My wife and I just finished taking the new rider course. She grew up riding passenger with her dad and it has always been a dream of hers to get her endorsement. I had never been on a bike before in my life. We were both super excited for the class.
About 2 hours into the second day my wife was having trouble keeping the bike up and dropped it several times. For safety reasons she had to be counseled out of the course, but was allowed to stay and watch the rest of the course. I talked to Cheri and said that if she can't go on with the course I would probably drop out because I didn't want to leave my wife on the sidelines watching me, and her not being able to achieve her dream. After Cheri heard this she immediately called Paul over and asked for help. Both of them talked to me and did not want me to drop out and wanted me to keep riding with them. They said that to help my wife I should show her that it can be done and to stay. The support from both Cheri and Paul was second to none. From a business perspective, they cared more about my wife and I getting our endorsements than just letting me drop out knowing I would have to pay another $650 for both of us to take the course again.
Later that day Cheri said that my wife should pay the $50 and take the Experience the Ride course. It was a 2 hour private coaching session that would give her the extra practice and encouragement to get her endorsement. A little bit later I saw Tyler come down to the range and talk with my wife. He told her everything about the session and what to expect. It was an amazing feeling to see the support and initiative all of these coaches took to help my wife achieve her dream.
At the end of the 4th day after I graduated and got my endorsement, Cheri came and told us that she was going to give my wife the Experience the Ride session free of charge because she aced her knowledge test and stuck it out with the rest of the class from the sidelines. Shortly after Tyler showed up and the relentless support and encouragement continued. After only 30 minutes with Tyler my wife was riding up and down the range, didn't drop the bike a single time, no rough stops, and had a beaking smile across her face the whole time. By the end of the session she was doing laps around the range all by herself without a problem. Tyler went above and beyond all expectations, even helping my wife push the bike around where it needed to be (she's smaller and the 500 pound bike was a struggle to push around). Every single time she got to the cone she would get off and he would push it, still with a smile on his face.
During all of this Paul was sitting with me on the sidelines and he was clapping, cheering her on, and still just being a beacon of support for her, staying an hour last our class ending.
I truly could not have asked for a better experience. Every single one of these coaches proved that when they say that you're part of the family at Wolverine, they mean it. No other place in the world would have put so much effort into helping a single rider who couldn't even power walk the bike across the parking lot get her endorsement. This girl went from heartbroken, dreams crushed, to excited and beaming with joy all because she got a little extra help, and a mountain of support.
Thank you guys so much for all you have done. Ride safe. (Employee: Cheri Adamek, Paul McCarthy, Tyler Vanderdonck, Tyler Vandierdonck)
Michael Orlando
9/17/2022
9/20/2022
Hi Michael,
Thank you for sharing this awesome experience you had with Wolverine and the Riding Academy. Stories like this show the level of commitment all of our employees provide in attempt to achieve the highest level of satisfaction from each customer we encounter. Here at Wolverine, it really is about the family experience. Welcome to the Wolverine Harley Davidson family and we look forward to seeing you and your wife around the showroom soon!