disclaimer
I'm not a local, so I *may* not be privvy to some things that *may* have happened on local boards, "shop drama" and the like.
I also consider Andre to be a good friend, so I'm
"somewhat" biased
/disclaimer
Quoting moneypit:
Pina went under. Good riddance, I say. That shop ripped me off so bad my ass still hurts. Everybody keeps hyping up Pina. Who's actually had Pina work on their car? Yeah, that's what I thought. If there 's any justice "Grocery getter" lost everything including his house. Oh yeah, the alleged "break in" at the shop. Can you say INSURANCE FRAUD? Karma's a bitch, ain't it Andre.
This bothered me all day yesterday while I was at work.
I don't see a single
fact here, just a buncha unsubstantiated bullshite.
... as far as I know, Andre did
not "go under". /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif
I *believe* he stepped back from the business for many of the same reasons I did
Many folks have no appreciation for what it takes to
properly do a job, and bitch about the costs of keeping vintage machines in optimal condition.
... people "expect" you to fix damaged wiring, oil leaks and other things that are
totally unrelated to the work you have estimated / quoted and agreed to do.
I usually do a walk thru with the owner, and point out any obvious problems, but there's always going to be some funkiness when you dive into a twenty year old turbo car with brittle wiring and crispy connectors.
I made it a policy to always call the customer to come down and see the situation for themselves when I ran into complications. After seeing it for themselves, I would let them make the call.
... seems like the folks who didn't want to address the issues while we were in there were the ones that bitched the loudest when their bucket had electrical problems and/or oil leaks.
Takes all the fun out of going to work. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif
In fact, situations like that are the reason
I left the business!
I also makes bullshite you have written particularly irritating.
You make a post full of slander and damn strong (if not outright libelous) insinuation, give no specifics, and then shrug it off like it's no big deal.
... and you've done it before
Quoting moneypit:
I will never go to Pina, again. Horrible experience, multiple excuses, straight out lies, long turn around time, got the run around, I personally had to correct the shoddy work I originally paid them to do. I'd rather take the bus before they touch my car again. Don't know much about Boss.
(from
this thread
Blunt like Mr Moneypit;
Man up and make a bad guy thread for Pina, and post up some
facts.
Specifics of what he did, what you did, and the final outcome, and give the man a chance to respond
or
(and I mean this is the nicest way possible)
...
STFU, junior.
Quoting moneypit:
I didn't disappear off the face of the earth. A successful and honest business person doesn't just shutter the doors w/o announcement for no reason. Besides, it's all a mute point. Draw ur own conclusions.
I've been able to get ahold of them man
every time I called. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif
... often from unfamiliar numbers as I was calling from a shop with a technical question.
As I said, I consider Andre a
good friend, and a valuable resource on all things technical.
We've helped each other troubleshoot some "nemesis" cars.
He got his ass kicked by a 3000gtvr4, I got mine kicked by a twinturbo viper.
... it happens, (and anybody who says it doesn't hasn't been in the business long)
You learn a
lot about a man when he's getting his ass kicked by a car.
good ones don't give up,
ever
They see it to the end, and they're not happy untill the customer is happy.
I watched this man eat a
substantial loss on that job because he wasn't happy with how it turned out and did what it took (out of his own pocket) to make it right.
... not to mention a lotta late nights / cold dinners, and a pissed off spouse
That showed me the
character of the man better than any story I may read on the interweb.
As to why he got out of the business / closed up shop, that's nobodies business but his own.
He didn't (to the best of my knowledge) leave
anybody hanging or any unfinished cars.
"shop drama" will always have asshats running their mouths trying to get in the good graces of the cool guys by bad mouthing the competition.
stories get told / rumours started, and sh*t just snowballs from there. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif
... the
irony is that (in my personal experience) most of the cool guys will want
nothing to do with anybody who says a bad word about anybody without a solid context.
... because they know as soon as they leave, they're gonna talk sh*t about you ...
fwiw, I learned this one the hard way
I'm no angel when it comes to sh*t talking.
... we had some "shop drama" out here a few years back
I stepped over the line a few times.
Had to take my lumps over it, and I learned a lot from the situation.
It was tough to step up and take responsibility for my actions, but I did what I had to do and moved on.
For me, it's just one of many mistakes I've made.
nobodies perfect, we all have room to grow.
Think about that the next time before you open your mouth and this whole excersise will be worth it.
I also feel like I need to address your slanderous comment about Andre committing "insurance fraud".
Your statement just shows your lack of understanding of how things work in the real world.
I remember talking to him about that incident at great length, because a very similiar thing happened to us as well.
Somebody close to him did that, a customer, employee, or a "friend" sure as sh*t.
... probably stood there, drinking his beer shooting the sh*t all the while they cased the joint for product placement / inventory.
You think he made a
single dollar on that situation?
... for fucks sake, junior, open your eyes!
I've
never had much luck with insurance companies in cases like this
Over the loss of ~20k, he got probably got paid half that, and they jacked his premiums for years.
In addition, when you
know it was someone who's been in your shop long enough to case things out as well as they did, well that will stick in your craw
...and it make it hard to trust
anyone.
And you wonder why he got out of the business ...
Quoting moneypit:
Ban me if u must.
Why would we ban you?
The best boards moderate themselves, and we *generally* don't ban folks from the .org unless they get
waay out of hand.
It's not a thing we do here very often, and it's one of the reasons I love this board.
I'd rather have you stick around and learn from this experience.
[edit]
Quoting turbowop:
Andre has had his share of customer issues from what I've heard. I think he mostly got sick of poor DSM guys wanting sh*t for free and started working on other platforms. The only experience I have with him is the intercooler setup he fabbed for me in '03 and some exhaust work. I also knew him as a friend from the NWDSM group for years, not just as a paying customer that met him for the first time when I walked through the doors of his shop. I knew the guy when he worked out of his garage. He does great fab work and
I wouldn't hesitate to trust him with my car. And I dont say that about many people.
If you had a bad experience with him, that sucks. I haven't talked to Andre in a year or so. I hope he's doing okay, but I'm sorry you had issues. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
The part in bold says it all /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif