Does the Vaccine Matter? - The Atlantic (November 2009)

Does the Vaccine Matter? - The Atlantic (November 2009)

This is a great article. Well worth your time.

...Why I am ticked off!!!

I am a nice guy. I try to follow the "golden rule". I am honest in my dealings with my fellow men. I do business every single day. I take care of my customers when they complain and I really genuinely try hard to satisfy their needs. I never ever take money for something that I think isn't of benefit to the person I sell it to. I like people. Some customers are a pain in the butt and so are some of my vendors. Regardless of that, when I have a problem with a customer or a vendor, I try to work it out to equal satisfaction. When a customer complains loudly, I try even harder to make them happy, even when they are being unreasonable in my view.

So, why is it that when I try to get satisfaction and try really hard not to be the squeaky wheel and show extreme patience it blows up in my face?

Here is the story and I really want your opinion!

Just after Christmas 2008 my family and I go on a fun little road trip to see Brandon and Joan (well really to see Jimmie and Max, but don't tell them that). Anyway, they are my Bro and Sis in-law and nephews. So we head down to Phoenix and about Flagstaff start having a really jerky response from our transmission. As we pull into the service station on the Highway we realize we could be in real trouble. We can barely go 30mph without serious jerking and lurching. The guy at the service place confirms our worst fears. It is the Transmission and it is shot. No big deal really except for a couple of things. It is December and we just blew way too much on our kids and each other for Christmas. It is December and that happens to be the absolute worst month for sales in the Nutrition industry, so in addition to spending way too much on gifts for Christmas, we didn't have a whole lot in reserve in the first place. Can you say... (pay it off before the 30 day grace period?) Oh, and it is December and besides really wanting to visit Max and Jimmie...er, Brandon and Joan, it happens to be the least expensive vacation we can think of, since they are willing to let us sleep in their house and it is within relatively short driving distance. So, when we realize it is gonna be $2400 bucks....oh and we will have to stay in Flagstaff for the weekend cause they can't get it done until Tuesday!!! Bummer huh, cause that happened to be the day we planned on going back home. So, what is a man to do?

So I talk it over with my wifey and we decide to head down very slowly to Phoenix cause the guy at the Tranny shop says we cant make it any worse, so we throw it in 3rd and flip on the hazard lights and head down to Phoenix in the sloooooow lane. No biggie, cause we made it in only about 100 hours (or so it seemed). So we get to Phoenix and the loving home of Jimmie and Max. We are officially vacationing. Too bad that there is no vehicle in Max's garage that holds 6 people. So we are...well, kind of stranded, on vacation. To their credit, Max and Jimmie were very accommodating and we used two cars to go to a few different fun places and Joan even rented the world's very worst movie for us to watch on New Years eve while Brandon slept on the couch. Thanks Joanie, you really came through for us! In fact, we really had a fun time. Brandon nearly decapitated someone with a flying rip stick and did take out a kitchen table and three chairs. And then later that day at the park I nearly broke my flippin wrist on the same dang rip stick. Fun, fun, fun.

Well, we had a decision to make. Repair the van and drive it home. Have the van transported home for about $400 and then get it repaired by the only mechanic in the entire world that I actually trust. (By the way, Paul's automotive repair in Syracuse, Ut is hands down, the best, most affordable and reliable, oh and did I mention honest, repair shop I have ever been to). Or we could choose the prize behind door number 3. Door number 3 was to leave the van with Jimmie and have his parents find a good mechanic to fix it for us and then sell it down there. Door number three would allow us to shop for a great deal at years end and buy a new van to drive home in.

I don't know if it was the lure of a new mini van, the sweet bucket seats, the fine, stream lined body panels, the under powered stereo, the underpowered engine, the cool drop down mirror that allows a parent to keep an eye on his kids as they destroy the new car interior and eliminate that new cart smell. Or maybe it is the feeling a man gets when he drives down the street in the ultimate chick magnet vehicle. The pride that swells inside your heart when you pull up in a vehicle that you don't really own from a company that the government just bought so that its citizens can still have faith in American made vehicles and an economy that probably wont rebound until the second American revolution........whoa, I may have gotten off track. Let's see, where was I.........? Oh yeah, I am pretty sure it is the dual, manual sliding doors. (We had power sliders in the Honda). I thin it was that, oh and the cool metallic blue paint. That van absolutely shimmered in the 90 degree December sunshine of that Tempe dealer's lot.

