It is the job of the dealer to do what the customer asks, if they did do the complete scheduled service, when they weren't asked to, who would pay? I bet you wouldn't.
Not one but two threads to answer! I would have appreciated if you had spoken to me as the owner of this business, prior to posting these pictures here but since that time has come and gone, I was going to email you or call you directly but I am happy to respond here as it seems evident this forum is where you would prefer to air these views. I will copy this post and put it on the other thread(s) started on this topic so that both you and our other interested members can make up their own mind. I must admit I am a little upset at the apparent venom behind some of your comments and your attempt to trash our name with comments such as "i'll never use Ducati Glasgow again" and "this is the first time they have been caught", at other points you claim it is not our fault yet you still persist in your attack towards us, of course rightly or wrongly, that's your prerogative but you are clearly doing your utmost to do as much damage to my business as possible and obviously I take that personally. (I've spent 11 years to get this business to this level, how would you feel?) Also as a minor side note, I have spoken to George (our Master technician with 40 years experience) and he did not, as you suggest say it was fine to post pictures. However I do not have a recording of that conversation to prove to everyone otherwise so will draw a line under this element of the topic. To clarify, your 999 is in fact our ex demonstrator from 2006 and does not have a full service history i'm afraid, it was sold to you as that i'm sorry but you will need to take that up with the seller. Although we have serviced it at points over the years, for half of its life we didn't even see it! That is only a partial service history. I’ll say right away, it's also impossible for me to get dragged into a private sale between two individuals, i'll not do that for obvious reasons. From a legal perspective, you bought the bike privately 'sold as seen'. This should all have been confirmed between both parties concerned. As a quick point, it’s very easy to both remove the tank and pump on the 749/999 range, it isn’t a PITA at all, in fact it’s one of the easiest bikes in entire range, we do them all the time! Basically, there are a few reasons your tank could be in this condition: - 1) You're right, it might never have been opened and cleaned but knowing the way I / we do business I know that this is frankly an absolute impossibility. 2) At any point in the last year your tank could have been left with a part full fuel tank and this could have caused your problem. It doesn't take long to happen. 3) It could have been left in a wet, condensation filled garage all winter with the fuel tank open for months if the owner was trying to prevent this actually happening. Are you convinced of how it has been stored for the last winters? 4) It could have had the tank replaced during the last year or any part of its life and we wouldn't be any the wiser. Did the owner replace the tank to sell the bike on to you? Has it ever been damaged / crashed and had a replacement tank? Has one been bought on eBay from a 2002 model? You obviously won’t know this and frankly, neither do we!! You're not going to be told that if someone is trying to sell it are you?? 5) You have to bear in mind that this machine although ultra low mileage is 7 years old, things like this can happen. It's not the end of the world and can be resolved. Absolutely anything is possible yet immediately you jump to "it's the dealers fault". Assuming it is the original tank (which is still in question): -the blame falls on the fact that both previous owners have clearly left the bike sitting for extended periods of time and this is potentially what has caused the issue. (someone else stated this exact fact on one of the threads) Cleaning the tank would not have arrested this problem, of course I agree we will have spotted the issue but it's up to the owner to do something on the back of that info. Some choose to ignore our advice in their own infinite wisdom. Also, this corrosion could have happened in this last year - how is that our fault? Although it looks bad, I would be willing to bet money it's just a little surface rust and old fuel gunge. I can see from our records it's had two batteries in the last year from total lack of use - I am told by the seller that that is exactly why he sold it to you! Once oxidisation starts in a tank (a reasonably common issue on older metal tanked machines that are rarely used) it's a bit like a runaway train until it is stopped with petseal or some other type of treatment, which incidentally is very effective and will completely resolve this issue for you. Your bike has covered only 4,600 miles in its 7 year life, of course the tank will have been cleaned during that time. (although we didn't see it between 2009 and 2012 so have no idea what was happening then.) We gave it a safety check in 2012 when we sold it again but frankly we don't pull the tank apart for that. (pressures, fluid levels etc) It next received a battery from us in June of last year as it was suffering from lack of use. Then in January the customer asked us to do a very minor oil change service including plugs and a safety check as it had only covered 800 miles since he bought it in may, i'm sure you are well aware that this is not a full service by any stretch of the imagination. I can inform you that at the request of the customer we did not open the tank during this minor ‘oil’ service. However controversial that may seem to you and how you clearly consider that to be ‘poor service’, I totally disagree. The truth is that on older machines, there has to be a justifiable expense on servicing in view of mileage and time covered. This is what George means when he says some things are done but others are not deemed necessary. It’s not cutting corners at the expense of the bikes’ health, it’s an attempt by us to keep our customers’ running costs as low as possible. If the bike is worth £5k and each year, irrespective of mileage and we insist on £400-£700 of almost needless work being carried out, no one would purchase the older machines and those that own them would find it crippling!! Surely you understand there is a bit of give and take based on decades of hands on experience and common sense?? Simply put, our aftersales department will sometimes give the bikes more work than a service demands if the bike requires it but conversely the opposite also applies if a bike is not being used. That is common sense and works in our customers' favour. Lastly it received another battery in May of this year, due again to deep discharging / lack of use prior to your purchase. There are a multitude of reasons your tank could have rusted but the last thing you need to do is spend a fortune on another one, that’s a bit of an overreaction tbh. Clean the tank and pump out (they are both very robust), fit a new fuel filter and coat the inside of the tank with petseal (under £20), refit and forget about it as the chances are it will never cause you any further issues. [FONT=&]And next time (albeit by your comments unfortunately I doubt there will be a next time), pick up the phone and talk to me. I’ve got the authority to do more than anyone in this business.[/FONT] and I could have helped! Mart
Not taking sides but Martin, your post above has two points I`d like to comment on. The o/p does not say "this is the first time they have been caught" he actually says " or is it the first time they have been cought !!!! Terrible spelling and punctuation but maybe he was asking a question as opposed to making a statement . Certainly worth picking up the phone to check with him before you trash his name. You seem to be working on his level , which is understandable but maybe you should have risen above it and called him. Secondly, he raised the topic with George, should he ask to speak to more than one employee and/or the owner ? Of course, the o/p may just be upset that his new bike is not quite what he hoped and he is taking it out on you for some reason ? Only he knows the answer to that.
