Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

he he :-) Sounds like normal South African business practices to me ;-) Try to phone Home Affairs to get a birth certificate or get your police clearance from Pretoria. Now that is a struggle! Corné Kloppers 0849130391 ckloppers@gmail.com

The way you drive you'll never get a police clearance.... :-) Andy1200 Never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly!!!

Padlangs can you clarify what you mean by Motorrad. Is it BMW SA, or is it BMW On-Call. I have heard of some difficulties with on-call, but as with all over - heard stories with beer in, a loose listen best, as I to-date have not had any problems in fact the opposite, with my bike I recieved a follow-up call to check if all was attended to properly.I was impressed!!

he he :-) I actually got my police clearance today! I paid a courier company to go and pick it up for me in Pretoria! "Eish, sorry..." ;-) Corné Kloppers 0849130391 ckloppers@gmail.com

Nice one Andy:-) Corné in Australia a little speed and BIG tickets not a bikers paradise like here...more like Harley put..put teritory.(if I've heard correctly) You had best learn some GOOD habits:-)

Just think, next time Corne visits us, he will be a foreigner... and you know how we're treating foreigners these days. Xeno.... xeno... something... especially if he returns with an ozzi acccent. As for problems with motorrad, I'm also a little confused as to what Padlangs is referring to.

Neil, that would be the on-call part. Although they will most probably try to blame somebody else. Today was the second time that I was called by a club member in distress. Finally they end up phoning the dealer, as Motorrad on call was totaly USELESS. Today the gent was to far away for our dealers to assist. Last that I spoke to him, he still had NO assistance. I just hope this gents makes it to a dealer safely .... The previous time the rider had been trying for more than an hour to contact on-call - NO LUCK. Finally I called a dealer at home, they came through and helped out. Then there were also a few "second hand" stories, which were very similar to the above.

Thanks Chris,so far I have been fortunate, but have heard similar stories, I do think quiet words in the right place is/ will be more effective than a sledge-hammer in the wrong place, possibly bring this up at the club meeting tonight. Ps. Poor cel reception, language difficulties and anxiety often lead to poor communication then often to anger then no communication.

That time I got stuck on the N1, same problem, so many calls to ON-CALL just got dropped, I was getting worried that my battery will go flat before I get help, I have had the same problem with my BMW car. It sounds like their call centre's guarantee has expired and they need to get a new one.

William we need to be reasonable....Dropped calls/poor reception = Cell C / MTN / Vodacom not BMW On-call. No one would take a suppository for a sore toe!:-)

Neil the idea is not to "smear" BMW. However there IS a problem with their on-call "system". It is NOT bad cell reception etc. What I am calling for is a calm co-ordinated effort to IMPROVE the situation. This has been discussed too long, with no real improvement. I am however dissapointed that it seems so difficult to get BMW to adres the issue. We DO pay a premium for roadside assist, I for-one want BMW to honour their contract with their clients. Back to my original question - "How can we best get BMW to improve the roadside assist?" (to my roadside assist is the WHOLE package from calling to adressing the issue)

The best way to cure/ fix any thing / problem is for a clear understanding of the problem. To say "It won't start/ go/there is a funny noise, is a start BUT very vague. The clear calm investigation is what is called for to pin-point the problem. Now just to say,"It is not working/they are useless" is equally useless unless, the actual problem is taken to the right person/people, no assistance/corrective measures can be implimented. To complain on the Forum about a sick dog is not wise...take it to a vet, likewise address the issue to the right/ most likely people then there is a chance of corrective help. The vet does not know the dog is sick but would most certainly help, so too BMW on-call Management, they are unlikely to be aware of the problem, take it to them,in a calm reasonable manner and see.I do not for one moment belive they try to give poor service. Just as, if you were making a mistake you would not wish it to be shouted from roof-tops,others ought to be afforded the same curtesy.

