U
Unregistered
Guest
Anyone out there try dealing with Franks BMW? Never met someone who doesn't want business as much as him. Charming guy.
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U
Unregistered
Guest
Mixed reports.
B
BELG
Guest
Eh, after the long, bloody hot ride up there, the free water was worth it's weight in gold...
U
Unregistered
Guest
I stop in there every now and then. He does not seem to be a very enthusiastic dealer.
U
Unregistered
Guest
Don't think I have ever had any business ever use the "f-sharp" to explain what I should do till I met this guy. Not a happy fellow.
G
GSCOOKEMNSTER
Guest
Lester is Lester. I've dealt with him for 18 years/3 Beemers and he is very honest and will help you out/do you right with problems. However, if you come in with a "flatlander" attitude, you won't get far. Try to push him, and he'll tell you flat out what you can do. The man loves Beemers & old bikes, did very well setting up & greating rally goers with food & drink. He also gave a very substantial sum of money ($3,000) to the rally charity.
ryegatehermit
New member
Diito the cookie monster
I've had the same experience with Lester. I've bought 3 bikes and he's always treated me fair. He doesn't like to be jerked around. When you consider that his tire distributor didn't come through for him, he was holding up pretty well.
He even got a relative to shuttle customers back to the rally so they wouldn't have to wait while their tires were being installed.
Sure, he may have been a little snarly by saturday afternoon, but he put in a lot of hours trying to keep customers satisfied.
I've had the same experience with Lester. I've bought 3 bikes and he's always treated me fair. He doesn't like to be jerked around. When you consider that his tire distributor didn't come through for him, he was holding up pretty well.
He even got a relative to shuttle customers back to the rally so they wouldn't have to wait while their tires were being installed.
Sure, he may have been a little snarly by saturday afternoon, but he put in a lot of hours trying to keep customers satisfied.
U
Unregistered
Guest
He was snarley on Wed. If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen.
U
Unregistered
Guest
The vibe was definitely "don't even ask". The sign they posted on the front door was your first clue - something to the effect of "it will be done when it's done".
U
Unregistered
Guest
And having a kid behind the counter who knew nothing.. other than to say "oh this is a long day"..just isn't good business... took him 15 minutes to figure out what tires I needed and the price was way out of line. (I walked out)
And why was the big Metzeler truck sitting there..those guys weren't even installing tires, but were all set up for it.
And why was the big Metzeler truck sitting there..those guys weren't even installing tires, but were all set up for it.
U
Unregistered
Guest
Been There....Ain't Going Back
I did the buy one get one on the metzeler tire deal. I needed new pads on the rear. The out the door price was over 400.00. Poor Customer service. I travel frequently and try to visit the local dealer when I am out. Frank's rates poor, and the Metzeler folks should get their stuff together. They were a flop.
For all you long time Frank Customers....visit others.
I did the buy one get one on the metzeler tire deal. I needed new pads on the rear. The out the door price was over 400.00. Poor Customer service. I travel frequently and try to visit the local dealer when I am out. Frank's rates poor, and the Metzeler folks should get their stuff together. They were a flop.
For all you long time Frank Customers....visit others.
U
Unregistered
Guest
the service was horrible. their attitute was worse. i heard one guy say F*** so many times, how business like is that. also did you see the mechanics, i don't think they are old enough to shave let alone drive. and for the Metzler guys, give them credit, they told me that Lester would not let them do anything. so i give them credit for putting up with his attitude. so the moral of the story is, buy your tires in another state.
U
Unregistered
Guest
Too bad--those Metzeler guys can really crank out the tire changes.
R80RTJohnny
On the road again!
I went on saturday morning looking for a quote for tires for my 86 R80RT and I think that I completely confused the person at the counter. The price quoted for tires was 309 out the door (Sorry but at that price I'll pass). Bear in mind that one of our club member's paid 339 for and R11RT.
Somehow the rally connection was just not there...
Somehow the rally connection was just not there...
U
Unregistered;
Guest
Franks Sucks
I could not agree more with the first post!!
I am a local and if I did not love my bike so much I would sell and buy another Honda, all because my local dealer sucks so badly. I needed a new steering damper. I was quoted $120 and required to put 50% down be cause this was not a stocked part. I found that hard to believe but OK I needed it. When the part came in the price went up to $150 ??? When I bitched I was told I didnÔÇÖt have to take it but I would loose my deposit or I could pay up. So now, I pay them back any chance I get. I also had other run-in's but that was the third strike and there out!
I now get my bike serviced at Road Side (they have 2 of Lesters former techs) and by Lesters son. Both seem happy to see me, my $ and my bike. If I ever need a dealer to work on my bike I will trailer it 2 hrs down to Max with out a second thought.
