Issue with Karack
03-09-12, 12:21 PM
#51
First I would like to introduce myself.
My name is Josh. I grew up in San Francisco’s lower-class Mission District and began working at 15 years old to support myself. I put myself through university by working full-time at Verizon Wireless’s main store in SF. That means getting up 7am, science lectures for 3 hours, then 10 hours working on my feet, then study for 3 hours, sleep at 1 or 2am for 5-6 hours, and repeat for 5 years. During my last year at the company, I was customer-ranked Verizon’s #1 rep in service excellence among all Verizon retail employees within all 12 Western United States, so I’m familiar with business, customer service, and the way you treat people in general. I recently graduated with a Pre-Medical B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology, and I’m in the middle of medical school interviews, with my 5th med school interview scheduled in a few days on March 9. Currently I’m the Volunteer Coordinator at San Francisco General Hospital’s Emergency Department and Level 1 Trauma Center, where I work along side ER doctors and nurses with direct patient interactions in the most violent and gruesome Bay Area stat traumas, and I manage the ED training staff for the premedical student volunteers.
I don’t take drugs or drink alcohol. I have paid off all my credit cards and student loans, and I’ve paid my rent for the next year. I’m a straight-forward guy, and I naturally interact with people with honesty and integrity, even when they don’t deserve it. In my free time I work out (6x/week), waste time on my Mazda, and ignore my ex-girlfriends.
I’m not just some kid with an RX-7, which, by the way, I bought and funded with my own money as well.
.......
What bites me is that I could have rebuilt my engine myself. I don’t like paying someone to do something I can do myself. The issue is that I don’t have a garage. I’ve done almost all my car’s work in front (or up the street) of my apartment, but a rebuild isn’t exactly something you can do with the car parked on the street with traffic going by.
I met Ben Blankenhorn (forum name “Karack”) in Jan 2011 at a tuning session in NorCal. We had a few short random rotary-related conversations, and for the most part on the forum, people seem to blindly trust him as well. So I begrudgingly decided to have Ben perform the rebuild at his shop in Las Vegas, Rotary Evolution. I figured I could trust him to be almost as meticulous as myself on rebuilding my engine.
My name is Josh. I grew up in San Francisco’s lower-class Mission District and began working at 15 years old to support myself. I put myself through university by working full-time at Verizon Wireless’s main store in SF. That means getting up 7am, science lectures for 3 hours, then 10 hours working on my feet, then study for 3 hours, sleep at 1 or 2am for 5-6 hours, and repeat for 5 years. During my last year at the company, I was customer-ranked Verizon’s #1 rep in service excellence among all Verizon retail employees within all 12 Western United States, so I’m familiar with business, customer service, and the way you treat people in general. I recently graduated with a Pre-Medical B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology, and I’m in the middle of medical school interviews, with my 5th med school interview scheduled in a few days on March 9. Currently I’m the Volunteer Coordinator at San Francisco General Hospital’s Emergency Department and Level 1 Trauma Center, where I work along side ER doctors and nurses with direct patient interactions in the most violent and gruesome Bay Area stat traumas, and I manage the ED training staff for the premedical student volunteers.
I don’t take drugs or drink alcohol. I have paid off all my credit cards and student loans, and I’ve paid my rent for the next year. I’m a straight-forward guy, and I naturally interact with people with honesty and integrity, even when they don’t deserve it. In my free time I work out (6x/week), waste time on my Mazda, and ignore my ex-girlfriends.
I’m not just some kid with an RX-7, which, by the way, I bought and funded with my own money as well.
.......
What bites me is that I could have rebuilt my engine myself. I don’t like paying someone to do something I can do myself. The issue is that I don’t have a garage. I’ve done almost all my car’s work in front (or up the street) of my apartment, but a rebuild isn’t exactly something you can do with the car parked on the street with traffic going by.
