Derek Harris – good/bad reviews

SeaClassExpert wrote:

8 vital members confirm having issues. Official reply is to kick rocks.

But let’s change the thread name so the poor fella doesn’t feel bad

moscrop940 wrote:

Derek, I am sure you do help people. And again, I am sure you build a good motor. But you are completely missing the mark on...

Derek, I am sure you do help people. And again, I am sure you build a good motor. But you are completely missing the mark on what everyone here is trying to explain to you, and that’s you treat a decent amount of customers like second class citizens.
We’ve seen the emails, and we’ve seen your demeanor with your holier-than-thou attitude.

You say stick to what I know, that’s fair enough. I know customer service. It’s how I make my living and provide for my family. I’m pretty good at it and if I wasn’t I’d be out on the street.
With that being said, the fact you openly told a presumed client, via Instagram post, that you were too busy to answer the phone shows that you seriously need to work on your client relations.
You clearly had enough time to post to insta, as well as reply to the person whom you didn’t pick up the phone for.....
Couple that with the multiple people on here whom have said they got shafted for months on end ain’t a fluke. Put all the details to the side, everyone on here that has had issues with you stems from lack of communication. Someone could send you and engine wrapped in dog shit, but that doesn’t explain not hearing a single thing for 2-3 months at a time.

I wish you the best of luck, and truly hope you get this shit figured out.

SeaClassExpert wrote:

8 vital members confirm having issues. Official reply is to kick rocks.

But let’s change the thread name so the poor fella doesn’t feel bad

Moto Obsessed wrote:

There is no shame in swallowing your pride and realizing that at some point, it's better to be an Indian rather than a Chief. Prime example...

There is no shame in swallowing your pride and realizing that at some point, it's better to be an Indian rather than a Chief.

Prime example: Chad Watts - multi time championship winning mechanic for Ricky Carmichael and many other racers. After being an owner of his own business Watts Perfections and humbled by his own life decisions, he now works for Barr's Competition in his hometown of Shelby, North Carolina (owned by Bobby Barr, father of former pro Rodney Barr)

Moto Obsessed wrote:

There is no shame in swallowing your pride and realizing that at some point, it's better to be an Indian rather than a Chief. Prime example...

There is no shame in swallowing your pride and realizing that at some point, it's better to be an Indian rather than a Chief.

Prime example: Chad Watts - multi time championship winning mechanic for Ricky Carmichael and many other racers. After being an owner of his own business Watts Perfections and humbled by his own life decisions, he now works for Barr's Competition in his hometown of Shelby, North Carolina (owned by Bobby Barr, father of former pro Rodney Barr)

77Moto wrote:

Barrs has been around since the early 80s for sure. Maybe longer.

danman wrote:

Mr Harris, I'm sure you build great motors, but it's obvious you lack the business sense to manage everything in a timely fashion. You repeatedly compare...

Mr Harris,
I'm sure you build great motors, but it's obvious you lack the business sense to manage everything in a timely fashion. You repeatedly compare yourself to Pro Circuit. This is laughable because Mitch has built an empire over MANY decades! You've been around a tiny portion of that.
What you should be saying is that even Mitch, the defacto king, has had rough patches where he got behind and might not have communicated the best. You might say, "I f'd up. I didn't communicate enough because I've been putting in 18-20 hour days for weeks on end.
There are tons of ways to approach this, but your responses don't look good to the Vital members. You look like an excuse maker that just wants to make it on your resume, which is pretty damn impressive. As a business owner, you have to realize, your resume is what 10-15 riders. Your BUSINESS is the other few hundred that you do work for at your $120/hr rate!
If you are truly months behind on work, maybe skipping some of the races to get caught up would be a good thing. Explain to your racers that you are behind and you'll be at their next race.

Just giving you some ideas, because what you're doing right now, isn't working and it's making you look really bad to a bunch of moto people, and word of mouth can do more damage than any amount of advertising.

My .02, whether you want it or not.

4csHATER wrote:

if your not doing your own motors your a.........

mooch wrote:

Like many other's who thought DH's responses were filled with nothing but excuses... The guy did not say a single thing to indicate he accepted ANY...

