So frustrating

[the Ferret]

So on Tuesday 4/9 I call Sprocket Center in California, and talk to a fellow named Chad. They have chain and sprockets sets for the 21-23 NC 750X Part number SKU 107502DCT on sale for $137.

HONDA NC750 DCT (21-23) 520 Steel Sprockets & Chain Kit

OEM quality chain kit for NC750 DCT (2021-2023) made-to-order with sprockets in many sizes & choice of DID or RK motorcycle chain. Find the best Honda NC750DCT chain & sprocket kits at Sprocket Center.

sprocketcenter.com

Of course if you want a dampened counter sprocket like the factory one it's an extra $3.

And if you want the DID VX3 o ring chain in natural color it's an additional $14

So... $154 for the kit

So I place the order with Chad, specifying it's a 2021 DCT and their SKU number, who promises to send by email a verification of the order and a tracking number.

The email doesn't come on the 9th.

It doesn't come on the 10th and I call Chad back, who promises they will get it to me.

Mid-day on the 11th I contact them by email and ask them to send me the order verification and tracking number.

Finally on the evening of the 11th, I get an email that my order has been shipped for my Sprocket set SKU 107500 for my 2014-2020 NC 750X DCT.

WRONG ONE!

So, I try and call them as soon as I get the email, and they are closed. Arrrggghhhh

So tomorrow at noon, since they are 3 hours behind me in time (Ohio vs California) I will again call Chad and try and get this straightened out.

NOT HAPPY with Sprocket Center at this point.

Will keep you informed.

 

[670cc]

Lately, these types of problems are business as usual, in my experience. I often play their mistakes to my advantage, sometimes getting items for free or discounted. I simply don’t accept anything less or different than what was clearly advertised. I really do get tired of the hassle and frustration brought about by deceptive practices or incompetence on the seller’s part.

Let us know how your transaction plays out.

 

[the Ferret]

Well, I got in touch with Chad this afternoon. He says he emailed me, in response to my inquiries, but of course I never received anything.

Anyhow, he says I am 100% getting the right parts and the order verification I received last night was a simple typo error.

We shall see.

Supposed to be here Monday.

 

[mzflorida]

Lately, these types of problems are business as usual, in my experience. I often play their mistakes to my advantage, sometimes getting items for free or discounted. I simply don’t accept anything less or different than what was clearly advertised. I really do get tired of the hassle and frustration brought about by deceptive practices or incompetence on the seller’s part.

Let us know how your transaction plays out.

Same. Tired of it. But I won a battle recently. I was looking for a ring with my daughter’s birthstones (diamonds and amethyst) for my wife for Mother’s Day. Keep in mind, this is a big undertaking for me as I can hardly match socks, not creative, lack aesthetic vision in anything but vehicles. I found the right ring and chose to upgrade stones to the best quality. The website returned a rendering and I placed the order. The ring arrived and looked nothing like the rendering. Calls to the company were useless. I think the person I was emailing can only manage the complexity of something along the lines of slip on shoes. Anyhow, I wound up leveraging the dispute resolution process with the credit card company. They sided with me. I offered 3 times to return the ring and they never responded. This seems to have been a very expensive endeavor for the jewelry company.

My recent experience with Madstad was the opposite; old school customer service. Unfortunately that is rare today.

 

[Dan German]

If only there were a way to purchase such things from a local purveyor of motorcycle parts and accessories. I’d even be willing to pay a small premium for the convenience and service.

 

[670cc]

I purchase chains from eBay. I look for very specific single items rather than have someone tell me what I need. I receive exactly what I need, and at a low price. If for some reason it wasn’t right, any problems are always resolved in my favor.

 

[the Ferret]

If only there were a way to purchase such things from a local purveyor of motorcycle parts and accessories. I’d even be willing to pay a small premium for the convenience and service.

It's really unusual for me to buy something online. I buy almost everything from my local dealer who gives me a small break on parts and service. Maybe due to the fact that I have purchased 10 new motorcycles from him over the last 20 years. In fact I have a major service scheduled for the 26th and items purchased from the dealer for it include O.E. spark plugs, air cleaner, and front and rear brake pads. His price for a chain and sprockets was about $350. The sprocket center set is $154 (how's that for a "small premium"?). The difference will help offset the $125 hour labor I'll be paying for the service work which undoubtedly will take several hours. I also just purchased a new helmet from him last week.

