The Hodaka Club Forum

Sorry I have to post something negative but somebody needs to wake up if they want my business. I have bought thousands of dollars worth of parts from one of the Hodaka parts companies but I am going to stop and give all my business to Strictly Hodaka and Bruce Young from now on. I just ordered several hundred dollars of parts from Strictly Hodaka yesterday. Strictly Hodaka has a phone number that you can call and you will get to talk to a person and place an order. The other company does not even have a phone number shown on their website. When I email them they don't answer ever. How can anyone expect to conduct business like this is beyond me. That's enough of that kind of lousy service. Strictly Hodaka is going to get all of my business from now on! They take care of me!
Thank you Bruce Young and Strictly Hodaka for the excellent customer service you both provide.

Assuming you must be referring to H-P INC? If so, I have to say you are off the mark with this post. They are in the process of moving and are closed for business until January 2nd. We in the Hodaka world are blessed to have them along with Strictly Hodaka and Bruce at HP Idaho and California Hodaka!
Dale

No I am not off the mark. They have never responded to my emails ever. They don't even have a phone number listed on their website. I have tried to contact them for weeks. Sorry but I will not do business with them anymore. I will do business where they will talk to me and help me.

I agree with you efkruger one hundred percent. I refuse to do business with anyone, online or in person, who shows no common courtesy. Everyone is busy, I get that. But if you can't respond to customers, maybe you should just do things on an amateur level and have a garage sale at your house once a month. Or sell at swap meets like in the olden days. As a side note, when I purchase on fleabay, I make a point of asking a question to the seller to see what kind of response I get, such as condition of the item, shipping details, etc. Partly to make sure I know just what I am getting, and partly to see if the seller is courteous and responsive. If they are non-responsive on the front end, just imaging how bad they will be when you have a problem with the product. And I agree that courteous alternative sources should be rewarded with our business when possible.

You could not be more correct! That's it. If they ignore my emails that I have sent over several years of doing business with them then I need to do business with somebody who will communicate with me. Yes everyone is busy, but you have to take care of your customers. I made several million dollars at my business because I took care of my customers. I did not ignore them. They are the key to doing good business. "Fleabay" that's good! Thank you sir!

No disagreement with what you have posted EF - Strictly Hodaka and Bruce Young are indeed good suppliers! Just a request to consider the possibilities when there is a change of ownership at another business . . . which becomes official on Jan. 1, 2018 according to information I have been given. (might take a bit of time to get operations re-worked and humming)
Ed

I have talked with Terry Larsen , he is a nice guy and seems to be anxious to get things running up to speed with good intent , he has been working with Bill Cook this week to get organized. I also have tried to reach Dan Jennings ever since Bill Cook sold out to Him, through countless phone calls , messages and e mail and never ! Received one response . I'm looking forward to Terry doing a great job ,as Ed says give him a chance.

Rich

There is some misinformation here. I don't believe Dan ever owned this business. What Bill and Dan have done for our Hodaka brand is to be commended. Thank you guys! I am confident that Terry is poised to take the baton and run with it. Thank you Terry.

I am also very confident that your opinion is in the minority. Being that this is a public forum, you are free to voice your opinion. It just disappoints me when someone takes to social media to attack a small business such as this one. They are not Amazon Prime. And thank God for that...

When Bill Cook had HPI he rocked !!! That guy was the best of the best !!! I bought a rim. Wrong one. Called Bill Cook. He looked and said he was out. To make a long story short, He shipped me a COMPLETE rear wheel assembly for $150.00 off of the selling price because of his mistake. He offered a refund or $150.00 off the price of the wheel. Took the wheel ! Pristine ! Show Quality ! I have NEVER been treated better by anyone than by Bill Cook. EVER!!! Lets see what happens with HPI. If they turn out to be half as good as Bill Cook was, they`ll be 10 times better than most everyone else ! Joe Ormonde.

When I do use fleabay I also ways check the feedback to see how they handle issues. There have been times where most suppliers have had personal or business obligations that have kept them from quick responses to orders or complaints. And on the other side of that there are customers that are never satisfied no matter how hard the supplier tries. I deal primarily with Paul as he is "local" to me and I hang with Bruce when out at Hodaka Days and sent people to both when they need parts. It's your money, spend it where you want.

I am sorry if the truth hurts, but constructive criticism is the best thing. What I have said is the truth. They need to have a phone, they need to answer their emails. If they don't want to that's fine. I am going to do my business elsewhere until that happens. The new owners if they wish to provide good service to me and want my business they need to do themselves a favor and take heed to customer advice. I will do I as I want, not what you want Sir. I am sorry. If what I have said offends you and others then have me removed from this forum. I do not care what you think of me one bit. You do not have any business even sitting in judgement on me. I have been a very good and regular customer for HPI for years. I am sure I have been one of their best customers. I just want to be able to communicate with someone I do business with. Its only common courtesy.
This is the way it is in the cupcake, snowflake country we live in, any kind of constructive criticism is resented.