Chris the reply re: cell reception was a response to William who claimed reception problems. If I encounter no problems with my bike I would be a launatic to call a mechanic to fix it. Likewise how can anyone complain about a problem which they DID NOT encounter.(unless they are nuts...there are some..I have encountered a few):-) Sad, not really funny and actually very troublesome. IF YOU encounter a problem ...with a dog ...to the vet,a car..to a mechanic... He who encounters, MUST address the problem not stand and shout problem, problem...children cry ..mothers address the issue not cry too(unless they are nuts) And calmly and intelligently too, not getting hysterical...it just makes matters worse!!!!!!!!!!! Ps.(getting hysterical is NOT just a female response)

Chris I don't doubt your concern, but the way might be to ask for all who have had On-Call dealings to PM/e-mail/phone you. Gather the stories sift and get the facts of each encounter then with clear calm facts approach On-Call. (Note I posted ..DEALINGS not, good or bad dealings) The Forum is NOT THE PLACE, much like the village square is not the place for a doctor to do a rectal examination on you,(or me for that matter).There are closed doors/ curtains etc. for good reasons. The use of discretion is important.

Any one got some sheepskin covers for Corné's bikes seat?? Just in case he needs to blend in!! ;-) Andy1200 Never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly!!!

This thread seems to be dwaaling around a bit. The question was for ideas on how best to address a concern that part of the selling point for our bikes is not effective. I have heard from many people that BMW Roadside Assist presents a communication nightmare but is excellent once the message actually gets through. I would think that the best approach would be a poll of people who have actually used the service and then communicate directly with the call centre management to provide clear feedback that they can use to address the problem areas. The poll should include questions like : 1. How easily did you get through (call centres keep stats on dropped calls). 2. Did the operator communicate clearly. 3. Did the operator understand your location and problem. 4. Was the response time acceptable given your location. 5. What was your overall impression of the service. ''The world needs dreamers that DO!''

THANKS Peter. May I ask two things of you? 1) Could the committee co-ordinate this? (Will give more weight to the results) 2) Could this survey be available on the forum, AND emailed to the club mailing list?

Why did I open my mouth ... more things on my todo list! :-) Sure I'll pick it up and see what we can do. I'll speak to WebmasterChris and some of the others and work out a way to get objective feedback through to the call centre, as well as their message back to us in terms of the best way of getting effective response. ''The world needs dreamers that DO!''

Hi, it was me trying to get some assistance yesterday. I was on my way from Gordons Bay to Springs. When I slowed down just before Beaufort West the clutch went on strike. After pumping the lever a few times I got it to work again. Every now and then through town I had to pump the clutch lever. I continued but eventually with all the stop/go road works it became a problem. I phoned on-call. The connection was dropped a few times. I eventually in Bloemfontein got hold of a gent at on-call. When I could not get hold of on-call I called a dealer and they suggest that I do contact on-call and log the call. Then if I want to continue with my trip with the lazy clutch they know about the problem. He also suggested that they the call ahead to the dealer nearest to my destination to let them know that I am on my way there. The on-call operator did not want to log a call if they do not come and pick up the bike. He also said that they can not call ahead. All these I could understand. He then said that he will make a note and contact me the next morning to make sure that I did arrive at my destination. He also said that when I get to the dealer they could contact him and he will explain to them that on-call knows about it and that it is a break down. I was very impressed. This however never happened. I just can mention that the dealership in East Rand was very helpful. They took my bike and gave me a brand new RT to use during the repairs on my bike. Coffee was plenty and the people all wanted to chat. It seems as if this is the standard with all the motorrad dealers. GOOD SERVICE, NICE PEOPLE. I think if you need on-call and you need your bike towed to a dealer, use them. I know it is frustrating and the phones keeps on disconnecting but as soon as they got your details you will be fine. They even, after getting my details and the phone disconnected, phoned me back.

Chris and Pete, that is great, thanks!! There does seem to be a communication/system channels issue, which at times, is inadvertently causing problems,of which they may be unaware. Christo thanks for the feedback hope the rest of the journey goes well!

Neil It has NOTHING to do with reception, I NEVER complained about reception. I was stuck on the N1 with a locked up back wheel - happened at high speed, not exactly a sick dog needing a vet. I got the feeling that they are just not interested in listening, you can hear each other clearly and while you are trying to explain where you are - to a national call centre - the line is disconnected. Over and over and over, same point in the conversation. Once you get past that point and the local dealer contacts you the service is great. In my experience, cars and bikes, the call centre is at fault, not reception and not BMW dealers. Read all your posts - do they answer the original question? "What would be the best way to "complain" about Motorrad?" I just gave my experiences to add weight to the question.

