[floyd]

I've read on a few threads comments similar to "If Polaris is reading this..." or "I don't know if Polaris reads this forum, but..." So I thought it might be helpful to have a thread which addresses comments directly to Polaris (assuming they do read this website). Rather than having Polaris search through countless threads, maybe it would be helpful if they could click on this thread and get immediate feedback from their customers. I think it would be best if members didn't comment on posts in the thread unless it is to further illuminate a previous post.

I'm hoping a Polaris representative will join the forum, identify him/herself as a Polaris rep. and offer comments and possible solutions.

So here goes:

Dear Polaris,

Since I don't have my Scout, I can't comment on paint issues and transmissiion issues like other owners are experiencing, but I can tell you I'm disappointed in the lack of information and updates you give customers who have ordered a bike. All I hear from my dealer is "We're hoping it will be here around spring." That comment tells me two things: First, your manufacturing process needs overhauling and you didn't prepare well enough for the number of orders you received. Second, you don't communicate clearly with your dealers and you provide little information when you do. I'm not expecting a daily update, but it would be nice to know where in the order/manufacturing process my bike falls.

When I bought a German car I was able to track its assembly in Germany, track it getting loaded on the boat, track the boat to New York, and track it from NY to Chicago! The best I can do with Polaris is use goggle maps to see where the factory is, which is thousands of miles closer than Germany!

Thank you

 

[Cindy]

Dear Polaris,

I appreciate that you have made some concessions for those who still do not have their 1st Run Scouts yet. BUT when you send out email communication to some and NOT ALL (like me)it is very frustrating that beside not having my bike I didn't get the email for the coupon or apology for the delay. You have my $$, and my loyalty (I'm still waiting) but being over looked isn't right. So while I agree this is an age of technology maybe the old standard of mail communication would help too. Just my 2 cents.
Thank You

 

[clif02]

Dear Polaris,
Thank you for building such beautiful motorcycles. I love my Roadmaster. Please remember the commitment you make to your customers will be returned 10 fold if you do it right.

 

[jlig]

I doubt that Polaris has the time to even filter / answer the direct Emails it gets, not to mention the volume of phone calls it probably receives. If anyone from Polaris is monitoring this Forum I'd be awfully surprised.

 

[RBinTEX]

I want to know why my prepaid accessories I paid for months ago haven't been delivered and why bikes and accessories are being delivered to others over seas and pre-ordered bikes are still not delivered here in America!
Love the bike, but send me my accessories!
Tired of listening to your fake delivery dates your giving the dealers to tell us!

 

[1adam12]

Dear Polaris,
Thank you for building such beautiful motorcycles. I love my Roadmaster. Please remember the commitment you make to your customers will be returned 10 fold if you do it right.

I am your first Scout owner that had a mechanical failure and subsequent warranty repair...All before even putting 1 mile on my bike. There is more than $ invested in my purchase....
If I were you, I would at the very least apologize asap. Do it right.

Wine? Menetto? Men or Mice?

I'm on file, #718

 

[SaltyDogSam]

Well according to the women in my life and thats Wife, Daughter and Grandaughter occassionally they just need to vent. Now quite often the venting seems to sound more like everybody hates me, nobody likes me, Im going to eat some worms. I for one take that as a signal perhaps a motorcycle ride is in order. I had hoped that motorcycle would be the new Indian Scout a beautiful looking machine that also runs quite nicely. Unfortunately problems at the factory are casting a large and ominous shadow on those plans. If Polaris is watching or listening I have not ordered a heaping helping of worms as the girls recommend. I have in fact started to revisit some of the other brands that make beautiful motorcycles. So far I have resisted the impulse to be impatient still my idea of pleasant motorcycling does not run deep into hot sticky Florida summers. Simply stated that Scout needs to show up in this new timeline of February or something else will be casting a shadow in my garage and it just might be from the UK or Italy and not Iowa or Wisconsin. I didn't need it under my Christmas tree, but I wont need it at all in the Dog Days of August.

