Modern Vespa

I like kitten pictures!!!
Lets start a new topic If you could be a cat what kind would you be?

Or we could just flame away...

Thom and Ray. Click and Clack, the tappit brothers.

I heart Scooterville MT.

They got me in for my service with a 4 day notice, charged me a ridiculously low shop fee, and then spent a good half hour helping me load up and tie down my scooter onto the trailer for my 3 hr ride home.

And I didn't even purchase my scooter from them. But I certainly will purchase my next one from them.

For the record, my Vespa dealer does not suck. Quite the contrary, actually.

For those dealers that do suck, you seem to show your hand with your vehement denials of suckage. The way to stop sucking is to improve service, not to deny how bad you suck repeatedly. My unnamed South Bay Area California dealer fights the same "scooter-dealer-in-a-European-motorcycle-dealership" battle every other dealer does. Yet, he remains civil, up-front and totally not sucky, and is able to take care of us scooterists quite happily. All this in a metropolitatan area of 1 million-plus people.

How strange it is that he does not suck, yet others still do.

the guys at vespa portland are all great. super friendly and have a desire to share "vespa passion" with everyone, regardless of age, race, experience or knowledge. THANKS YOU GUYS!
(their mark up is....fair. around 400-600 above retail, but hey! their getting it! good for them!)

-jeffreyscott

lastbestwomen,

I just got out my Ashtanga Yoga class this evening and saw your avaitor and I am very impressed.
Maybe one day I'll get there, for now I am just trying to be regular and transition from Hatha to Ashtanga.

My dealer is fantastic. Example - after buying a sponsored lunch for the VCLG team on the Three Peaks Ride, I walked in and told them they bought lunch for the VCLG Three Peaks Ride, and all they did was ask for the leftovers from pizza and the receipt.

My new Mana is there for the 600 mile service. I haven't received an invoice for it yet, or the Scorpion helmet, Nolan helmet with bluetooth junk, AirHawk seat, and a bunch of other stuff......

But it is a two way street, it's not all Fruit-Loops and chocolate milk; they'll occasionally ask me to ride one of the demo bikes to tell them what I think or a CanAm Spyder with the big logo up and down main street a couple of times, or stand around a Vespa at a local charity event and answer questions for an hour or two with a glass of local wine in hand.

All yoga is good yoga.

You hit the nail on the head though, regular daily practice is key. Like brushing your teeth.

I wouldn't recommend practicing in jeans and Blundstones though. (But I'll take any opportunity to go head over heels)

my dealer in the east bay is over worked and under staffed, but their overall very decent guys and will help me, eventually. They need some women help them get, and stay organized.

SF Scooter Centre in SF is the best, imho. :

Honolulu dealer mainly sells Harleys -- he's got maybe 100 of them in the showroom. Those suckers are expensive ... $15K, $20K and up. And the 91 cubic-inch models are now the "small" engine machines.

He's down to one Vespa and a Piaggio -- an LX50 and an LT150 -- and a 90cc Scarabeo he can't unload because it isn't freeway legal. Nice bike, tho. Can't say the same for the Schwinn mopeds he' selling. So the scooters are moving well, but they aren't the main attraction.

The dealer doesn't stock much in the way of non-Harley parts and none of the mechanics are Vespa experts, but "one or two of the guys work on them." I'm wondering if I'll be swapping out the drive belt in my GT 200 by myself in a few months.

I'm sure the profit on one hog is five times what he makes on a Vespa, so the priorities aren't misplaced. Still, you kinda wished the guys selling Vespas really liked them.

Call the service department for an oil change and they'll try to squeeze you in ten days from now. Emergency roadside service? Absolutely, positively sometime tomorrow afternoon; we'll send a truck.

So in three days, you got MV posters pegged? This sort of thread comes up quite often and more often than not is instigated by a newbie with an agenda rather than looking to actually solve a problem with the dealer. It gets old after 2 years of reading the same crap, especially once you discover that more often than not the poster of the "dealers sucks" threads usually suck and blow. (not saying this is the case here) So yeah rather than come out and simply say STFU we make a joke out of it.

