Fowlers (Fowlups) Motorcycles....... Suck Donkey Balls

[Fisty]

I need two 100mm exhaust springs for a system of unknown origin, simple thinks I. I will pop to fowlers and pick up a pair, easy enough I thought.

How wrong could I be??

I arrived at the parts counter to be greeted by a 12 year old, after asking if they had any exhaust springs the conversation went something like this.....

Him:- What bike is it for?
Me:- No bike in particular, its a one off system.
Him:- Do you have a chassis number?
Me:- No as the exhaust isnt original
Him:- I cant get one off the computer without a bike model
Me:- So you cant go into a store room and look for them or type exhaust spring as a search into your computer?
Him:-No. I dont know how to.

My old bike shop where I used to live would bend over backwards to help in that situation, infact when I got home I called them and within 10 minutes a suitable pair were ordered and in the post to me.

What the actual fuck?? What happened to decent customer service and actually trying to help a customer. This isnt the first bad experience with them but it will be the last!!
____________________
Quietly and consistently taking the piss.
TL1000R | Hayabusa | ZXR400 | TL1000S | Bandit 400 V
Fatter and faster than Fret

[Marmalade]

For such a thing I would have tried M.R. motorcycles in lawrence hill or HRS at Old Market just by Trinity Road cop shop.
____________________
Nobby the Bastard: How yo tell the difference between the actual japanese and her just screaming because she's had live fish stuck up her arse? [url=https://www.nicks-shop.co.uk/bcf-goodies-15-c.aspGet BCF stickers and things here[/url] Reflective helmet stickers - Legal requirement in france - Clicky

[Fisty]

[Polarbear]

It's not so much the shop but the modern stock system in a large company. That and the drongo on the computer who knows jack shit about bikes and wouldn't have a clue what you asked for.

I wouldn't paint all dealer franchises the same, but I bet you would get a similar reaction in quite a few. If you can't get a computer number for it, it doesn't exist.

Sadly, shops like the one you phoned up are getting fewer and fewer. They can't compete with ebay so they are going under. In MK there is one place like that left and he only keeps going because of the Harley and custom bike scene he is part of.
____________________
Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[N cee thirty]

delt with a shop last week for the first time in a while instead of ebay to sort out my pushbike

cunty attitude towards me, wanted more than the agreed price when the work was done

never again
____________________
'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

Jewlio Iglesias wrote: I actually did vote BNP once

[69.9mph]

Computer says 'No'.

Welcome to the future - button pushers in the place of people with experience.

[Vincent]

The parts are probably in bins according the their number so there'd be no bin with just exhaust springs which means he would have to look through all the bins until finding one. If they'd have been a bit more experienced, you might have been lucky.
A specialist shop would be different.

I've found some exhaust springs very difficult to find, especially for expansion chambers.
____________________
Space Is Deep

[andyscooter]

We take the customer to the gaskets if they want somthing for a special exhaust system we do the same with batterries as well

Ive even gone through all the suspension springs trying to match one up
____________________
gilera runner vxr200 (chavped)
if its spelt wrong its my fat fingers and daft auto correct on my tablet

[_Iain_]

Fowlers are pretty good. Place im doing work trial at gets a lot of parts from em...

But no, matey at desk is a tool. On the system i've been working with today its a case of part no., or a search for an odd word i.e OIL, or FUSE. You then select 15A BLADE, Then it gives you a box number, i.e HC02, you rake round the storeroom for said box, whereby theres about 20 different bits in it & you find a 15A blade fuse in the bottom.

Without the system knowing roughly what you want, you have a room full of a million boxes full of everything you could possibly imagine in it. Theres absolutely no idea on where to start! Its a case of him having no idea how to get the info out of the computer - not the company at fault.
____________________
Please be aware that the above post may be full of complete nonsense.
Riding: '07 KTM Duke II, Baotian BT49QT-20 Driving: '88 Volvo 340

[MarJay]

If that was me, and in Reading I'd go to the Motorcycle Parts Centre. They have an honest to goodness Microfiche machine and boxes of parts. If you bring in a part, they ask you what make the part is and then they go and look for it in amongst boxes and boxes of labelled parts.

They hardly ever fail to have the right part in stock, particularly generic parts. They even had a kickstart return spring for my MZ... It was old and covered in dust, but they had one. It cost £1!
____________________
British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Walloper]

[base]

Its a sign of the times IMO, I went into Fraser in gloucester just needed about 30cm of fuel pipe for the fireblade.......................they would have to order it from honda..............my usual shop have a reel of it, but then they are mechanics rather than service technicians..........

[sickpup]

[map]

I have found this a lot now with dealers.
They do not keep parts in stock, even what I would regard as service items.
They have to order, its all this just in time stock control stuff.

In the old days there would be a guy in an overall who would open a wooden draw and reveal what you want.

My experience was something similar wanting some replacement bolts for master brake cylinder cover. Told they had have to order, but as just before a bank holiday did not know when they would receive them. Luckily a manager was hovering nearby and helped out. Took bolts from a display bike and said they would just order the replacements and fit refit them to that bike. Sadly did not get them for free though
____________________
...and the whirlwind is in the thorn trees, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks...
Gibbs, what did Duckie look like when he was younger?

[Clive L]

[Rogerborg]

[Walloper]