“Oh, sorry, our parts department is now closed on Saturdays”

No Time said:

To the OP’s original question:

Is the service department open on Saturdays?

It used to be, at least on Saturday mornings. That's how I got a bunch of recalls sorted. Didn't ask if they also closed the service department on the weekend. Actually I just checked their website and it shows as the service department being closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

If the service department isn’t open on Saturday, then there probably isn’t enough parts business to cover the cost of having someone work behind the counter. 

 

That makes sense.

What I didn't post in the original rant, but just double checked is that their website shows the parts department being open on Saturdays. I distinctly remember checking that yesterday before setting off, but as I was typing this my phone, didn't double check during the original post.

If they had shown the parts department as closed, I wouldn't have bothered driving to Reno, because, guess what, I also get to work at least part of this weekend myself at really short notice. Like 5pm on Friday type notice, so I wasn't too keen on wasted trips.

RealMiniParker said:

Trans_Maro said:

All the motorcycle dealers in my town EXCEPT the Harley dealer are closed on Sundays.

You guys sell TOYS!

Who the f--- is shopping for motorcycles mid-day on a Wednesday?

Be open on the weekends and close Tuesday to Wednesday or something.

I don't know what the rules are in Canada, but many (all?) states in the U.S. cannot sell motor vehicles on Sundays. Around here, the birthplace of HD, only a couple of the dozen dealers in the area are open on Sunday, and that's just for the clothing department and parts department. 

I wasn't aware of that...

Could be something to do with an archaic law like that. Canada only started allowing wine to be sold in grocery stores this year.

Definitely not all states. It's a "blue law" (religion) thing. 

NJ does not allow car sales on Sundays and the Dealers support it. It gives them an "enforced" day of rest.

Seems stupid to me. 

Bills come whether you work Sunday or not, the lease needs to be paid for Sunday too. Might as well be open and making money on Sunday.

One place I worked would not open on Sundays, even for a massive sale or promotion. Mentioned the lost profit several times and was informed "because church day".

Inventory time rolled around and I was informed that I was to be at work on Sunday to count inventory. They were rather unhappy when I informed them that Sunday was the Lord's day and I would not be there.

I've never had as much fun as when I worked at a place that needed me more than I needed them.

I'm a big fan of non standard business hours. I'm a teacher so if something not open before 7am or after 5pm, I probably will never get there. My friend, who's a dentist, has had a solo practice for about 5 years now. His hours are 7am to 7pm Weds-Fri and 8-12 on Saturdays. I think that's cool and accommodates people who literally can't get out of the office during the week. I'd like to see more places do that kind of thing. 

Trans_Maro said:

RealMiniParker said:

Trans_Maro said:

All the motorcycle dealers in my town EXCEPT the Harley dealer are closed on Sundays.

You guys sell TOYS!

Who the f--- is shopping for motorcycles mid-day on a Wednesday?

Be open on the weekends and close Tuesday to Wednesday or something.

I don't know what the rules are in Canada, but many (all?) states in the U.S. cannot sell motor vehicles on Sundays. Around here, the birthplace of HD, only a couple of the dozen dealers in the area are open on Sunday, and that's just for the clothing department and parts department. 

I wasn't aware of that...

Could be something to do with an archaic law like that. Canada only started allowing wine to be sold in grocery stores this year.

 

That would all depend on the province as they make those rules. For example unlike most provinces Alberta has privately owned liquor stores while most provinces have government owned ones. Most of if not all new car dealerships in Alberta are closed Sundays but there are used car dealers open on Sundays here.

If their site said they were open on Saturday, but closed when you got there then I can understand the frustration. 

The least they can do is make sure their info on the website is accurate, there’s no excuse for not keeping that current with business hours. 

mad_machine said:

NJ does not allow car sales on Sundays and the Dealers support it. It gives them an "enforced" day of rest.

Ditto for PA.

As mentioned, the local H-D dealer is open on Sunday but much of their business is clothing and accessories.  It seems big group rides will start from the dealer, judging by the massive number of bikes I'll see in the parking lot on a Sunday morning.

