MARCH 27, 2007

The first day that temps bounded past 60, to the 80 degree mark,
and without my usual anal retentive, ritualistic buff, puff, and polish

of the 2005 Ultra Classic, we loaded up and went for a ride.

Damn, it was nice to finally ride wearing only t-shirts, even though I

haven't replaced the factory windshield with the 6 inch custom windshield from

Fast Aire Performance Products or removed the vented lower fairings yet,

due to the finicky weather that the Mid-Atlantic area experiences every spring.

We were due for an oil change so, we decided to go to the place of purchase,

Mike's Famous Harley-Davidson in New Castle, Delaware to pick up the oil and a filter.

Having purchased their Pre-Paid Maintenance program option that comes

with a groovy little swipe strip card, I had in the past been told by the Service

Department that the card was as good as money through the entire shop.

With the balance left on the card being $44.45, and after making other non-service

department item purchases, it only made sense to me to use it to buy the oil and

filter with it to whittle the balance down to an acceptable loss of $10.00.

OH, HELLLL NO

The salesperson at the parts counter tells me that the card cannot be used to purchase

anything except Service, contradicting what the Service Department told me on previous visits.

Up until this event and, even after hearing horror stories about this Stealership,

I continued to extoll the virtues of my personal experiences to all I spoke that

were toying with the idea of a new bike purchase, as all of my experiences

were more than positive from Sales, to Service, to Management.

TIMES, THEY DO BE A-CHANGING

Mike Schwartz has since acquired two more Harley-Davidson

Stealerships, one in Smyrna, Delaware, one in Groton, Connecticut,

along with Mike's Famous Cars and Trucks, Mike's Famous Chrysler Dodge.

ARE YOU GETTING THE PICTURE?

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Walk through the polished stainless steel and glass doors at the New Castle, Delaware

Stealership and you pass by the outdoor, JBL all weather speakers placed all around

the building, pumping out their version of Mike's Famous Radio with tuneage aimed at

the baby boomer crowd - mainly classic rock with commercials of past customers naming

the bike they have purchased and that they listen to the closed circuit radio online

- of which there is no link anymore yet, billboards advertising Mike's Famous

Harley-Davidson can be seen as far away as Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Are they only placed there during Myrtle Beach Bike Week?
 

Who knows, or who cares.

This outfit is about every dollar that they can milk out of a customer without

regard to repeat business. It may be like his employment practices, that supports

the high turnover rate that I have seen at his New Castle Stealership.

Potential customers that are awake, see this, and have shied away to other

Dealers in this area that not only do not try to woo you with free meals at

their Warehouse Grills but, sell bikes at an M.S.R.P. rate

I HAVE THEM DEAD TO RIGHTS - CLICK HERE