So, I call a Honda dealership that has specialized in Honda's since 1968 because Murphy won't start. New battery, bike has spark and fuel pressure, fuel pump cycles, yadda yadda yadda. I call at the start of April, and they can't get my bike into the shop until April 25th. I check on it once or twice a week to see how things are going and they always say the same thing - 'we are really busy and we don't have an experienced technician to work on it and our apprentices can't figure it out'. After five weeks of this I ask them if I am going to have to take the bike somewhere else. They apologize and say 'sorry'. I make arrangements to have the bike picked up and go in to see if I owe them anything. They don't charge me for diagnostic time since they weren't able to put an experienced tech on it and properly diagnose the problem. They give me a bill for some other things I asked them to do which I pay. Go to the other shop to check my bike out and NOTHING has been done to it. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Call back the service department Thursday June 2nd - they say they will have their 'new' service manager call me. Call again on Monday June 6th since 'new guy' hasn't phoned. Apparently he called the wrong number - give them my correct number and wait for him to call. Nothing. Go in Thursday June 9th to discuss the fact I had been charged for work that was not done. 'New' service manager says 'too bad' since they put a lot of shop time into the bike, irregardless of whether it got fixed or not. Explains that they couldn't properly bleed the brakes because the calipers are off an RC51 and not original VFR parts. I figure a caliper is a caliper, and it's a Honda caliper at that. Heaven forbid you have a GL, VTR or CBR rotor on your VFR, it's no longer stock and they can't be responsible for it. Now, I don't know about you but in my business I can't expect to be paid for doing something I didn't do, nor can I be expected to be paid for 'trying' to fix something. I either fix it, or I can't fix it. Trying is for kids. Succeeding is the only thing that matters to customers in the real world. I have been taking my Honda's to this shop for 15 years. I expect them to do the right thing and refund my money, and said so to the owner. I am supposed to call him tomorrow.
