Modern Buddy

Just had my Blur serviced at my local dealer. Not completely happy as when I picked it up I noticed the rear tire was replaced with a 130/70 size. I knew I was getting a Michelin Power Pure which was fine as the OEM tires aren't available, but expected it to be the same OEM 130/60 size(the Power Pure tire is readily available in the 130/60 size). They also added an engine oil and gear oil change which I did not ask for(I gave them a list of what I wanted when I walked in - CVT belt, Rear Tire, Brake Fluid change, spark plug if needed). Hopefully the handling won't suffer much.

how many miles did you have if you done mind me asking. im putting new tires on my blur and they are bigger that stock . let us now how she rides

How frustrating - and totally unacceptable! Sounds like you made your expectations very clear, ala a list, and they took the 'ol "that's good enough" approach. To not at least consult you about installing a larger than OEM tire is really unprofessional - that's YOUR bike and YOUR money which means they check with YOU FIRST!

The non-ordered oil change could be anything from inept in-shop communication to "padding the bill" to genuinely believing it needed done.

One thing for sure, I'd be having a chat with both the service manager and who ever runs the entire operation and get the correct tire installed... if that's what YOU want.

That is the bad thing about the situation. I bought this scooter and my last one from this dealer. I have known the guy for years. He has done well for me in the past so I don't know why he screwed it up this time. I don't know how I will go about this. He can be very defensive at times and has already said this brand of tire is better than oem. It may be, but if I had known the size was different I would have preferred to order my tire and take it to them. I don't like that they just put the wrong size on without saying anything about it. It is a very small shop. Just the owner and his mechanic so not a lot of room for mistakes to be introduced when I gave them a typed list of what to do.

To the previous poster - the oem tire lasted me 7700 miles. Mostly city driving. It was pretty bald in the center.

I see you are in Atlanta. Was the shop Twist-n-Scoot? I got my Buddy from them. I am not likely to take it to anyone for service since I do most of my own maintenance.

Billy

That is the place. I do my own fluid changes and they have a great mechanic, Wayne, who does good work and I trust him with my bike. It just annoys me they would make two big errors on this job. I don't know where else I would take the bike though. At least I have some time to think about it.

They have agreed to swap out the tire for the correct size so I will have that done when they get the order in.

HOORAY! That's gotta be a relief. Glad it worked out.

They did a great job. With not one but two replacements of the rear tire- not a mark on the wheel. I like the look of the 60 series tire better. Now to figure out what to do when the front tire wears out as Michelin doesn't make the Power Pure in 120/60-13. I may have to try a 130/60-13 on it.

a 130 will fit but it needs to be a 60 series a 70 is to tall

chickdr wrote: I don't know how I will go about this. He can be very defensive at times and has already said this brand of tire is better than oem. It may be, but if I had known the size was different I would have preferred to order my tire and take it to them.

I agree that they should have talked with you before doing anything you didn't request or fitting a different size or spec of any replacement item. Having said that, there is absolutely no doubt that the Michelin Power Pure IS a better tire than what PGO fits as OEM. I am running them on my Aprilia with excellent results.

Round two with Twist 'n' Scoot did not turn out so well. I have posted about my dead Blur in another thread. I asked Twist n Scoot for help and was given this reply via e-mail:

Tommy,

We’re honestly struggling to help you with your Blur. With your last few service visits, you have gone on Modern Buddy prior and then after to share your negative thoughts about us which has gotten to the point where we are not comfortable working on your scooter any further. It has been degrading to us to the point I’m not sure why you are turning to us for your service needs.

There are two Genuine dealers north of Atlanta, Vespa Marietta and Flying Monkey that you may want to contact for service with your Blur.

Thank you,


I was shocked to say the least as his statements are a gross mischaracterization of what I said on the forums(as seen above). Keep in mind I have purchased two brand new scooters from them over the past 10 yrs and had many, many services done there as well(likely over $10k spent in total). Luckily, the guys at Vespa Marietta are more than happy to help me out. I am so glad I have other options. They commented it seems T&S has a stranglehold on the in-town business. I am sure this is mainly because many folks use scooters exclusively in town and if you have a 50cc scoot as your only ride, you aren't going to ride it 20-30 miles to Marietta to have it worked on. They kind of have a captive audience. So while I used to suggest T&S, I most certainly do not now. Way too many choices out there to have to deal with the BS I just went through with them.