I worked for dealerships from 1972-1989 and understand the need to support my local dealer, Then again, I'm retired and on Social Security and understand the need to stretch my limited income when I can. I realized that after going to the grocery store and gas station recently. We do what we have to do.

 

[670cc]

If only there were a way to purchase such things from a local purveyor of motorcycle parts and accessories. I’d even be willing to pay a small premium for the convenience and service.

If only there was a way. For me, the choices would be:
1) Drive 40 miles round trip, talk to an idiot behind the parts counter, pay a higher price, probably have to place an order and return another day, 40 mile round trip, to pick up maybe the right or maybe the wrong part.
(One time I waited and waited at the counter for my parts while the lone employee was on the phone doing a lengthy job interview to work elsewhere. I had to get the business owner involved so I could actually get some service),
2) Order on-line exactly the part I need. Pay less. Wait a few days and it is at my front door or in my mailbox. Sometimes when I order a tire, a fresh tire will be on my front porch in about 48 hours. No sales tax, free shipping. Now that is good service and very convenient.

Having had both experiences, I now pick choice #2 every time.

 

[Dan German]

If only there was a way. For me, the choices would be:
1) Drive 40 miles round trip, talk to an idiot behind the parts counter, pay a higher price, probably have to place an order and return another day, 40 mile round trip, to pick up maybe the right or maybe the wrong part.
(One time I waited and waited at the counter for my parts while the lone employee was on the phone doing a lengthy job interview to work elsewhere. I had to get the business owner involved so I could actually get some service),
2) Order on-line exactly the part I need. Pay less. Wait a few days and it is at my front door or in my mailbox. Sometimes when I order a tire, a fresh tire will be on my front porch in about 48 hours. No sales tax, free shipping. Now that is good service and very convenient.

Having had both experiences, I now pick choice #2 every time.

That says volumes about your local dealership, but there are plenty of brick and mortar stores doing their best to provide good service to customers. When they are gone, online sellers will not have to care a bit about price. And yes, I am a “parts idiot.”

 

[670cc]

That says volumes about your local dealership, but there are plenty of brick and mortar stores doing their best to provide good service to customers. When they are gone, online sellers will not have to care a bit about price. And yes, I am a “parts idiot.”

When I say parts idiot, I refer to the ones at my store with whom I have had personal experience.

I buy on-line almost strictly based on price, so sellers have strong reason to be price competitive. Actually, on-line sellers may focus more on competitive pricing because it is much easier/faster to compare prices among on-line sellers than between brick and mortar stores. Getting an on-line price involves a few quick mouse clicks. Getting a physical store price means a lengthy phone call, or in my case, at least 45 minutes of my time plus expenses to drive to town and back.

Some of the sellers I buy from also have physical stores. They probably have an on-line branch, too, in order to expand their customer base size. Before my local dealer was bought up by a larger chain, I would order the parts on-line at their website, then at my convenience stop in the store to pick them up. They offered a 15% discount for on-line orders, either to be price competitive, or because such orders didn’t tie up their parts counter guy so much.

 

[762x54]

That says volumes about your local dealership, but there are plenty of brick and mortar stores doing their best to provide good service to customers. When they are gone, online sellers will not have to care a bit about price. And yes, I am a “parts idiot.”

Dan, you apparently have a dealer that you like. Would you please share their name with the rest of us?
Thanks,
Bill

 

[Dan German]

Dan, you apparently have a dealer that you like. Would you please share their name with the rest of us?
Thanks,
Bill

I work at a dealership. I have a long-standing policy of never mentioning any of my employer’s names on social media (unless I’ve quit and don’t like them). I also don’t use my own name. Anyway, naming a specific dealership would only benefit those in my area. My point is only that I have worked for two different motorcycle dealership (between them covering every brand but Harley, Indian, and Yamaha), one new automobile dealership, and one used automobile dealership. All four have been professional, ethical, customer service oriented businesses. I can’t have found the only four.

 

[Rabbit]

I work at a dealership. I have a long-standing policy of never mentioning any of my employer’s names on social media (unless I’ve quit and don’t like them). I also don’t use my own name. Anyway, naming a specific dealership would only benefit those in my area. My point is only that I have worked for two different motorcycle dealership (between them covering every brand but Harley, Indian, and Yamaha), one new automobile dealership, and one used automobile dealership. All four have been professional, ethical, customer service oriented businesses. I can’t have found the only four.

