The staff/shop gets a big commission out of that finance.

Pretty much all foreigners pay cash, resulting in way less commision/profit.

Hence they prefer to serve Thais, simple economics!

Good point Monty, those financed deals are sweet- for the dealer. Same in the USA, the real money is in financing the vehicle

I went to the Honda garage opposite side of the road to Robinsons in Siracha, it was good service, cheaper and better all round experience, as I too went through the' I dont give a s@*t attitude

I think its managements fault with the staffing issue.

They dont collect stats so cant assign goals.

If they did, they could assign sales quotas. Sell over, get bonus. Sell under consecutively and your out the door.

Not only would sales improve, but so would consumer relations and that all mighty discount that sales people dont give, because they dont give a shit

Let's face it..........don't we all hate the "running after you sales people" in a shop or showroom?

That's probably the case with the sales-people at Mityon.......they know that Thai like the attention and will never ask to be helped, but farangs would like to be left alone.

Of course, it's pretty normal, that IF you ask for attention that you will get it.

The staff/shop gets a big commission out of that finance.

Pretty much all foreigners pay cash, resulting in way less commision/profit.

Hence they prefer to serve Thais, simple economics!

Good point Monty, those financed deals are sweet- for the dealer. Same in the USA, the real money is in financing the vehicle

I've been into bike shops in the Philippines which wouldn't sell for cash.

I came across another shop on 3rd Road where they were not interested in talking to me. I suspect for the same reason.

I went to the Honda garage opposite side of the road to Robinsons in Siracha, it was good service, cheaper and better all round experience, as I too went through the' I dont give a s@*t attitude

This is Yanyon Sri Racha if I am not mistaken. I mentioned them very early on in this thread.

They are the Honda Service Centre for Sri Racha.

I went to the Honda garage opposite side of the road to Robinsons in Siracha, it was good service, cheaper and better all round experience, as I too went through the' I dont give a s@*t attitude

This is Yanyon Sri Racha if I am not mistaken. I mentioned them very early on in this thread.

They are the Honda Service Centre for Sri Racha.

I'd rather put up with a cold reception than travel so far to buy a motorcycle. To me that is quite extreme... especially if you need after sales-service. I'm all for convenience. It's not all that difficult to find friendly motorcycle shops in Pattaya.

Ok So im glad that it is not just me that staff at Mityon ignore! sounds like they do it to all foreigners

Mityon Sucks.

I went to the Honda garage opposite side of the road to Robinsons in Siracha, it was good service, cheaper and better all round experience, as I too went through the' I dont give a s@*t attitude

This is Yanyon Sri Racha if I am not mistaken. I mentioned them very early on in this thread.

They are the Honda Service Centre for Sri Racha.

I'd rather put up with a cold reception than travel so far to buy a motorcycle. To me that is quite extreme... especially if you need after sales-service. I'm all for convenience. It's not all that difficult to find friendly motorcycle shops in Pattaya.

Not if you live in Sri Racha!

I have been three times, to a small bike shop, and no help at all, so its not just the big shops.

As far talking about "time wasters", wow, you must be Thai! If you look at a product, and dont buy, that really pisses Thai's off. How can you decide on something, if you dont have a look at it and ask questions? Im looking for a new bike, and when I go to shop, I expect someone to give me a price, but that seems hard for them to do. Especially with a bike, there are so many options, you just dont go in and give them a hand full of money.

Yeah, most sales people are too busy with their phones, but that can be said for all Thai's here, even the working girls seem to be talking or starring in at their phones, maybe waiting for the PM to call.

I absolutely hate when a sales persons is in my way and bothering me with stupid questions and useless "product facts" in an incompetent attempt to somehow make a sale. Thai sales people often know little about what they are attempting to sell. Many seem to have received no training before being placed on the sales floor. This is often the case in places that sell big ticket items, like Lotus, Big C, PowerBuy and the Home stores. I usually gather what little they have to offer and then do my own research to decide what is best for me.

I have been to a number of Mityon shops and generally had good experiences. Actually I prefer when they don't hover over me while I am looking. They are available to answer questions when approached and do so willingly. Mityon provides quality service and has a good supply of parts available for their many shops. (about 25 in Pattaya). They have been able to provide the exact models I wanted from their huge stock located around the city. Prices vary little around Pattaya but repair service does. It doesn't make any sense to travel 25 to 50 KM to save 2000 baht on a 75,000 baht purchase and then where will you do your service and check ups? Sounds like a stupid "cheap charlie" kind of decision.

