BRP Frustrated at Pockets of Popularity

[nhoj]

This quote is an excerpt from Cycle Canada's review of the F3 and its press launch. You can read the review here....
Cycle Canada==>Press Launch: Can-Am Spyder F3


But its this quote I find most interesting, "pocetized acceptance" of Spyders..

"“We are happy with our growth so far,” says José Boisjoli, president and CEO of BRP, “but we are also frustrated.” Pockets of popularity are why he’s perturbed. As an example, he discusses two dealers in Florida, both in locations with similar demographics. One sells 100 Spyders a year, the other only three. While it’s difficult to influence the diligence with which a dealer will flog your offerings, it’s easy to influence the offerings. Enter the F3."

[Chupaca]

They must really be bummed out with snowmobile sales in florida... but there are variables, perhaps if they worked with the dealers closely they could see what they are doing different...happens all over to all brands...

[jaherbst]

​Some dealers will deal and others will not. Hence two deals in same local with extremely different results. It's a no brainer!

Jack

[Brogers57]

Simple answer, Dealer A has a random person selling Spyders without a passion and cannot engage the customer. Dealer B has somebody that knows the important features and can express passion and engage the customer. Who would you buy from? Honestly, if I could find a place to hire me part time and just sell Spyders, I would. When I was selling my RS I enjoyed talking about it because of the passion I have.

[Dudley]

When buying a vehicle we like to "deal". We know the dealers have to profit or they shut the doors. When I was shopping for our first Spyder in 2008 the first dealer I sat down with was going to charge me $2500 dollars for freight and setup! Didn't take me long to get on line and get a price on shipping 2000 pounds from the east coast to California...about $750. So I went to another dealer and got it a lot cheaper. Dealers who don't deal, don't sell. Maximizing profits sounds good, but in the long run, dealing and selling more units will increase profits overall. Simple and basic Business 101. And the dealers that tell you that BRP tells them what they must sell the units for is a lot of bull. So shop and deal. Ride safe and ride long.

And if I may add, I was a saleman for a Honda M/C dealer in the early 80s. If I were a BRP Can Am dealer today, I would have the CanAm aftermarket seats and one of each of the windshields available in stock at all times. I would have a seat installed on an RT, RS and F3 so a customer could have the feel on the spot. Talk about sales! And the free advertizement would not fail you as the word spreads.

[Orange Spyder Man]

let the inept dealers fail & close up shop..... maybe a good dealer will take his place..

osm

[ARtraveler]

It would be interesting to know the actual facts behind the two dealers in FL, and why one sells 100 and the other only 3.

Also guessing its probably poor service, and poor customer relations issues for the dealer that sells only three.

[bruiser]

You all are correct but let's not forget one very important factor. Service. If a dealer is not willing or fails to give good and reasonable service after the sale word travels fast. And no one wants to deal with them. That in itself will hurt sales.

[Dragonrider]

I think the pricing issue is spot on. Looking at Cycle Trader, there's only one Florida dealer listing, and their prices are the lowest anywhere. If I were shopping right now, I'd be talking to them, and paying the $800 shipping cost. Still saving over local pricing.

Does that hurt local dealers? Yes, but when you only pay cash for toys, and do much of the servicing yourself, that pricing counts. When you are talking about $2000 or more, supporting a local dealer for that purchase is not in the cards. Aftermarket farkles? Service? Yes, local.

If Dealer "A" offers a 2015 RT S for the $29,500 MSRP, and sweetens the deal with a $500 extended warranty, and no set up fee, while Dealer "B" offers the same bike for $25,500, with a $750 warranty, and $100 set up charge - who's going to get the deal?

[BajaRon]

I would concur with previous posts. I don't think it's pockets of popularity. I think it is pockets of good dealerships. Where you have a good dealership, you've got good sales. Where you have poor dealerships, sales are off.

'Poor' can be created by everything from bad service/support to high pricing to indifferent salesmanship or disinterest by management. A 'Poor' dealer for the Spyder could very well be the best ATV or Watercraft dealer around. If you're making your money in ATV's, why commit showroom space, tech training, shop facilities and parts availability for a product that you don't really care much about to begin with.

You may already have a loyal customer base interested in another line of machines. If your plate is already pretty full it's easy to push that Spyder service to the back of the line or let that occasional Spyder customer walk out the door. That happens a few times and the cycle simply intensifies.