+10
andrea, you rock.
awesome customer service, bitchin parts in stock, fast shipping and getting the right stuff the first time is worth the coin.

seriously, folks a bit up to scooters O!

best,
-greasy

ditto.

best,
-greasy

I *heart* my vespa dealer!

Be thankful you got a local dealer, mine is 150 miles one way. They are great. But Piaggio needs to put a dealer in southeast Missouri!

Ach-hoooo!

What? We are never contrary!

Poor you Ritch, it must be awful for you.

....You be the judge.
I was looking to by a Piaggio Fly 150 (local Vespa/Piaggio/other Dealer) or an Aprilia Scarabeo 200 (closest dealer 55mile away).

Here is a summary of some of my communications (over a few weeks) with my local Vespa dealer:

Salesman #1 (owner?)
No Piaggio Fly 150's in stock, we will probably discontinue selling them since we sell 10 times more Vespa's. (Update: 2-3 wks later they had 2 on the floor, 1 being prep'ed for pick up and 3 on their way)

Salesman #2
It sounds like this bike will give you what you need. Demo ride? Not today, we have a few deliveries to finalize, and I will need to get a bike prep'ed. Give me a call on... I will need a couple of hours to get one ready. (Update: called a few days later as he went to check on one being prep'ed, was passed to Salesman #1)

Salesman #1 (owner?)
No, you can't test ride a bike. We do not have demo bikes, they cost too much for us to insure, etc... They are usually owned by Vespa/Piaggio and they are not sending any demo bikes this season. This bike will be adequate for your needs, it has plenty of power, I've sold several with no negative feedback. (Update: 2 hours later I checked my e-mail and received a Vespa notice about their Subway demo ride promotion going on.)
We only service bikes that we sell (we do not service Aprilia's). Furthermore, we give priority to servicing bikes that WE sold.

Re: Does you local Vespa dealer suck??? No comment, but some things are obvious.

My overall update: Bought a used Vespa GT and will complete some of the services myself.

You won't go wrong there either. Very knowledgeable, many types of scoots to choose from, and great service department and great (riding gear) selection.

Crackhead/Greasy: Let me know when your in the area, I will make a special trip to say hi!

Vespa St. Louis Rocks! They did a great job helping me pick out the right scooter for me. My Fly 150 is my first scooter and I love it! I bought a disc brake alarm that didn't work right and they refunded my money no problem.

Like others have said, I had a hard time getting courteous help from motorcycle dealers who carry scooters, but Vespa STL is a dedicated scooter shop and they care really well for their customers.

I'm still waiting on a top case that is backordered, but that's not the dealership's fault. I think that's more of a demand outpacing supply issue.

If there are better dealers in your area, I'd say go to them.

I hope you had a nice memorable breakfast because I am going to come down there and slap the taste out of your mouth.

IT'S ON LIKE DONKEY KONG!

Yes.

I am sorry that your misfortune made me laugh out loud. This is the second time in a month I have to wipe coffee off of my monitor compliments of Modern Vespa. I think some even came out my nose.



"Post of the month"

Best
SDG

My dealership is overwhelmed - great people and extremely helpful for a new owner, but due to the current craze, delays getting parts and accessories - I've had a rear luggage rack on order for 2 months - still waiting....but hopeful.

Thank you kindly.....



Wait.....did you just insult me in violation of MV rules?
why I oughta..... Ha! That is funny......let us just hope it isn't run like their mail order was/is....those 6 month waits for the wrong part are brutal.

I really hope that wasn't fresh HOT coffee..
Ouch....

Oh brother,this is a tired subject & we already know that everybody loves their favorite dealer........In the short time I have been shamefully misusing the system I learned that.
It is an internet forum not Sunday school so don't read what you don't want to read....

I don't read all the crap about stebel horns ,"cagers" (they are called "cars" by the way ) & what to name my scooter.




And if I had any credibility at all I certainly wouldn't worry about harming it on the internet........in a scooter chat room.

[quote="Thom"] I think he was planning on the whole scoot, (wait, let me insert the smiley) not just parts. Things work out so much better when done in person!

