Ever since I bought my motorcycle I have been looking for a good shop where I could buy my gear and have my bike serviced. I started out by looking at Parkway Cycle which is located in Everett, MA. The service was great there but the location was a bit difficult to get to. You always have to deal with a ton of traffic and VERY limited parking to go to this shop. I had been talking with the staff there and they seemed really knowledgeable and helpful. However when it came time to make the purchase I did not want to have to deal with the traffic to go buy my gear. I had also found Greater Boston Motorsports (also known as GBM) located in Arlington, MA which seemed to have ample parking and a lot less traffic to deal with. I talked with the staff there on my first visit and they seemed just as helpful and nice as at Parkway Cycle.

When it came time to make the $650 purchase of a Jacket, Helmet and Gloves I made the trip back to Greater Boston Motorsports. This time however the staff was all running around as if they had 30 customers in the store keeping them all busy. There were maybe 5 customers in the store so I was a bit confused. I asked one guy about the jacket and when I found the jacket that I wanted (A blue Joe Rocket UFO 2.0) he just wandered off to help someone else. The guys that work there work on commission so you would think he would have asked if I needed anything else. After he wandered off I flagged down another staff member to ask about the helmets. I wanted to find one that would match my bike that also fit properly. I ended up choosing a helmet (A blue Scorpion EXO 1000 RPM) however they did not have my size in stock for any of the helmets I looked at. They advertise that they have the most helmets you will see under any one roof and I would be VERY surprised if that were true. They had a large selection of Icon and Arai but not much for any other brands. Also I bet there were no more than 40 helmets on the floor. I ended up having to order my size in the helmet which I was not too happy about because when you drop that much money you want the product right then. The salesman told me that my helmet would be in within 3-5 business days. I had ordered the helmet on July 1st and knew it would not be there within 3-5 days but rather business days since most companies were closed on Sunday and Monday was the day everyone had off from work for the holiday. After 6 business days I called the store and asked if my order was in. The guy took a look and told me well it looks like that product is back-ordered but the order was released today. I was not happy about that. They tell you one think when you place the order and another on the day you expect delivery.

I called and asked to speak with the manager and once I had him on the phone I stated that I just wanted my money back. He said come on down and we can settle this. I was expecting them to try to hit me with a restocking fee which I was going to dispute. However before I could even make it to the store the manager called back stating that they had the helmet in their NH store and could have it for me the next day. How convenient was that? Why could they have not just gotten it for me from that store prior to making me wait 6 days the first time. I agreed I just wanted the helmet and did not want to be lied to so I accepted the offer to get the helmet from the other store. The next day I called up to see if it had arrived and the manager told me it had. I hopped in the car and drove over to get my new helmet. When I arrived I spoke with the manager again and he ran down to receiving to get my helmet. When he finally returned he said it looks like they sent the wrong helmet. I was very amazed at the lack of competence anyone at that store has had. They were unable to order me a specific helmet after they said the order was placed and then to boot they have the wrong helmet sent from another store (Scorpion EXO 1000 Appollo). Not wanting to fight over a refund for the helmet because their policy is no refunds on helmets, I just accepted the helmet even though it was not the one I originally ordered. They are they same helmet except for the graphic design on the outside. When I agreed to just take the helmet the manager thanked me for my willingness to compromise which also made me angry. Why should I have had to compromise? He continued to tell me he just took over the store and things are still a bit rocky… You Think????

Needless to say I am not happy at all about the purchasing experience I had at Greater Boston Motorsports. I will never buy anything from this store again nor would I ever refer any of my friends to go there for buying their merchandise. From now on I will either find an alternative store or deal with the traffic to go to Parkway Cycle.

What store do you trust for your purchases? Please let me know in the comments below.