This past September we had a situation that gave us incredible insight to the generosity and kindness that still exists in the world and especially amongst motorcycle riders.
We ran into an unusual situation and would like to share our amazing experience.
Ever since the Airlines and Cargo departments have had to deal with Covid, the people have changed, the rules have changed, the prices have changed, the requirements are all constantly changing and it has been very difficult for us at Motorcycle Express Services and for our riders.
Essentially we have had almost no new shipping business for two years. Just a few bikes here and there. But we are still in business and very grateful for that! Our seasonal business has transformed in many ways over the past 40 years, as our founder Michael Mandell has had the insight and constant open mind to move forward with the times. Many of you know Michael from phone conversations you've shared with him about traveling by motorcycle around the world. It is his passion, always has been and always will be.
Well, last month we had a motorcycle rider whose bike got stranded in Paris, while he had to head back to Canada. The reason it was stranded was due to misinformation provided to us and beyond our control. But, we were determined to get his bike back to him as planned. We had him park it in a paid parking place near the airport for safety reasons. He was so smart. He took photos for us of the bike, license plate, location information and so on.
THEN, we reached out. We reached out to our community of riders. We feel like a family and it means a lot to us. Some of the most special people we have had the opportunity to work with in shipping their motorcycles came to our rescue. Word got out from England to France and beyond that we needed an experienced rider to pick up this motorcycle, take it to a freight forwarder (whom by the way we will talk more about moving forward because you all need to know some of the changes necessary coming back from Europe), and then he had to take it to the warehouse, disconnect battery and wait until it was accepted by the Dangerous Goods Specialist and Cargo Department.
Special thanks to Nigel Grace, Damien at On and Off Adventures and Pierre Ginouvès, Nicolas Ginouvès with Harley Davidson Limoges and Patrice Deslage at Exaciel AMC Logistique. And an additional thanks to those who connected and tried to see if they could help. We appreciate you all. It is with this spirit that we look so forward to serving you in 2022 for your upcoming shipments.
Have a wonderful upcoming holiday season. We will be updating the website as new protocol from airlines dictates and we will do our very best to keep you informed.