Shaman
Well-known member
I just got off the phone with Jim @ Wheelsport in Orleans, ON. I'm not in the business of telling anyone what to do, but I am going to relate my story and see what people think.
In 2013, I bought a RSV4 Factory SE from this company, had the first service done on it there and was generally happy with the overall procedure, the only thing being that when I had the first service done, I had to wait until 4pm to get my bike back from a pre-scheduled service appointment that was supposed to be done "first thing in the morning," which is pretty annoying when you get up a couple hours early to drive two hours to the shop to have it done. I did not complain, I have staff that do service and I understand how this can be an issue.
Fast forward a little more than two years. Aprilia releases the 2016 RF Factory to the world. I call up and ask for pricing and availability. Nobody returns my call. Not in any hurry, I let it sit for a week. I call back again, they tell me that they have to get that information from someone there (can't remember who) and he'll call back. Nobody returns my call.
A week goes by - and remember that this is a limited-edition bike that may potentially sell out immediately (they did, in fact), so I don't want to take any chances. I call up Corsa Meccanica in Vaughan and George Ruffolo calls me back around dinner-time, we make the deal and it's done. A week later I go to pick up the bike and we're in business.
I put about 1000km on the bike that first weekend and call up Corsa, who says they're two weeks out from seeing the bike. OK. I call up Wheelsport and ask them to service the bike. They kind-of gave me the impression that if I didn't buy the bike there, I should do it at Corsa... but I had business in Ottawa and it was much more convenient both from time perspective and my personal schedule, so I insisted... they booked me in a full week in advance, and they could do the work no problem. As before, noon comes around and they had just started the bike. FFS. OK, well they're on it at least, right? I hang around downtown Ottawa for a few extra hours and then go pick up the bike. Not too stressed by it, but annoyed. I did not complain, as before, just picked up my bike, said hello to their apprentice, Jason who I see frequently at race events and went home.
This is where it goes downhill.
I am on AF1 forums and I see someone mention their sprocket bolts are loose. Then AF1 posts that there is a fresh TSB saying that sprocket nuts need to be re-torqued to a new specification. I have them checked while the bike is in a local shop getting the plate hanger and integrated taillight installed... all of them are loose, three of them are finger-loose and two of the bolt-pins are totally chewed-up and no good. It's possible that there could have been catastrophic failure of the bike, or that the swingarm and wheel could have been chewed up. Luckily, we found it as a result of AF1's generous sharing of information.
So I call up Wheelsport that Tuesday at around 1:00pm, who did the first service. I didn't accuse them of anything, nor complain. Just asked them to check the TSBs and ship me out the bolts. I'll do the work myself, I said, as I have a torque wrench etc. and am not going to drive 500km round-trip just to torque a few nuts down, it's no big deal (but I'm all thumbs with electric work, which is why the local shop had it). I did not get a return phone call. Fine, so I wait until about 4:30pm and ask to talk to a manager when the guy says "the service manager will take care of it tomorrow." Really? But he wasn't going to phone me to tell me this? The service manager (also the owner, Jim) took off early for the day and wasn't available. The guy I was talking to (John?) said that he put it up on the service manager's screen for priority in the morning. OK.
I called up Corsa right away, because W.T.F. George talked to me personally, ordered the parts while I was on the phone with him and is sending me 10 pins + nuts which he will file as a warranty claim. They should be here by about Tuesday if all goes well. I probably should have just phoned him but I figured I'd give Wheelsport the opportunity, since they did the first service and know the bike was pristine when they had it in.
The next morning, I phone Wheelsport again and ask to speak to the service manager. He's not available. OK, have him give me a call back but be aware that this is the third time I've called. No problem. No return call was made.
So right now, it's Friday afternoon at 3:45 as I type this and I just got off the phone with Jim, identified as Wheelsport's owner. Here's the gist of the phone call - I told him right up front that I'm not really sure what I was hoping to achieve by calling him, but I'm calling anyway. I related the whole story to him, starting with the calls I made to try and buy a bike from his company. Then I told him that they should have checked the torque on the rear sprocket bolts during the first service but I wasn't that fussed with it... however, had I been injured by them failing, surely that's a concern for him? I finished off with the sentence "So tell me Jim, why the hell should I continue to do any business with your company, anyways?"
His response was "Go get your bike serviced from the guy you bought it from, then." Nothing more, nothing less. No apology, no acceptance of any blame, no care that I remain a customer, no explanation, no nothing. Ignored the fact that I would have bought the bike from him if he'd just return my effing phone calls. His tone was hostile and ugly. My response was simply "well, if that's the way you want it Jim, I guess we're done here. We'll never talk again." He said "fine, good." End of call.
Like I said, I don't want to tell anyone what to do or what to say. I can honestly - with hand on heart - say that I did not give any of these people a hard time or jerk them around. I paid all my bills on time and in-person. I did not ask for special treatment other than scheduling for the work to be done (a week in advance, out of courtesy!) Dealing with me up until this phone call has not been in any way difficult. So in other words, I have to assume that this is how they will treat you or anyone else that does business with them.
