| rev:text
| - *** This Review is for Walt Healy Motorsports located at:
4520 - 12th Street N.E., Calgary, Alberta T2E 4R2
.........
(Summary at the bottom, if you'd rather not read the whole Saga)
My tale begins back in 2009, when I first laid eyes on the 2009 Yamaha R6 at the bike show in January. In that instant, I was smitten -- I knew that it was the bike for me, and no other bike would do.
Sadly, also at that instant, despite being filled with all the wanting and yearning humanly possible for an inanimate object, I did not have the money to purchase it. For two long years, I saved and yearned and dreamed of the day when my R6 and I would become one.
Thanks to Walt Healy, that dream became reality just this April.
Now, Walt wasn't the first place I tried taking my money to. In fact, I'd never really paid much attention to them, going instead to visit my future bike at the larger, more obvious choice of retailer (which shall remain un-named here). At the bike show, I spoke with the people representing this store ... they insisted I needed to buy it right away because they were flying out of the store at record speeds. That was in January 2009.
When I had money and went back in November, 2010, they had about 20 left in the colour I wanted. For the entire summer, my R6 was priced at $8,999. A steal, really, considering it would be brand new, just an older model.
I walked in, found a salesperson, and pretty much said "Take my money, I want this bike." The salesperson was about to agree ... until an accountant, overhearing, ran out of his little office and insisted that "No, that's not the price ... our SYSTEM says $8,999 ... but the INTERNET says $9,999! We can't sell it for less than what the internet says it is!" Yes, that makes perfect sense. The internet is so much more accurate than what your in-store system says.
So I left, disheartened ... not realizing this was a blessing in disguise. For once I left that big retailer, I was told of Walt Healy, the smaller shop off McKnight, named for, and founded by, a famous local motorcyclist.
I entered the store and told the clerk my tale of woe. With a sniff, he brushed off the antics of the Bigger Retailer as the norm, and told me that he'd sell me the very last R6 they had in my colour for what that Other Store had in their system -- $8,999. They'd also store my bike at no extra charge (even though they barely had the room for it), so that I could have the pleasure of riding it home when winter dissolved. Lastly, once my bike was bought, I would get a 15% discount on anything I ever bought at Walt Healy - parts, service, and/or accessories.
So I put my deposit on my darling of a bike, and started paying it off in chunks all winter. I bought new boots and a new helmet (discounted), and once spring made its first foray into Calgary, I went back to bring my bike home. My little dream had become reality!
And once the bike was out, did the great service stop? Heck no ... because my R6 is a bit too tall for me. I needed it lowered, so I called and I ordered a kit.
I went back on one of their busiest days, and sheepishly asked if I could have my lowering kit installed ... could they fit me in? Within five minutes I'd not only been booked in and handed them my key, but they'd also made an appointment for my first oil change the following month. And all the clerks who'd helped me buy the bike, and then the gear to go with it, stopped by to say hello and ask how the bike was. It felt like visiting family.
SUMMARY:
Walt Healy came up above and beyond my expectations for a retailer. Their service is among the friendliest I've had (often tough to find in our fair city), their staff knowledgeable and passionate about what they sell, and they will try their best to offer you exactly what you want or need. Their in-store selection may not be the biggest, and their show-room small by comparison to the Big Retailer, but they will happily order anything you want, offer feedback if you ask for it, and they will always do their best to please you. This is definitely my go-to place for all things motorcycle.
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