Believe me, a customer can tell pretty quickly if they are wanted or not. The dealer doesn't have to do a thing. And that's pretty much my point.

[MisterP]

When we decided to seriously look at Spyders, I found a reasonably close dealer who appeared to have the lowest prices on remaining 2014 inventory, and they showed several white RTLs in stock, with stock numbers etc.

When we got to the dealer, ours was the only white left, and in fact they only had two 2014s left in inventory, despite a web site showing over a dozen.

The price was good, but the sales mgr. would not discuss any other price. I credit the salesman for working me a discount on a couple of options I wanted from the dealer.

I consider a bad website to be poor customer service. I think in essence it misrepresents what the dealer is offering, and in today's world much of the initial searching is done this way.

So far I have not had complaints about the service department, they have been helpful with a couple of small issues I had.

So, I suspect some dealers put out a great website showing a lot of bikes, then people find out the reality when they get there, and it will lose them customers over time.

[MRH]

I also can't help but wonder if having or not having a Spyder available for a test ride could influence a prospective buyer.

[JayBros]

...Dealers who don't deal, don't sell. Maximizing profits sounds good, but in the long run, dealing and selling more units will increase profits overall. Simple and basic Business 101. And the dealers that tell you that BRP tells them what they must sell the units for is a lot of bull. So shop and deal. Ride safe and ride long.

Early last fall the Can-Am dealer four miles from our house declined to even offer (not even getting to dealing yet) prices on a spreadsheet for the Spyder I wanted to purchase. The ride to my dealer is a pleasant 180 mile round trip.
Snoozers ultimately lose.

[Roadster Renovations]

Be interested in seeing how well the repair part of the two shops functioned and whether that affected sales. People won't buy from a dealer that they don't like for their repairs.

[ARtraveler]

When we decided to seriously look at Spyders, I found a reasonably close dealer who appeared to have the lowest prices on remaining 2014 inventory, and they showed several white RTLs in stock, with stock numbers etc.

When we got to the dealer, ours was the only white left, and in fact they only had two 2014s left in inventory, despite a web site showing over a dozen.

The price was good, but the sales mgr. would not discuss any other price. I credit the salesman for working me a discount on a couple of options I wanted from the dealer.

I consider a bad website to be poor customer service. I think in essence it misrepresents what the dealer is offering, and in today's world much of the initial searching is done this way.

So far I have not had complaints about the service department, they have been helpful with a couple of small issues I had.

So, I suspect some dealers put out a great website showing a lot of bikes, then people find out the reality when they get there, and it will lose them customers over time.

Dealers showing a full line up of "in stock" Spyders seems to be the norm these days. My local dealer is "fully stocked" with all the 2015's. In reality, they don't have any in stock.

[Cruzr Joe]

What does my dealer (one who is 250 miles away from me) do that several dealers closer don't?

My dealer (PitBull PowerSports in Springfield, MO.) 417 863-1418

A: Rides a Spyder.

B: Offers a good service department, with people that know how to service a Spyder.

C: Hosts different Spyder related events.

D: Will accept trade-ins.

E: Offers fair pricing.

The list could go on, but i think you get the idea.

Thank you Len & Vanessa.

Cruzr Joe

[ARtraveler]

What does my dealer (one who is 250 miles away from me) do that several dealers closer don't?

My dealer (PitBull PowerSports in Springfield, MO.) 417 863-1418

A: Rides a Spyder.

B: Offers a good service department, with people that know how to service a Spyder.

C: Hosts different Spyder related events.

D: Will accept trade-ins.

E: Offers fair pricing.

The list could go on, but i think you get the idea.

Thank you Len & Vanessa.

Cruzr Joe

And when you find a good dealer, you stick with them. Bought all five from the same dealer here.

[M109Dreamer]

The statement from the CEO also tells me he still doesnt have a clue of the demographic that buys Spyders and why they do. And why when paying big $$$ for a "toy" the buyers will travel a considerable distance to make sure of all the statements that have been made above. BRP, feel free to crack a business 101 book.

And if he really wanted to know why the one dealership sales 100 and the other only a few, get off your butt and do some investigating research.

Are your fingers broke? Feel free to call the 100 customers and ask them. Geeesh!

[bmccaffrey]

MAYBE HE SHOULD TRY UNDERCOVER BOSS!!!!!!!!

[Big F]

What does my dealer (one who is 250 miles away from me) do that several dealers closer don't?

