Strawdiggity73
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- #21
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Software updates
- Discussion starter Strawdiggity73
- Start date
Perhaps the 8-12 hour timeline is due to scheduling your bike into the service department among others waiting for service...problem is scheduling your own time getting to and from the dealership and back again to pick up your bike. I hate that. These dealerships are not like auto dealership service departments...where you can wait in most cases less than an hour in the customer lounge or have a courtesy car take you home or to work.
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2021
- Messages
- 1,157
- Bike
- 2024 Indian Pursuit, 2019 Indian FTRS, 2023 Moto Guzzi V7 SE
Remember this is the same company that sold you a bike without making a service manual available and pioneered subscription fees for heated seats in their autos.
Feel free to believe whatever BS they shovel your way.
Feel free to believe whatever BS they shovel your way.
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2022
- Messages
- 490
- Location
- Maryland
- Bike
- 2022 R18 Transcontinental, 2004 r1150RT, 2003 R1200CL
Then, it sounds like the dealership doesn't want to do the job.
A free service that ties up a service bay makes them no money. I'd agree with 1911tex, in that the 8-12 hours is likely a time window that you need to accommodate, but allows them a few minutes within that window to quickly do the firmware flash.
Sounds as annoying as the cable guy coming to your house between 9AM and 4PM....
Mike
A free service that ties up a service bay but makes them no money...
This is where dealerships are failing. I realize I may be preaching to the choir here, but:
First - people don't want to buy bikes that don't have good support. Solid support is a huge sales boost. Crappy support is a big sales turnoff.
Second - when a dealership is a pain in the ___, people find ways to get around them. As an example, the folks who own our local BMW and Triumph shops have all kinds of super annoying things they do so I go out of my way to not buy stuff from them unless it is warranty type work. Like parts and accessories, I can get parts for less from Bob's BMW or Hermy's Triumph - even including shipping. If Bob's and Hermy's can sell me those parts, and not charge me all the bogus fees and stuff and it still comes in lower cost - then the local guys could do it too. They are penny-wise and pound foolish. For service? I either do it myself if it is simple or I do it at a place that is not the dealer (maybe an independent shop) because the dealer has priced themselves out of the thing. They charge like $100 to reset our service indicator - but hey, you can buy a GS911 and do it yourself. And on and on and on. They have lost more money from me because of their greed than anything else.
Third - letting people come in to get a software update can be a loss-leader. I have actually bought a new car while getting a car worked on before. I was waiting on the shop to finish and walking around the dealership, and decided to get a new one. I bought my R18 because I went in to kill some time and heard about their deal. I have bought all kinds of stuff like accessories and clothes and junk, just because I was in a place. If you give people a reason to be at your shop - there is a good chance they will spend money.
So with those three things, I think it would behoove a dealership to be eager to update people's software for "free". Heck, even require people to be members of a frequent buyer club or something like that. Lots of ways they could monetize it without charging for it.
But ultimately - word of mouth is also powerful, and companies spend a lot on advertising - which they can get for free just by being cool.
This is where dealerships are failing. I realize I may be preaching to the choir here, but:
First - people don't want to buy bikes that don't have good support. Solid support is a huge sales boost. Crappy support is a big sales turnoff.
Second - when a dealership is a pain in the ___, people find ways to get around them. As an example, the folks who own our local BMW and Triumph shops have all kinds of super annoying things they do so I go out of my way to not buy stuff from them unless it is warranty type work. Like parts and accessories, I can get parts for less from Bob's BMW or Hermy's Triumph - even including shipping. If Bob's and Hermy's can sell me those parts, and not charge me all the bogus fees and stuff and it still comes in lower cost - then the local guys could do it too. They are penny-wise and pound foolish. For service? I either do it myself if it is simple or I do it at a place that is not the dealer (maybe an independent shop) because the dealer has priced themselves out of the thing. They charge like $100 to reset our service indicator - but hey, you can buy a GS911 and do it yourself. And on and on and on. They have lost more money from me because of their greed than anything else.
Third - letting people come in to get a software update can be a loss-leader. I have actually bought a new car while getting a car worked on before. I was waiting on the shop to finish and walking around the dealership, and decided to get a new one. I bought my R18 because I went in to kill some time and heard about their deal. I have bought all kinds of stuff like accessories and clothes and junk, just because I was in a place. If you give people a reason to be at your shop - there is a good chance they will spend money.
So with those three things, I think it would behoove a dealership to be eager to update people's software for "free". Heck, even require people to be members of a frequent buyer club or something like that. Lots of ways they could monetize it without charging for it.
But ultimately - word of mouth is also powerful, and companies spend a lot on advertising - which they can get for free just by being cool.
manhattan
Member
hey, i bought my bike at hermys!
i am from rochester new york