It must be a huge pain in a$$ to have to deal with the typical farang customer with the farang's typical arrogant attitudes, language difficulties, lack of product knowledge and intolerance for Thai sales people. I have experience with sales and customer service in my home country and I think that farang customers in Pattaya are often some of the worst to deal with. I am curious how many of you would be tolerant of yourself if you had to deal with yourself as a customer. Sound like the potential for a nuclear event.

I went to the Honda garage opposite side of the road to Robinsons in Siracha, it was good service, cheaper and better all round experience, as I too went through the' I dont give a s@*t attitude

This is Yanyon Sri Racha if I am not mistaken. I mentioned them very early on in this thread.

They are the Honda Service Centre for Sri Racha.

I'd rather put up with a cold reception than travel so far to buy a motorcycle. To me that is quite extreme... especially if you need after sales-service. I'm all for convenience. It's not all that difficult to find friendly motorcycle shops in Pattaya.

Not if you live in Sri Racha!

Yes, but this is the Pattaya forum.

I have been three times, to a small bike shop, and no help at all, so its not just the big shops.

I must have been lucky then because the first small shop I went to was extremely Farang-friendly. It's the fist shop on the left when you turn left into Sukhumvit Road from Pattaya Tai. I don't know the name because it is only in Thai but his logo is a rooster - and the manager's name is Sombat Acamari. He will bend over backwards to help you and he will take care of any registration or change of ownership tasks for you too... and his English is not too bad either.

.... and then where will you do your service and check ups? Sounds like a stupid "cheap charlie" kind of decision.

I won't argue your other points but this is really a non-issue. Any bike shop, including Mityon, will service your bike regardless of where you bought it, at the same price as if you bought it in their shop.

"Any bike shop, including Mityon, will service your bike regardless of where you bought it, at the same price as if you bought it in their shop."

It is good to know that honesty abounds in our great city, especially when farang are involved. You are correct that service and checks are readily available. I prefer to do my service at the bigger Mityon shops.

One time I needed a new battery and there was a dealer nearby. Didn't buy it because I thought it much too expensive. Their price was almost double what I paid at a Mityon 2 blocks away.

Yeah well those who cheat you will probably cheat you regardless of whether you bought the bike in their shop or not.

I'd rather put up with a cold reception than travel so far to buy a motorcycle. To me that is quite extreme... especially if you need after sales-service. I'm all for convenience. It's not all that difficult to find friendly motorcycle shops in Pattaya.

Not if you live in Sri Racha!

Yes, but this is the Pattaya forum.

There is no Sri Racha forum!

We have to hang out in this forum too.

No Briggsy, you don't HAVE to.

Oh dear, the Pattaya grumpy defenders are ganging up on me. I shall head to the nearest exit due north on Sukhumvit.

p.s. Anyone see the overturned pick-up on Sukhumvit this morning just near Cholchan Resort. Wipe out.

I purchased my PCX from the dealer mentioned in the opening post and I definitely wouldn’t do so again. Perhaps I was just very unlucky but just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong and this really highlighted their total lack of customer service. I don’t blame the staff as they have little authority and it was obvious they were not encouraged to bother management with such trivial matters as a dissatisfied customer. Anyway, due to my doggedness and experience in such matters I was able to reach a satisfactory conclusion......... but I still wouldn’t buy another bike from them!

Slight change of subject but does anyone know of a ‘Mityon’ dealer anywhere in Pattaya with a good workshop and “proper” mechanics who would be able to service my PCX in accordance with Honda’s maintenance schedule? This is not rocket science, I just want someone to read my service booklet and do all the work listed on the relevant page.

For reasons that I still don’t understand, the ‘Mityon’ dealer mentioned above is unable or unwilling to follow the Honda maintenance schedule and a service (regardless of the odometer reading) consists of an oil change, a check of the lights and a toot of the horn. Perhaps this is adequate but if the Honda maintenance schedule clearly states that additional parts need to be inspected, cleaned or replaced then this is what I want and expect. The fact that they then proceed to stamp my service booklet indicating that all work has been carried out when it clearly hasn’t just adds salt to the wound. Incidentally, I have discussed this with the service manager but to no avail.

Any recommendations would be very much appreciated – they don’t have to be ‘Mityon’ but they do have to be a Honda main dealer for warranty reasons.

