Too right I've got a problem with it. Turn it round the other way and ask yourself if you'd be unhappy if you went to collect your bike at nearly 5:30 in the afternoon and were shown that photo and told they'd fitted the tyre to your bike but if it failed it was your fault for riding it? This could have been avoided by phoning her and saying it needed a new tyre but they didn't bother to do that and left her with the option of riding it or getting a taxi 15 miles each way. I'd have told them to give me the loan bike back and refused to move until they did but I'm bigger and meaner than she is and would have happily sat there all night if needs be.
So your complaining they didn't tell her earlier than the pick up time? Right, getting clearer now. The thing is they told her!
I would suspect that Damage like that could only happen removing or fitting the tyre. In particular if its an old tyre and cold, I have done similar damage to a tyre with levers myself. Now as it was leaking air before you took it in the dealer could suspect the damage was there before and you are trying it on for a new tyre? Can't see you getting anywhere with this or why you would go to a dealer just for a tyre valve, just don't go back there if your upset.
They did not tell me it was unsafe. they said it needed replacing. they should have spoken to me and replaced it.
I didnt go to this dealer for "just a tyre valve". The bike was in for its first annual service (12 months old) so the tyre was worn but (as they noted on the visual check form) was still within the wear limit and far from "old". I asked them to replace the valve while it was there. the same as I asked them to fit a scottoiler. On the same visual check form they noted that the rear brake fluid was "getting low"...isnt the point of a service to check and fix these things? they didnt, they gave me back a bike with the bare minimum done, knowing I am going to the Isle of Man next week with work to do. I now have to get someone else to replace the tyre and top up the brake fluid. I always thought the whole point of dealer servicing was to keep it up to spec, accepting that you have to pay a bit more for the peace of mind. The service, valve refit and snotoiler fit cost me £340 and I am so far away from that peace of mind its unbelievable. I have an approx thousand mile trip to do next week, I booked the service with that in mind knowing I wouldnt have a lot of other time this week but now I have to either make time or take another bike (that has been serviced by those nice people at Flitwick Motorcycles so I know will give me no issues). cost isnt an issue. if they'd phoned and told me what theyd found I'd have told them to replace rather than refit. putting that tyre back on the bike was unsafe, that is what I'm unhappy about.
They told you what was wrong and you not happy that they told you? Perhaps you do have money for a tyre, but did they know? They told you when you arrived you needed a new tyre. Don't you check your brake fluid levels yourself before you go on a decent ride?
What part of they gave me an unsafe vehicle don't you get? What part of they didn't speak to me about it don't you get? That tyre should never have been fitted to a bike. As for brake fluid, two days after a service, no I don't check the fluid. Same way I don't check the oil or brake pads. I have paid a professional to do it, supposed professionals anyway.
You're missing the point a bit so I'll break it down to keep it clear: They put a tyre on that on the evidence of a photo shouldn't have been refitted. They didn't bother to offer the option of changing the tyre. They didn't inform her until they were closing up the shop that there was a problem. The brake fluid is a side issue that could have been topped up at the cost of a bottle of brake fluid, I'll do that so it's no big deal but highlighting something after a service and neither putting it right nor phoning the customer to ask if they want it doing isn't really good business practice. Would you *really* have been happy with that kind of service? If you would be and you ever want a Triumph you know where to go to get it serviced.
The point of dealer servicing is to ensure that your bike is checked over by professionals who will do things like changing oil and filter , check brake pads , fluids , tyres etc and then inform if any of those parts need changing immediately or before the next schedule service . That's why you are presented with a checklist of what they have done and their recommendations , usually if something which concerns safety is flagged up then the workshop contacts you immediately and says something like your pads are low , the tyre has a nail in it or the chain needs replacing , you then have the option to rectify any problem . The mistake this dealer has made is NOT to inform the owner of the bike that the rear tyre needed changing as it was unsafe and then present them with the fact when it was too late to do anything about it . So for the cost of a simple phone call the dealer missed out on selling a new tyre and handed over to the customer a bike which was clearly unsafe and probably illegal to use .