I met Ben Blankenhorn (forum name “Karack”) in Jan 2011 at a tuning session in NorCal. We had a few short random rotary-related conversations, and for the most part on the forum, people seem to blindly trust him as well. So I begrudgingly decided to have Ben perform the rebuild at his shop in Las Vegas, Rotary Evolution. I figured I could trust him to be almost as meticulous as myself on rebuilding my engine.
if you think people blindly trust me, again, think again. people trust me because the quality of my work shows in itself and THAT is why people come to me, and my prices are probably the most reasonable in the WHOLE market considering the quality of work. why else did you consider going so far to come here? but you got cold feet, i don't know, maybe you had many sleepless nights thinking i was tearing your car apart and selling it on some mysterious super secret rotary black market..
in telling your story you think the world owes you, but we don't owe you anything. you work for what you have, you do not expect people to feel sorry for you that you worked extra hard for what you have, except in that people more appreciate that you were not handed everything you have. was i spoon fed? nope, i've been pretty much on my own since the same age you were and built everything i have with nothing(except i started working at 13 when that was the minimum working age, i worked at burger king), no credit and no loans. sure, my parents live in a 5k sq/ft custom million dollar house(i won't hide that because this is the age of the internet after all) but they do not spoon feed me, i did have to borrow $2k from them to finalize the move here 2 years ago and i still owe them a small portion of that.
in all i've probably worked as hard as you but i have done it for a very much longer time considering our age difference. most of the cars i have done have my blood and sweat in them(lol). except you chose a much better paying profession which hopefully does not give you some sort of superiority complex and this is the beginning of that.
you were/are less than honest with me still here and now. claiming i am the one who is dishonest with you, as if intentionally running 2 weeks late on your car(not the 10 weeks that this all is turning into and perceived as) in order to somehow try and take advantage of you as if this whole scenario was a scheme and i am a horrible person.
take pride in what you have accomplished, don't try and rub it in people's faces. we all get stuck in a rut, i do the same at times because i wan't to feel appreciated but i don't lash out at people when i don't get the reaction i would like.
ever been late to work when there was a traffic accident that held up traffic? do you think you deserve to be fired over it? think about it people. why do i deserve to pay for this.
Last edited by RotaryEvolution; 03-09-12 at 12:51 PM.
03-09-12, 01:15 PM
#52
as for the $120, reason i held it is there was 0 indication of even acceptance that i was out on a limb losing anything through this transaction. no offers of reimbursements, nothing.
if i leave it to people to offer me any compensation, more often than not i wind up with a loss versus even breaking even. simply talking to people is costing me time from my schedule in getting to cars like Josh's.
the rest would go something like this:
"sorry Chris, i can't help you reassemble your engine, it will set me back almost a full day from my schedule pushing Brian's rebuild back."
"sorry Dave, i can't help you with your RX8 fuel pump, it will set me back a few hours in my current schedule. try the joe schmoe shop down the road because something might break during disassembly and cost me more than the few hours from my schedule."
"sorry random person, i can't help you with your no start condition as i am not getting paid for technical assistance on the phone. in fact most months i pay extra for it in overages"
"sorry Dick, i can't help you with your oil leak on your car, would set my schedule back almost another full day. call back in 2-3 months."
"sorry Barry, i can't help you with the random bits on your RX4 restoration. if you want to schedule an appointment i have an opening 3 months from now to fix your taillights so you can drive your car."
all of the above i do, because it is my choice to possibly have to push scheduled cars back in order to try and get it all done in an effort to try and make everyone happy.
the names have changed but the examples are actually true and recent. these are jobs i fit in between rebuilds. do those people deserve to get brushed off so that i can adhere to a strict time schedule? i understand i take on the responsibility when i create the schedule, i accept the responsibility that i am only one person and every time i accept something in the middle it pushes everything back. does that make me the bad guy? to a few people the answer is yes, and i know that i cannot make everyone happy. the more i try to push people off, the longer the list gets and the pushier people become(because many are daily driven cars).
patience is a virtue, especially these days unless you're on the recieving end. we all know this, yet we all run late from time to time. sometimes by choice, sometimes not by choice.
i take pride in honor, without it i am nothing. being the first truly disappointed customer, you will also be the last.
if i leave it to people to offer me any compensation, more often than not i wind up with a loss versus even breaking even. simply talking to people is costing me time from my schedule in getting to cars like Josh's.
the rest would go something like this:
"sorry Chris, i can't help you reassemble your engine, it will set me back almost a full day from my schedule pushing Brian's rebuild back."
