Practical – French-speaking behemists publish a Dealer Charter – Used BMW

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French-speaking behemists publish a concessionaire charter

Practical - French-speaking behemists publish a Dealer Charter - Used BMW

Despite the initial hostility of dealers, the Association Francophone Motos BMW (AFMB), particularly active on the web, hopes to have its Charter accepted, aimed at promoting relations between behemists and professionals in the network..

Created last year by a handful of French-speaking behemists, the Association francophone motos BMW (AFMB) now has nearly 600 members..

Goal : "promote the development of relations between its members and the dealer network, assess the qualities of the products and services offered by BMW Motorrad and, if necessary, suggest improvements to meet the needs of its members, provide its members with any type of information on the ” use of BMW Motorrad products and services, resolving known or new problems and possible incidents and analyzing their support within and outside the framework of the contractual guarantee".

From its birth, the association immediately encountered a "categorical rejection"from network dealers who feared a"American drift", explains today the president of the AFMB, Paul Opitz, in his moral report 2005:"thanks to the Charter, we were able to demonstrate what our real intentions were and thus reassure them: we still have to work on the ground for it to be adopted".

During its second ordinary general assembly, which was held on June 11 in the Pyrenees, the AFMB notably indicated that this Charter was "now available for adoption by dealers who received a message on this subject a few days ago". It is now about"contact the dealers to explain the charter to them and motivate them to subscribe to it".

Taking full advantage of the riches of the web, the AFMB site offers behemists in particular to give their opinion on their concessionaire: "we want these reviews to allow dealers to become aware of their strengths and weaknesses (no one is perfect) in order to improve for the greater satisfaction of their customers, that is to say we". Dealers of course have a"right of reply" for "express themselves and give their opinion freely, without any censorship". A ranking of the best dealers could then be published."in the specialized press".

The AFMB has also decided to make a short film that could compete for a future Motostra (read). She also set up a joint project with Handicaps Motards Solidarite (read), which "did not receive financial support from any of the partners contacted, BMW Motorrad first", But "everything should be in order soon and we hope to be able to launch it by early July", explains Paul Opitz.

The association continued to focus on the thorny issue of ABS III, "about which there were a lot of misconceptions, all encouraged by the silence of BMW and the dealers"."On this occasion, we were able to demonstrate our ability to process complex files and to provide quality information recognized across the Atlantic by the BMW Motorcycles Owners of America (BMOA) as the most complete and cutting-edge information available on the subject.", rejoices the AFMB. The association then"informed all behemists about the consequences of improper adjustment of the front brake lever, as well as the procedure allowing them to gain confidence in residual braking", even if "BMW has rejected our request for an information campaign in dealerships before the summer departures, this attitude seriously damaging the image the brand has in the field of safety".

Interesting and original initiatives being unfortunately rare on the motorcycle web, we should warmly welcome the AFMB site which has taken advantage of all the wealth of the internet, even if 15% of its members do not have access to it. (a paper journal is planned for them). Only downside: the association provides that "dealers adhering to the AFMB Charter would benefit from a wildcard in the classification project", just like those who would support Handicaps Motards Solidarite (read) … However, a classification must be as rigorous as possible while avoiding the mixture of genres: let’s not forget that a very generous donor can also be a poor mechanic, just like an irreproachable dealer cannot personally help all the good causes in the world !

Eric MICHEL

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