OnlineSales

6-24-05

I will be talking about the new Arai Sales Policy here
and giving you the details plus my personal thoughts on it.

Will The Service Pavilion take part in it?
That is undecided. With online sales there is high risk of losing excellent customer
service. That is VERY important to my ideals and direction of my company.

As some you have already read or heard about, or for those of you have not…Arai
Helmets Americas, Inc. has begun to allow Mail Order and Internet/E-commerce
(MOI) of Arai Helmets again. Some of you might be jumping for joy or laughing at
Arai for so-called failure at them attempting to not allow MOI sales of their helmets
here in the U.S. When in my opinion, that is not the case at all. It was about product
and brand value. It was about awareness for all.

My business ideas, plans and personal experiences in my dealings with Arai
helmets and its Consumers have brought me to write this. All of my business with
helmet sales has been done face to face. Either from customers walking into my
shop, or our constant contact with You the motorcycling consumer at motorcycle
events or races all over North America.

The Service Pavilion is the most complete and specialized Arai Helmet sales and
service shop around that also has 30+ years motorcycle service background. I can
safely say we have sold more Arai helmets then any other shop in the Americas
since we have started back in October 2002. Again, all done face to face.

When I heard rumors about Arai possibly allowing online/mail order of its helmets
again I was very concerned. I reacted right away thinking my business is not going
to be able to survive. Because what happens with mail order/online sales is most
online sellers do NOT have a huge overhead in business costs. Like a motorcycle
shop that you walk into does. Or like The Service Pavilion that has a shop and
spends tens of thousands of dollars a year traveling all over the U.S., bringing our
Arai Helmet program to YOU the consumers. I was worried about how can I compete
in price with MOI businesses that sell product for a few dollars over their cost. I
cannot afford to do that and have the service that I do. I do not price match or
compete with others prices when I am at events now. What am I going to do?! But
as I sat in deep thought at times and long in-depth discussions with my staff and
friends about Arai’s changes in its sales policy I began to relax and focus on some
points.

There are other good shops out there that can fit you properly and correctly. But
there again, that can only be done well face to face. But, seriously there are maybe
only about 8-10 of them in the entire US. Seriously! I can say that because I travel
the entire U.S., working with people, correcting fit and taking care of simple
problems that their dealers in their respective markets should be able to take care
of. Feedback from you the customers tells us more then any sales number or dollar
amount can ever show how true that is.

Arai has some guidelines for the new sales policy that as a Retailer I must extend:
(THE FOLLOWING IS WHAT A NEW ARAI E-DEALER MUST PROVIDE)
_______________________________________________________________
NO HASSLE RETURN POLICY

Please note that the following official logo must appear on this dealer’s site or Arai
cannot support or provide Warranty coverage for your purchase. Registered Arai
dealers have agreed in writing to conform to Arai’s standards for the proper fitting,
sizing, consumer care and attention to insure your satisfaction to the best of their
and our ability.

This logo on your dealer’s site means that you are entitled to
*A NO-HASSLE, NO-FEE HELMET EXCHANGE
IF THERE IS A SIZE OR FIT PROBLEM WITH YOUR INITIAL PURCHASE.

If, after receiving your helmet and test-fitting it in your home (never having removed
the tags, shield film or actually using it for a test ride) you can return it to the place of
purchase, within 3 business days after receipt, for an exchange to either another
Arai size and/or model. The helmet must be in absolutely brand new condition,
returned in the original box with all the original paperwork and packing. The cost
difference, should there be any depending on model and/or design change, will either
be refunded (in the case of a less expensive replacement) or charged (in the case of
a more expensive replacement) to your credit card. You must confirm with the place
of purchase prior to the return, as to what that difference in costs might be and
approve it, as well as to make the arrangements for the authorized return. Note that
the dealer has final say as to the condition of the returned helmet, as well as any and
all charges relating to damage, missing parts and/or cost differences in the case of an
exchange. Arai has nothing to do with the purchase process, other than requiring
the one free return for exchange. Any returns for another brand, or for a refund are
not covered under this policy and will be charged for according to the policies of the
selling dealer. Therefore, it is up to you as the customer to understand all sales and
return policies of the selling dealer prior to making your purchase. Thank you very
much for considering Arai for your next helmet purchase. We hope we have
provided some useful information and hope you apply it, even if you choose another
brand. After all, aren’t you worth a little extra consideration?

And remember, only dealers listed on our dealer locator and displaying this
registered logo are authorized to sell Arai helmets via the internet, as they have
agreed to Arai’s policies, most importantly the “no return shipping or return fee
exchange” extra effort to get you properly fitted.
_________________________________________________________________

Now what usually happens whether it is in a store or online people will buy a new
helmet from a previous purchase experience or what they “think” they wear and
make a purchase. That is wear these numbers I will share with you comes from.

9 out of 10 people that own Arai’s now are wearing one size too big.
4 out of 9 of those people are wearing 2 sizes too big.
1-2 out of those 4 are wearing sometimes 3 or 4 sizes too big.

My worst case I have ever encountered was 5 sizes too big. The guy went from a
large to an XXXS! I am very serious about that. You all might go, that’s crazy how
could he not know it was too big. He believed it was right because the dealership
he went to told him it was right! So how many of you are truly not wearing the right
size? And now I will get into the model issue.

Not only now are we talking about a size issue, but with Arai there are the different
models built with different head shapes. What happens is people buy only using
the color or paint scheme instead of the proper fit. That is totally fine and cool. I like
stuff to look good as well. But if you do not enjoy wearing your helmet because it
leaves a red mark on your forehead or it is too noisy how cool is it then? What
happens is that when you are wearing the wrong head shape model, you usually
find yourself wearing the wrong size. It’s like trying to make a square peg fit in a
round hole. If you make the hole big enough the square peg will fit! That’s pretty
clear. Well that is what has been happening apparently for DECADES now. Until
now…We are here to make a difference!

As I stated earlier I have yet to decide if I will let The Service Pavilion become a full
online retailer of Arai products. I have been working on and will continue to develop
a fitting program that we will be able to provide to interested and potential
customers who cannot see us face to face at an event or come to our shop in
Pennsylvania. But we will continue to provide the current online service and sales
we have been doing since day one.

I will in a short while go into more details on other issues with helmet sales and
online sales challenges. But I hope anyone in the motorcycling community who
reads this has a new insight to my business. Also seeing the passion my staff and
myself have for motorcycling. It's not just about making money. It's our way of life.
Please email or call me with any questions you may have.

Thank you.

I will be writing soon about Over-seas/International sellers that you may see on
various web searches and E-bay sales. Be aware! There are fit and feature
differences with European and Japanese specification Arai helmets. Do not find out
the hard way like others we have assisted have!

Since 2002