MotorClothes® Merchandise & Collectibles

How We Select Merchandise…

We listen to you! The customer!

When we go to a Harley show or have a Harley Licensed vendor visit our store, we think of you our current and potential customers. We go over what you like, or what you've asked for. We also look at the General Public and what they are wearing these days, what the trends are.

Our selection is a result of what Harley-Davidson offers in its HUGE catalogues, YOUR requests, YOUR taste, YOUR past buying pattern ….YOU!

Our Sales Team is always listening and watching to improve on our service and selection so that Bartels' can remain YOUR place to Hang Out.

Over the years, I have watched and listened to you (I still do) and improve on my department and management style based on YOUR input. You may not realize it, but my department relies on you for service and choice.

Our most important concerns are "Quality Products and Good Prices."

At times we show products to our customers prior to a buying trip. We also have Harley Product vendors bring stocks of products to test before we dive in with a whole line.

As we grow this coming year, we will have more inviting and relaxing atmosphere to shop in. We will have a lot more space to add products that YOU, the customer have requested or would like to see.

How We Can Better Meet Your Needs And Wants …

Talk to us! We have Customer Comment cards, but I like to hear from the customers on a one-on-one basis. Tell me what you like and even what you don't like; we will make adjustments as much as possible, to please you.

I like to spend time just wandering, listening to conversations about our products, and strike up conversations with people; find out where they are from, what kind of riding they do, and help them choose the gift that best corresponds to the recipient and their budget.

We spend a great deal of time training our Employees with programs such as the Harley-Davidson® training series called Parts, Accessories, Clothing Experts (P.A.C.E.). Each employee is required to watch and study these videos, and are tested later. We do one-on-one training for each person. It takes several months of training to learn the computer, products and the correct way to fit a customer in their MotorClothes® Merchandise .

My staff and I treat every customer with respect and some “motherly” touches; “we just like to take care of you”.

We appreciate your compliments and rely on your positive criticism to make Bartels' a comfortable and pleasant Hang Out.

My extension is 241 and my office is right across from the coffee pot, stop by anytime.

So, who am I? - Ellie Collin, Department Manager...

I have been working for Bartels' Harley-Davidson since September 11, 1991, 14+ years ago. But, my husband and I were customers of Bartels' HD before I joined the company.

I was hired as part time help to hang T-shirts in the small shop on Washington Boulevard in Culver City . Later, I helped customers at the counter, pulled parts for the Service Department and did Warranty and Repair Order Data Entry.

One day Bill Bartels asked if I could go down to HD of Fullerton to see how things were set up at their shop. As I visited the back rooms of HD Fullerton, Merle Bartels was there too, checking out the computer system. Merle looked at me and asked “So what do you think of your new department?” I didn't know what she was talking about, but Bill and Merle had decided to put me in charge of the Clothing and Boutique department (that's what it was then). I was never asked to work full time, it just happened. It is a standing joke that I am still waiting for Bill to ask me to work full time.

It has been a fun road to where we are today. I guess my love of the product and the Harley Industry makes this job a dream come true. How many people get to have one of their hobbies as a job!