Motorcycle industry in Canada (Ontario)

[Gaoler]

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Sometimes a job is a just a job.

 

[mimico_polak]

I feel like your question can be applied to any kind of retail business, not just motorcycles.

How would any of us buy clothing, washing machines, art supplies, etc. if nobody wanted to work the jobs in those stores?

Do those people have a passion for clothing? Washing machines? Art supplies? Sometimes. Sometimes not...

Sometimes a job is a just a job.

This is such an important point.

For me...I like my current job very much. Sure Ford is causing us to go in 5 days RTO currently and that's the only negative for me, because it's a 55km commute one way.

I like my team, like my boss, like the work...but in the end it's just a job.

In my line of work, I deliver projects. It's what I do. Project starts, I start. Project ends, I end.

So I'm in this weird space right now where I'm not sure what I'm doing next. Am I staying? Am I going? Different role? Different project? Different company?

Lots of unknowns.

So I'm keeping my eyes/ears open, and if an opportunity that interests me comes along...a decision will need to be made.

I have 1 year from today to have a path. Until then...it's just a conversation.

 

[Lightcycle]

I'm not gay, but bro could be pullin' (pun fully intended) $40 easy if he washed his hands more often.

Just sayin'...

 

[crankcall]

I worked retail , have owned a business , worked for a national , then international, now a nice privately owned company. I tried it all I think. I'm not sure Id like the MC business simply because talking to knuckleheads that couldnt afford a decent peddle bike and want to finance a 25K bike , that they probably cant insure would make my headache.
Watching smiling couples at the RV show finance a 50K trailer , over 15yrs . I'm not heartless enough for that .

 

[xrljoel]

I feel like your question can be applied to any kind of retail business, not just motorcycles.

How would any of us buy clothing, washing machines, art supplies, etc. if nobody wanted to work the jobs in those stores?

Do those people have a passion for clothing? Washing machines? Art supplies? Sometimes. Sometimes not...

Sometimes a job is a just a job.

To carry your point further, employing an enthusiast in some roles has downsides too.

When we had our nursery/garden centre we had plenty of people looking for work who were quite proud of being active members of various horticultural societies. The trouble was, they were less interested in determining what the customer in front of them wanted than they were in telling them what they believed that customer SHOULD'VE wanted. Aside that, they fostered a constant stream of friends who'd "drop by" for long chat sessions that didn't result in much sales. As for actually working in production etc., not so much.

We also had lots of people who offered to work for free (!?!?!?!) because they (were idiots) loved plants so much. The trouble is labor like that is worth less than you're paying for it.

I watched all that play out in my final role as a warehouse manager at a company that was pretty much entirely staffed by dedicated enthusiasts. I was often literally the ONLY person focused on getting the work done as opposed to looking at the products like an obsessive enthusiast/customer.

Perhaps that's the issue that many of us have encountered at Harley dealerships. The salesmen have OD'd on the MOCO Kool-Aid (like their favored customers) and can't see past the bar & shield.

 

[Lightcycle]

Perhaps that's the issue that many of us have encountered at Harley dealerships. The salesmen have OD'd on the MOCO Kool-Aid (like their favored customers) and can't see past the bar & shield.

"Hi! I'd like to take a look at your Sportsters/V-Rod/Buell/LiveWire."
"No. Those aren't real Harleys. Sit on this Road King. And then buy it."

 

[oioioi]

I'm not gay, but bro could be pullin' (pun fully intended) $40 easy if he washed his hands more often.

Just sayin'...

Is that $40 per hand?
Cause he has 2 so thats an easy $80.

 

[Dirty Frank]

Is that $40 per hand?
Cause he has 2 so thats an easy $80.

 

[nobbie48]

This is such an important point.

For me...I like my current job very much. Sure Ford is causing us to go in 5 days RTO currently and that's the only negative for me, because it's a 55km commute one way.

I like my team, like my boss, like the work...but in the end it's just a job.

In my line of work, I deliver projects. It's what I do. Project starts, I start. Project ends, I end.

So I'm in this weird space right now where I'm not sure what I'm doing next. Am I staying? Am I going? Different role? Different project? Different company?

Lots of unknowns.

So I'm keeping my eyes/ears open, and if an opportunity that interests me comes along...a decision will need to be made.

I have 1 year from today to have a path. Until then...it's just a conversation.

I knew one engineer that started out in the petro-chemical field then realized if he got started on a ground breaking project he could be 20 years on one project, two in his working lifetime. He switched to commercial to diversify.

Some electricians like the challenge of something different every day and they do well in service. Others want to know they'll be home at the same time every day and what to expect tomorrow. They do better in construction.

