Sound RIDER! Dealer Survey 2000
Who's hot, Who's not
First off, I'll take a moment to thank everyone who participated in the dealer
survey. The response was sensational! As a rider myself, it's
interesting for me to drop into any location and have my own opinion about it,
but that's rather subjective. Each of you have added a new perspective to
my own experiences. I'll never walk into a dealer with the same frame of
mind again.
Indeed, there were certain dealers I thought would ride to the top, but
that all changed when we started running the numbers. Dealers I never
thought twice about started showing up in the top scores, and then there were
those who I thought might be at the top who showed up in the center or below
somewhere. In the end, it proved the point that we each have our own
opinions and this writer indeed does not see it the way the majority
does.
Those who did the survey know how it was broken down, but for those of you
who didn't, here's how it worked. Each dealer
was rated in four categories - Sales, Service, Parts and Overall Vibe.
Within each category they were rated on five sub-categories, which ranged from
product knowledge, selection, and cleanliness to parking, pricing and refund
policies.
Scoring was done in a similar manner to how Consumer Reports doles
out theirs.
Each category is scored as a whole and the overall score is based on the sum of
each. Results were checked for any sort of bilking. Any
reader who put more than one survey in on the same dealer was eliminated as it
was stated that the submissions were limited as such. Because this was
done via the
internet it wasn't hard to tell if one dealer was being bilked. We knew
when, and from who, a submission was coming from. For the most part everyone
played fair, and where they didn't adjustments were made to keep the input
real. As for the winning dealer in the overall category, it was tripled
checked.
Sound RIDER! readers are not the least bit nice when it
comes to rating dealers. You're honest and you make it hard for someone to
be the best. In fact, the best dealer could not even score above 80 (out of
100), which means everyone has room for improvement in this market. While
many dealers try to be the best, there is indeed a lack of understanding by most
about what it takes to be the best. Most dealers aren't willing to sit
down with their customers in a formal session and find out where their strengths
and weaknesses are. So they continue to develop their store strategy based
on hearsay and their own likes and dislikes, instead of really listening to what
the customer has to say. In the end, most dealers are missing the
mark. If dealers want to know what their customers think it's time they
started asking. In the meantime we have the results and we're happy we made this
move in the market.
The top five dealers for each category are listed. Dealers wishing to
get a detailed report on their dealership can contact the Sound RIDER! office at
206-329-7808 to arrange for the information.
And the number one dealer in Puget Sound for motorcycles is...
OVERALL TOP DEALERS
 |
|
| MARYOTT'S HONDA |
79.66 |
| I-90 MOTOR SPORTS |
78.38 |
| DESTINATION HARLEY
DAVIDSON - Tacoma |
77.14 |
| RIDE WEST BMW |
76.13 |
| CASCADE MOTORCYCLE
INC |
73.54 |
This was indeed a surprise all the way around. When you consider what
some dealers have invested in appearance we had to look at other aspects to find
out just what it was that made each top 5. Below you'll find the answers.
MOTORCYCLE SALES
 |
|
| CASCADE MOTORCYCLE
INC |
94.23 |
| CLIFF'S CYCLE &
WATERCRAFT CTR |
89.44 |
| DESTINATION HARLEY
DAVIDSON - Tacoma |
81.19 |
| LYNNWOOD
CYCLE BARN |
80.72 |
| I-90 MOTOR SPORTS |
80.71 |
Cascade Motorcycle took the tops in product knowledge, customer service, satisfaction, selection and
pricing. Anyone who's been to Cliff's knows it's not a
fascinating place to walk into, but it doesn't take long to get someone's
attention.
PARTS & ACCESSORIES
|
|
| MARYOTT'S HONDA |
78.38 |
| DESTINATION HARLEY
DAVIDSON - Tacoma |
75.63 |
| I-90 MOTOR SPORTS |
75.60 |
| RIDE WEST BMW |
75.36 |
| UNIVERSITY HONDA/YAMAHA |
73.61 |
You want your parts right the first time, and you want them fast if you
special order them. Pricing has to be right and you want a refund if you
buy the wrong part by mistake. No one hit the high marks here and it's an
area all local dealers could improve on.
SERVICE
 |
|
| LAKE CITY HONDA |
85.42 |
| I-90 MOTOR SPORTS |
85.00 |
| RIDE WEST BMW |
78.98 |
| AURORA
SUZUKI |
74.38 |
| EVERETT POWERSPORTS |
72.27 |
Customer service, turnaround, quality and pricing were all rated individually
here. This goes to show you don't need to have a dyno to be the top
service guy in this area.
STORE EASE & APPEARANCE
|
|
| MARYOTT'S HONDA |
90.21 |
| DESTINATION HARLEY
DAVIDSON - Tacoma |
84.04 |
| LYNNWOOD
CYCLE BARN |
82.71 |
| SKAGIT HARLEY
DAVIDSON |
79.86 |
| CASCADE BMW
MOTORCYCLE INC |
75.57 |
You like a store that's clean, easy to get to, feels good when you're inside
and is easy to navigate. Maybe Maryott's hasn't done a million dollar
remodel, but customers seem to like it the way it is, anyhow.
In the end, Maryott's won the overall, but it's interesting to note that
Destination Harley Davidson placed in three of four sub-categories. Guess you
guys like that free barbeque every Saturday!
Patrick Thomas/July 00 |
