Well I hadn't been to my local motorcycle shop for a few weeks. 3 weeks ago I went to their website (which was a hosted site) and it said that the dealership is not longer using this webservice. I called the shop to see if they we open since the website was down. They answered and said that yes they were open but not longer using the webservice. I rationalized that they stopped using the site because they dropped their dealership status and were getting rid of their new bikes. Unfortunately the snowball continued to roll down hill and they have closed down.
Since buying my motorcycle from them in 2005, I had been treated very well. Prior to the housing bubble and credit crunch, they employed over 35 people. When I worked for them over the summer as a demo ride escort, the sales folks were always saying that people were interested in the bikes and some had down payments, but they couldn't get financed. At the time they announced that they were dropping their dealership status (Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki) late this fall, they were down to 6 employees. They were hoping to make it as a motorcycle service center until the market improved. The timing of trying to may payroll as just a service center in the winter in Chicago.
I wish everyone there well and hope that they are able to find employment. Besides missing the staff, I will miss the money that was already paid for prepaid maintenance. I had 2 years left on my Concours and 2 years left on Neil's Ninja 250. Alas, life is this good.
2 years ago
2 comments:
The same thing happened here in the Seattle area. A long-time dealer, almost without my notice, had to close their doors during last winter. It's sad to see good businesses having to make this choice.
Dave told me about this. He too enjoyed his experience at the shop each time he went in. I always had positive experiences too. Dave went on a ride or two they sponsored last year and enjoyed the company kept. Too bad it's now history. The south suburbs will miss this.
I'm a bit excited that a new BMW dealership is opening soon in Naperville. I won't have to go to Chicago BMW and Dave, who didn't like coming into the city, won't have to go the BMW dealer in Savoy, IL.
Good luck on your ride season!
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