Re: US dealers

[Eric Sheley <eric@xxxxxxxxxx>]

At 01:16 PM 06/04/1999 -0500, Jack Hays wrote:
>	I'm one of the folks who called and had great service from Jack
>Lilley's back in the UK. I have nothing but respect for their service
>and friendliness. Great dealer and quick on the tall screen delivery.
>I'm thinking about ordering more items this way.

Glad to see so many have had the same good experiences with Steve and his
shop. 

>	After reviewing another ST digest and reading all of the members
>comments it's becoming even more clear that Triumph USA needs to get
>their act together. Don't know if it's their own fault or problems
>across the pond, but...
>	It took me three months to get by hard bags and alarm and yet there's
>still many on the list complaining about the bags. But we can go to the
>UK and get them quicker! Or Canada has lots of them! Bad trend. I will
>continue to order from Jack Lilley's because I want the products but
>that sure is hurting my dealer. How does the dealer feel when we as
>individuals can get the items from the UK in six days and they can not

Well, you bring up many good points here. Let me toss in my .02 worth.

First, lets look at the bikes themselves. Lilleys ( and other UK dealers)
got their first shipment of ST's in December while some of us over here (in
the US) were patiently waiting on our orders to be filled. Then January hit
and lo and behold we had the bikes ..... Steve had a demo and 6 paid orders
with Triumph telling him they wouldn't have any bikes for at least 30
days... so while guys were waiting on there STs right around the corner
from the factory, I was out on the open road on mine..... and so, as I've
said before, given the choice between accessories and the bike itself, I
would much prefer to be riding than looking at the accessories laying on my
living room floor. 


Next, on to the parts - Specifically the bags. While there was some delay,
there is only one place to point the blame (if you really needed a place to
point it) and that is at the dealers that did not order the bags last year
when they had the chance. Triumph even went so far as to put together a
special deal with all the parts offered at a special price to the dealers -
still they did not anticipate the demand and initial allocations were far
under what they needed to be. Many US dealers did not believe that so many
would outlay the cash for the bags..... man, were they wrong....

And of course, lets not forget that the US market will not beat the UK in
volume until this year (although Steve will deny this ...) The UK is a
large market for Triumph and I find it only natural that they would have a
better supply of parts (especially where they don't have to deal with
shipping across a large pond). When Steve ships to us in the US, the
package comes via air mail - when parts are shipped to Triumph America, the
parts are shipped via container which can easily add weeks to the delivery
time. 

Every sale we send to Steve hurts your local dealer, but sometimes there is
no way around it. The tinted screens are not available in the US (due to
federal regulation), so if you want one, Steve is your only choice. Plus
Steve has items custom made and also has access to products that your
dealer here in the US just wouldn't have access to. 

I will continue to give my local dealer the chance to earn my business
first, but if I really want an item and cannot get accurate, reliable
delivery times from Triumph US, Steve will continue to get my business......

My only suggestion is to make sure that the dealers are aware of your
ability to get quick delivery elsewhere - maybe then they will put the
pressure on the parts department at TriumphUS.

Again, just some tired ramblings....

- - Eric











>even order the parts? I want a Triumph jacket now and the dealer has
>been trying to see if the leather jacket with Triumph across the chest
>is available in fabric as was rumored. Been waiting three weeks without
>any positive yes or no answer. I sent a message to Triumph a month ago
>via their web site about the possibility of the lower cost Triumph
>Cordura fabric jackets that I can only find in black being available in
>at least red to match my bike and relieve some of the Texas heat soak,
>no response. I do not like black anything in the Texas summers, let
>alone a jacket.
>	I love the bike and will put up with most of what we face. But Oh how
>good this could be with a little better parts and accessories support
>with our US dealers. 
>	I'm still waiting on the bolts to arrive for the sump recall. I've had
>the letter since April 19 but the dealer still tells me no bolts. On the
>other hand Triumph USA sent me an e-mail that the bolts are in stock in
>good quantity and can be at the dealer within 24 hours. I received this
>on May 21. Ok, it's been 14 days now but my dealer hasn't called that
>the bolts are in. The other comment was that if I wanted to check to see
>if the dealer has order the parts I could call Triumph USA at a non toll
>free number to check that the parts were on order. Huh? Wait a minute,
>didn't I pay a fair price for a product that has been deemed as needing
>a recall that could in some conditions be injury inducing? Now I'm
>supposed to wait two months and then call long distance on my own nickel
>to see if the parts were even ordered? Why weren't the correct bolts,
>gasket, and exhaust gaskets if needed sent to each dealer and my bike
>called in? If she springs a leak on the way to the rally I'm just out of
>luck? 
>	I'm not trying to bellyache even though it sounds that way. My job here
>at work is to handle similar situations and make them right so I think I
>know how to keep customers happy. Let's make Triumph the industry
>standard. We've already got the best bike, why not the best
>dealer/support network?
>-- 
>"The truth is out there"
>
>Jack "Rude Dog" Hays, Red Triumph ST "Merlin"

>Raytheon TI Systems Company
>Harpoon Manufacturing 
>Voice Number: 972-952-5065
>Pager Number: 972-598-0346
>I'll see you on the dark side of the moon.
>
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