Mike,

I want to let you know why I think Al and Carl Lucchino and their team in Danbury are at the best at what they do.

I have been to all the Harley dealers in the New York City area. I bought my first Harley from Reggie Pink (closed) and often went to Stamford, CT for parts (also closed). I've been to Harley dealers all over the country and in Rome, London and Paris. I spent 31 years in sales and always like to see how businesses treat their customers. I can tell you that Al and his team know how to treat customers.

When other Harley dealers treated you like they were doing you a favor to take your order so you could wait 6 months or more for a bike, Al worked to make you his customer. He treats you like you are a member of the Harley and Danbury families. Whether you have a Masters Degree or are a Master Electrician, whether you have a suit or tattoos, he and his team treat you with respect and like you are the most important person in the store.

They make sure you are happy with your parts, service and especially your bike purchases and follow up to be sure things are OK. Maybe that is why they have grown their business from the former Brewster dealership, which I also frequented, (and was in the basement of a house and had an aluminum screen door) to the big, modern, professional operation they now have. Maybe that's why they are still in business while others in the area have closed.

RE: 2011 Screaming Eagle Street Glide

Mike,
I wanted to share my thoughts about a dealer experience I had this past summer. In the late spring I purchased the above Screaming Eagle motorcycle. I was very excited since it was a birthday present I was buying myself for my 50th birthday. The bike had a low speed lean pop through the throttle body on take off almost causing a dropped bike. I brought the bike back to the dealer a few time with no results. They said they could not duplicate the problem and did not fix the problem. Unfortunately the dealer explained that “since they do not build the bike they can not help me”.

The reason for this letter is not to raise concern over the dealer’s action, where I purchased the bike, but to tell you about an amazing customer experience I had once customer service stepped in and directed me to an alternate dealer. After many attempts to fix my bike (at the original point of purchase) I was directed to Al Lucchino at Harley-Davidson of Danbury. Al took control of the situation and personally saw to it that my motorcycle was ready to go with me to Sturgis this year. I can not express my gratitude enough to Al Lucchino and the team at H-D of Danbury. They made sure that every concern I had was addressed and that the bike ran perfectly for my trip. I can’t thank the team at H-D of Danbury enough for making my dream trip a reality. I would hope you would forward this letter to them, so other customers can see how this dealership operates, and how they put the customer first.

You made my experience an extremely enjoyable one and made me feel very comfortable with the decision I have made. The rest of your staff were just as helpful and I commend you on building such a great dealership. I can certainly understand why it/you have lasted so long. My only regret is that I didn’t come to you sooner.

And then I began to look at the bikes… I was greeted just as promptly and warmly by the salesmen and my questions were not dismissed. Most recently Matt, Dave, Joe and of course Jim, were all tremendously helpful. I began looking at the 2003 FXD Dyna in early April and Jim was informative, engaging but did not pressure me. He knew about the bikes and riding and we talked of life and bikes… and I left the shop feeling good about the interaction. He followed through with an email but was not "pestering" about returning or whether I was going to purchase the bike.

Later that month I attended a bike fest at the dealership and met Melinda and other HOG members. I signed up for LOH and Melinda was so friendly about welcoming me to her newly formed LOH ladies! The men (Mike and others) were also welcoming and I enjoyed the festivities and shopping with Jelly and Jean again! I really appreciate the extensive collection of women's clothing and accessories.

I kept my eye on the 2003 Dyna, but didn't think I could actually ride it - meanwhile, Jim sent a little e-mail, nothing too much, just touched base - that was nice. What really tipped me toward thinking about my purchase was the group ride I attended to Harriman State Park on my Suzuki 800. The HOG group was so welcoming and I had a great time meeting everyone as they gathered at the dealership! After that ride, I knew I wanted my own Harley - and the 2003 was still there on the showroom floor! I test road the bike twice, Matt was terrific as a test ride person. I asked him to take me to certain type roadways and he was attentive and informative with my questions (2nd test ride). All the while, Jim was a terrific gentleman, he really was instrumental in my purchasing experience, kind and considerate… he never dropped a ball. When he wasn't available, Dave and Joe were also terrific and took messages or just smiled and remembered my name when I walked around the showroom.

Ron in finance was a pleasure to work with; he was diligent and also attentive… friendly, efficient! And finally the guys in service and parts! I can't tell you how nervous I was about asking for service and asking questions about the bike's mechanics… I am not very knowledgeable about the mechanics but the men in service were kind and good-natured. Jim made sure things were done as promised and my bike was all finished up today after the blinkers were moved and accessories installed! EVERYONE was WONDERFUL!!!!

First of all, the dealership staff is terrific, everyone is friendly, doesn’t talk over your head and goes out of their way to be helpful. That goes for every single department. Pat from your parts department took time out of his day to sit with me and go through each additional item and part that I wanted for the bike. Multiple sales people would ask how we are doing including Jim and Matt and in a very non aggressive, helpful manner. Emile was great as well.

