Triumph Loyality

[Chris Canning]

No not the way your thinking,I was in Windy Corner today for the Americans on here one of two retailers in the UK well known for their Triumph connections,the other being Jack Lilley.

Now I've not long come out of a 3 year experience in the bike trade,the UK retail customer is an interesting animal,but as if thats not enough,a dealer who has put his heart and sole into a business just to have a suite from company turn up and pull the plug becuase it's not glitzy enough,is nothing short of criminal,not even allowed to be a service center,no doubt because company that has taken over elsewhere would loose out because WC reputation is/was so good.

Looks like Triumph are certainley competing with the Japanese importers when it comes to slash and burn.  :(

[Timbox2]

Seems to be the way of the world all round these days Chris, I see the same at work. Dont matter if youve been the best at what you do for years, if your face dont fit the latest fashion your gone. I was brought up with the belief that a companys most important assets were its employees, dont seem that way anymore :(

[NKL]

The way Triumph are treating their dealers is the one thing that puts me off buying another one. You buy a bike from tour local dealer only to find they aren't next week so you gotta go somewhere else for your service/warranty.
I think it will cost them in the long run.

[Mustang]

same thing happens on this side of the pond too!

[Nick Calne]

Having had a good, long run at designing and building motor retail buildings (dealerships) in the past, for a wide range of manufacturers, I can confirm that the level of duplicity, business sneakiness and general a55hole-ness is quite high.

But... There is a lot more to it than you'd imagine however, so I'd be thinking about giving Triumph the benefit of the doubt.  (for now) Has the dealer sold enough bikes?  Do the premises meet the brand standards?  Have there been a lot of complaints about the dealer?  Is the dealer also selling bikes from other manufacturers and giving triumph sufficient precedence?  Have they got enough workshop space?  Is the dealer discounting the bike below what Triumph think is OK? Is the dealer able to demonstrate financial stability/sound business planning for the future? Is the dealership owner/principal about to retire? Is the lease up on the building and they can't afford the renewal unless they change business structure/swap dealers about?  There are a million reasons "why" that might not be immediately apparent.

The dealer is unlikely to give you the whole story and Triumph will be looking for the most productive way to sell motorbikes and to protect their brand.  That's what they do.  That's what they gotta do.  I have never seen a motor manufacturer work in any other way.

[Chris Canning]

On paper I see nothing wrong with your post,except Triumph have gone round in circles here in the midlands and disappeared up their corperate ass,they started big with one dealer Idle garage went bust and took both Triumph and Honda and other private punters for a couple of Mil thats pounds!!,they then went small,Pole Postion/Black Country Motorcycle/Action Motorcycles/and one on the A45 who's name escapes me,all closed and now Windy Corner,and now their going the corperate bullshit route all smoke and mirrors,and anyone who's had a Triumph any length of time knows not to go anywere near a dealer unless he's been at it few years or has poached staff from else were.

Honda did the same to a solus dealer here in B'ham who had been selling Honda since 1964,and it's replacement last less than 2 years and shut.

The reality,they can't afford to leave the small guy in business because the punters will go to them given the choice for the personnel touch,and yet strangely enough Ducati are ahead of the game,while they still do the corperate thing,there are still service centers and independent oulets supplied by Ducati(in a round about way)

If Triumph want to be just A.N.other manafacturer they doing a pretty good job  :( ,but with no bikes with variable fuel map/ajustable suspension they've a long way to go.

[JetdocX]

I have a bike with three fuel maps.  You can keep that bullshit trickery.  I have a right wrist that gives me an infinite level of control over the motorbike. :roll:

Sorry, but you brought it up.

As for the boutique dealerships...I don't need 'em.  I try not to go there.

[Chris Canning]

I have a bike with three fuel maps.  You can keep that bullshit trickery.  I have a right wrist that gives me an infinite level of control over the motorbike. :roll:

Sorry, but you brought it up.

Not at all but if Triumph want to go smoke and mirrors,they better come up with a dam sight more moden stuff than the making now,if Ducati can do it out of a garden shed in Bologna,then I'm sure they can.

[NKL]

Who's replacing them Chris, another car dealer?

[Nick Calne]

Stratstone are replacing them according to Triumph's dealer finder...

[Colonel Nikolai]

Idunno. The Ducatis I'm seeing on this side of the pond are way too complicated. Some of them have 3 different computers on them and cost way too much. Duc is trying to outdo BMW. Guess what? I won't buy a BMW because they're just too complicated for their own good. Motorbikes are supposed to be essential.

That's what Diamler meant to make when he invented the motorcycle in 1890: something that could show off the power of the internal combustion engine in a compact form. Putting all these complex computers on this simple design approach you lose something of the beauty of it.

[Chris Canning]

Stratstone are replacing them according to Triumph's dealer finder...

Yep,and just thinking about it Triumph do not have a dealer that has been going more than 3 or is that 4 :oops:  years here in Triumphs backyard,and they've been going since 91,not much of a track record is it.

As for complicated,it's the way things are going,your average biker who doesn't know a bed spring from a shock spring thinks it's great that you can push a button and ajust it,and BM have the sales the prove it.

What happens when the bikes come down the food chain?? ah well thats another story!!!.

[Bixxer Bob]

What happens when the bikes come down the food chain?? ah well thats another story!!!.

I think we already know the answer to that one Chris, look at the 955i Tiger.  Once you have FI on any bike it's too complex for most folks to fix, and many so-called Triumph workshops come to think of it.  Without the likes of Tuneboy and TuneECU we'd all be at the mercy of the trade or with rough running bikes we can't sell on.

Cars are no different, but at least there's a healthy network of independent car workshops with intelligent techs armed with generic software that will allow them to diagnose accurately and fix problems.

As others have said though, Triumpgh is no better than anyone else.  I know a BMW dealer that sank over a mil into new premises and BMW would still only give him a one year, year on year franchise.  there's no loyalty.  It's about selling the brand in the way the brand dictates, even down to sending in undercover agents to check on the sales process.  And selling is the key.  Customer and level of technical service comes a distant second.

Sometimes you get lucky though, a friend wrote to Mr Bloor direct complaining the heap of junk and about the tactics of a dealer he bought a Sprint ST from (bought as the cheapest deal he could find).  Bike was never very good from the start, then on a service they tried to charge him for brake pads that didn't need doing, then his alarm went up in smoke.  He included the baked alarm in the letter (have you smelt a burned out Datatool alarm? You'll never get the stink off your hands, trust me, I know).  Triumph arranged for the bike to be inspected and serviced at a different dealer and it came back after 2 weeks like the bike he always knew it could be, it was brilliant.  Needless to say which dealer he'll use in the future.

[Chris Canning]

Well for me Triumph have been better,thats probably the whole point of my post,they've got to were they are because they have been different,if I can work it out why can't they!!.

[Bixxer Bob]

Mainly, the folks that set up bike dealers are passionate about bikes, and usually will provide good service.

When they get bigger the accountants and marketing people take over.  Seems the same for bike makers.  John Bloor was quite clear about his ambition for the marque at the start but, of late, and whilst fighting their market share (it's that or go under) they are becoming a victim of their own success.

We can't complain too much though, Triumph listened after the 1050 came out and built the 800.  Honda for instance are still trying to tell the customers what they need.  Take the VFR1200 for instance,  everyone wanted an updated Blackbird.  We got something with a peanut tank and seat like a plank.