August 25, 2008
To whom it may concern,
My name is Mark R Kline & I live at 105 Tanglewood Lane Hutto, Texas 78634. On August 15, 2008 11:15 a.m. I took my 2007 Dyna FXDL Low Rider in to have it serviced at the Central Texas Harley Davidson located at 2801 N. IH-35 Round Rock, Texas 78664, (512) 652-1200. This service was to include an oil change & safety inspection. I decided while I was there to check on purchasing new mufflers which I subsequently did. I purchased a set of Rush mufflers ($314.99 & 25.99 Tax) & asked to have these installed while the motorcycle was in the shop. The salesman (Ryan Green) informed me that would not be a problem & that he would get the mufflers out to the service area. I then went to the service department & talked to a man named Rene who told me that my motorcycle would be ready by 5:30 p.m. that day & that they were open until 7:00 p.m. As I had a previous engagement for that evening I informed Rene that I would be in August 16, 2008 early in the morning.
At 10:00 a.m. Saturday August 16, 2008 I called to make sure that my bike was ready. I was placed on hold & after 25 minutes was cut off. I redialed the number & was placed on hold again & again was disconnected after approximately 20 minutes. The third time I called I connected with a lady who collected my personal information & said she would have someone call me right back. After a 35 minute wait I was contacted & told that the bike was ready to be picked up. As I was verifying that all of the services were completed I discovered that the safety inspection was not performed. The manager (John) told me to head on over to pick it up as he would have it ready by the time I arrived.
Upon arrival at the dealer I proceeded to the service department where I waited over an hour just to pick up the bike. After paying the bill in the amount of $116.49 labor cost I went out to get on the bike. I noticed a black mark on the front muffler & was informed by a service technician that it was just bit of melted boot & would come right off with a little cleaner. As it was starting to rain I rode the low rider home & put it in my garage.
On Sunday August 17, 2008 I entered my garage & proceeded to use a product called Brasso which is a cleaner for all metal surfaces. After an hour working on this so called melted boot it appeared that this was actually a blemish in the chrome. As it was a Sunday I was unable to contact the Harley service department & was forced to wait until Monday August 18, 2008.
On Monday August 18, 2008 I called the Harley service department & asked to speak with the service manager (John). He got on the telephone & explained my situation. He then told me that I could bring the motorcycle in & they would take care of everything. Due to my work schedule I was not able to take the bike in until August 22, 2008.
Upon arrival at the Harley service department on August 22, 2008 I waited 2 hours while service people looked at & walked all around totally ignoring me. When my wife finally called me on my cell phone to ask what was taking so long to drop the bike off one of the guys behind the counter (Rene) took notice as by this point & time I was becoming rather angry. He came over to my bike, squatted down & stared at the blemish for over 30 minutes. At this time I informed him to either replace the blemished muffler or put my old ones back on & refund my money. Rene stated that he would take care of it in a matter of a couple of hours if I could wait. I informed Rene that I would just leave the bike there & to give me a call when the work was completed. Needless to say I was not contacted on the 22nd.
Saturday morning August 23, 2008 I called the Harley service department at 9:30 a.m. to see if the motorcycle was ready. At this point I was informed that the service manager (John) had told the service personnel to try & clean the blemish. I immediately had my wife drive me to the dealer. Arriving at the service area I again waited for 45 minutes before anyone bothered to say anything. The motorcycle was then rolled out to the service exit where I noticed that the blemish was still very noticeable. One of the service guys told me that the manager was not going to replace the muffler but that they could get the entire blemish off. I told the service technician that I would again like to speak with the manager. After waiting another hour the technician finally informed me that the manager would be in to see me in approximately an hour & a half. At this stage I told them to just give me my bike.
I have owned Harleys of various types in the past 40 years & never have I had such a miserable experience from a Harley Davidson dealer in my life. The service people at this brand new Harley shop are the worst professionals I have encountered in my 50 plus years of being alive. I WILL NEVER VISIT THIS PLACE AGAIN. Also I will tell everyone I know to never go to this dealer or to ever purchaser anything from them.

Thank You,
Mark R. Kline
40 plus year rider.

 

Welcome to the forums. If they said they could get the blemish off, why leave and then write up a big complaint? Most service stations are pretty slow, they also all seem to stay pretty busy. I'll bet if you gave them sufficient time, they would have worked with you on this. I only know what I read, so there may be more to it.

 

sounds like you were MORE than patient with them..... after about the first hour of being jerked around - I would have found someone to "talk" to, out in the middle of the sales floor - in my loudest outside voice!

is Central Texas Harley owned by Cowboy's?

 

If it is something melted on the pipe it shouldn't take more than about 5 minutes to clean it up and they should have done it when they were installed. Search this site for suggestions on getting "stuff" off of pipes.
If the pipe is flawed, my advice would be to go in and politely speak with the owner. Also get any promises in writing.
If that doesn't work contact the pipe manufacturer.

 

I hope you mean "Dallas Cowboy's" Cause I know one or two 'cowboys' who just may take exception to that statement.

I do know this, the OP doesn't come across to me, as bein' a 'cowboy'. Cause the ones I have known all my life would have been doing exactly what YOU did.
No way, I'd have put up that long, with that merry go round turning.

Would be VERY interesting, to see their reaction to find out they are getting some 'good' press on an HD Forum. Can you say, "new set of pipes?" Jus' aksin'.

 

That's why i deal with an indy......more personal and they seem to care that you return with your business.....

 

Gump - Cowboy's is the name of a chain of HD dealers here in Central Texas. that's not the way a real cowboy would take care of his business - and growing up here in Texas, I've known quite a few.

jeffbarb17 - +1 on that!!!

 

My dealer gets blemishes off that I put on my pipes without even asking when I bring my bike in for service. They should have the bike spotless when they return it. If they messed up the pipes they should just refund your money. With the little bit the pipes cost and with the huge mark-up they charge that should be an easy decision on their part.

 

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I'm not so sure about posting your full name and home address on a public Internet forum is a good idea though.....

 

Cowboy HD in South Austin is a different owner from what I have been told. My dad tried to buu a new RKC at CenTex HD and they could not/would not match what Cowbow offered him. I have bought bikes from both and I prefer Cowboy for their great attitude and better value. I strongly suggest Dave Bigley at Cowboy for anyone out there looking for a bike, he works hard for you. Having said that, they get busy too ESPECIALLY on Saturdays. There seems to always be a wait at HD dealerships. You were more than patient and should have been treated better. Joe, not John is the head guy in service. Speak to him, I am sure he will take care of you,I would do it on a weekday, preferably rainy...