| Date | Time | Event |
|
14/5/99
Friday |
10:00 | Discovered sheared gearshaft Rang DK and spoke to Paul Dyer in the Workshop. Explained the problem to him and he was fairly sure they could sort things out. He asked me to get an estimate of the labour costs from my local dealer since it wouldn't be possible for me to get the bike back to them. |
|
14/5/99
Friday |
10:30 | Spoke to Altermotive Engineering in Thurso, explaining the situation and asking for an estimate for replacing a gearbox output shaft. He quoted £300 + VAT for Labour. |
|
14/5/99
Friday |
10:40 |
Rang Paul Dyer to tell him the quote. He took my mobile
number and promised to ring me back after speaking to
Russ Clay about what to do warranty-wise.
No returned call, so... |
|
14/5/99
Friday |
16:00 |
Rang DK and asked to speak to Russ Clay to see what he
and Paul Dyer had decided. He hadn't spoken to Paul and
knew nothing about the problem. I explained everything to
him and he promised to speak to Paul straight away and
took my mobile number, promising to ring me back.
No returned call, so... |
|
14/5/99
Friday |
16:45 | I rang DK again to speak to Russ Clay. He had briefly seen Paul "going one way as I went the other" and hadn't had a chance to discuss anything with him. He would speak to him "tonight after work" and asked me to ring back "tomorrow, late on". |
|
15/5/99
Saturday |
09:30 | I rang to speak to Paul Dyer since I wasn't too happy that I was being fobbed off and would not get a straight answer unless I kept on the pressure. Paul was unavailable but I spoke to someone else in the workshop who was aware of my problem. He said that he thought they would have to collect the bike and repair it themselves. |
|
15/5/99
Saturday |
16:00 | Rang to speak to Russ Clay, as he'd asked me to yesterday, thinking that they'd have a definitive plan of action sorted out by now. Spoke to Karen, who tried to get Russ for me. Russ told her to ask me to "phone back on Monday" but I explained that he'd already asked me to ring today, and I was not happy that I was being fobbed off. She was concerned on my behalf, after I explained to her my problem - She promised to get to speak to Paul Dyer since Russ was busy, and she'd ring back straight away. |
|
15/5/99
Saturday |
16:15 | Karen rang back!! All the workshop lines were busy and she didn't think she stood any chance of speaking to anyone today. I explained that all I wanted was to know definitively what was going to happen to sort out my bike. I explained that I was planning a biking holiday in June and I'd like to know ASAP in case I need to replan things, and also to put my mind to rest that everything will be sorted under warranty. She was most sympathetic and gave a solemn promise that she'd ring me back "before 9:30 on Monday morning". |
|
17/5/99
Monday |
09:40 | No call from Karen, so I phoned to see if there was any news. Yes, she'd spoken to Paul Dyer, Yes they were going to pick up the bike and Yes they would repair it. She didn't know the full details of how this was going to be achieved but she'd ring back as soon as she knew. |
|
17/5/99
Monday |
11:15 | Karen rang back to say that the plan was for a Glagow bike dealer (Bikerite) to collect the bike and take it to Glasgow and do the work there on DK's behalf. Keith from the Glasgow shop would phone me to make the necessary arrangements sometime today. |
|
17/5/99
Monday |
13:00 | Karen rang to get my address for the Glasgow shop -they'd asked for it - so something seems to be happening. |
|
17/5/99
Monday |
17:30 | No call from the Glasgow shop - will call Karen tomorrow if I don't hear by 10 am. |
|
18/5/99
Tuesday |
10:15 | No contact from Bike Rite, so I phone Karen at DK, as she'd aked me to if I hadn't heard from them by today. "They should be in touch, they certainly have all your details, but I know they have a show on this weekend, so they probably won't be able to do anything this week.... it's out of our hands now - but Bike Rite are okay - we use them a lot." No sign of Bike Rite calling for the rest of the day. |
|
19/5/99
Wednesday |
09:00 | Phoned Bike Rite - asked for Keith - the name Karen gave me as a contact at BikeRite."No one called Keith works here - service manager is called Scott - phone back at 10 - he's out on a collection right now." |
|
19/5/99
Wednesday |
10:00 | Phoned again - spoke to Scott. He wasn't aware of my existence - but yes they did do work for DK. He had heard something about a duff bike in Wick but no more... I explained it ALL again to him - he was most surprised at the tale of woe. He was going to ring DK to check out the story and order the necessary parts from them -and get in contact with his part time driver to work out when they could get up to pick up the bike. He'd ring me as soon as he had any info. I asked how he thought the countershaft could have broken - he thought the only explanation was the use of a "buzz gun" by the person who last fitted a sprocket. |
|
19/5/99
Wednesday |
14:00 | I rang Scott @ BikeRite to see what was happening - concerned that I wasn't going to be sidelined again. He was waiting for his driver to get in touch - he'd left a message on his voicemail - would let me know as soon as he'd heard. |
|
21/5/99
Friday |
12:00 |
I phoned Bike Rite to get an update. Scott told me that
he was waiting for his driver to confirm a day for the
collection. They had spoken and they'd considered
getting a courier to do the collection - but it was over
£200 so they decided against it. Scott did
say that it was looking expensive anyway and he was going
to speak to DK directly to suggest that it might work out
cheaper if I just got the place in Thurso to do the work
after all! He promised to ring back "within the
hour"
Will this never end? |
|
21/5/99
Friday |
12:15 |
I phoned DK and spoke to Karen.