Jaochoo

The best you can get is the official Pattaya Honda Service Centre on the west side of Sukhumvit Road just north of the Pattaya Tai intersection.

Don't expect a full service though as very few service centres will do them unless you specify each and every job, job by job..

One post removed because the quoted reply was incorrectly attributed to another poster.

Jaochoo

The best you can get is the official Pattaya Honda Service Centre on the west side of Sukhumvit Road just north of the Pattaya Tai intersection.

Don't expect a full service though as very few service centres will do them unless you specify each and every job, job by job..

Thanks for the reply. I will check out the service centre when I am next in the area.

It still amazes me that dealers are so reluctant to carry out a full service even though this is recommended by the manufacturer and clearly documented in the service booklet. This has to be one of the few occasions when the opportunity to charge for something is being completely overlooked!

Thanks for the reply. I will check out the service centre when I am next in the area.

It still amazes me that dealers are so reluctant to carry out a full service even though this is recommended by the manufacturer and clearly documented in the service booklet. This has to be one of the few occasions when the opportunity to charge for something is being completely overlooked!

Counterintuitively, the reverse actually applies.

Most of the service jobs in the manual are 'check' & 'adjust if necessary' jobs. Since labour is free under the warranty for 3 years or 30,000 kms under the Honda warranty, they would not be able to charge the customer and probably could not pass the implied labour cost to Honda either so the less labour time, the better for the dealer.

You also have to factor in the prevailing culture of taking care of vehicles that is seen from both owners and garages. That is drive it till it breaks and then fix it as cheaply as possible. If you want something different, you need to be specific but the mechanic may overrule you. e.g. Please change the oil and oil filter.... Later....upon receipt of the bill, you notice no charge for the oil filter and question it......Oil filter change not necessary you are told.

Honda warranty requires official Honda dealership services, not just any bike shop.

Thanks for the reply. I will check out the service centre when I am next in the area.

It still amazes me that dealers are so reluctant to carry out a full service even though this is recommended by the manufacturer and clearly documented in the service booklet. This has to be one of the few occasions when the opportunity to charge for something is being completely overlooked!

Counterintuitively, the reverse actually applies.

Most of the service jobs in the manual are 'check' & 'adjust if necessary' jobs. Since labour is free under the warranty for 3 years or 30,000 kms under the Honda warranty, they would not be able to charge the customer and probably could not pass the implied labour cost to Honda either so the less labour time, the better for the dealer.

Good point and probably explains a lot!

On reflection, I would imagine that the dealers have already been compensated by Honda in one way or another to make up for any potential losses associated with no labour charges from servicing promotions or warranty issues. If this is the case (and I suspect it is) then there is absolutely no reason why a full service cannot be carried out as required.

Anyway, the more you look into all this the more you realise that none of it makes any sense at all.

Thanks for the reply. I will check out the service centre when I am next in the area.

It still amazes me that dealers are so reluctant to carry out a full service even though this is recommended by the manufacturer and clearly documented in the service booklet. This has to be one of the few occasions when the opportunity to charge for something is being completely overlooked!

You also have to factor in the prevailing culture of taking care of vehicles that is seen from both owners and garages. That is drive it till it breaks and then fix it as cheaply as possible. If you want something different, you need to be specific but the mechanic may overrule you. e.g. Please change the oil and oil filter.... Later....upon receipt of the bill, you notice no charge for the oil filter and question it......Oil filter change not necessary you are told.

I know exactly what you mean and agree completely.

I had exactly the same problem at the Mityon on Pattaya South. They had 4- 5 staff doing nothing but I could not get served. Even speaking Thai and telling them I wanted to buy a reasonably expensive bike (for there) only got me a response telling me the price. So I left. I then went to the one on Pattaya Klang where the young girl with short hair could not have been nicer or more helpful. I wanted to buy the Sym 400i but they only had that model in P South. She made a quick phone call and 30 minutes later the bike arived and she had over 200K in the till. I hope she gets commission

http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/sym_maxsym_400i_abs_2012.php

Sym 400i is a good choice for someone who can't get on and off a real motorcycle. Looks like an overgrown Honda step through scooter without the nice trim. Up to you.

Why do all these bike topics end up being a contest on who has the biggest c...? If its got two wheels, its a bike, so hope you "real men" get over it. I read these topics to get some insight on buying a new bike, (sorry, a moped), not who has the biggest!