Consumer sales at the parts department in dealers is not making them money. The dealers are actually making money by being closed on Saturday. Thinking that they care that you have to miss work or arrange your schedule to purchase from them is dumb. 

In reply to dean1484 :

Yep - when I worked at a parts-house, the majority of our business was with repair shops so our hours were roughly in line with theirs: 8 to 6 M-F and 8 to noon on Sat. Closed on Sunday. Walk-in sales represented maybe - maybe - 10% of sales.  Probably a lot less.

Furious_E said:

In general, I really hate businesses that I cannot access outside of my normal working hours. I get it if it's not profitable to operate 6 or 7 days a week, but at least make one of your off days during the week. You can't get my money if I can't make it there to give it to you, and I'm certain that I am not the only person working a 9 (actually 8) to 5 job.

That’s basically what I told my local hardware store.  You start keeping Lowe’s hours and I’ll never set foot in Lowe’s again.  I’m still going to Lowe’s a lot.

My services are available 24/7.

If it is outside the hours of 8:00 am and 4:30 pm Monday-Friday, I charge $145/hour with a 4 hour minimum. 

I let the customer make the choice. 

penultimeta said:

I'm a big fan of non standard business hours. I'm a teacher so if something not open before 7am or after 5pm, I probably will never get there. My friend, who's a dentist, has had a solo practice for about 5 years now. His hours are 7am to 7pm Weds-Fri and 8-12 on Saturdays. I think that's cool and accommodates people who literally can't get out of the office during the week. I'd like to see more places do that kind of thing. 

Does he have kids?  Because those hours wouldn't work for me at all.  That's 3 days I wouldn't see my kids and one morning I wouldn't be able to take them to sports every week.  That would put a huge burden on my wife and make me a turn key Dad. 

Since my Dad was a medical doctor and never home when I was growing up, that's just something I don't want to be.  It's why I became a dentist and not a medical doctor.

As much as I want to be accessible, there's a point where I want a life too.  That means that I don't work on Saturdays or evenings.  Well, I work one Saturday a month when I have Air Force duty, but that's different.

In reply to docwyte :

Are you the only dentist in your practice?  The ones I've gone to have at least two and they aren't there on the same schedule. They could alternate the evening and Saturday hours.

When I worked at the parts house, Two of us opened the store at 8am and left at 5pm.  Two others came in at 9am and closed the store at 6pm.  We alternated the Sat hours, with the other two getting the full weekend off. 

For the 13 years I worked saturdays at the dealership, 90% of my time was spent twiddling my thumbs. 9% was handing out a few oil changes to the shop. the other 1% were tire kickers. Actual buyers were very rare. We lost money on saturdays when we closed at 1pm so they decided to stay open until 5pm. BRILLIANT!

We were also open until 7pm tues through friday and 8pm on monday. 

In reply to Ian F :

Yes, I'm in solo practice.  If I had a partner then it would be much easier to be open from 7am-7pm.  I'd take the early shift, we'd overlap a few hours mid day, then I'd leave and they'd work till 7pm..  It'd also be possible to be open Fridays as well and maybe Saturdays.

However, I don't have a partner, so none of that happens.

Trans_Maro said:

I wasn't aware of that...

Could be something to do with an archaic law like that. Canada only started allowing wine to be sold in grocery stores this year.

We've had that for at least 30 years, though beer sales just started recently

For a couple of years I worked 12's Friday through Sunday doing shift coverage. It was my favourite shift. I prefer working the weekend and being off when everybody else is working.

Suprf1y said:

Trans_Maro said:

I wasn't aware of that...

Could be something to do with an archaic law like that. Canada only started allowing wine to be sold in grocery stores this year.

We've had that for at least 30 years, though beer sales just started recently

For a couple of years I worked 12's Friday through Sunday doing shift coverage. It was my favourite shift. I prefer working the weekend and being off when everybody else is working.

-sigh-

British Columbia then.