Cool story. Do with it what you will.
In 2013, I bought a RSV4 Factory SE from this company, had the first service done on it there and was generally happy with the overall procedure, the only thing being that when I had the first service done, I had to wait until 4pm to get my bike back from a pre-scheduled service appointment that was supposed to be done "first thing in the morning," which is pretty annoying when you get up a couple hours early to drive two hours to the shop to have it done. I did not complain, I have staff that do service and I understand how this can be an issue.
Fast forward a little more than two years. Aprilia releases the 2016 RF Factory to the world. I call up and ask for pricing and availability. Nobody returns my call. Not in any hurry, I let it sit for a week. I call back again, they tell me that they have to get that information from someone there (can't remember who) and he'll call back. Nobody returns my call.
A week goes by - and remember that this is a limited-edition bike that may potentially sell out immediately (they did, in fact), so I don't want to take any chances. I call up Corsa Meccanica in Vaughan and George Ruffolo calls me back around dinner-time, we make the deal and it's done. A week later I go to pick up the bike and we're in business.
I put about 1000km on the bike that first weekend and call up Corsa, who says they're two weeks out from seeing the bike. OK. I call up Wheelsport and ask them to service the bike. They kind-of gave me the impression that if I didn't buy the bike there, I should do it at Corsa... but I had business in Ottawa and it was much more convenient both from time perspective and my personal schedule, so I insisted... they booked me in a full week in advance, and they could do the work no problem. As before, noon comes around and they had just started the bike. FFS. OK, well they're on it at least, right? I hang around downtown Ottawa for a few extra hours and then go pick up the bike. Not too stressed by it, but annoyed. I did not complain, as before, just picked up my bike, said hello to their apprentice, Jason who I see frequently at race events and went home.
This is where it goes downhill.
I am on AF1 forums and I see someone mention their sprocket bolts are loose. Then AF1 posts that there is a fresh TSB saying that sprocket nuts need to be re-torqued to a new specification. I have them checked while the bike is in a local shop getting the plate hanger and integrated taillight installed... all of them are loose, three of them are finger-loose and two of the bolt-pins are totally chewed-up and no good. It's possible that there could have been catastrophic failure of the bike, or that the swingarm and wheel could have been chewed up. Luckily, we found it as a result of AF1's generous sharing of information.
So I call up Wheelsport that Tuesday at around 1:00pm, who did the first service. I didn't accuse them of anything, nor complain. Just asked them to check the TSBs and ship me out the bolts. I'll do the work myself, I said, as I have a torque wrench etc. and am not going to drive 500km round-trip just to torque a few nuts down, it's no big deal (but I'm all thumbs with electric work, which is why the local shop had it). I did not get a return phone call. Fine, so I wait until about 4:30pm and ask to talk to a manager when the guy says "the service manager will take care of it tomorrow." Really? But he wasn't going to phone me to tell me this? The service manager (also the owner, Jim) took off early for the day and wasn't available. The guy I was talking to (John?) said that he put it up on the service manager's screen for priority in the morning. OK.
I called up Corsa right away, because W.T.F. George talked to me personally, ordered the parts while I was on the phone with him and is sending me 10 pins + nuts which he will file as a warranty claim. They should be here by about Tuesday if all goes well. I probably should have just phoned him but I figured I'd give Wheelsport the opportunity, since they did the first service and know the bike was pristine when they had it in.
The next morning, I phone Wheelsport again and ask to speak to the service manager. He's not available. OK, have him give me a call back but be aware that this is the third time I've called. No problem. No return call was made.
So right now, it's Friday afternoon at 3:45 as I type this and I just got off the phone with Jim, identified as Wheelsport's owner. Here's the gist of the phone call - I told him right up front that I'm not really sure what I was hoping to achieve by calling him, but I'm calling anyway. I related the whole story to him, starting with the calls I made to try and buy a bike from his company. Then I told him that they should have checked the torque on the rear sprocket bolts during the first service but I wasn't that fussed with it... however, had I been injured by them failing, surely that's a concern for him? I finished off with the sentence "So tell me Jim, why the hell should I continue to do any business with your company, anyways?"
His response was "Go get your bike serviced from the guy you bought it from, then." Nothing more, nothing less. No apology, no acceptance of any blame, no care that I remain a customer, no explanation, no nothing. Ignored the fact that I would have bought the bike from him if he'd just return my effing phone calls. His tone was hostile and ugly. My response was simply "well, if that's the way you want it Jim, I guess we're done here. We'll never talk again." He said "fine, good." End of call.
Like I said, I don't want to tell anyone what to do or what to say. I can honestly - with hand on heart - say that I did not give any of these people a hard time or jerk them around. I paid all my bills on time and in-person. I did not ask for special treatment other than scheduling for the work to be done (a week in advance, out of courtesy!) Dealing with me up until this phone call has not been in any way difficult. So in other words, I have to assume that this is how they will treat you or anyone else that does business with them.
Cool story. Do with it what you will.
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