[Zanetti]

Think not Thinks... stupid keyboard

I just got off the phone with no less than Peter Carleo the Manager of Customer Relations for Triumph North America.
Peter was a cordial and knowledgeable guy.

We talked about a few things. One was forums such as this one. I referenced this specific forum several times to Peter
and, as we were both talking candidly, he chuckled and said emphatically "we don't ever read the forums"

I protested some and pointed out how valuable the forums are for various reasons, not the least of which was providing anecdotal evidence of certain mechanical problems being wide spread. Peter wasn't moved.
He went on to tell me how huge and world wide Triumph Motorcycles is and that they only react (care about) technical feedback coming from Triumph Dealers. That seems reasonable to me.

In short- No, Triumph doesn't ever read Triumph Forums

He took my vin # (last 6 digits) and looked it up to see what work had been reported on it. The answer was a shocking "no work", even though the dealer had my bike for 4 days trying to fix a problem under warranty. My dealer never reported the problem or work done.
And that once the customer takes the bike away from the dealership all problems are deemed resolved and no further effort is made to resolve the problem - in absentia.

I told him how Triumph of Tampa had said that every Bobber they have seen or sold had a problem with the fuel gauge and he told me politely but assuredly, 'if he doesn't hear it from a dealer its not a fact'.

To make matters worse he said my 2 month old bike had not been registered but the dealer with Triumph and therefore was no longer under warranty (because they only allow 10 days).

I still love my Bobber.

 

[muensterDeath]

This is very disappointing......

 

[Bobby]

I guess that's understandable with how many triumph forums are out there in the world, in various languages and time zones. They'll need a whole team dedicated to such an undertaking.

But the dealerships not reporting anything to Triumph is even more disappointing. Maybe you have to outright ask them to give Triumph technical feedback.

 

[Nitro]

Did Mr. Carleo mention why has there been such a long wait for all the accessories to come in?

 

[getor]

You experienced a typical 'corporate' attitude. Be not surprised. The company now is run by professional managers that likely more pretend to be more than are bike enthusiasts. They probably were once but they are now caught up in the corporate maelstrom. Nothing wrong in professionalising the company of course. But we shall not be surprised to be met by these somewhat aloof attitudes.

It is like with Harley. They get folksy from time to time, put on the leathers to fire up the masses. But the real job is accounting and presentation to investors and quarterly reports. That is their full fokus.

That said, I am a little surprised that the good Mr. Peter Carleo being the Manager of Customer Relations bluntly claim that he has no interest whatsoever in his customers activities as they are manifested in forums like this and will only rely on feedback from his dealers. That describes a detachment that I hardly can believe. Maybe and I hope that he does but won't admit as if he did he would open the floodgate for opinionated owners that will demand attention and response.

Pioneering for the Tesla Model S, my experience from the forum hosted on the Tesla website was that Tesla admitted that it was an information source that they found useful. It was never officially expressed but often referred to when contacting customer support. Even Elon Musk admitted to know about issues raised therein.

So, I belive it is worthwhile to address all kinds of issues in forums as I think the good Mr. Peter Carleo and also Triumph UK will keep an eye on views and opinions. Wether they will admit and act accordingly is an entirely different issue. Forums are important, but don't forget that only a fraction of owners use or even read them so we the frequent users here are not exactly a cross section of owners.

My hand is raised that they do.

 

[Bobber]

Triumph, along with most other corporates, have processes and policies in place for feedback and complaints. It's very easy to get in touch with them for that kind of stuff. We're not seriously suggesting that these big companies should be trawling the thousands of internet forums and posts that are made and taking everything anyone says as being gospel. We all know that the forums are full of crap much of the time or folk getting things wrong. Triumph would never get any bikes built if they had to respond to every post about some 'issue' with the bikes etc.

There will be probably be folk from Triumph and other companies who are on forums and who may pick up on stuff but unlikely to be in any official capacity.

Sounds like we should be telling Triumph that the Tampa dealer needs educated on how the bikes work though !! I bet someone will be having a word with them if Triumph hear they've been telling customers that every Bobber has a problem!!

The warranty thing must be different to the UK. They wouldn't be allowed to say it wasn't covered by warranty in that situation here. Hope you get that resolved!

 

[DOCGSS]

My understanding is that under US federal law warranties do not require registration. There have been many cases supporting this. That is why you no longer find warranty registration cards with electronics.

 

[muensterDeath]

Think not Thinks... stupid keyboard

I just got off the phone with no less than Peter Carleo the Manager of Customer Relations for Triumph North America.
Peter was a cordial and knowledgeable guy.

We talked about a few things. One was forums such as this one. I referenced this specific forum several times to Peter
and, as we were both talking candidly, he chuckled and said emphatically "we don't ever read the forums"

I protested some and pointed out how valuable the forums are for various reasons, not the least of which was providing anecdotal evidence of certain mechanical problems being wide spread. Peter wasn't moved.
He went on to tell me how huge and world wide Triumph Motorcycles is and that they only react (care about) technical feedback coming from Triumph Dealers. That seems reasonable to me.

In short- No, Triumph doesn't ever read Triumph Forums

He took my vin # (last 6 digits) and looked it up to see what work had been reported on it. The answer was a shocking "no work", even though the dealer had my bike for 4 days trying to fix a problem under warranty. My dealer never reported the problem or work done.
And that once the customer takes the bike away from the dealership all problems are deemed resolved and no further effort is made to resolve the problem - in absentia.

I told him how Triumph of Tampa had said that every Bobber they have seen or sold had a problem with the fuel gauge and he told me politely but assuredly, 'if he doesn't hear it from a dealer its not a fact'.

To make matters worse he said my 2 month old bike had not been registered but the dealer with Triumph and therefore was no longer under warranty (because they only allow 10 days).

I still love my Bobber.

1st, I am no way stating the convo you had with your dealer or with Mr. Carleo isn't accurate (you had the calls, you would know) - your post made me go check with my dealer to make sure all was in order for my bike. I just want to share his response with you:

"Glad you’re enjoying the Bonneville Bobber and rest assured that all is well with regards to registration, etc.

ALL dealers must register their sold bikes at the time of sale to ensure that the bike has not only been reported to Triumph America to earn the sale for the qualifying month goals, but more importantly, so that the bike’s in-service date is reflected for warranty purposes. Here is your VIN / Customer Inquiry with Triumph America reflecting your registration date and first service[/I]:

WAS A SCREEN SHOT SHOWING MY REGISTRATION DATE, OTHER DETAILS, AND WHEN THE 1st SERVICE WAS LOGGED

I am sure that the conversation with the forum contributor and Triumph went a little differently than described. True that a lot of brand execs don’t have a lot of time to spend on forums and take them with a grain of salt."

Perhaps your dealer mispoke, as indications are that in order to get paid for the sale they would of had to have registered it. Maybe Mr. Carleo typoed you digits into whatever system/database he was checking. May be worth double checking.

 

[Zanetti]

the next day my dealer, not Tampa Triumph, apologized profusely to me for not registered my bike... (from 2/24 purchase) it just fell through the paperwork cracks. they assured me my warranty is now good to go.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Zanetti]

the next day my dealer, not Tampa Triumph, apologized profusely to me for not registered my bike... (from 2/24 purchase) it just fell through the paperwork cracks. they assured me my warranty is now good to go.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

the conversation went just as I described.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[muensterDeath]

I believe it did and am glad they got you sorted out. I would have been livid if I was told my bike wasn't under warranty due to their f-up. I prob would have said "so I guess that means you are giving me an extended shop warranty for free!?"