And in doing the above forced her to ride a bike home on a tyre that could deflate at anytime or any speed. I would be fecking pee'd off. Not because of the tyre failing or any cost but because by telling me as the doors closed they forced me to ride it in an unsafe condition or have a completely wasted journey for the sake of a phone call. Any dealer worth using would have refused to refit the tyre and either offer to replace it at the customers cost if it's not warranty or ask them to take the wheel to a preferred fitter and get it done and return it for fitting to the bike. To give them no choice at 5pm and make her ride it or walk in a potentially lethal condition sucks. My wife got a puncture and went into the local garage for a replacement (nail in sidewall) but they didn't have the size in stock so he went to fit the spare while they got one in. As the car was new to us i never thought to check the spare closely just glanced pre purchase, which turned out to have damage on the sidewall. Anyway they refused to fit it period on safety grounds, point blank no not doing it. That is what should have happened here. And to not top up 10p worth of fluids in a service is taking the piss. The owners job is to maintain the levels between services. The dealers job is to make sure they are doing so and correct it at a service if they haven't imo. Read any dealer service Schedule and it clearly says check/replace fluids it doesn't say check/leave and inform. The fact that many bike owners are happy and competent at maintaining their bike to very high standards doesn't mean the dealer should assume everyone can or will. You pay them to carry out a service as per the schedule unless told otherwise.
What he said ^^^ Sorry Cranker but I think you're way off the mark - if I tried this type of service with one of my customers, my work would very quickly dry up.
Lets not forget that it was probably the dealer that f*cked the tyre in the 1st place, (as it hadn't been removed since the "new" purchase of the bike!) when they removed it to replace a faulty valve. Piss poor service in my book. An even greater test of the dealers "quality" will be how they deal with this from now on.
This tale is completely unbelievable. The only thing that is more unbelievable is Cranker's comments thinking that it's perfectly OK to take a bike in for a service, not top up brake fluids (but be aware that they haven't), and refit an illegal and potentially fatally dangerous tyre with a "You've got a problem" comment. You were quite right to name and shame and with any luck, they will lose their Triumph concession. So they can't use the phone, and 5 o'clock is so magic to them that they'd sooner their customers risked life and limb rather than do a few minutes overtime. I work part time in a Mac shop now. If I'm talking to a customer for whatever reason, I don't bundle them out of the door on the dot of closing time. But there is one lesson to be learned here: you don't abandon your trusted dealer to get a bike from someone else just because it's available and the price is right. You look after your dealer as you want to be looked after. You let them sort it out to get you the bike you want at the price you want. I have never haggled with my dealer over price. My view is that if I did, he'd get the lost margin back on my service bills in any case. I want him to be happy and value me as a customer. As a result, I've never been anywhere else for 23 years and my bikes don't come back to me with fluid levels needing topping up.
I like to think that this wouldn't have happened if Flitwick Motorcycles were still Triumph dealers but they're only a small shop and can't fit enough bikes in the showroom area to cover the demands of a company like Triumph so they gave up the concession. That's where the bike will go from now on unless it's warranty work and then it'll go anywhere rather than Pure Triumph. Anyway, the tyre... It's now in our garage and if I have to be entirely honest about it I'd have ridden on it far enough to replace it if I'd buggered it up trying to fit it on my own bike. If I'd been helping someone out by fitting a tyre for them and damaged it I'd be mortified and offer to pay for the new one then lend them my bike until it was done. I fit my own tyres on my enduro bike and every rim I own is scratched by my savagery so I don't go near expensive road wheels but I've yet to damage a tyre in that way.
I'll see what I can do. There's no additional damage either side and I suspect that the width of the damage will be exactly the same as the width of the bead breaker used to removed the tyre. The photo looks worse than the damage actually is and essentially there's a piece of rubber been peeled away from the bead but it doesn't go right through. The best way to describe it is to say it looks the same as when you peel a layer of skin back on you shin if you catch it on something.
Was the valve definitely faulty or could the air loss be because of the bead damage, maybe they didn't screw the pooch?? Wholeheartedly agree, my Mum thinks I get crap deals on everything but I just won't buy a car or bike from someone I don't like. If I have to pay a bit extra to keep a good shop running I will. Too many of the good guys are going out of business because people want the cheapest and then wonder why things go wrong.
