Sue sent a message to Matthew S. Levatich – President and Chief Executive Officer of Harley-Davidson, Inc. – Email Address that said:
September 24, 2016
Mr Matt Levatich
Harley-Davidson, Inc
Dear Mr Levatich:
I am proud for your company. I am proud of it’s American-born ingenuity and it’s American-made history. I’m proud of your long-time association with countless military, police, government, and civic organizations. I have visited your Milwaukee museum twice. It oozes corporate pride and American pride.
I have a short story to tell you that I hope will make you sad.
My friends and I wanted to be part of your story. In July I signed up with my husband John, and my friends Veronika and Maureen to take the beginner riding class at City Limits Harley in Palatine, Illinois. The 4 of us were the whole class. We were told the success rate was over 95%.
Only John finished the class. The rest of us – 3 confident, fit, smart, determined, and athletic women – were told, one by one, that we were progressing too slowly and holding the others back. We were told if we stayed in the class, the others would not have time get through all the individual lessons. Yet John and Maureen finished the Saturday session 2 hours early because they had “gotten far enough for the day.” And John finished the Sunday session 4 hours early because he had successfully completed all the lessons – the entire course.
Veronika and I, each separately, called City Limits Harley the following week and asked to speak to the head of training. No return calls. No one from the dealership bothered to call to see why only 1 out of 4 people finished the class.
The following week Maureen and I called Harley’s customer service hotline in Milwaukee. Maureen talked to a young man who listened sympathetically. I talked to Heather and then to her supervisor Leslie. I could hear Heather typing my story into her computer as I talked to her. Leslie additionally asked for my contact information. My total phone time – about an hour. No follow up.
Two weeks after that I received a survey email from Harley-Davidson requesting feedback about the class. I rated our teacher everywhere from 1 – 10 on each skill mentioned. I wrote out more specifics in the places where there was that option. No follow up.
Veronika and a friend, and John and I were in Milwaukee for the Harley Labor Day Rally. We had purchased the $150 tickets before our class even started so we could rent Harley’s, drive up, be part of the fun. We specifically bought the $150 tickets so we could ride the new Harley’s first, maybe even be able to decide which ones we wanted to buy, never thinking there was even a chance that we wouldn’t finish the class.
On Friday morning, John and Veronika’s friend were test driving the new Harley’s, and as Veronika and I stood by and watched them drive away, a Harley employee who was working at that location asked why we weren’t riding if we were so excited about the bikes. We told him our story. He wrote down our names and contact info. Again, no follow up.
The ball was dropped 5 times – the head of training at City Limits Harley who didn’t return phone calls, the owner of that dealership who never looked into why only 1 out of 4 people finished a class at his store, the customer service hotline where I know information was entered into the computer, the customer service people who follow up on web surveys, and the Rally follow up staff.
I hope my Harley personal story not only makes you sad, I hope it makes you angry. It is not one of which your company should be proud. Harley is spending millions of advertising dollars trying to broaden it’s rider base. The 4 of us were eager, pumped up, excited. Now we are beyond angry, disappointed, and disillusioned.
What good is company pride if it’s lost this badly as it trickles down.
Sincerely,
Sue