Not everyone can stomach a 55 Km commute. Rush hour is now rush half days. Auto drive (Snooze and cruise) can't come soon enough.

 

[nobbie48]

Hypothetical question.

At a livable wage, would you work in the motorcycle industry in Ontario.
No particular brand but dealership related?
Sales, service, parts.

Curious to what others think

Too much ego involved for me. The old line of "If it's got t**s or tires, you'll regret it."

 

[mimico_polak]

I knew one engineer that started out in the petro-chemical field then realized if he got started on a ground breaking project he could be 20 years on one project, two in his working lifetime. He switched to commercial to diversify.

Some electricians like the challenge of something different every day and they do well in service. Others want to know they'll be home at the same time every day and what to expect tomorrow. They do better in construction.

Not everyone can stomach a 55 Km commute. Rush hour is now rush half days. Auto drive (Snooze and cruise) can't come soon enough.

My work history is typically 3-5 years on a job/project/company and then moving on to something more 'fun' or interesting for me.

Thankfully so far it's all been related, but going to a new industry would be like starting all over again...I'd need a big fat salary bump to take that on and 'restart' in a different industry.

The 55km commute isn't bad in the morning (leave at 6:15 and arrive by 7). Going home...let's just say I try and leave early and finish up from home whenever possible.

Yesterday left early, 403 all WB lanes closed at Hurontario so had to take detours...a 50min drive turned into a 60min drive. Not the end of the world, but sucks when you get home 2min before the next remote meeting.

Thanks Ford! 95% of meetings are remote...idiots.

 

[nobbie48]

At a livable wage, I am mostly industry agnostic. The problem is some industries have trouble supporting a livable wage at the number of hours I want to work. Even minimum wage can be livable if you work enough hours. If I could choose between selling motorcycles and selling hinges for even money/effort, I'd rather be around bikes.

EDIT:
To the point of LC and EX, I'd rather make 10x the hourly livable wage and work 10% of the time. If I could make 10x selling lumber or software that I care nothing about, that's a better path imo. An unstable employer as a career needs to pay enough to compensate for the instability imo. At even money, I pick the stable employer.

Another issue with powersports is many of their peak busy times are the peak times I want to be enjoying my toys and not doing tons of overtime. Your better off with a field that doesn't align with the seasons that matter to you (eg software sales probably slow down in summer).

1) Responsible people need wages that allows them to be responsible to their families, housing, food, education, culture.

2) Mutual respect replaces a lot of Rx costs.

3) Taken in enough depth, any product can be interesting. Forget lumber, I knew guy that bought and sold sawdust.

4) Mega corporations can't usually handle the above.

5) Fun and glory jobs often don't pay well.

6) A commercial fisherman's idea of a vacation is a bus tour. A bus driver's idea of a vacation is to go fishing.

 

[nobbie48]

Personally, me? No.

What sustains my love of motorcycling is that I approach it on my terms, not the terms of an employer or organization that dictates what I do, when to do it and how to do it. And not being able to pay rent or put food on the table if I didn't do it exactly that way? That's pressure I don't need in my life.

I'd never mix my hobby with work, or try to make a living from it. Quickest way to kill your passion.

Also, there are much better ways for me to make money than to be in the powersports industry. I have way more marketable skills in more lucrative industries. Why kill yourself for a livable wage when you can make more money, much faster doing something else and then be able to spend that money doing your hobby exactly the way you want to?

When I was working on my pilot's license a commercial pilot suggested I go for an instructor's license. I could instruct and bank the minimum wage, using it to pay for my private flying. Since my regular job paid 4-5 times the minimum it didn't make sense other than building hours, which on a C-152 are useless for commercial advancement.

 

[nobbie48]

It takes a special person to work in retail, ANY retail.

Like anything else, there are good days but from my experience there are too many days that are at worst; soul-crushing. I can't imagine what it would be like now, as my retail experience ended about 10 years ago.

The impact of those bad days is cumulative, or at least it was for me. Thirty-odd years of it was enough.

It's worse when you own it than if you work in it. When you own it, you own it 24/7 and feel/worry about it 24/7. Whether it's the customers who haggle over everything for entertainment/sport, the ones who believe they know more than you do and are driven to show you in the most rude or humiliating manner possible, the ones who are trying to rip you off with fake returns etc., or the ones who just want to vent their spleen on somebody because their dog ****** on their leg that morning.

I can't imagine trying to deal with that with something as subjective, complex, impractical and discretionary as motorcycles or accessories.

There's too many people who view rude and obnoxious as a favored lifestyle nowadays.

Our gun laws keep me from working retail.

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