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Cables, Coffee, Cycles, and Cocktails


Tarheel

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Sorry to hear of bad Yelp MKP.  Sounds like a real ****** bag that nobody wants for a customer.   Some people you just can't make happy no matter what you do. Chances are good you're not the first mechanic they've slammed.  

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Back to the ongoing saga of changing the water pump in our 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan.  Bot boss solicited help from our neighbor Jim a retired fire fighter.  He has bigger jack stands so was able to raise higher to give more room / to work and finally got the old pump off.   Decided to put on the new one and then put the pulley on so new pump is on.  About 1/4" away.  ....

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Oldtimer is spot on - bitchers *****, its what they do. Gives them a sense of empowerment since they rarely have anything good to say about anything. The satisfied customers go about their lives satisfied they got their monies worth and don't feel the need to make themselves more important than they are via the interweb. You remain in business from these customers and most chronic bitchers are easily seen through. Good luck --

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What, the censors deleted the word bittch? That's a bit much isn't it as I've seen more descriptive verbage used, with correct spelling I might add, that were not censored. Aren't there more pertinent issues to watch after other than the simple name of a female dog? Give me a break ----

Oh that's right; add a letter or two and all is good. Give me a second break ---

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Here, troubleshoot this ad from CL

I need a mechanic to come & check my 2005 Kia rio car. It compleatly died on me a few days ago as I was getting off the freeway ramp & now it does not want to turn back on. I put another battery in my car from my neighbors car & it still didn't turn on so it's not my battery I'm thinking its the alternator but not to sure Cuz I'm not a mechanic, lol... This is my family's only transportation so we really need to get it running again as we been 5 days with no transportation. It's been good to us for 2 years since we have owned it without not 1 problem until a few days ago it just died....if you can help us out it would be greatly appreciated.

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Here, troubleshoot this ad from CL

I need a mechanic to come & check my 2005 Kia rio car. It compleatly died on me a few days ago as I was getting off the freeway ramp & now it does not want to turn back on. I put another battery in my car from my neighbors car & it still didn't turn on so it's not my battery I'm thinking its the alternator but not to sure Cuz I'm not a mechanic, lol... This is my family's only transportation so we really need to get it running again as we been 5 days with no transportation. It's been good to us for 2 years since we have owned it without not 1 problem until a few days ago it just died....if you can help us out it would be greatly appreciated.

Out of gas?

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

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first thing this morning i saw the email from our website "contact us" tab from our late customer's son.  scathing comments.  as i am drafting a factual logistical timeline of events, i decide to look at the yelp and google ratings.  GREAT.  the son and the daughter.  and a few other bad reviews that i have no idea who the people are.  the man himself has a long review on google.  what i find funny is -- if the service was that bad, why does he have to lie about things?  the son posted 2 separate reviews with different lies in each,  when i am upset over service - i have my facts, and they are indeed facts.

 

this guy is head of the athletic department of mcdonogh high school in baltimore county MD. his wife's facebook is full of charitable associations and celebrations.  his son is/was athletic director at gerstell academy in carroll county MD - his yelp says he lives in nevada.  apparently he does some sports commentary somewhere.  the daughter is grown - was miss maryland - and apparently advertises herself on yelp as model, singer, songwriter.  sounds like a real nice family.  goes to show -- you never know.  

 

i cannot find a way to respond on  yelp officially. you can send messages.  what i did find are the rules -- cannot post if it is not your personal experience in/at the business.  i reported them so i am hoping they will disappear.

 

ALTHOUGH...

 

i have spent all day individually emailing and facebook messaging customers.  we don't believe in 'coaxing' our customers to 'like' our page or to solicit feedback.  it is more valuable to us if it is voluntarily given.  i communicated that after 18 years serving our community, we are getting slammed on the internet.  I asked if they could post an honest review of their experience with us to help combat the bad reviews from this man and his minions.

 

the response from our customers was immediate and overwhelming.  one guy (who never swears) emailed "I'm glad you threw that a@@hole out. you don't need that kind of stress."     it would truly be awesome if yelp removed their reviews, and we wound up with a ton of great ones!!  our facebook has exploded with likes and reviews.  this is fathers day weekend, and i am sure most are busy and not accessing their messages, so they will continue to pour in.

 

mkp works hard and he is truly the good cop.  he deserves the good stuff.  not this crapp.  i guess sometimes you gotta dig through the shitt to find the magic mushrooms... this started as a bad thing, but i think in the end, i think i will email this fool and thank him.  my customers did not like what he said - they believe in mark and in the shop.   hahahaha

 

 

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Mark and The Boss, I wouldn't worry too much about having a bad review from someone. Your core customers know how you operate, and their referrals are what drives your business. Good luck.