Hah, you got fired!

dasscooter wrote:Hah, you got fired!

Actually, T&S lost a good customer....

Playing devil's advocate here, did you contact them to resolve the problem before posting about how unhappy you were? I can see how they would feel discouraged and not want to take any more chances if you instantly post negatively before they've even had a chance to make it right.

Stanza wrote:Playing devil's advocate here, did you contact them to resolve the problem before posting about how unhappy you were? I can see how they would feel discouraged and not want to take any more chances if you instantly post negatively before they've even had a chance to make it right.

I get what you are saying, but I posted about them fixing the issue as well. I am equal opportunity. The owner made it sound as if all I ever did was complain about the shop. This certainly wasn't the case.

I have a small business. If someone ran me down on social media before bringing a problem to me, I would also be tempted to suggest they take their business elsewhere.

The relationship a customer has with a scooter or motorcycle dealer can be complicated, but you have to presume they read the same on-line sites that you do.

Dooglas wrote:I have a small business. If someone ran me down on social media before bringing a problem to me, I would also be tempted to suggest they take their business elsewhere.

The relationship a customer has with a scooter or motorcycle dealer can be complicated, but you have to presume they read the same on-line sites that you do.

Agree. I work for myself. My reputation is everything to my business. I will also admit that I am really good at what I do but you know what...every once in a while I make a mistake. Then I talk to my client, tell them what I messed up, tell them what I will do to remedy and when it will be done. They appreciate that I am upfront with them. If they hit me hard on Linked in they would no longer be my client.

I didn't "run anyone down" on social media. I don't even have a Facebook or Linked In account. All I did was come to the Modern Buddy Forums. I don't call that social media. Maybe you do? I didn't even give a review on Google until the s@#t hit the fan.

And to further something you said above, if the issue would have been handled how you suggested with the shop coming to me as the issues happened rather than me having to bring them up, things would be a lot different. I also never mentioned the name of the shop in question until someone asked me.

chickdr wrote:All I did was come to the Modern Buddy Forums. I don't call that social media. Maybe you do?

Well, sure I do. It is just as public as Facebook and has an audience that is, by definition, made up of scooter riders. Exactly the public that a scooter shop would be concerned about.

Dooglas wrote:

chickdr wrote:All I did was come to the Modern Buddy Forums. I don't call that social media. Maybe you do?

Well, sure I do. It is just as public as Facebook and has an audience that is, by definition, made up of scooter riders. Exactly the public that a scooter shop would be concerned about.

To me, this is a forum. It is dedicated to scooter riders as you said. Where better to ask about the issues I had? It seems in today's climate you have to be way too concerned about complaining as instead of change/solutions you simply get shut down.

To further my statement about being "equal opportunity" I want to give a shout out to Vespa Marietta who fixed my Blur. Awesome communication throughout the process. Bike was delivered back in the same condition it went in and with no added/surprise costs.

Whether or not Modern Buddy (or any other text forum) is considered "Social Media" is irrelevant.

Chickdr, I don't see you on here "running anyone down" (unless there's another thread I haven't seen). If this is the only place you've posted about this, I honestly think the scoot shop overreacted, especially after you literally said "They did a great job" on the replacement tire.

Dooglas and BuddyRaton, you do make very valid points, no disagreeing with you on reputation being EVERYTHING in small business. In addition, it can be assumed that scoot shops have a pretty low profit margin (possible motive for adding the oil change, if that's how it went down?), because they sell and service niche, novelty vehicles, and are almost exclusively in urban centers, where EVERYTHING (especially rent for a business that needs a ton of floor space because they sell bulky inventory) is expensive.

So it looks like the tire situation has been resolved about as well as it probably will be. It's a beautiful summer weekend, let's all go scoot instead of arguing.

finally the issue has resolved. But I think your service person should ask you first before changing the tires. If you are a regular visitor of them, they should care all these mishandling because I believe if a good happy client bring hundreds of potential customers the same way a single bad service can also hurt your reputation as well.