My dealer (PitBull PowerSports in Springfield, MO.) 417 863-1418

A: Rides a Spyder.

B: Offers a good service department, with people that know how to service a Spyder.

C: Hosts different Spyder related events.

D: Will accept trade-ins.

E: Offers fair pricing.

The list could go on, but i think you get the idea.

Thank you Len & Vanessa.

Cruzr Joe

Reading all of the comments about the dealers there are only two real issues. Sales and service. When I traded my 2012 RT Limited for a 2014 RT Limited last year there was a HUGE asking price difference between three dealers. The local dealer here in Omaha won't sell many Spyders because of their don't care attitude and pricing. I found a dealer that traded for $3,700 less and offers excellent service! My new dealer of choice even beat Pitbull by $1,700!!! Now that is HUGE for identical Spyders! Enough said.
THE BIG F

[Gray Ghost]

We bought our Spyder in Kissimmee, FL. I saw a lot of people from other parts of the state come there to buy and get service even though other dealers were closer. Possible reasons: When we started looking at getting a trike I was leaning towards a GW, but decided we needed to at least try a Spyder. I had never driven a trike but the dealership let me test drive a RT and a F6B trike. That impressed me, but the service department was the real gem. Anytime my bike was in the shop, it came out with a full tank of fuel, and when I needed to do other things then sit and wait, a loaner was offered. They were also one of the first dealerships to do ROLO laser alignments, they offer a special deal on the BajaRon swaybar, support SRA fairly heavily in the area, etc.

I have a feeling that they are the ones selling 100.

[Dudley]

Had forgotten about a message I sent (via their FB page) to the dealer I have bought and paid cash for, our 2008 GS SE5 and our 2010 RT SM5. If you want to know who he is, message me: :

Just want to let you know that my wife and I were there today. We went in and went straight to the Spyders (about 1:30). We looked at, sat on, walked around the 2 black RT Spyders (one basic and one Limited) and the flat yellow one and the one with the GIVI bags. NO ONE, and I mean NOT ONE of ANY of your people even acknowledged that we even existed! One man at the desk near the wall was busy playing with his cell phone, another across from him by the pillar was jabbing on the land line, the GM was walking/standing around on his cell phone. Not even an eye contact. I even walked around slowly, looking at each of your useless people, almost asking for one of them to come and say hello. The one playing with his cell was no more than 2 motorcycle lengths from where I was stopped in the aisle, looking right at him. He just looked and kept playing with his cell phone. WE have purchased a 2008 GS SE-5 and then a 2010 RT SM-5 from FBC, but today told us that they were the last thing we are going to buy from you.

Did I get a response? An apology? Not even.

[dtkennney]

The dealer ownership makes the difference. In the Portland Oregon/Washington area we have two dealers. One of the dealer managers is actively involved in the oregon can am club. The other dealer manager is not.

Secondly the the dealer who is involved in the club has a Spyder tech who is absolutely the best tech I have ever seen.

Guess which dealer sells more Spyders?

[Dragonrider]

There are actually three dealers in the Portland area - and the one in Portland proper could't give me a new bike... The Vancouver dealer is tops in all areas, just a long way away, and the dealer in Salem is new, and trying hard.

The Website for the dealer in Vancouver shows EVERY Spyder model, and all years they were made. Then the dealer highlights the number of each model he has in stock - if he has none, it shows none. That's the best system I've seen. My Salem dealer shows actual pictures of the units he has in stock - if there's a picture, he has it. He removes sold units as soon as paperwork is completed, and you take the keys. I don't pay attention to the third dealer....

[jcthorne]

This quote is an excerpt from Cycle Canada's review of the F3 and its press launch. You can read the review here....
Cycle Canada==>Press Launch: Can-Am Spyder F3


But its this quote I find most interesting, "pocetized acceptance" of Spyders..

"“We are happy with our growth so far,” says José Boisjoli, president and CEO of BRP, “but we are also frustrated.” Pockets of popularity are why he’s perturbed. As an example, he discusses two dealers in Florida, both in locations with similar demographics. One sells 100 Spyders a year, the other only three. While it’s difficult to influence the diligence with which a dealer will flog your offerings, it’s easy to influence the offerings. Enter the F3."

Yes, well the owner community is frustrated by pockets of dealer quality.

BRP has much work to do to develop and maintain a dealer organization with any consistent level of sales and service support.