If the whiners get their children to whine then they're probably just that whiners and expect everybody to do everything for them.  Your real customers will know the true story.    

 

edit:  I did not read this thread real thoroughly but from all y'all's posts here I'd recommend y'all in a heartbeat.  Good mechanics aren't cheap and you get what you pay for and given my limited automotive knowledge, it's a lot of work and requires a lot of knowledge and a boatload of tools and equipment.  

Edited by BLSamuel
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Success!  Finally!  In changing out the water filter on my Dodge 2005 Grand Caravan.  With neighbor Jim's help a lot of grunting, groaning, and swearing, finally got it all put back together.  Now to clean the bugs out of the coolant and put it back in and go get some panel fasteners to complete reinstall of the wheel well guard and re-install the belt guard.  

 

Definitely get me some real jack stands and a bigger floor jack before I try anything like this again.  whew

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Both front windows inop, stuck in the up position would not work at all........ Put two window motors in his old Accord two months ago.......Windows fixed no problem works 100%....... now he's got a switch problem...... Tells me he's not gonna pay for it......it's my fault the windows don't work...... So I tell this guy..... If the window motors were the problem I would be more that happy to warranty my work....... BUT I'M NOT GONNA BUY YOU A SWITCH!!! Anyway I don't think he'll be back.......Good

 

  I get more of those than you could imagine.  Lady comes in with transmission issues.  We sell her a valve body and send her on her way.  10,000 miles later transmission issue again.  She says we didn't fix it right the first time.  We check the vehicle, it's low on fluid due to a split in the cooler by the radiator.  Fluid was all over the underside of the vehicle and it was fresh.  We sell her a cooler and send her on her way.  10,000 miles later, transmission issues.  The wheel speed sensor we tried to sell her last visit (and documented on her receipt) for an ABS light finally quit working all together.  Trans doesn't know when to shift.  She says we're bugging her car to break down every 10,000 miles.  Vehicle has 150k miles.  After we fix the speed sensor and give it back to her, she says we broke a pressure sensor in one of her tires.  I explained to her that we didn't dismount her tire or even take the tire off the vehicle and it was on the opposite end of the car we were working on.  I then said if she'd buy the sensor, we'd put it on and program it for her at no charge.  She basically said we were POS's and left in a huff. 

 

What sucks is that there are mechanics that do this and spoil it for the rest of us. Every industry has it's crooks which spoil it for the moral. Back when I was in the moving industry, I saw a 60 minutes that was an exposé on how moving companies are basically criminal. That was the last straw for me, and very soon after that I decided I didn't want to walk around town with my head down. Movers aren't low life crooks, but there are low life's who are movers. The same is true for mechanics. Most women and some less than mechanically inclined men feel vulnerable when they walk into a shop. It really isn't their fault. Once the switch is flipped that they might be getting ripped off, things spiral out of control and they start getting really agitated. Many times the mechanic just gets pissed and hands them back all their money and boots them with some choice words. It's very sad and it is a serious problem in just about every industry and profession I can think of.

 

How about this one. "All businesses are evil." We've been hearing that crap for decades. It is true that some are, but for the most part businesses just want to survive until next year.

 

 

Real Crappy day....

 

I just read my YELP review from this guy. Not only did he post a REALLY BAD review he got his two adult kids to slam my shop... The BOSS and I are really upset...

 

Really makes me wish I did something else for a living...

 

MKP :-)

 

As they say

F*CK 'EM :D :D :D UP

 

Mark

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Success! Finally! In changing out the water filter on my Dodge 2005 Grand Caravan.

 

Now you know why some people pay to have it done ;)

 

Yep.  Me included but been putting it off for months.  Been unemployed for over a year.  Trying to keep everything caught up on unemployment was difficult enough.  Really difficult once unemployment ran out.  A bit of breathing room once my lovely bride got second job ... but both part time.  Baby 2 ton floor jack and toy ish jack stands don't cut it.  Neighbor helped a lot with full size jack stands,  but had baby 2 ton jack, vehicles' , scissor jack, and 6 ton bottle jack and just not enough clearance.  Both wear bifocals, mine dark (still to replace normal glasses.  Jim has a bad back and my neck bends like a 4x4 due to Ankylosing Spondylitis with crabby knees.  