"sorry Dave, i can't help you with your RX8 fuel pump, it will set me back a few hours in my current schedule. try the joe schmoe shop down the road because something might break during disassembly and cost me more than the few hours from my schedule."
"sorry random person, i can't help you with your no start condition as i am not getting paid for technical assistance on the phone. in fact most months i pay extra for it in overages"
"sorry Dick, i can't help you with your oil leak on your car, would set my schedule back almost another full day. call back in 2-3 months."
"sorry Barry, i can't help you with the random bits on your RX4 restoration. if you want to schedule an appointment i have an opening 3 months from now to fix your taillights so you can drive your car."
all of the above i do, because it is my choice to possibly have to push scheduled cars back in order to try and get it all done in an effort to try and make everyone happy.
the names have changed but the examples are actually true and recent. these are jobs i fit in between rebuilds. do those people deserve to get brushed off so that i can adhere to a strict time schedule? i understand i take on the responsibility when i create the schedule, i accept the responsibility that i am only one person and every time i accept something in the middle it pushes everything back. does that make me the bad guy? to a few people the answer is yes, and i know that i cannot make everyone happy. the more i try to push people off, the longer the list gets and the pushier people become(because many are daily driven cars).
patience is a virtue, especially these days unless you're on the recieving end. we all know this, yet we all run late from time to time. sometimes by choice, sometimes not by choice.
i take pride in honor, without it i am nothing. being the first truly disappointed customer, you will also be the last.
Last edited by RotaryEvolution; 03-09-12 at 01:39 PM.
03-09-12, 02:20 PM
#53
All out Freak!
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: in a little box on a stick
Posts: 2,300
Likes: 0
Received 12 Likes
on
9 Posts
OK, this has gone on enough.
Ben, we all heard your story. There is no need to keep going on and on with it. You work damn hard, we get it. Many people today are quite thankless. We get that too. But at the end of the day, you do owe him the rest of his money back. You certainly do not get to claim storage. And you are not entitled to keep any portion of the money because you did not perform any of the work agreed upon. I understand youre really feeling the weight of things at your shop, but he is not responsible for how long your days are, or how long its been since you had a day off. He is responsible for one thing--the issue between you and him about his car. Nothing more. Nothing less. And while I know personally what it does to a schedule when changes occur, thats the nature of being in business for yourself. Every kind of business goes through it--I know I certainly do and my business is not working on cars. But when you tell a customer that they can expect their car to be ready in about 6 weeks, and you are that stacked up already, then you made the error in telling him that. You cannot expect this customer to think and react like your last one did--every customer is a different person. You set his expectation because you told him "about 6 weeks". You chose to use that time working in other places, on other cars, instead of living up to what you told him. The way youre talking, you make it sound like your estimate of time should be expected to not come true. That isnt a way to handle customers. It doesnt matter what industry you are in--if you cannot truthfully estimate the time for a customer, you are asking for trouble by giving them a time frame. It is that simple. All you did was arm the customer with "hey, you said it would be done by now".
Here's a great rule of thumb--if you handle potential issues before they become actual issues, then you are setting the expectation. If you wait until it becomes a real issue to handle it, then it comes across as an excuse, or damage control. This is why I ALWAYS give my estimates on the long side--ALWAYS. I estimate a full day when the job will take half. I estimate a week when the job will be done in 4-5 days. That way, if something unexpected comes up I am covered. And if it doesnt, then I got it done before they expected it done, and I'm the hero for doing it.
Look, I know youve been in business for a long time, but the truth is youre doing this to yourself, man. I hate the thought of you closing shop--when changes to your operations would help you to relieve a ton of pressure, give you a break every now and then, and provide better service for your customers.
I appreciate that you said you will refund him shortly, and I believe you 100% when you said that. Let me know the plan you have and how much time you need to make it happen, normally I try to set a deadline on this part but I am not going to do that with you because I know you are trustworthy. All I ask is that you keep me in the loop, and again I have no doubt that you will. That should be the end of posting for this thread--if you are not one of the two parties involved or a moderator, then you shouldnt be posting in here.