My experience with BMW On Call is the same, they are useless, which is why I carry my AA card. I drive a BMW 3 series which is on motorplan(I have had 4 in the last 12 years) when there is a problem I give On Call a chance, waist R20 worth of airtime and then phone the AA, who always seem to get it right. From a bike view, On Call is utterly useless, the people on the other side will tell you "you can ride on the flat wheel at 80kmph for about 100km no problem" This is after trying to explain that the rear had a side wall puncture and I wanted to know where the nearest tyre dealership was that could help. I spent 30 mins on an Iridium Sat phone getting cut off everytime they tried to transfer the call to another person, eventually I decided it would be cheaper just to try and ride slowly and hope not to damage the rim. Would I call them again, no, I would prefer a discount on my next bike or car rather thank you

As this seems to be an extremely important issue, should we not raise the question to BMW through the club and ask them pertinant questions like, where is the call centre based, what recourse do we as motorcycle owners have if they do not honour their obligations to us, what technical training do the call centre agents have to enable them to understand the issues that they may encounter, and I am sure that there are other pertinent questions that could be included in this letter. After all we buy the BMW's not only for the performance and reliability but also for the promise of the back up service which they will deliver if we find ourselves in a pickle!! Andy1200 Never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly!!!

Gents may I ask you to PM or email your contributions in this regard to PeterO. I do believe that he is currently busy with compiling a questionare/survey in this regard. This survey will then be done by the committe on behalf of the club/BMW community. This way the results may be conveyed to BMW with some "authority". I am of the opnion that once BMW admits there is a problem it will be quick to adresse the issue. Let's all work together to assist our comittee with this survey, ultimately WE will benifit if these issues get sorted out.

Have you considered mailing the M D of BMW direct? with the problems you are encountering. We were fortunate in that our rescue was conducted most professionaly by Motorad and Donford. Ignore opinions, heed facts. Feet on the pegs, always.

Since I was the cause of this thread I do not think I am guilty of hi-jack. I am safely back from Springs. Not that I received any help from on-call. I can just mention the motorrad dealer in East Rand (Auto Alpina). They where absolutely fantastic. Gave me a brand new R1200RT with all the fancy accessories added. It was very cold and when I got back in Springs my backside was so nice and warm I did not want to get off it. They fixed the clutch. (Dirt in the system) and installed the latest release of software. What a difference that made to my bike. The excessive tappet???? noise are basically gone. The petrol gauge that never really worked now suddenly worked as expected. Nothing done to the nice sound of backfiring. Actually glad....got used and fond of it. ;-) These people really went out of there way to accommodate me. I know that we are lucky with three dealers on our doorstep, nice coffee, good company, etc. I however saw in Gauteng that we here in Cape Town are still lacking behind. I even got cookies with my coffee. :-) In conclusion....If you can help yourself do not contact on-call. If you are stuck call them. They will eventually understand your needs and assist you.

I had some call-centre experience on Saturday: Vodacom. I had placed a limit on my contact in the event of my phone being lost or stolen it could not be used as a SSME generating call sales for the finder/thief. What with the beginners ride and puncture fix arrangements and some other items I doubled my bill and had to arrange a temp. upping of the limit. The system was okay BUT the line on my side was feint (at full volume...checked) I found myself getting irritated heading towards anger. What was the most telling was this irritation was WORSENING my ability to hear and explain my need, as the person I was dealing with required me to fax a letter which in the past was not required, after I calmed down, I slowed my speech down and all was resolved as I required...sans fax. Pete some of the problem may well be this type of thing. I do know the On-Call admin requirements have changed; also possible poor "output" of the telephone system. Perhaps On-Call need to advise/clarify/update us as to the current system,requirements/methods.

I agree with the telephone system being outdated, poor, broken, etc. If you are not cut short, they actually try to help you. It is only the phone that cuts you off, or poor operator training.