Like many other's who thought DH's responses were filled with nothing but excuses...

The guy did not say a single thing to indicate he accepted ANY responsibility for the negative experiences a number of folks shared here. A professional response (which is what was needed to help diffuse things) would have conveyed on that he took responsibility for the poor service and what he planned on doing to improve matters. No doubt he had days to come up with a valid professional response, instead his ego took over and decided to boast rather than apologize.

JWACK wrote:

Rich man?? Wise man? Stupid man? Gots other things to do but have the money man? Like a particular guys work he does man? What are...

Rich man?? Wise man? Stupid man? Gots other things to do but have the money man? Like a particular guys work he does man? What are you saying man? Man?

4csHATER wrote:

if your not doing your own motors your a.........

travo375 wrote:

Derek’s right I made it all up.

Bearuno wrote:

Guy, did you catch Derek 'throwing shade' ( as the kids of today say) at Vitals assessment of some bike mods? And, his next comments deriding...

Guy, did you catch Derek 'throwing shade' ( as the kids of today say) at Vitals assessment of some bike mods?

And, his next comments deriding 'site's', plus the parts and modification industry in general?

GuyB wrote:

Yeah. After a week of getting blasted in here (maybe some deserved, and some not), I'd guess he's not particularly happy with the site or the...

Yeah. After a week of getting blasted in here (maybe some deserved, and some not), I'd guess he's not particularly happy with the site or the forum.

aeffertz wrote:

Wait, what? I’m assuming this is sarcasm?

Also, L O fucking L at “My hearts too big.” Derek really pulling out all the stops.

motoxxx599 wrote:

So let me get this straight - you are too busy to work on customers motors who pay full price because you are too busy building...

So let me get this straight - you are too busy to work on customers motors who pay full price because you are too busy building race motors, presumably for free or heavily discounted from your normal rate correct? But you want to get upset when a full price customer goes on a forum to vent because he its getting the run around and you reply it's because you "have" to be at a race to support a rider or you "have" to build a privateers race motor. That business model seems backwards to me. Wouldn't you want to satisfy the full price customer on time and get to the races if there is time to?

Ive known John Mitchell of JM Racing since 1988 and when he opened his shop he had 2 or 3 guys doing the menial labor of taking apart or putting together bikes, engines, and suspension after John did the hard part of making a repair or ported a cylinder. After a while those guys got good enough to do almost everything he was doing and John could expand his business or go to Lorettas and his business was still functioning as normal. Derek you can find a kid with some minor mechanical knowledge and get him to do the easy stuff that takes a ton of time. This would allow you to build race engines and get to the races when deemed necessary. Coming on here definitely didn't do you any favors.

aeffertz wrote:

Wait, what? I’m assuming this is sarcasm?

Also, L O fucking L at “My hearts too big.” Derek really pulling out all the stops.

dmm698 wrote:

No kidding - you saw the emails I had from him over my dismal experience - same thing, pity me. He's made no real attempt other...

No kidding - you saw the emails I had from him over my dismal experience - same thing, pity me. He's made no real attempt other than to attempt to berate me on the phone and post on instagram as I mentioned to remedy the issues we had, except for refund my money.

He's probably going to change his name to Derek Payton or Mitch Harris, he already compares himself anyways.

wildbill wrote:

Do I see s mod job in Kiwi's Korner? Ha

mooch wrote:

Bummer the original was dumped by OP as people need to know what shops they need to stay away from. Has anyone here had a positive...

Bummer the original was dumped by OP as people need to know what shops they need to stay away from.

Has anyone here had a positive experience with work done by Derek Harris?

4csHATER wrote:

if your not doing your own motors your a.........

piscokid wrote:

Not riding supermini's. To be competitive in that class takes cubic dollars and engines built by someone that has tons of porting and pipe building experience...

Not riding supermini's. To be competitive in that class takes cubic dollars and engines built by someone that has tons of porting and pipe building experience. I have never used Derek Harris before and yes, I can split cases and rebuild bottom ends.