 

[builder]

Polaris,
I am with the other guys on this. After receiving my Chieftain, I was/am certainly happy with it. I feel it was a very good purchase for me and a fine bike. I waited a year to finally get ALL of my accessories for it. I ordered a Scout without a test ride the week after Sturgis unveil. I was a first run purchaser and told by Polaris that it would arrive in December. I'll have to go back and look to see if it says 2014 or 2015.
I am ready to bail on the Scout. I'm not interested in putting money up front, and having non-refundable only to be made to wait for you to straighten out problems you have at the plant. With your own projections, you claim to be taking a big bite out of the motorcycle industry. This is not the way to do it.
To make up for it you give us a coupon for riding apparel. How about some money off of our over priced accessories instead. I've been riding for 40 some years. I have enough riding apparel. I don't need apparel that says Indian on it to be proud of my machines.
Riding H-Ds for 3 1/2 decades, working in at least 5 different H-D shops and dealerships, and even a factory instructor, I can say that you need something better than H-D to give them a true run for the money. How about straight forward and blunt honesty instead of trying to hide the fact that you are still not prepared to be as big as you want to be to get the production out on time.
If you really want to be on time, try getting the bikes ready for delivery as soon as you introduce them at the unveiling?
You get us hooked, but you haven't got the hook sunk deep enough to let us keep swimming and getting the hook undone. You need to hook us, sink it and reel us in.
I want Indian to survive and thrive. Make your customer service, product roll out, and promises as good as your product. I can tell you that it does make a difference to the consumer.
This isn't a Victory. Don't just make this another bike.
Try personalizing the experience like H-D does. It's not about T-shirt sales.

 

[EskimoQuinn]

I've read on a few threads comments similar to "If Polaris is reading this..." or "I don't know if Polaris reads this forum, but..." So I thought it might be helpful to have a thread which addresses comments directly to Polaris (assuming they do read this website). Rather than having Polaris search through countless threads, maybe it would be helpful if they could click on this thread and get immediate feedback from their customers. I think it would be best if members didn't comment on posts in the thread unless it is to further illuminate a previous post.

I'm hoping a Polaris representative will join the forum, identify him/herself as a Polaris rep. and offer comments and possible solutions.

So here goes . . . . . .

Floyd, and EVERYONE. Be sure to read the "email to Polaris" thread. Scott Wine, CEO Polaris, did respond to my email (in 8 hours, no less). Actions are being taken. We are hoping an Indian rep will be tasked to monitor the forum.

Thus your topic here is absolutely needed (and recommended in the other thread). It is crucial that courteous posts are placed. If we get no results, we can begin social media campaigns to rant loud and nasty (I've personally done that and got results in 48 hours). Post your complaints here. I've been asked by members here to keep an open channel to Polaris, so I'll email Scott Wine and Steve Mennette a link to this thread (as the other one was). I believe someone will be assign to PR the rhetoric AND sort out action items.

 

[EskimoQuinn]

ALL,

I just sent this email off to Steve Menneto and Timothy Larson, VP – Global Customer Excellence

Mr. Menneto (Steve),

Scott Wine responded to my email on Monday. He mentioned that you are conducting Town Halls this week. Below is a copy of that email and his response.
I would like to help anyway I can in improving the issues some are having with the Indian product line. I am a member of several Indian MC forums. One in particular is extremely active. We invite you and your representative to assign someone to monitor the forum to keep a barometric reading on how Polaris/Indian is doing. On the forum we have set up a specific topic to cull and summarize customer issues. As a rider yourself, you know some posts might be aggressive, but we hope not. We have asked members to be courteous, state that facts, not opinion, and seek understanding.

The URL for the forum is: Indian Motorcycle Forum

The URL for the particular thread we set up is: dear-polaris-compliments-complaints-solutions-addressed-specifically-to-polaris

We, your customers, strongly urge Indian to monitor the forum, honestly post what's going on, actions taken, etc. As an Iron Butt Winner (congratulations, BTW), I am sure you can appreciate the value of knowing the customer's pulse and blood pressure.

Thank you for this consideration

Hopefully I (we) will get a response. More will be revealed.

 

[buck]

Good work Quinn, I think this shows that the company is concerned with their image and the Indian brand.
I certainly hope this will provide positive results for the customers that are having issues.

 

[EskimoQuinn]

Good work Quinn, I think this shows that the company is concerned with their image and the Indian brand.
I certainly hope this will provide positive results for the customers that are having issues.

Thank you. I think it will. The great news is I got a response this morning, first thing, from Steve Menneto, to wit:

Hi Quinn,

Thanks for the invitation. We would welcome the opportunity to be part of the forum. I will connect with my team to set it up internally with the proper person and respond back to you tomorrow.

Thanks,
Steve

They are listening! (and to be lurking). Once again, more will be revealed.
BTW, in case no one knows. The very first production Scout, serial 0001, is owned by the CEO, Scott Wine, the second to another EVP in Polaris. Steve Menneto, also VP of Victory, owns Victory and Vintage. He won the Iron Butt award this past summer. Apparently, near all employees of Polaris ride one type of vehicle or another (might even be a requirement of employment?). So, it is not as if they aren't users of their own product.