She passed me to Jim (who turns out to be the Transport Manager). Having explained to him that I was having trouble getting anything done - and that BikeRite didn't even know of my existence when I phone them earlier in the week I was robustly told that "Yes they did know - the owner knew - and anyway this is between us and Bike Rite and you shouldn't even be getting involved" I pointed out that I "got involved with Bike Rite" because I was promised by Karen that someone from there would ring me "that day" (Monday) to make arrangements and they didn't. DK had said on Tuesday "It's up to Bike Rite now - it's out of our hands" I explained to Jim that I was unhappy at being given no info - never being rung back after being promised and therefore I've been forced into "getting involved" just to make sure I wasn't being fobbed off. Having spoken to the Service Manager at BikeRite (Scott) and finding that he knew nothing about me hadn't filled me with confidence. Jim's basic point was that I should have just reported the fault and then sat back and waited. I had to explain that I was forced into "following up" due to various people at DK not phoning me back when they'd promised to... "It's difficult due to you being so far away" He told me to only deal with either himself or Paul Dyer in future. I hung up before Jim's abrasive and patronising tone forced me into saying something I shouldn't. I'm now left with the feeling that:- a)DK wish they'd never heard of me b)They aren't treating this very seriously - hoping they can hide behind "well it is a long way away you know" c)I'm just going to have to sit and wait at their mercy with no way to speed things up. d)I'm not going to hear from them again.... |
| 26/5/99 Wednesday | 16:00 | East Coast Superbikes
in Forfar rang to say that Kevin from DK had
asked them to deal with me now! He was going to come up to Wick early next week (Monday or Tuesday) to collect the bike and either repair it there or use themselves as a "halfway house" between me and DK - and possibly send it down to Stoke (!) Apparently "Kevin" is the owner of DK and he'd asked EC Superbikes himself to take over the case. Don't know what happened to BikeRite's involvement.... |
| 29/5/99 Saturday | 15:45 | Keith from East Coast Superbikes
rang to tell me that someone would be coming up on Monday to collect the bike. He'd then look at it
on Tuesday and let me know what they would do and when it'd be fixed. If it's not sorted soon I'm contacting "Trading Standards" and taking legal advice. I've just looked back through all that's happened so far and noticed that :- I was told that a Keith at BikeRite would ring, when there was no such person and Keith from East Coast Superbikes eventually contacted me. A cock up or just a coincidence? |
| 31/5/99 Monday | 11:00 | A Van Arrived! Bike safely loaded into the van and off into the wide blue yonder. That's the first bit over with. Now to see just how quickly it gets fixed and returned... |
| 4/6/99 Friday | Afternoon | Phoned East Coast to ask what was happening. Keith told me that they
were waiting for DK to tell them what to do. Either a) Fix it themselves or b) Send it down to DK. He'd ring them right away to check and get back to me.... Nothing heard for rest of the day.... |
| 8/6/99 Tuesday | afternoon - about 15:30 | Phoned East Coast
again to see what was happening (again) and Keith said the same as he told me on Friday. They're
still waiting for DK to decide what they're to do. He would phone them again and get an answer. This is getting beyond a joke now. I phoned DK myself to get to the bottom of this. Spoke to Gordon who asked around and told me that "East Coast are supposed to be just fixing it and returning it to you. That's what we told them in the first place". This is now far far beyond a joke. Someone is taking the p**s. Gordon promised to yalk to them and get back to me "straight away". |
| 8/6/99 Tuesday | afternoon - about 16:00 | No answer from Gordon. Phoned DK back to see what the score was. Eventually got put on to Tony (the workshop manager?) and explained that I was being passed around and wanted a firm date for the repair of my bike. He promised to find out for me and would phone right back. Now where have I heard that before? |
