OUR Buddy of the Year: ANGIE BUETTNER!

"I know I must wear you out but you are the one person I most want to speak with after today! By some miracle, I was so hoping you would be there when I received my new scooter. It was a truly amazing day at Metro. I have kept my excitement about the new bike to a severe minimum, not telling anyone about it but my husband. I just didn't want to get my hopes up and then have something go sour and not get it. So I pretty much had the "I'll believe it when I see it" mentality going. Today there were three of us brave souls who road to the shop around 11:15am. Metro had announced a Giveaway at 1pm. When I walked through the doors still helmeted at 11:50, lots of people were standing around the door in a crowd. I didn't think anything about it and as I started to take off my helmet, Dave Rueve came over to me and put his arm around me. He was making a speech and instantly I realized it was about me. The crowd parted like the Red Sea and there was the new Black Jack with my name on it! I didn't have to fake surprise because it was at that moment I knew the dream was a reality. I immediately sat on it and people were congratulating me and celebrating. I spoke with too many people to count in the course of the next 4 hours.

It is important for you to know I salute you and gave you all the credit today for being so supportive of your customers and giving me such a tremendous gift. Yes, I ride the hell out of my Buddy and yes, I mean every single word I write you about my experiences on that scooter. But so much credit goes to you and your company.

When we first went looking at scooters in 2006 we knew nothing about the Buddy. We stopped at Metro Scooters to look over the selections. Dave immediately steered us to the Buddy, telling us it was new to the U.S. It was cool but we didn't know much about scooters. Spent a long time talking to Dave and Seth about it and went home to check everything we could online about the Buddy. To be honest, we couldn't find one negative word. Having never ridden a 2-wheeled motorized vehicle myself, I discussed it at length with Ben and we returned within the week to Metro. Before you know it, we were the proud owners of a Pink and a Black Buddy 125. We loaded them into a trailer and took off. Once we got home I rode about 20 feet and had to push my scoot back into the driveway because I was scared to death and clueless about how to ride this "too heavy, too much power" machine. Ben suggested I search online about Riding a Motorcycle because I probably wouldn't listen to him; he's right. The next day I bought all the gear and loaded the bike into the trailer. We went all of a mile to the biggest deserted parking lot we could find. I rode that Buddy 50 miles that afternoon in the parking lot! Ben had me ride around tree islands, around cones, teaching me to counter steer and lean into curves. Nothing like being thrown into something! But I had just spent $2600 and what good was it if I wasn't going to ride it? Next night after work we actually rode to a nearby county Park with some slight curves and hills. We rode and rode and rode and rode until dark. Next day we did the Park thing one more time. The 4th day we actually rode to work. Mind you, it was the backest roads we could find but a ride to and from work nonetheless. And the rest is history. I wasn't about to let my fear of motorcycles (remember, I was an x-ray tech who had worked on lots of motorcycle crash victims in my life) ruin this for me. We signed up for the next MSF Class and riding became even more intense and fun.

What's that got to do with anything? Just that everything and everyone pointed to the Buddy and there has never been even a hint of regret for those purchases. I know I have "sold" a dozen Buddys in the last three years; these folks always let me know how much they appreciate the recommendation from me. Riding with so many motorcyclists I get bombarded with "When are you going to get a real bike". I swear, Philip, this comment comes around each and every group ride I do. The standard reply is "When I need to go faster than 70mph or this one breaks in half". 'Nuff said and they leave me alone. I have skills, I have confidence and I have God as my passenger. Not one ride happens that I don't ask God to sit behind me and keep us safe on our journey. I guess I should tell Him to drive but once in awhile I figure He needs a break!

So between you, God and my mechanic husband Ben, we roll along one day at a time. I wish I could be brief when I write to you but I always feel the need to spill my guts. Sooner or later I'll leave you alone and let all this pass. But until then, I have to shower you with gratitude over and over again until I feel satisfied that you know how much this has meant to me.

So for now, I hope the weekend is going good for you. I would really like to ride up there this year so look for me! And I have never forgotten your request for me to let you know if we have a ride down here you can join in on. I worry we won't be worthy, though, but I will certainly think about it."

Much love,

Angie

Learn More >>