Ben, we all heard your story. There is no need to keep going on and on with it. You work damn hard, we get it. Many people today are quite thankless. We get that too. But at the end of the day, you do owe him the rest of his money back. You certainly do not get to claim storage. And you are not entitled to keep any portion of the money because you did not perform any of the work agreed upon. I understand youre really feeling the weight of things at your shop, but he is not responsible for how long your days are, or how long its been since you had a day off. He is responsible for one thing--the issue between you and him about his car. Nothing more. Nothing less. And while I know personally what it does to a schedule when changes occur, thats the nature of being in business for yourself. Every kind of business goes through it--I know I certainly do and my business is not working on cars. But when you tell a customer that they can expect their car to be ready in about 6 weeks, and you are that stacked up already, then you made the error in telling him that. You cannot expect this customer to think and react like your last one did--every customer is a different person. You set his expectation because you told him "about 6 weeks". You chose to use that time working in other places, on other cars, instead of living up to what you told him. The way youre talking, you make it sound like your estimate of time should be expected to not come true. That isnt a way to handle customers. It doesnt matter what industry you are in--if you cannot truthfully estimate the time for a customer, you are asking for trouble by giving them a time frame. It is that simple. All you did was arm the customer with "hey, you said it would be done by now".
Here's a great rule of thumb--if you handle potential issues before they become actual issues, then you are setting the expectation. If you wait until it becomes a real issue to handle it, then it comes across as an excuse, or damage control. This is why I ALWAYS give my estimates on the long side--ALWAYS. I estimate a full day when the job will take half. I estimate a week when the job will be done in 4-5 days. That way, if something unexpected comes up I am covered. And if it doesnt, then I got it done before they expected it done, and I'm the hero for doing it.
Look, I know youve been in business for a long time, but the truth is youre doing this to yourself, man. I hate the thought of you closing shop--when changes to your operations would help you to relieve a ton of pressure, give you a break every now and then, and provide better service for your customers.
I appreciate that you said you will refund him shortly, and I believe you 100% when you said that. Let me know the plan you have and how much time you need to make it happen, normally I try to set a deadline on this part but I am not going to do that with you because I know you are trustworthy. All I ask is that you keep me in the loop, and again I have no doubt that you will. That should be the end of posting for this thread--if you are not one of the two parties involved or a moderator, then you shouldnt be posting in here.
03-09-12, 02:26 PM
#54
No money. No love.
iTrader: (12)
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: SACRAMENTO
Posts: 2,807
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Just gonna say this:
Now I am going to say THIS--
Did you not read the post right above this where I said that the only people posting in here are to be the parties involved and the mods?? Didnt I already ask that we have no more of these comments?
Folks, I'm really trying to be cool about this, but if you guys cant show respect, I wont show any to you.
THE NEXT PERSON TO POST WHO IS NOT PARTY TO THIS ISSUE OR A MOD WILL GET A VACATION COURTESY OF ME. RULES ARE HERE TO BE FOLLOWED.
Last edited by rx7roller02; 03-09-12 at 08:29 PM.
03-09-12, 02:59 PM
#55
yep, the day and age of pissing on little shops to keep the bigger ones in business, because they afford to pay lawyers to write up contracts and terms and hire cheap labor to fill in the gaps putting together things, leaving a less desirable end product but what you gonna do.
i said i will pay him and i will this evening as soon as one of my old customers pays me for a shipping charge that he promised to pay 6 months ago, but i let it slide because he lost his job and that's how i am. no more deadlines, if someone asks me for one more deadline i'm going to rampage!
i said i will pay him and i will this evening as soon as one of my old customers pays me for a shipping charge that he promised to pay 6 months ago, but i let it slide because he lost his job and that's how i am. no more deadlines, if someone asks me for one more deadline i'm going to rampage!
Last edited by RotaryEvolution; 03-09-12 at 03:03 PM.
03-09-12, 07:03 PM
#56
he's got his full refund now so that i can wash my hands of all of this, i still will never do dealings with him and i urge any others he contacts to be weary of his untruths and impatience.
Thanks to Ricky for paying me the remainder of the shipping costs on the engine.
Thanks to Ricky for paying me the remainder of the shipping costs on the engine.
Last edited by RotaryEvolution; 03-09-12 at 07:06 PM.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
rgordon1979
3rd Generation Specific (1993-2002)
40
03-15-22 12:04 PM
Shainiac
Single Turbo RX-7's
12
07-17-19 02:20 PM