| 8/6/99 Tuesday | afternoon - about 17:15 | No response from anyone
I am getting used to this but more and more annoyed. Phoned DK back and after speaking to Gordon again and finding he hadn't been able to get any reply from East Coast "it's frustrating" he told ME ! I aked to speak to someone higher up. He put me through to Ross Verdon "The General Manager". I explained it all again to him. He said he thought I had been treated very poorly and was surprised I hadn't complained to hime before now! It's like bl**dy Chinese Whispers. He promised to get a firm date from East Coast first thing in the morning and call me back. Won't hold my breath. |
| 9/6/99 Wednesday | 10:20 | Tony phoned me from DK to tell me that he'd got through and they'd started working on the bike. No estimate of when it'd be ready. |
| 9/6/99 Wednesday | 14:35 | Ross Verdon phoned to say that East Coast were very difficult
to get hold of but he'd managed. They were working on the bike, and they did know I need it back before
28th June when I move to Shetland (another 3 weeks time...).
I asked him if they could be a bit more specific... and he suggested I talk directly to them. No way - either I deal with one shop or the other not both - they were both playing the "Talk to ___ " game with me. |
| 9/6/99 Wednesday | afternoon | I'd written a
letter of complaint to Ross
Verdon last night and was going to wait until I'd heard from him before posting it. Since he didn't
phone me in the morning as he'd promised I posted it. It points out the length of time I've been without a bike
and all the wrong and mis- information I've been given. I hope that it causes something to be done. I would certainly not recommend DK to anyone who expects any degree of Customer Service. |
| 21/6/99 Monday | 4pm | Rang East Coast. Spoke to Keith. The bike is to be returned
on Wednesday. It is all fixed and road tested. I look forward to it. No word from DK as to my letter of complaint. |
| 23/6/99 Wednesday | 10:30am | Keith arrived with my bike. He unloaded and left.
I had a look over it and took it to town to fill up with petrol. On my return from a 4 mile round trip
done very cautiously, I found that the original oil leak from the sprocket cover was still there and
another even larger one was now present from the sump gasket! I phone East Coast and asked them to get in touch with Keith, who rang me and I asked him to come back to inspect the bike. I also rang DK and spoke to Ross Verdon - explaining that 1) the original oil leak from the sprocket cover was still prominent and 2) there was a new one. If they'd road tested it how could the leaks have come to light now after I'd ridden only 4 miles? Ross asked my to put Keith on to him when he returned. Keith returned - I showed him the leaks and he was bemused as to the causes. He spoke to Ross (reluctantly) and I spoke to Ross - who promised me that I'd have a loan bike at the weekend if Keith couldn't return my bike in time. I asked to speak to someone higher up in DK to see if I could get some kind of apology and a firm commitment that I'd get my bike back. I spoke to Kevin who was of the opinion that I should be grateful that they're even prepared to look at it! He offered no apology that it's already taken 6 weeks despite promises to have it returned repaired by this weekend. Keith took the bike away with him, promising that he'd do his best to get it back to me by Saturday. |
| 26/6/99 Saturday | 7:10am | Keith arrived very early with the bike. He'd driven up overnight
and had fixed the new oil leak - which he reports to be have been due to a leaking O-ring on a balancer
shaft! The oil coming from the sprocket cover he is certain is due to the Scottoiler! He said "with all due respect that's it, I don't want to hear from you again." I took the bike for a 40 mile spin and it seems fine. The alarm's knackered though - and it worked before they got their hands on the bike. Oh well, you can't win em all. The End |