 

[BikerKev]

Dear Polaris,

I'm currently NOT on the owner list nor the first run still to be delivered list. I test drove the Scout at the Concord NC demo event and love the bike. Its a premium brand bike with a premium brand price (I could get a very nice Japanese bike for far less and even German for similar).

I'm in the market for a new motorcycle and the Scout is on the top of my list, however, what i'm witnessing from a delivery perspective has been very poor. I can understand manufacturing issues as i work in the IT industry and formerly was in manufacturing of networking equipment....there are failures that occur and especially early in a design. Hearing about the paint issues shows clearly someone was not watching the hen-house...this is basic paint quality inspection here, but it seems deeper with the Indian Red paint composition. I'm hearing complaints of some transmission issues from this board alone (and I haven't even googled yet to find the broader impact). This is my biggest concern. If i'm going to invest $12k or more on a bike with Polaris/Indian....AND I only get 1 year of warranty vs the 5 year extended warranty, how am I to feel comforted you did your job well?

Lastly, as you have probably heard, its the communication. Having worked in high tech in many functions I know communication is paramount to any companies success...or failure as it might be. You are trying to be a premium brand motorcycle company that is completely bungling the launch of arguably one of the most refreshing cruisers to hit the market in a decade and is ruining its brand loyalty before even delivering its pride and joy Scouts to the early adopters. This is the travesty. Be honest, be forthcoming and call each and EVERY one of the pre-order owners. Let your dealers know what your plan is...do not keep them in the dark. I suggested a $200 gift on this board as a starting point (which i was pleased to see you listened 8^)....), but its got to come with regular communication now or I guarantee you will continue to see cancellations which I know are occurring as reports are that dealers are having bikes come in without owners. You are bleeding pretty badly due to this....sit down and develop a communications plan and execute to it! Don't do it and face continued cancellations and future customers will be learning of the poorly run aspects of Indian and they will decide to purchase another brand.

To be honest the Scout in my mind is a great bike, BUT its the support this is the huge question in my mind. I know your 1 year warranty is standard for Indian bikes. This is a brand new chassis...I understand why you gave 3rd party 5 year extended warranty to pre-orders. The warranty is very attractive for a new bike as the probabilities of failures are higher with new component designs which may extend after 1 year. After seeing the issues on this forum alone there is just no way I'll order a Scout without additional warranty and frankly given the premium price of this bike I would not expect to pay additional money to obtain it. My suggestion is while you are still producing year 1 of this bike include 5 years for ALL of them, not just those that pre-ordered. The risk is the same for me if i bought one post Sept 19th or was a pre-order. Right now its a question of am I getting a premium quality bike that will be supported without me having to shell out significant $$ after year 1. If you stand behind your bike for some customers stand behind it for ALL of them. I wont order a Scout the way your warranty support model is today. If I could have pre-ordered I would have but my finances just were not there when I found out about the Scout and the few weeks I had until the Sept 19th deadline hit.

I would love to hear directly from you Polaris. Make me a deal I can't refuse to honor the quality I expect from a premium brand. Trust me I want to be part of the Indian Scout story riding a Silver Smoke scout in NC. My email is [email protected] if you wish to contact me.

Thank you,

Kevin

 

[Jack Cactus]

Went on an enjoyable 280 mile ride yesterday, here in Texas it was almost 80 in the North Texas and out west on I20. Unfortunately it was not on an Indian Scout. But the fortunate part is I have a bike to ride in the mean time. I preordered 2nd September and I know there are others that preordered I August that do not have their bikes yet. Production issues happen, we can all agree to that, but lake of communication is the real issue here. My dealer has only called me one time since September and that was to tell me that I should get my ducks in a row because I could expect delivery between the 21-28 of December. You can probably see why they never initiated a call again. That said I have called them several times but they never seem to know anything, who's fault is that? Is it the dealers for not aggressively trying to find out information for his customers or is it Polaris for not aggressively sending down information to their customers. Either way they are wrong. My wife, god bless her, bought me the $1000 saddle bags without me knowing for Xmas. I got them after the first of the year. Saddle bags and spools but no bike yet. I am a stubborn bastard and will wait this thing out because despite the issues that some have had with their bikes I think this bike could be a home run for Polaris and their customers. What my dealer and Polaris do next for me, with me, or to me will determine if I will be a loyal customer with more motorcycle purchases in the future. My dealer is Indian of Fort Worth, Texas I hope you read this because I have told you about this forum every time we have talked.