Screw You Lester and your bitchy wife. You don't deserve the BMW franchise.
I could not agree more with the first post!!
I am a local and if I did not love my bike so much I would sell and buy another Honda, all because my local dealer sucks so badly. I needed a new steering damper. I was quoted $120 and required to put 50% down be cause this was not a stocked part. I found that hard to believe but OK I needed it. When the part came in the price went up to $150 ??? When I bitched I was told I didnÔÇÖt have to take it but I would loose my deposit or I could pay up. So now, I pay them back any chance I get. I also had other run-in's but that was the third strike and there out!
I now get my bike serviced at Road Side (they have 2 of Lesters former techs) and by Lesters son. Both seem happy to see me, my $ and my bike. If I ever need a dealer to work on my bike I will trailer it 2 hrs down to Max with out a second thought.
Screw You Lester and your bitchy wife. You don't deserve the BMW franchise.
Bigbird
New member
Try Heid's Hodaka for service
It's probably a couple of hours away from Northern VT, but if you want really good service and a welcoming attitude, you might want to try Heid's Hodaka down in Johnsburg, NY. Bill and Terry Heid were BMW dealers until a few years back, and have been servicing BMWs since the 60's. They're honest, fair, friendly (well, Bill is more like "Crusty"), and the service is first rate. It's not like your typical 21st Century BMW dealership, but more like a cycle shop out of the 50's or 60's where you might expect to see Steve McQueen kick starting his Triumph.
Heid's is one of the main reasons I've stayed with BMW. I know I can trust them and it's always a pleasure to ride in for service or to to chew the fat. The shop is about 85 miles from my home, but I've met riders who've come to Heid's from as far away as Syacuse & New Hampshire. Anyway, if you get down that way, (Johnsburg is near Chestertown), stop in and check it out.
Bigbird
It's probably a couple of hours away from Northern VT, but if you want really good service and a welcoming attitude, you might want to try Heid's Hodaka down in Johnsburg, NY. Bill and Terry Heid were BMW dealers until a few years back, and have been servicing BMWs since the 60's. They're honest, fair, friendly (well, Bill is more like "Crusty"), and the service is first rate. It's not like your typical 21st Century BMW dealership, but more like a cycle shop out of the 50's or 60's where you might expect to see Steve McQueen kick starting his Triumph.
Heid's is one of the main reasons I've stayed with BMW. I know I can trust them and it's always a pleasure to ride in for service or to to chew the fat. The shop is about 85 miles from my home, but I've met riders who've come to Heid's from as far away as Syacuse & New Hampshire. Anyway, if you get down that way, (Johnsburg is near Chestertown), stop in and check it out.
Bigbird
Let's be fair here: This was an incredibly stressful week for those people, and I'm sure they were all stretched to the breaking point.
I myself had to wait about 45 minutes to get a small part, but I'm not complaining because I know there were a lot of people there who needed service badly. While I was there, I observed a number of customers whose attitudes could best be described as, well, "cruddy" might be a polite way of putting it. One fellow felt the need to argue about the price of his tire change. Another fellow went on at length about how long things were taking.
Frankly, if I had to deal with that all week, by Saturday, I'd have been in a pretty crappy mood.
I'm not saying that Frank's is the greatest - that's the only time I dealt with 'em, and the locals would know best. I'm just saying that you're looking at a group of people who are operating under very unusual circumstances, and they deserve to be cut some slack for that.
I myself had to wait about 45 minutes to get a small part, but I'm not complaining because I know there were a lot of people there who needed service badly. While I was there, I observed a number of customers whose attitudes could best be described as, well, "cruddy" might be a polite way of putting it. One fellow felt the need to argue about the price of his tire change. Another fellow went on at length about how long things were taking.
Frankly, if I had to deal with that all week, by Saturday, I'd have been in a pretty crappy mood.
I'm not saying that Frank's is the greatest - that's the only time I dealt with 'em, and the locals would know best. I'm just saying that you're looking at a group of people who are operating under very unusual circumstances, and they deserve to be cut some slack for that.
U
Unregistered
Guest
Frank's
I also had a por experience at Frank's. Yes, the situation was unusual ,in that there were more bikes in Essex Junction than they'd ever seen, but Frank's and whoever else was contemplating making money off of rally attendees should have been set up with more staff, parts, tires, etc. It's not as if we just came to town. They've known for 12 months.
Dave #13880
I also had a por experience at Frank's. Yes, the situation was unusual ,in that there were more bikes in Essex Junction than they'd ever seen, but Frank's and whoever else was contemplating making money off of rally attendees should have been set up with more staff, parts, tires, etc. It's not as if we just came to town. They've known for 12 months.
Dave #13880
