There has to be another option besides Ducati of Manhattan

[sp00f]

Man what a bunch of boneheads! I thought HD dealers were obnoxious but Duc of SOHO takes the cake. I need a shop that's close to Brooklyn. I don't have a trailer and live in a building so I don't have a place to work on my bike.

Does anyone know an alternative that is withing a few miles?

Thanks for letting me vent

I came across this message today and immediately sent it over to Steve, the GM at Manhattan Ducati, because I was concerned.  Having just picked up my 2009 M1100 approximately 2 weeks ago from Etienne and Steve there, I was really disheartened to see others leaving the store with this perception of them.  While it is true, I did have to wait to speak with someone on my first trip, I have to say, all in all, my experience was one of the best I have had when purchasing a motorcycle (this is my 3rd new bike and 4th total since 2001). 

In fact, Steve took the time to introduce me to everyone in the shop including the techs who work on the bikes and the service manager which was important to me.  I like to be a regular customer and since I bought a Term full system and sport seat as well as having them do the tail chop it was awesome to meet the guys who were responsible for doing that work.  I have always worked on my own bikes and taken a lot of care with them, after talking with them I feel they are going to take just as good care of my bike as I would when working on it.

I really hope that anyone who had a poor experience at Manhattan Ducati gives them a second chance.  I'd even suggest letting Steve know about your experiences so that he can use it to make things even better.

I won't even get into my experience with Fabian over at bmw/duc in Metuchen.....it makes me ill.

ride safe
Josh

[KARNYC]

Opinions of various shops always tends to fluctuate. I'm pretty good friends with most of the guys in at Duc NY and while they're not perfect & do need to change a couple of things, that doesn't mean they're bad people. They've just got a new GM in the store, the market is crappy & like any other small business they're under pressure with the economy the way it is. That doesn't mean that customer service should go out the window of course. I've seen several complaints about Duc NY that were actually just a one sided story from someone with totally unrealistic expectations. Not all or even the majority of complaints fall into this category but some (and usually the loudest complaints) do.

If you don't want to go to Duc NY, I'd personally be taking my bike to ECS (and do because it's way closer to where I keep my bike, like 50 miles rather than 100). They're not a certified Duc shop but they're excellent & very good people. They're having an open house this Sunday, check it out.

Never really said they were bad people! Just boneheads :-) I also think since the economy is crappy shops would be more than willing to accommodate not ignore and give attitude. I'm willing to spend good money, wait my turn (so work gets done correctly) and get the bike. I never ask for discounts all I care is that the work is done right "my butt" is on that bike so is quite important that I feel comfortable with whoever is doing work on my bike. I'm sure there is a bunch of people that are happy with their service. So far I'm not impressed.

[KARNYC]

I came across this message today and immediately sent it over to Steve, the GM at Manhattan Ducati, because I was concerned.  Having just picked up my 2009 M1100 approximately 2 weeks ago from Etienne and Steve there, I was really disheartened to see others leaving the store with this perception of them.  While it is true, I did have to wait to speak with someone on my first trip, I have to say, all in all, my experience was one of the best I have had when purchasing a motorcycle (this is my 3rd new bike and 4th total since 2001). 

In fact, Steve took the time to introduce me to everyone in the shop including the techs who work on the bikes and the service manager which was important to me.  I like to be a regular customer and since I bought a Term full system and sport seat as well as having them do the tail chop it was awesome to meet the guys who were responsible for doing that work.  I have always worked on my own bikes and taken a lot of care with them, after talking with them I feel they are going to take just as good care of my bike as I would when working on it.

I really hope that anyone who had a poor experience at Manhattan Ducati gives them a second chance.  I'd even suggest letting Steve know about your experiences so that he can use it to make things even better.

I won't even get into my experience with Fabian over at bmw/duc in Metuchen.....it makes me ill.

ride safe
Josh

Josh,

I'm glad you had a good experience. perhaps the new GM will make things better.

[Got Duc]

Like EvilSteve said

ECS 

[Howie]

Opinions of various shops always tends to fluctuate. I'm pretty good friends with most of the guys in at Duc NY and while they're not perfect & do need to change a couple of things, that doesn't mean they're bad people. They've just got a new GM in the store, the market is crappy & like any other small business they're under pressure with the economy the way it is. That doesn't mean that customer service should go out the window of course. I've seen several complaints about Duc NY that were actually just a one sided story from someone with totally unrealistic expectations. Not all or even the majority of complaints fall into this category but some (and usually the loudest complaints) do.

If you don't want to go to Duc NY, I'd personally be taking my bike to ECS (and do because it's way closer to where I keep my bike, like 50 miles rather than 100). They're not a certified Duc shop but they're excellent & very good people. They're having an open house this Sunday, check it out.

The shop is not certified, but both Steve and Jay are factory trained, not sure about Sean's training, but he is also excellent. 

[EvilSteve]

The shop is not certified, but both Steve and Jay are factory trained, not sure about Sean's training, but he is also excellent.

Yep, I'm friends with all of these guys too so I'm not exactly un-biased but I really do think they do an excellent job.

@ KARNYC: some people have totally unrealistic expectations about what service is, some customers suffer because of these other people who occupy phones etc. I'm not saying they're perfect but, if you have had issues with them I'd suggest you contact Steve & see what he's willing to do to assist. The mark of a good store isn't when everything's perfect, it's how they deal with problems. If you don't give them the chance, you'll never find out how good they are (I've certainly found this out but as I said I know them and call most of them friends so I don't expect you to take my word for it).

[ducpainter]

Yep, I'm friends with all of these guys too so I'm not exactly un-biased but I really do think they do an excellent job.

<snip>

You admit that you're friends with those guys?

[EvilSteve]

Proudly. Well, except Steve, I'm kind of embarrassed about that...