Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo Gonzalez –
Eric Sternberg is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Desperado Harley Davidson store in McAllen, Texas.
He describes the business as being an adult toy store. Eric said, “It’s a fun place for people to come and just hang out not necessarily having to buy anything.”
Their dedication to their customers and visitors is number one and that attitude brings quite a few regulars that they know even by first name.
Desperado H-D is a super store that provides customization of your Harley-Davidson® and no matter what your size or style they can help you find your perfect fit. And as Eric says, “Our Harley® motorcycles can be turned into your Harley® motorcycle.
But aside from the new models you can also find pre-owned inventory, parts and accessories or you can even rent to ride.
The Harley’s brand is well known all over the world, people know that is a magnificent product and have confidence that they will enjoy it. How do you sell your product? “Harley’s have been known to sell themselves to a degree and we just try to help that process along by fitting the person to the right motorcycle, having some fun with them, making them enjoy the experience hopefully,” Eric said.
He pointed out that they don’t like to pressure the customer. He said, “We try to make it a little different here where it’s an experience because we believe our customer is the most important person and we make it our business to make them feel that way.”
They also offer and promote the Harley Davidson Riding Academy, they teach the class. Eric said, “If someone has no riding experience we highly recommend that they take that course. If they do buy a motorcycle before taking the course we recommend that they take that course before they actually ride the bike.”
According to him, typically it’s a four-day process course. Two evenings, Thursday and Friday in the evening folks would come after work and then that’s the written part of the course. “On Saturday and Sunday they actually get out on our parking lot which is marked off for riding. We cone it off so that no cars can park there and then they would ride on Saturday and Sunday and learn how to ride a motorcycle,” Eric said.
He said that what is unique about the store is the staff. “We have folks here that can’t be found any place else.” In addition he said, “You can find Harleys in other areas of the country and certainly salespeople as well. You can also find riding academies but we have what I feel is a team with high integrity and high moral values and we try to make sure that everybody is treated fairly.”
Eric said that their customer retention is one of the highest in the nation and he feels that that is a reflection of how they treat people. “That’s what unique about us is that no one can replace the people we have any place else. You can have the bikes but you are not going to have our people.”
You can visit the store Desperado Harley Davidson at 1201 S. Bentsen Rd McAllen, TX, USA 78501-8504 or you can call to (956) 687-4646
Desperado Harley Davidson is a proud member of the Mission Chamber of Commerce. TBB
 of the Desperado Harley Davidson store in McAllen, Texas. He describes the business as being an adult toy store. Eric said, “It’s a fun place for people to come and just hang out not necessarily having to buy anything.”){kind=link}