I once had a Vespa dealer that sucked big time. I had to personally go to the shop, unscrew the mirror on an ET4, take verbal abuse,and walk out the door with it. My original mirror was damaged, and I was promised one in a week. After 8 months passed, I took matters into my own hands (and of course left the damaged mirror at the shop) Now, however, my Vespa dealer doesn't suck. They also sell and service BMW bikes and they treat my Vespa as it was their own. It's amazing what 30ish miles can do.

Thank you. Not sucking is actually not that difficult. What dealers need to strive for is Great Customer Service. If you do that, not sucking will just happen.

OH, I'm just happier than a pig in shit with my dealer...

OH! I didn't really run into the wall, I was being a smartass. Glad you enjoyed, though. It was intended to be laughed at.

Either way completely hilarious. I chuckle again as I read it tonight.

Thanks for that.

SDG

"Wait.....did you just insult me in violation of MV rules?
why I oughta....."

Hey Moe! Hey Larry! Yuck Yuck Yuck!


Seriously, I've had dealings with the Vespa / Piaggio dealer down near Hartford CT. The name of the place is Scooter Centrale. I was very impressed with their enthusiasm, knowledge, attitude about customer service and attention to detail. They had a great selection, and let me ride anything that interested me. When the time comes for me to buy my next scoot, I plan on giving them the business. I might be able to save $500 by buying somewhere else, but it's worth $500 to deal with someone who is going to deliver service after the sale. Nice, honest people.

You do have to understand though that most businesses have no clue about delivering exemplary customer service, regardless of the industry.

So to answer your question, not all dealers are vegetable peelers.

C

Just to add my two cents;

First both Chelsea and Muny rock!!

Both have taken care of my vintage scoots, which I traded off for modern ones (ET4 & Stella Atomic Fireball). When Muny was in C'ville, his mechanic Woody was great, but alas, both moved on. Chelsea's guy was great too. However, for me they are about 100 miles to the south down I-95, but still worth the haul.

Of the two shops in the DC area, one rocks, VESPA Washington and the other in Arlington is "sketchy" at best and as previously described, more interested in selling used cars, renting RV, and the owner is more interested talking about his golf gaming in Myrtle Beach, SC than selling VESPA's.

Kudo's to Gray at Vespa of Washington service center who today took 15 minutes out of his busy day (Sat. noon) to walk me thru the correction of a problem, hesitation, (evapo hose clough) rather having me bring the ET4 into the shop.

In closing, I'd like to say hey Gib, I'm in the market to buy a 250 and guess who I'm going to see, have a nice game down in Myrtle.

Kingfish

Or a homo. (I am said homo, and I volunteered for the job.) Men with grease under their nails HATE paperwork, God love 'em.

I know because I am always missing some form of my paperwork when I leave there, but they know their way around the insides of a scooter.

All right i will jump in with mine....the St. Augustine shop is really good, both sales and service.

Now let's all hold hands and sing Kumbaya

Yeah, so, I stopped reading about 3/4 ways through the second page. If you have a problem, take it to the dealer, be a grown up and handle it. It is bad that most dealers, including the one I worked for, have the same problems as most non- Vespa/scooter specific shops have. Lack of real service when the bike leaves the store.

Markup on Vespas is almost non-exsistant. So, in turn, most shops just want the name, and wanna move the invemtory as fast as possible, to recoup their money.

Well....I think my dealer wants to be good, but there's ONE GUY in the place that does service. I made an appointment three weeks ago for first service. I was there at the appointed time, and he was out for the day! (He's the guy I called, so it wasn't a lack of communication)It would have been a laughing matter, but I took the day off of work to get the service done. The Auto side of the dealership did the oil change, but I had to do the hub and other checks. I went back yesterday (Sat AM) to buy some stuff, and he was out for the day again. I don't dislike the dealership, just disappointed in it.

[quote="zippityjacks"] Yes, Valerie is right. Scooter Parts Direct has most of my parts business. I mean, I know my scooter gets great mileage but I don't think it would be worth riding 7 hours to Richmond for parts for my main stack.