Another cool niche idea- Harley Davidson mobility scooters
March 26th, 2009 by Ingrid Cliff
Long time readers know that my parents are starting to get on in years and bits are starting to fall apart. In his younger days my dad was a mad keen biker, and loved his Indian motor bike and his Harley motor bikes with a passion. Some of my earliest memories were being propped up in a sidecar and the wind in my face as we rumbled around Sydney.
Now in his late 70s, dad still walks about 5km per day, but lately he has been checking out mobility scooters “just in case” he gets old.
He was quite impressed with one he saw the other day. According to him it had great acceleration and fantastic speed. But as he has also said for a few years, he is not really interested in getting a mobility scooter until Harley Davidson produces one.
I thought that was a brilliant idea for the fading company, as there are many bikers starting to go grey, not to mention all the other younger bikers who had fallen off their machines and now can no longer get around (Harley’s are notoriously heavy). Can you imagine a whole posse of grey haired grannies rumbling around the shopping centre?
So, a while back I sent a letter to Harley Davidson, giving them the idea. Deathly silence … not even a form acknowledgment letter that said “thank you for your suggestion it is under consideration”. If anyone else wants to go with the idea – be our guest.
How many other businesses are handed cool ideas on a plate – and ignore them? What happens to your customer feedback forms or customer suggestions? Do you act on them? What can you do to improve your process? You could take a leaf out of Richard Branson’s book and personally talk to them.
So … Harley Davidson – we are still waiting. I reckon you have a few years yet before dad will need your prototype mobility scooter. Until then you may just want to check out your customer feedback process. I look forward to hearing the patented rumble in a mobility scooter in years to come.
Until next time
Ingrid Cliff
We put your business into words
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 26th, 2009 at 7:55 pm and is filed under small business tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
March 27th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
He sounds like a cool dad Ingrid. Hope they come round and make him one, one day!
March 31st, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Thanks Annette – he is pretty cool and pretty special. I’m lucky to have him as my father.
May 29th, 2009 at 4:30 am
Well the chineese have done it again, they have untroduced the X0Tream XB 240. A pretty sharp mobility unit more like a 3 wheeled motor cycle, may be your dad would like it. Im 70 and I am considering one. good luck sfb
June 25th, 2010 at 4:17 am
Hi,
These are mobility scooters, not race cars.They help those that have trouble walking. They are not meant to be a mode of long distance transportation. Five MPH would be pretty fast if you bumped into someone while shopping at the mall.
Regards,