The Palm Beach Knights Newsletter

The Knights Table

Monthly Newsletter December

Greetings from your President Will

By Will

Think customer service is dead….not so fast!!

Well this month I experienced something that most Valkyrie owner never get to , my bike wouldn’t start. (Will all the HD owners please stop laughing!) While I know this is not all that extraordinary, it is unusual for Helga to fail me. On the day of Bill’s Toy Run, I woke up not feeling all that well. I decided to at the very least to ride over and have our traditional breakfast with the Knights and then see how I felt. I went through the pre-ride routine we all do, get showered, dressed in biker gear, say see ya later and off I go. Except this time my trusty friend Helga had other ideas. Turn the key, hit the start and nothing! I was more shocked at that moment than annoyed. Helga sweetie what’s wrong? Surprisingly, she didn’t answer (yes, I talk to my bike. Ya gotta problem with that???). Then comes the moment when you stand there and have that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. OK, so it’s the old pickup. After a nice breakfast I headed home to the reality that my BIKE WON”T @#$% START!!! After my typical epic fail at any attempt to ascertain and repair the problem, I did the only thing any reasonable man would do….I took a nap. But this story is not about me. (Refreshing isn’t it?) This is about our belief that true customer service is DEAD.

First I should preface this by saying that this story actually commenced about 14 years ago when I first met Jim Parish. At the time he had an auto repair shop, and my wife had a POS Volkswagen (God I hated that car). The circumstance of our meeting was that my wife’s car cried when she turned the A/C on. OK, maybe it was actually just a leak. As we passed Jim’s shop, we decided to just stop and ask, fully expecting for it to cost us big time (have I mentioned that I hated that car). When we entered we were approached by a very friendly affable looking laid back kind of guy. After explaining the problem, I expected the usual “well leave the car for a few hours and maybe we can look at it blah blah blah”. Instead what I got was “Oh, that no big deal”. He then grabbed a hanger got under the car and cleaned out some sort of German made water drain trap and presto...fixed. So far so good. Ok, how much do I owe you? His reply kind of surprised me...” not a thing, hope I see you next time you have a real problem”. There are those who only care about their bottom line and there are mechanics who know honesty and fairness earns trust and longstanding relationships. There’s nothing worse than being told you need to have something replaced or fixed that isn’t necessary or being quoted a price and in the end its way off what you were originally told. On the ride home my wife and I decided we found an honest mechanic that knew what he was doing. Shortly after that Jim closed his shop and started working from his home. We have been going to him ever since.

Back to the present, when I woke from my nap, I when out to the bike and tried again to start it. The accepted definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over and expect a different result, so I tried one more time. That’s when I called Jim. (First rational thing I did all day) Can any of you remember the last time your mechanic even answered the phone on a Sunday!! Jim not only answered, but stayed on the phone and tries to solve the problem. Now before this I had called UHaul and reserved a motorcycle trailer so I could bring my bike to him. Even with Jim’s help and his assurance that it was no big deal, I couldn’t get it done. (Again please stop laughing; you’re starting to hurt my feelings!) I told Jim that I would bring my bike to him. He explained that he a plethora of motorcycles currently residing in his shop/garage and could not fit even 1 more in. It was at this point that I really got nervous. ( I believe he could tell that by my trembling voice) Then I heard “well why I don’t just come over to your house”. Really, a guy I just called on a Sunday is not only not pissed off, but is offering to make a house call. Eh, sure thanks (At this point I really do think a tear came to my eye). The next day he could, Jim came by. This is how the repair went. “OK, turn the key, he smelled something and said “I know the problem” I just stared at him like he had two heads. You can smell the problem?? I knew he was good, but DAMN! He made me clean the + side of the battery terminal. Now I had already cleaned the Neg side. So I explained to Jim how he could not possibly be correct with his odiferous diagnosis. But Jim has been a friend for 13 years, so I felt obliged to give it a try. After taking about 2-4 minutes of a monuments’ effort of cleaning the terminal, the bike started and worked fine. Did I just make a guy drive an hour round trip to show me what an Ass I AM??? Yes I did. After talking motorcycles for a short while and showing him my garden I finally released him from the day’s folly. Ok, Jim I can’t thank you enough, how much do I owe you? Nothing! He wouldn’t take a dime.

Knights, guys like this are hard to find…..I’m just sayin.

Jim Parish 561-798-1643

Congratulations to Steve "Slick" and Tom "Echoes" for being made an officer of The Palm Beach Knights MRC.

Congratulate both of them next time you see them.

It's not too early to book for our trip to

Leesburg April 25th

MUST RESERVE BEFORE APRIL 4TH.

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS

1810 SOUTH HWY 27

CLERMONT, FL

Call say you are with the Palm Beach Knights.1-352-243-7878

KING $85 + TAX

DOUBLE $93 + TAX

30 MINUTES FROM LEESBURG

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE ORGANIZER AND OFFICERS WORK HARD TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A FUN SAFE RIDE. WHILE WE WELCOME SUGGESTIONS, WE WON'T CHANGE RIDES THE WEEK OF THAT RIDE.
I'M SURE THAT THEY WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ANY IDEAS FOR A FUTURE EVENT.

While we try to mix up our rides as much as possible, it's highly unlikely that I'm going to please everyone all the time. I hope everyone has been enjoying the rides that have been on our schedule so far. I am always looking for feedback and new ideas. Your participation is what makes this club great.

MEMBERS GETTING OLDER!!

Tom "Echoes" December 31st

We have been having some really awesome rides TIMES:

Knights Holiday Party

Well I'll be honest, I had been stressing about this for awhile. Getting the room. making the video, getting the gift certificates, presents, gift exchange....etc. Thankfully Gunner and Lisa did the decorating. I'm happy to say I think everyone had a good time. I want to Thank our Elves for helping out- Cailan, Karina, and my daughter Kelsie!! The girls were a big help. It was good to see so many of the Knights bring their family. That was really special! The room was actually cool this time, and the service was good as far as I could tell. Congratulations to Paul for winning the 50/50 about $75 and David for winning the $25 gift certificate. I think just about everyone participated in the gift exchange and had a good time....I got screwed, Lauren stole mine and then my daughter took what I won.

Bill's Toy Run

Always a great event. The Knights are always willing to help out our community.

While I couldn't make the ride, I enjoyed our yearly tradition of having breakfast at Hillary's. The ride to the fairgrounds was led by Greenies with Echoes gunning. Thanks guys!! A big Thank You to Paul Sr. for buying me dinner and letting me design the next OCC bike......Oh wait, that might not actually have happened.

Ride and Shoot at Okeechobee Shooting Sports

What a great day. Range fee $15..Bulettes $25-50, great lunch $7.99....doing it all with the Knights...Priceless!! Perfect weather added to a great ride to the outdoor range. With the exception of some challenging roads as we got close, the roads couldn't have been better.

David recruited a new member...welcome Jerry to the Palm Beach Knights. We look forward to seeing you and that awesome wing on many more rides.