 

Yep.  Would have rather paid for it.  Seems like a pain in the arse if you know what you're doing.     

 

Had a job.... Signed contract for mainframe z/OS DB2 performance "tuning" (they're in the toilet... to start April 18th.... Still working on statement of work etc... finally, after 6 weeks, they tell me, oh, the client does not use sub contractors.  UGH!  So I sent them a nasty but nice you screwed me over as I turned down applying for other opportunities and could've put more effort into other things.  A couple of good prospects... but probably July at the earliest to start.   My lawyer is looking over contract to see if I have any recourse.  I need to view it as an opportunity to pimp out myself.  End client great company to work for.  (sigh)  In any case, I'm incorporated as BenSam LLC for BenSam Consulting for IT and any consulting, D&B's Collactables & More (Dawn's Collecables & Ben's Chit), and Audionatics ... audio for fanatics, plan to be full line Klipsch Custom Integrator, 'phones through Pro Cinema and pro sound, U-turn for turntables, Rolls/Bellari for affordable Bellari tube phone preamps and rolls for all kinds of useful things, and hope for Indy Audio Labe (Accuras and Mondial).  Focus is on Indiana designed and made (a few things) and made in USA.  Grado Labs another target.  I do have long time acquaintance who has 25 x 40 feet for home theater in his downsized house who i snot quite ready so I need to be ready.

 

No funds so will be slow to start.  Have a storage unit that's a flea market Sat and Sun spring through early fall so start from there.  Now I need to get a white van.  lol  

 

Goals is also to make audio (and video) fun and affordable.  Maybe even through in some DIY.  

 

Finally have tax ID numbers so need to get to bank and open business account.  Other ideas also in progress including for a not for profit to assist local working musicians ... but that's another beast but need to talk to realtors with like minded ideas for that and maybe find some cheap space for Audionatics.... or convince Jeff his electrical contracting company maybe consider a HT division.... they wire business for everything else including conference rooms and I'm sure PA 70 volt lines so HT would be an easy addition I'd think.  I also have gotten to know a kind of retired but getting back into work EE here in town and a car audio nut who knows an Alpine EE ... But it feels like I can't even buy a job for the last few weeks.   Close but no digar.  

 

Rant over.  For now.  The good news is, after supporting the (Nat at all) ACA aka Obama Care for the state of IN as a subcontractor, I know qualify for HIP 2.0 extension, but keep denying it for various reasons ... It's a very screwed up system (and the central client eligibility old MF system interfacing to new, was the most poorly written SQL I've ever seen in over 25 hears working in IT and DB2 ... seriously BAD wasting untold resources... ugh...)P.  So they had trouble with my citizenship... got that cleared up or so I thought, so after talking to the case worker, sent in my statement in writing that as I've been told I'm fine, I waive my "fair" hearing.... so, case get's dismissed as I didn't show up for hearing.... WTF... well, the notice wasn't printed for right to appeal..... rant deleted about seriously bad, wasteful IT system..... case pretty much ended in 666 before check digit and IMS DB partition before IMS DB could be partitioned.... 

 

Need to work on house.  Need a new roof and other things.  Wind storm in April blew off half the roof.  Insurance adjuster to come out next week so hopefully get enough to get started.  And cable business internet and phone, well, getting phone, NEC requires grounding to house ground.  Doh!  House ground location requires cable to be pre buried.  Gas on other end is marked, electric still not marked.  I thought one company did all.  Installer was like, those idiots... so I get another month of old wireless internet.  UGH!  

 

And when I did sell something on eBay... get funds to PayPal, so "instant" tranfer to bank... with disclaimer bank may not process for 3 to 5 business days!?! Yep.  Transferred on 26th, did not post to bank until after Memorial day .. did not even show up as pending.  What the HELL is going on with that?  Cost me a NSF charge...  I thin kit's time to find a new bank.   More regional we have a dormant account at at least orders deposits first, ours doesn't anymore..... and 3 to 5 days for an EFT!!?!   Legall loophole I'm sure but morally seems overly greedy...

 

Flea market after church tomorrow.  Maybe somebody will buy some of our stuff and kids' old stuff.  A few panel fasteners and water pump project is finished... need some new front tires and alignment.  one is pretty much racing slick on outside with steel wires poking through.  May have to get a $20 special that at least appears to have a bit of tread.  

 

Really shouldn't complain.  We do eat pretty well.  And roof doesn't leak except with strong high wind rains which we've had very few so far this spring.  

 

Didn't make the damned flea market today.  

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