[damond]

Flame on!

So my buddy just bought a 696 from Colemans Powersport after being disuaded by some rude sob on the phone at Ducpond.

He wanted to go to Ducpond thinking they were decent and reputable, and he lives in Front Royal. In the past I took my old M750 there for service (now his) and I had great dealings with them and they did a great job at getting the M750 running right. He was with me when I went to pick it up and was impressed with Ducati's and the shop. A year later, after buying my M750 and wanting to upgrade. He wants the new 696 and calls Ducpond first!

On Friday July 31 he calls and asks whom ever it was on the phone if they had any 696's in stock.

Rich: Hello, do you guys have any 696's in stock?
Dude: Yeah, we got all three of them in stock.
Rich: How much are they going for?
Dude: They're MSRP.
Rich: Cool. Are you guys negotiable on the price at all...can...(gets cut off).
Dude: Dude, I told you they're MSRP.
Rich: Ok, thanks.

All the while this guy is eating something while on the phone with a customer and continues grabbing chips out of the bag and stuffing his face during the whole conversation.

So then he calls Colemans Woodbridge and receives a completely different treatment. He's told, "Yeah, it's been a bit slow, we can take some off the price." He drives all the way to Woodbridge from Front Royal because of this. Colemans has the 696 delivered from the Falls Church store in crate and assembles it in front of him and gives him 500 off MSRP.

What gives?! I know if they can't come down on the price, that's one thing. But do they have to allow some dude to answer phone chewing with his mouth open and continously eating during the conversation with a customer? Is Ducpond so big headed thinking they're the ONLY Duc dealer in VA? That just irritates me.

Back story: I haven't been on here in a while because I sold my 750 to him and got an R6. But that thing is uber uncomfortable and my next bike will be the 696. After talking about it, he and I got psyched and been jonesing for one since. He beat me to the punch!

 

[donnykidd]

Dumond,

First off, I do understand where you are coming from. I had a similar experience with the "other" Ducati dealership in VA. Mine goes way beyond the short phone call your buddy experienced. I also purchased my 696 from Colemans due to my location and the extremely competitive final deal! Ducpond, at 3 hours away, one way, I never attempted to negotiate with because of their location in proximity to mine, service, etc. However, I did do my due diligence on all of them and for what's its worth, the Ducpond guys are highly reputable. I made the 3 hour trek one day, just to see what the fuss was about, Donny introduced himself, offered a tour and was just as sincere and genuine as I have read here and elsewhere on the internet and felt confident if I was closer, that they would be my shop. I have visited a few Ducati boutique dealers, and their one of the best in my opinion based upon passion for our bikes, customer service and availability of accessories, apparel and parts in stock. The fact is we all have bad days, unfortunately this bad day cost them a customer. I certainly would write them off.

Regarding Coleman, I dealt with Dee and he was solid. I would recommend him particularly to anyone. In addition, the service and part department have treated me well. There is good and bad everywhere, if they had a second chance, like most dealers, I am confident they would make good!

 

[justpaul]

It's probably very simple. The guy at Coleman's was a salesman. The guy at Ducpond was some idiot who answers the phone.

On top of that, the guy at Coleman's cares about doing his job; the guy at Ducpond doesn't.

Customer service is all about wanting to do it right. Even when it's nothing more than being polite to someone on the phone. But that doesn't mean everybody can do it.

 

[bigjilm]

I don't know anything about any of these dealers, but it seems that bike shops attract two kinds of people - folks I like to deal with, and folks that could use a cock punch and a new career.

I think it also goes it cycles (heh) in bike shops, as a couple of a-holes attract a few more until the shop is overrun. That's happened to at least two shops that started out awesome in my books, and eventually I wanted to burn them down - figuratively, of course.

I wonder if anyone from Ducpond watches this board - seems like a smart thing to do, and this would be the exact moment when they should jump in and say, "Damn - I should give OP a discount on some Termis to make up for the unprofessional conduct of my soon-to-be-spoken-to employee."

 

[Brooklyn67]

I don't know if Donnie at Ducpond watches this board, but to the original poster who's friend had that experience...he should call back and ask for Donnie and mention the details of the call (without getting bent out of shape and aggressive on the phone).

Donnie (the owner) is a very good guy and I used to see him at the races every weekend before he hung it up after a bad crash. I also know other guys/gals that race Ducatis and have Donnie set up their race bikes. Personally, I have found them very helpful in helping me cross reference parts for the Monster that I'm modifying/rebuilding.

I don't know what the actual communication was like between your friend and the person at Ducpond, but as I said...I would have him call back and talk to Donnie about it... I don't know who was on the line at the shop, but it sounds like a very different experience than I've ever heard of from others or from my own personal experience.

 

[misterburns]

I'd agree you can chalk this one up to the wrong schmuck answering the phone, and not representative of Ducpond. They have been first rate in all the times I've dealt with them. In fact for me it was Coleman that was a bad experience. The were rude and demanded to know the shop offering me a better deal on my 696. I certainly didn't mind them asking where I was getting the better deal, but its the manner in which they asked it.

I told them it was from the shop 60 miles to the west, and they got an even bigger attitude. Point is, they lost my business that day and forever, but clearly others have had a decent experience there. I've since moved to Charlotte, and like the dealer here too. Two out of three isn't bad.

 

[Cabbie]

Ok, so I guess I need to respond here... My name is Chad and I am the sales manager here at Duc Pond, and I was the one who had that conversation. I truly do apologize if I came off negatively to your friend, and those of you who know me, know that this is not how I conduct myself. I remember the conversation quite well, and some of the problem is that we just do not quote pricing other than MSRP on the phone.. When your friend asked if there was any room on that I explained that we the price was MSRP, but that we are offering other incentives as well, such as free frame sliders on all new bikes and a choice of either a new helmet or track day. I really do apologize if I came off harshly, that is simply not how we conduct business here. If possible, I would love for your friend to come out to the shop so I can personally apologize to them, and I would also like to offer them 15% off any in stock Ducati part or accessory as a sort of olive branch.