Thank you Jack Cannon

 

[Darren guy]

You could see it a mile off ,may be it is time to wait . If every body that has ordered a scout and hasn't got it ,should cancel the order ,I bet Polaris /Indian would be on the phone to customers stat.its the only way to get them to listen .people were talking about indian being jixed or cursed may there is some thing to it .did they get a blessing from American traditional people to use there image ,think about it did they just take ownership of the whole image .we would not just start using aboriginal traditional people's colours and heritage .just wouldn't happen.

 

[redscout]

Its not even the waiting that I mind anymore. I would not be riding now anyways with this weather but no communication from the dealer or Indian, not one call this whole time from anyone. The only way I find anything out is by this form or me calling after the dealer. Then to see all these people having issues with the Scouts that have been delivered - paint issues, tranny problems . Can I trust your company to make things right? I this point I just don't know. I have been considering canceling my order for my first run Scout and spend my money on a motorcycle with a proven record.

 

[creteguy]

Dear Polaris:
I placed my preorder deposit August 7th . Received a confirmation email August 8th. I sent an email inquiry about three weeks ago ( I quit counting), to check on my purchase. ( emailed via Indian contact us on the web site, reads to allow three days for a reply). Still no reply.
I find it frustrating to know that others that had ordered after me have gotten their bikes ( let alone some of these have been overseas). I've never received the email coupon for "my patience".
Going into month seven I've received no contact from Polaris, none. I got a call from my dealer ( Falcone) after having left a message, the second week of December. Sadly I had more information from this site than my dealer had.
My account had the deposit drawn quickly, my satisfaction has not been so quick. Fast is not my expectation, and I do understand that problems arise. But zero communication to a paying preorder customer, and over looking order placement times is truly disheartening on my end of it.
I still want my bike, I long to be the ONLY/first one in my area to fly the Indian flag. I would like to finish this transaction soon. The open ended hit to my credit is holding up current and future business/personal ventures. Thank you

 

[the doctor]

Dear Polaris:
I placed my preorder deposit August 7th . Received a confirmation email August 8th. I sent an email inquiry about three weeks ago ( I quit counting), to check on my purchase. ( emailed via Indian contact us on the web site, reads to allow three days for a reply). Still no reply.
I find it frustrating to know that others that had ordered after me have gotten their bikes ( let alone some of these have been overseas). I've never received the email coupon for "my patience".
Going into month seven I've received no contact from Polaris, none. I got a call from my dealer ( Falcone) after having left a message, the second week of December. Sadly I had more information from this site than my dealer had.
My account had the deposit drawn quickly, my satisfaction has not been so quick. Fast is not my expectation, and I do understand that problems arise. But zero communication to a paying preorder customer, and over looking order placement times is truly disheartening on my end of it.
I still want my bike, I long to be the ONLY/first one in my area to fly the Indian flag. I would like to finish this transaction soon. The open ended hit to my credit is holding up current and future business/personal ventures. Thank you

What about the CLACKERS
CLACK,CLACK

 

[jarhead1]

Dear Polaris,,,,,please consider producing a DELUXE Scout Model....charge whatever you like,,,,just be sure to include
-ABS brakes
-Larger Fuel Tank with a Fuel Gauge !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-electronic cruise control
-TPMS [Tire Pressure Monitor System }
-Hydraulic Clutch actuation
-Heated Grips
-Heated Seat
-Side Stand Cut Off switch
-Keyless Ignition
-12 volt accessory socket
-Helmet lock
-include the stage One mufflers and Tune
-Carbon Fiber water bottle holder..........wait I got that !

dam the weight,,,
dam the cost,,

check in hand,,,,, waiting

mean while ,,,I will happily ride my 2015 Indian Scout WITHOUT all the things I think it needs...

 

[Darren guy]

Dear Polaris,,,,,please consider producing a DELUXE Scout Model....charge whatever you like,,,,just be sure to include
-ABS brakes
-Larger Fuel Tank with a Fuel Gauge !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-electronic cruise control
-TPMS [Tire Pressure Monitor System }
-Hydraulic Clutch actuation
-Heated Grips
-Heated Seat
-Side Stand Cut Off switch
-Keyless Ignition
-12 volt accessory socket
-Helmet lock
-include the stage One mufflers and Tune
-Carbon Fiber water bottle holder..........wait I got that !

dam the weight,,,
dam the cost,,

check in hand,,,,, waiting

mean while ,,,I will happily ride my 2015 Indian Scout WITHOUT all the things I think it needs...

What the!!!!!!! They can't even get normal scouts out the door don't know how there going produce anything else .