With regards to your note about being caught - I stand corrected, you're right about that, apologies for the confusion. I should have quoted more accurately. I think we're splitting hairs tho, the o/p is clearly upset and I don't blame him at all, I would be too but my grievance is how we are being quite aggressively targeted in not one but three threads!! I don't think i'm operating on any level but am unfortunately forced to respond on the WWW which is not exactly ideal. I don't think i've trashed his name or even attempted to do that (which I wouldn't do), i've tried to offer a different slant on things that he may not have considered. In the light of the three threads I think it's only fair to offer a reasonable, well constructed and justifiable response, and that is exactly what i've tried to do. This is the problems with forums at times, once it's in the public domain it's very hard for me / us to sit and watch as our name is hammered when we feel it is unjust and unfair. As to speaking to more than one employee I would say absolutely everyone should speak to the boss if they are unsatisfied with an outcome. Don't you agree?
I would ask to speak to someone more senior if I was not happy but then neither of us was party to the conversation so maybe he was happy at the time but something caused him to change his mind , maybe George gave an air of seniority and he felt he had gone high enough up the food chain, I don't know. I agree about the net, everyone can read the bad comments but then again everyone can read your version of events too and then make up their own minds. If it was my business I would have called him first because if the situation can be resolved nicely he might post again on this thread saying what diamond geezers you are ? If it is not resolved you could always post your side later.
I think Martin has done the right thing personally. He has defended his business in a professional manner and remained polite. I don't think my local dealership would give two hoots to be honest. Shove some tank sealer in, bung a new filter in and go enjoy the bloody thing!!
All fair points I must admit. I did think about calling but I also feel it's a bit late after it's splatted all over a forum I enjoy reading every day. I also think I have to stand up for ourselves, especially as I don't feel we have done anything wrong! If we had, (and of course everyone makes mistakes at times) I would put my hand in my pocket to resolve them. I have done so in the past and am sure I will have to again - it's the nature of the beast, we're only human. However, i'm afraid there is no magic wand for me to wave to become a "diamond geezer" (liked that one) in this instance. If I felt we were liable I can assure you it would be a whole different story for sure!
For what it is worth I agree with most of what you have put forward and as you say , everyone makes mistakes. I make plenty but luckily I don't have to deal with the public who can be "challenging" as politicians would put it. As for becoming a diamond geezer, my trouble wants to offload her 796 monster so maybe I`ll give you a call to see if you can give a cracking part ex or some other deal ? That should do the trick !
Jay Maybe this dialogue can be carried out privately, and at the end of it you can tell us all how well or how badly it went? I just feel it will be more productive for you and for Martin. Just a suggestion, I ain't the Thread Police :smile: Cheers.
I was and still am happy to deal with you one to one in private as Loz suggests. And you may be right that we will not see eye to eye, this sometimes happens as we all know. If you wish to discuss this with me further you can call me at the store at anytime.
I'd be interested to know if having a full service history ever included a check inside the tank at any point in a bikes service life.
Personally I think this should have gone to Martin to give him a chance to help the OP out even if to reassure him Unfortunately we don't always repeat in the exact same words any conversation as it can be understood in many different ways Who knows what people say to sell a bike and as time passes unless you have paperwork stating all works carried out it's word of mouth I would have expected to see this thread after the OP had consulted with the man in charge and had been failed by any response The one time I have dealt with Ducati Glasgow I had first class service even a mail to tell me an item was out of stock and refunded Also was it necessary to post it three times
I have read numerous threads on DuN all of which praise the service from Ducati Glasgow and they are renowned for going the extra mile according to those threads. Now I haven't read the other threads but I have this one. The Gist being a guy buys a bike from a private seller who tells him its been serviced by DG and then finds the tanks mucky so rather than question the seller more closely he just slags DG. strikes me as odd I wonder what the agenda is
