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The stars aligned on the weekend of the American Victory Rally (AVR; August 14-15) and a Victory dealer delivered exceptional customer service to remedy a minor maintenance issue and get two Victory Riders back on the road. This story is best told in a letter (below) sent by Victory Riders Phillip and Niki Tracy to the Victory Mailbag. Read the letter, then read the additional background below the letter.
Dear Victory,
Once again this year my husband and I attended the American Victory Rally (AVR) in Spirit Lake, Iowa. We wanted to get an early start on the long ride back, so we headed for home Saturday afternoon.
We were having a great ride, and then we broke down along the interstate near Albert Lea, Minnesota, a couple hundred miles from home. As luck would have it, Saturday at the park my husband was talking to Victory District Sales manager Ted Smokstad, who gave him a business card. So while waiting for the tow truck to show up, we called and left a message for Ted letting him know [about our trouble] and [asking if] he would be able to talk to a mechanic to help us out.
Ted returned the phone call and let us know that there was a dealership near us and he would see what he could do.
"Don't worry, we will get you home," were his parting words.
Ted called us back and let us know that on Sunday morning we were to contact Mark Podein of Podein’s Power Equipment in Stewartville, Minnesota.
We had the bike towed to Austin, Minnesota, where we got a room for the night. Sunday morning we called Mark, and he and his wife Sally brought a trailer the 25 miles to our hotel, loaded up the bike, and took us back to his shop where they quickly figured out the problem and quickly got us rolling once again!
Needless to say, we were very thankful and the whole experience gave us one more reason to be happy we ride a Victory!
So a big thanks to Ted Smokstad, and of course a HUGE thanks to the good people at Podein’s Power Equipment who gave up their Sunday morning to help out a couple of fellow riders.
THANKS!
So if you are ever near Stewartville, Minnesota, be sure to stop in at Podein’s Power Equipment and say "Hello." Tell them the couple on the big yellow bike sent you!
– Philip and Niki Tracy
Baraboo, Wisconsin
Niki Tracy told the VRA Page Webmaster in a telephone interview that she and Phillip believed their problem was a fuse being shorted out by an unseen electrical glitch. Indeed, that was proven correct when the bike was brought into Podein’s shop and the fuel tank was removed. Sally Podein instantly noticed a bare wire under the tank. Mark Podein said it appeared that the wire had been rubbed bare at a previous time, such as when the Tracys had the fuel injectors serviced.
Mark said it was a fluke that he and Sally were home to get Ted Smokstad’s phone call instead of attending the AVR themselves. The Podeins had just returned from a motorcycle trip to Idaho, and after rolling up high mileage on their Victory Vision, they decided to relax at home rather than rushing to the rally. Thus, they were home to get the call and provide the Tracys with some exceptional customer service.
As we said, the stars aligned, the Podeins came through to help some avid Victory Riders and everybody’s on the road again.
A tip of the helmet to Ted Smokstad and to Mark and Sally Podein for their outstanding service.
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