix it! He had installed a new power switch, and couldn't figger out that he had mis-wired it... grrr...