We all have different personalities. Bill Cook strikes me as being like George Baily: Dan, like Pa Kettle. Criticism is acceptable: belittling someone is something totally different. When I get treated better by the California DMV, I`m gone! Some people just don`t give a flying Cow Pie ! Joe Ormonde.

After I have spent thousands and thousands of dollars with someone and they don't even have the courtesy to respond to a question I have. They are not going to get my business anymore. No wonder they sold the business. They did not give a hoot. You guys can make excuses and support them all you want for whatever reasons you have, but its my money. Not yours. If The new owners will answer my emails and provide me with a phone number to call them like Strictly Hodaka does, then I will continue to do business with them maybe. If I do business with somebody and I want to complain, that's my choice, and right. Nobody else speaks for me. What someone else says about me here, does not matter one bit. Who are you to complain about me? I will continue to do business with whoever I please regardless of what someone else thinks. Have a great day Gentlemen!

Right on, I'm with YOU. I'm the type of person who if you do a good job for me I will tell everybody I know how great you are because I appreciate it. But likewise, if you show an attitude or just don't care, I will also tell everybody I know what a screw up you are. I think the whole thing is just about accountability. If people like us didn't complain and point things out, just imagine what we would have to put up with. And if we are considered problem customers, then that is entirely a reflection on their service which made us that way. In all my years, I have never had a problem customer because I bent over backwards to do the right thing.

just jumping in. you dont have to do business with them any more, he sold out , maybe they knew they where droping the ball , lets see how the folks that picked it up can run with it.

Hercules,
I could not have said that any better myself, 100 percent right on the mark! And I am sure the new owners will do much better than the previous ones. You know they will! Happy New Year! Thanks Gentlemen.

I've never had problems with H-P INC. A problem with running a single-proprietor biz is that you can spend all your time catering to squirrels via phone or email. This gets especially bad considering that H-P has a thoroughly complete website.
Never had problems with Dan, don't expect problems with Terry.
Be aware that of the two primary Hodaka new parts businesses, SH is phasing down the SH part of his biz empire and if you boycott H-P you are going to be SOL.

Do you not see H-P is in transition? Sold from one to another, one location to another. Said that right on the web site

Hi ef, Say, when did you first have problems with HPI? If these issues with customer service correspond to the transition to new ownership, my guess is that they will be addresses by the new owner. I may be wrong, but I believe the new owner is a member of 2 Brothers VMX Racing team which is an utterly dominant force in vintage racing and they do this on Hodaka motorcycles, so he's a DIE HARD HODAKA GUY. My guess is that this concern will reach his ears (eyes) and will be addressed as he rolls out the new business model. Stay tuned, ef. There may be brighter days ahead!

If Rich Gagnon says Bill Cook is consulting and Rich says the new owners are solid that's all I need.

Substandard service is unacceptable. No argument from me on that point. And it wasn't my money spent so my viewpoint may count for less.

Me, I'm thinking of what I might order when they open for business.

I had the opportunity to talk with the new owners at HPI. I was quite impressed. His vision and commitment seem second to none. He is also very interested in working with the Club to the benefit of our members.

My suggestion is to wait until we see what he does with the business. HPI’s website is at least a decade old and was likely cutting edge when designed. Compared to more modern sites it is fairly dated, but functions well in my limited experience. I never tried to call as I didn’t need to.

I understand Terry plans on updating the site, expanding the online selection and more.

I do business with Paul at Strictly Hodaka and Bruce at Hodaka Parts, Idaho and am very happy with both of them as well. As very small marque market, we are extremely lucky to have the range of parts support and selection available. I can tell you the Vintage Yamaha market would be thrilled to have even one dedicated Parts house of the quality of any of these three!

Again, hold your breath, and let’s all give Terry a chance to show us what he can do!

Gary ! Meat starts with salad , look at the cows . 8o)

Happy new year

Matt, and 2Brothers Racing is loosely connected with Hodaka Dave Rozier. Need we say more?

Makto-- I buy from SH when I can, but since his stocks are getting depleted and there are things he doesn't have, I'll check with H-P next. Bruce with HP in Idaho deals mainly in older used parts and doesn't always have new-fangled -94 parts, but I still check withh him.

Clam-- riiight!! A cow does start with salad...

Hodaka Dave is THE MAN!! He's the builder and super tuner for 2 Brothers.

Everyone may have individual experiences (good or bad) with vendor....Unless the problems are systemic and often repeated it may just be a one off experience. For example, Erick...you really like the product and service you receive from Salt Lake Chrome. I had a different experience with them. There was a problem (chrome peeled) with some of the work they did for me...Three e-mails over 6 weeks and not a single response. I would say they are bad at customer service...Your experience with them is they have great customer service...who is right?... Is my experience the same as others?... Probably not..Will I use them again?...Probably not..
Bob