Likely not the only four but sometimes it does feel like where’s Waldo.

 

[762x54]

I work at a dealership. I have a long-standing policy of never mentioning any of my employer’s names on social media (unless I’ve quit and don’t like them). I also don’t use my own name. Anyway, naming a specific dealership would only benefit those in my area. My point is only that I have worked for two different motorcycle dealership (between them covering every brand but Harley, Indian, and Yamaha), one new automobile dealership, and one used automobile dealership. All four have been professional, ethical, customer service oriented businesses. I can’t have found the only four.

I live in the Mobile, AL, area and I have not had a pleasant experience with any dealer in this area. There is a good dealer in Gulfport, MS, but that is a 75 mile
drive through heavy traffic. Anyway, I understand your input now.
Thanks very much,
Bill

 

[670cc]

In the city I grew up in, very close to where I live now, there were four motorcycle dealers. I bought motorcycles, parts, and accessories from them. Competence, convenience, and pricing gradually went downhill. Other means of obtaining parts and accessories became more convenient, less costly, and with wider choices. By the late ’90s, incompetent dealer service drove me to do all service myself. Today, there are no motorcycle dealers at all in that city. I know why I stopped patronizing them, but there were a whole lot of other customers that had their reasons, too. It wasn’t just me that drove four dealers to close up shop. I’d have to guess or hope those dealers were trying their best to give good service and be profitable, but ultimately the customers voted with their wallets.

I once walked into the Harley shop (after the Honda shop had closed) with a Goldwing wheel in hand, and asked them how much they would charge to mount a tire. They refused the business, for the sole reason that it was not a Harley rim. That Harley shop is gone now. I mount all my own tires.

 

[mzflorida]

In the city I grew up in, very close to where I live now, there were four motorcycle dealers. I bought motorcycles, parts, and accessories from them. Competence, convenience, and pricing gradually went downhill. Other means of obtaining parts and accessories became more convenient, less costly, and with wider choices. By the late ’90s, incompetent dealer service drove me to do all service myself. Today, there are no motorcycle dealers at all in that city. I know why I stopped patronizing them, but there were a whole lot of other customers that had their reasons, too. It wasn’t just me that drove four dealers to close up shop. I’d have to guess or hope those dealers were trying their best to give good service and be profitable, but ultimately the customers voted with their wallets.

I once walked into the Harley shop (after the Honda shop had closed) with a Goldwing wheel in hand, and asked them how much they would charge to mount a tire. They refused, for the sole reason that it was not a Harley rim. That Harley shop is gone now. I mount all my own tires.

I owned three restaurants. My motto was if I had it, and the customer wanted it, I made it....and they were willing to pay for it. I was doing this to make a profit; why not take the money if they were willing to pay? I treated my employees and customers like they were family (except for the guy I caught on video bringing bugs in a jar and putting them in our food...that was not my best moment). All I know is my marketing spend was way below market average, I retained employees, my sales volume was well above average, my food costs were lower as a percentage, and I was able to sell the restaurants for more than double what I paid to build them. It really was not that hard. If it was one restaurant, I'd say it was luck. Three performing the same way, it was the culture I cultivated.

 

[jknight611]

Well my dealer parts guy‘s favorite saying is “well, I can order it for you”. He doesn’t realize that the customer can “order it for themselves”. In our area the dealers are in a bad position as far as motorcycles are concerned. Their main sales come from 4 wheelers, motorcycles are “over in the far corner “. They can’t afford to stock many parts anymore .

 

[Rabbit]

Well my dealer parts guy‘s favorite saying is “well, I can order it for you”. He doesn’t realize that the customer can “order it for themselves”. In our area the dealers are in a bad position as far as motorcycles are concerned. Their main sales come from 4 wheelers, motorcycles are “over in the far corner “. They can’t afford to stock many parts anymore .

My area is the same way. SidexSides and 4 wheelers are what most folks buy.

 

[the Ferret]

Well, the Sprocket Center chain & sprocket set, ordered on the 9th with 2 day express shipping ...Fed Ex tracking still shows it possibly in California as of this morning the 15th lol. Maybe Fed EX tracking just hasn't caught up with the package yet. It's supposed to be here today they told me verbally

My dealer lives by side x sides. They cover a lot of the showroom floor. My dealer is also a " We can order it for you" kind of place., except for oil filters and oil.

 

[dduelin]

I hope the waiting ends soon for you.