They finally did the right thing.

By Phillip Floria

I was surprised when I opened my email and read the letters from Curt and John Visco. You may not remember either one so I will bring you up to date with the short version.

Curt was the unhappy owner of a 2002 American Iron Horse which set him back $28,000, before he could get it broke in, it caught fire, and then a whole list of problems cropped up. He sent us an email outlining his problem with the dealer and American Iron Horse, which you can read on our Praise and Complaints Page.

I then received an email from John Visco then the owner of Easy Riders of Virginia Beach, he was upset that we put Curt’s complaint on the web, and he expressed some concern about how it might be mistaken for his dealership Easy Riders of Virginia Beach.

I answered John’s email and I did acknowledge the possibility someone could be misled to think it was John’s store and I put a disclaimer on the page for him. Then I challenged him to intervene with American Iron Horse on Curt’s behalf. I didn’t think at the time he would. The long and the short of it, John did just that, he rose to the challenge and now Curt is riding a new motorcycle whether or not it was John’s intervention, he did offer to help, even though this was not his customer. Curt, if you haven't read the email is from OMAHA, NE, not exactly the local area.

John has very strong feelings about American Iron Horse, he was firmly standing behind the product he was selling then and does now at Iron Core Custom Motorcycles (formerly Easyriders of Va Beach) IronCoreCustom.com 757-631-1443. John was adamant about AIH's great customer relations and was sure the situation would be taken care of, and it finally did.

I think regardless of what John is selling I think you will find in him, a dealer who not only believes in the motorcycle he is selling, but will take the extra steps to insure his customers enjoy their ownership experience.

Read the original emails on the "Praise and Complaints Page" and then read the follow on emails here, and you can draw you own conclusions.

Curt:
I read your letter concerning your Ironhorse in the BikerEnews.com for Hampton Roads. Would you please elaborate more with the name of the dealer, IronHorse model and year, and any other information that could help me understand the nature of your problem. I am the IronHorse dealer for Hampton Roads Virginia, and even though I am not anywhere near your home, maybe I can provide some help to resolve your problem.

John Visco
Iron Core Custom Motorcycles
(formerly Easyriders of Va Beach)
IronCoreCustom.com
viscorp@aol.com
757-631-1443

They finally did the right thing by exchanging my Oulaw with a new Slammer--strait up!!

Curt

Phil:
Please print this side of the story on your website. IronHorse happens to be not only the best manufacturer of Custom production bikes, but the best in customer relations.

John Visco
Iron Core Custom Motorcycles
(formerly Easyriders of Va Beach)
IronCoreCustom.com
viscorp@aol.com
757-631-1443

John,
Your email was a real surprise, I am impressed that you took the time to offer to help Curt, even though he was not your customer. And now that we know after ten months American Iron Horse has made good to resolve the problem. Did you intercede with AIH in Curt's behalf?

Phil Floria
Editor,Webmaster, Head Water Boy,
Biker eNews
Living and Riding, Free in Hampton Roads VA.

Curt,
Please tell me how the it came about? I had challenged a local dealer to intercede on your behalf, and before I give him credit I need to know if he did anything to help. Your first email to me was in Sept. 02, it took ten months for them to finally make good, I don't call that "the Best Customer Relations in the business". However I am glad for you that your happy and back in the wind again. The bike looks awesome.

Phil Floria
Editor,Webmaster, Head Water Boy,
Biker eNews
Living and Riding, Free in Hampton Roads VA

Phil:

No I did not do anything directly in Curts case other than offer him assistance. I knew IronHorse would not let him down because I have never seen them do that in the three years we have been doing business with then. They have stood behind every issue we have ever had. They are a great company. As you may or may not know, we have had several other franchises we no longer do business with, for precisely the customer satisfaction issue. That is why American IronHorse is still our main franchise.

John Visco
Iron Core Custom Motorcycles
(formerly Easyriders of Va Beach)
IronCoreCustom.com
viscorp@aol.com
757-631-1443

The following is Curt's answer to my email:

After a month of red tape, AIH authorized another dealer to do the warrantee work. The bike went into the shop October 22, 2002.

That same week I was in Florida (wife's gift to me for my fortieth b-day) and went to Daytona to check out Biketoberfest. While there, I stood in front of the AIH dealer display at the speedway and had handouts made of all of the problems I was having and gave them out to anyone who would take them (I think I passed out around 35).

After 20 minutes of handouts, a red Dodge pickup showed up with a security guard and two guys wearing AIH t-shirts. One of them was the company president, Tim Edmondson. He was pissed and told me that I was handling the matter the wrong way. Security asked me to leave then Edmondson told me that when he returned to Texas he would call me to resolve the matter.

January rolled around and I never got a call. The dealer doing the repairs was still waiting on parts and not getting much cooperation from AIH. I decided to hire a lawyer. The lawyer talked big at first, thinking all he had to do was send a couple of nasty letters to get cooperation.

AIH sent the wrong parts 3 times. The first time the dealer wanted to send the front fender (recall the problems I was having with the rear fender) so the factory could match paint. AIH assured us that the paint information needed was all on a computer and that they could easily match the paint.

The first fender came back and was not even close. Furthermore, AIH did not include the taillight and turn signals with the fender. 3 more fenders were sent, the third was CLOSE to a match, but not exact. When it's your toy--and it cost 3 Gr to paint, it has to be exact.

While the parts debacle continued, deals between my lawyer and AIH went on. It was May when I took my bike out of the shop--paint not exact. I rode the bike 50 miles, never with a passenger, and the fender cracked and one of the bolts broke again. My lawyer was giving up because his letters weren't working and he wasn't too crazy about a lawsuit. The shop that did the work did not want to see my bike again because they never got paid from the work they did earlier.

I was planning another rally visit to the AIH display, and then decided to try calling them myself one last time. When I called, it was like I was talking to a completely different company. They were asking me what I wanted to do. I told them since they could not match paint I wanted all new sheet metal (black-no logo) 3 Gr refund for the paint job, 1500 for my lawyer, and to pay the shop that did my warrantee work. They said no problem and told me it would be about a week to get it all together.

THEY started calling me and giving me updates. Then I noticed two primary cover bolts stripped out and fluid was leaking. I was certain that my bike was going to continue to give me heartburn so I called them and told them I was fed up. The next day I got a call from Don Wilson.

Don asked me what it would take to make me happy. He also told me that these are "Hot Rod" bikes that vibrate like a MF and some of the problems are part of owning this kind of machine. He was dealing with other customers with similar problems. (Maybe they should re-think their warranty) I told him if all of his motorcycles were the same as the one I bought, I wanted my money back. If he thought I got a lemon that doesn't represent all of their bikes, an exchange would be fine. He told me to look for a dealer in my area and give him a call.

I found a dealer within 120 miles. They had an Outlaw, the same model I was returning, but it was white-a color I didn't want. They also had a Slammer-listing for about 6 Gr more than the Outlaw. He was reluctant to trade for the Slammer, but after I told him about license, insurance, lawyer fees, etc. he agreed that the exchange would be a better business decision. We agreed that an exchange would work.

I had to haul the old bike to the dealer and take care of my lawyer cost. The shop that did the work got paid and now has about six AIH riders as customers. The former AIH dealer in Omaha no longer carries the brand. They are struggling. If they would have serviced my first bike in a timely manner, none of this would have happened. I have heard of other customers getting exchanges.

The dealer you spoke about did contact me. I'm not sure if they took any action on my behalf, they were genuinely concerned.

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