Dealers

You know, I've been told, and read here in these forums about dealers and, unfortunately, just because it's the nature of the beast, it's always the negative that gets commented upon; occasionally, someone will tell of a positive, but that gets lost or forgotten about as soon as the next negative comment is made.

I want to thank three different dealers, on two different sides of the country - one of whom has been recently commented upon negatively in these forums.

A big, big thanks to Segway of Scottsdale. The owners there took a risk when they opened their own dealership, after being associated with another local dealership for such a long time. When I purchased the stolen 167 off Ebay, though, it was with the help of that dealer I was able to locate that unit's original owner, and get his unit returned to him. That led to that dealer finding me Gilligan. I'm sorry one poster, recently, felt they had been treated negatively by this dealership, but in my year of dealing with them, both in their current and previous dealerships, the people there have never been anything but helpful, concerned and more than willing to bend as far over backwards as they could without breaking themselves in half.

Another thank you to Contemporide (formerly Segway of Phoenix). They were more than willing to work with the insurance company handling my claim to put me on a rental, but the insurance company demanded they accept as payment the same payment the insurance company would make to a rental car outfit. I realize it simply couldn't be done, and the insurance company involved and I have reached an alternative settlement for "lost use" time of Gilligan.

Lastly, Segway of Alpharetta (Georgia). Our new home is going to be in the Duluth/Alpharetta area of Georgia. I spoke with one of their people this morning, explaining the situation - including our upcoming move. They've assured me that I won't have any warranty issues, at least as far as "the simple stuff" is concerned. If something goes wrong, I won't have to ship the Professor back to Segway of Scottsdale for service, then have, if necessary, SegScott ship it to INC for service.

All in all, it's been a good day... well, except for the fact I've still got to be without transportation for the rest of today, all of tomorrow and Friday.

But, heck, Friday night, we're going to see Kander & Ebb's "Chicago" at the Maricopa County Events Center (third row center), and Saturday, I plan to sleep until 9, wake up, shower, jump in shower, and get out to the dealership.

I might even make Bill drive home, alone, and decide to test the Professor by gliding the 17 miles from the dealership to home... who knows?

[sholloway]

Eric, You should have identified yourself!! I just thought you were some schmoe. I would have rolled out a bit more of the red carpet. I'm looking forward to inviting you to some of our local glides. Get me your email address and I'll make sure you're well informed. Give us a call whenever you need us. Good luck with the move.

[jryan]

This is an excellent post. Anyone can, and will, complain about a negative expierience (many, I find, join the forum just to do so) but it takes a real man (or woman) to post a compliment! Thank you Eric!



Jeremy Ryan

[segsurfer]

It's always nice to hear about peoples positive segway experiences. Way to spread some good vibes Eric. +R for you.
-segsurfer

[Tarkus]

I agree Eric.

Although there were no dealers in my area for some time I was always taken well care of by the ones I dealt with.

Be Big,
Alan

[segsurfer]

Originally Posted by Tarkus

I agree Eric.

Although there were no dealers in my area for some time I was always taken well care of by the ones I dealt with.

Be Big,
Alan

Alan, were you reffering to my post or Eric's?
-segsurfer

[KSagal]

Something else positive has happened here as well, and I don't want it to slip away...

We all know Eric on this board. I am sure we would take effort to help where we can.

However, a dealer in Georgia got a call, from whom they thought was just some "schmoe" and got great service, worthy of inclusion in this thread...

The fact that we know the poster, but that dealer did not, and that poster still got good service is very telling... It is hard to do the right thing when everyone is looking. It is harder to do it when the lights and camera are off. Cudos to Shalloway as well as the others...

And for the record, I too have gotten great service from all the professionals in the Segway world that I have dealt with... I have posted it in the past, but it deserves repeating from time to time.

[Tarkus]

Originally Posted by segsurfer

Alan, were you reffering to my post or Eric's?
-segsurfer

I'll say both !!

Be Big,
Alan

Originally Posted by sholloway

Eric, You should have identified yourself!! I just thought you were some schmoe. I would have rolled out a bit more of the red carpet. I'm looking forward to inviting you to some of our local glides. Get me your email address and I'll make sure you're well informed. Give us a call whenever you need us. Good luck with the move.

I purposely didn't, Scott. Just as Karl pointed out, I wanted to be a "cold call" to gauge the personality of the dealership, as best as possible, and how that dealership dealt with The Man On the Street.

For everyone else, it was Scott with whom I spoke on the phone, and there's something else he did that REALLY impressed me.

I told him I was buying an i2 here (and I didn't use my name, though I did tell him "here" was Phoenix) on Saturday, and was moving to Duluth in 2 weeks...

And Scott DID NOT EVEN TRY to talk me out of making my purchase so close to moving cross country. Instead, he answered my questions concerning warranty issues because of the move.

Scott - I don't think there's any dealer, of anything, that when presented with a perfect sales opportunity like that who would have kept their mouth shut. You did - which shows me you respect your customers, completely. You could very, very easily, in answering my question have said: "You know, to ensure you have 100% coverage with your warranty, if you can, you might want to just wait until you get here... and I'll match the price you would have paid at your local dealer, there."

As I said, you're NOT taking that route shows not only a respect for your customers, and the general public, but a certain class that's all too frequently lost when retailers, etc., deal with the public.

In February, our TV died, though it was only 4 years old, we chose to replace it with a DLP flat panel, rather than fix it - and that decision was based on Panasonic's action, actually. It was the second time in four years the color generator chip had just burned out. The first time, two years ago, Panasonic simply didn't respond to requests of warranty service. This time, they responded... but with: "The warranty on that item expired 61 days ago..." So... as far as we were concerned, Panasonic could take a flying leap. We went out to a semi-national electronics retailer - Fry's Electronics - and the customer service was... ummm... lacking. The salespeople, who work on partial commission, were simply standing around a podium, waiting for someone to come to them, rather than working the floor - and when someone came to them, they were pointed to the "sale of the day" item. We did buy from them - but without the help of a salesperson. We took the item number up to the cashier; she generated paperwork for the item, rang it up from the paperwork, and created a pick list. No commission for anyone.

I digress... but the point is it's almost gotten to the point where shoppers don't expect to be assisted with their purchases, or the assistance they might require after making a big-ticket purchase.

You're good, Scott.