John Leach, general manager and vice president of Pete?s Cycle Co. and Pete?s Motor Sports, doesn’t remember a time when he wasn?t involved with the family business.
The business was such a natural part of growing up, Leach felt perfectly at ease working at the parts counter as a 12-year-old.
“We are Baltimore,” said Leach of the family-owned and operated business that was founded in 1938. “People take their motorcycles very seriously. We understand that and give very personal service to our customers.”
That?s not just a catchphrase, said Alan Nelson, who worked at other large cycle dealers before joining Pete?s nine years ago.
“Being family owned is what makes us different,” Nelson said. “I had a customer recently who said he was buying a bike from us instead of any other dealership because we are family owned.”
Family owned at Pete?s means customers have ready access to managers and can expect extra effort to ensure their needs are met.
The 80 employees among the three stores were all hired and kept because of their enthusiasm and knowledge about the products, Leach said.
While Leach will recruit for new hires, the lack of turnover among his staff makes that almost unnecessary.
“We really aren?t like car dealers,” said Leach of how the sales are done. “We are more like RV dealers because we have to be much more personable and take more time with our customers.”
Average motorcycle buyers at Pete?s are baby boomers who are in their late 40s.
They?ve generally ridden motorcycles in the past, gave them up for a few decades and now want to get back into the sport.
Women comprise about 30 percent of the customer base, Leach said.
“I do a survey every spring, and about 85 percent of our customers come to us because of word of mouth,” Leach said. “We have more knowledge of the business than anyone and we care about customer service.”
Pete?s locations
» Pete?s Motor Sports 7511 Belair Road, Baltimore; 410-663-8556
» Pete?s Cycle Company Inc. 344 Belair Road, Bel Air; 410-879-3586
» Pete?s Cycle Company Inc. 800 Ritchie Highway, Severna Park; 410-647-5880
» On the Web: www.petescycles.com
