A few weeks ago I got a phone call at my house. This is how the beginning of the conversation went:
Me: Hello
Rep: Oh this is Jamie, How are you today?
Me: Ummm… Ok
Rep: I was just calling to inquire about how your recent visit to Harley-Davidson of Baltimore with sales associate Heidi Harris was?
Me: What?
Rep: Well you it says here you visited the dealership and spoke with Heidi Harris recently!
Me: ….NO!
I went on to tell the operator about how I had never set foot in Harley-Davidson of Baltimore. I actually have no idea where it is located, who she was talking about… and how annoyed and disturbed I was that she was calling me. I said I had some dealings with another Harley-Davidson (H-D) dealership regarding my blog, but they should not have my personal info except my email. I asked, “How did you even get my phone number?” The operator clearly was at a bit of a loss for words, sensing my angry. She paused then said, “Well… mmm… I really don't know. Did you go to any motorcycle events recently? The answer was a a big, “NO!” After awhile it came out that my they must have gotten my phone number from when I visited the Harley-Davidson plant in York, PA years ago. I told the rep, “I am really annoyed I am getting this phone call.” It turned out the rep was from an independent company and was not directly from Harley-Davidson. Still this reflects poorly on Harley-Davidson and she claimed she was representing them. I requested to be removed off the list and assumed that would be end of that.
Not quite! I got an email on October 28th from Harley-Davidson of Baltimore… from Heidi Harris. She saw I had mentioned I didn't want additional information, but she still would be happy for me to stop by and and see what they are all about. Since I am a licensed rider, I am entitled to demo rides on any Harley product.
I mean really? WTF? I don't really want phone calls at my house about visits to dealerships that never took place. I specifically request to be taken off the list from future contact and they send me a friggin email! I guess motorcycle sales must be really down because of the economy. This email was sent to my Yahoo email address that is checked infrequently since I use Gmail. This tells you how long Harley-Davidson has been holding onto my info in desperate hopes I will go into a dealership to buy a bike.
Now I never intend to buy a Harley-Davidson! Especially knowing how much they violate peoples privacy, including my own. Until they have a change in privacy standards and practices, I would recommend to all my readers to not buy one either.