With regard to Dave in 2009 he gave me his personal email address which I did not ask for, but he provided as a courtesy. With my schedule playing phone tag is difficult, so him offering his personal email address was great. I have used this occasionally as I would ask him questions or advice with regard to upgrades, etc. and he always responded timely and with good information. In March of this year I began looking for a new bike. I am not an emotional purchaser, I tend to purchase after I have thoroughly researched every aspect of the product. I reached out to Dave in March with several questions, two months later I bought a bike. He was extremely responsive, and very patient with me. Dave is very knowledgeable and provided excellent information to find the right bike for me. I made multiple trips to the dealership and Dave was patient with each visit, and not pushy. He even gave me his personal cell phone number. He offered to come in on his days off to assist me in any way he can. Even this past weekend after my purchase he emailed me again just to thank me and see if I had any questions. On Sunday I called the dealership because I was thinking of changing handlebars, he answered the phone and I knew you guys were very busy that day and short staffed. He put me on hold and went to my bike and we discussed it while he was looking at my bike. To do that while you were short staffed, after the sale, is extremely impressive. Even today he is scheduled to speak with me over the phone regarding some upgrades. I find this very impressive that a sales person would take that much time after the sale is complete. Frankly, that is the most impressive thing, to treat me the same way after the sale is terrific.

Even though it was late in the day, he sent Scott over with the box truck to pick me up. Scott also attempted to get me running. As he was pulling the truck into the parking lot I realized that I had left the bike in 1st gear because it was on a hill. That, of course was the reason the bike wouldn’t start originally, but by this time the security system was angry with me and wouldn’t play ball.

Bob won me over several years ago when I was looking for a new dealership to work on my bike. We were about to go on an extended motorcycle holiday and there was some oil leakage on the bottom of the cylinder. Two other dealers wanted to crack the head and rebuild the engine - Bob to the rescue and said (I’ll never forget) “These kids, all they want to do is crack heads and rebuild engines. That’s not your problem.” As he then swiped his finger around the air filter cover... “Your problem is a pressure issues and Arlen Ness makes a part for $250 that should fix this.” It did, of course!

Bob took my call and I told him when I would like to have the service done. I told him I would leave the bike and make arrangements for a ride home and pick the bike up when it was ready. He said if I could be there at 9:00 one of the techs would start work on it immediately and I could have the bike back in short order.

This is one of the many reasons why in the last 9 years I have purchased 4 motorcycles from you guys and had them all serviced by Bob and his group and why I never hesitate to recommend H-D of Danbury to anyone interested in motorcycling.

I have ridden the new bike for the past two weekends and I am extremely happy with it. Primarily the fit, I thank you for the reach seat. The bike seems like it was made especially for me. The center of gravity is lower than the Road King therefore giving me greater control. I am sure I will have at least 15,000 miles on it this year alone.

I was treated like my bike was the only one the dealership was selling which included a very friendly meeting with the owner. Al took the time to get to know me and did everything he could to get me the bike I wanted including giving me a great price for my trade in so I could leave that day with my new bike. It truly seemed to matter to everyone at the dealership that I left there happy, which I most certainly did.

First, I am very pleased with the bike that you presented to me, which I eventually purchased. With little information, you found me a unique bike that is a perfect fit for me in my eyes. I enjoy everything about it and I look forward to getting a lot of enjoyment out of it. In addition, I appreciated your low pressure sales approach.

Second, it appears that you have done well with your business and after meeting your staff I can understand why. You have surrounded yourself with many good people. I found EVERY one of them to be customer service oriented, technically competent and just nice people in general. I can’t remember everyone’s name but Sue, Bob, Lynn, Liam, Brian, Kate, Jean, the fellow who delivered my bike( who was very patient and helpful), all make for a strong team at Harley-Davidson of Danbury, you should be proud.

I had been off the road for a lot of years and while living in this area had always been tempted to pull into your lot and jump back in. There were always reasons not to but for some reason I made the stop this past Summer. Your team (led by Todd) made we welcome, comfortable, and essentially let the class of your product and dealership make all the points that needed to be made. I bought my 883 Sportster in June and while it was never advertised or promoted, I was influenced (in very small part) by the fact that this was the 40th anniversary of a bad TV program that still left an impression on me as a 16 year old ... "Then Came Bronson".

In all seriousness, what mostly sold me was the environment of the dealership and the folks that were clearly proud of the product they represented. I have been back quite a bit since June for accessories and eyeing the possible "next steps" and in all cases have been welcomed with the same class and comfort as when I first entered. Maybe I will someday become a Danbury H.O.G. Chapter member!

Which brings me to my purchase experience with Harley-Davidson of Danbury. I want you to know that I had a choice. I live equidistance to two dealerships both within 10 miles of where I live. H-D of Danbury is almost an hour from where I live. I had an opportunity to call both dealerships within proximity to my home prior to calling H-D of Danbury. I was not impressed to say the least with the other stores. It was VERY clear to me after my first call to Colleen that this was the Dealership that I wanted to do business with. I found my experience with your staff to be professional and most importantly accommodating. I also wanted to praise Christine as she was so GREAT in coordinating all the throughput in the delivery of my new bike.