Yes, we looked behind door number three and we got a great deal on a stylin', 1 year old mini van. And everything looked great until a guy named Bert got involved. You see, Brandon (can't blame this one on Jimmie or Max) had a friend, a guy he goes to church with, who had done some very good work on some of his vehicles in the past. The guy quoted us about $2000, so we thought, hmmm, it will save us $2400 over a regular shop and Brandon knows the guy. Well, it turned out that Brandon didn't know the guy all that well. He only thought he did.

And so now we have almost come full circle. Back to how I started this blog. Customer service. Honesty, integrity, where the heck has all of that gone? What the heck is wrong with people? As Billy Joel was sang, "honesty, is such a lonely word, everyone is so untrue, honesty is hardly ever heard."

And now... the rest of the story. Bert took about a couple of months to even get started on the job. We sent him money, five times, $2250 (that is $150 less than the stupid shop in Flagstaff). Fine, as long as he does a great job, again, no big deal. Only problem is, he still doesn't have it fixed as of July 23rd. That is 7 months for those of you counting at home. 7 months. So after calling him and leaving at least 6 messages and begging Brandon to call him as well, I finally send him a letter and have Brandon tape it to his door. It went something like this. "Dear Bert, it has been 7 months since we left our van with you and it still isn't fixed. You said it was fixed but it didn't even work long enough for Brandon to get it the 3 blocks to his house from yours. I really need you to fix this so that I can get the van home and sell it. I have been paying a car payment and insurance on it for 7 months. Please fix it soon or I will have to resort to legal action."

Was that too harsh? Apparently it was, because he called up Brandon and cussed him out on his answering machine. Why he called Brandon, I have no idea? Why not call the jerk that sent you the letter? Apparently because he is a moron. Just a guess. FAST FORWARD.

A month later he bumps into Brandon and pulls him aside. " I am gonna fix that van this weekend. Don't worry, I stand behind my work and I will make sure it gets done." FAST FORWARD

It is now October 15th. Is the van fixed? Is it back in my possession? Have a I heard one word, ever from Bert that didn't come through Brandon? NO on all accounts. So I guess it is time to send another letter. This is what it said and I am cutting and pasting this from the email itself:

Bert,

It has now been about nine months since we left our van with you. You have promised us, through Brandon that you would rebuild and/or fix it on a number of occasions. We have spent plenty of money with you to make this happen and have been wasting our car payment and insurance for all of that time waiting EXTREMELY Patiently for you to keep your word. We can only be left with one conclusion at this point. You are not going to fix it, no matter how much time, money and good faith we give you. So, I must give you a deadline. I want a check as a refund by the end of October. I need a refund on the transmission and a refund on the labor. This amount is a total of $2250.00. Alternatively you can fix the van to Brandon's satisfaction before that day so that I can sell it. It must be able to pass a mechanic's inspection. Please understand our problem rather than getting all bent out of shape when you receive this letter like you did last time I wrote. I have been put out far more than you have here. In fact all that you have had to deal with are some annoying phone calls that you never answer anyway. I, on the other hand, am out thousands of dollars for absolutely nothing. Put yourself in my shoes. What would you do?

Thank you and I will expect a response this week as to what you plan to do.

Jared

Was that too harsh? Well apparently it was too. Because this time this very little man actually got up the nerve to call me. First time I have ever heard his voice. He got really mad at me. Said he has saved me over $1000 vs a regular shop. Says that he is washing his hands of me. Says he isn't gonna argue with me about it but that he is going to put a mechanics lien on it if it isn't out of his yard in 24 hours. Says, he will put that lien amount on it for the difference of what he should have charged me. What? Really? Umm, it isn't fixed how can you charge me more for a job you never completed? What? Click!!!!

So there you have it. Was I too impatient? I mean, It hasn't even been a year yet. Were my words to biting and hurtful? Am I expecting too much? Maybe I should be completely satisfied because he gave it a good effort. Maybe I am the jerk here? Maybe I should have looked behind door number 1 or 2? Maybe visiting Max simply because his parents are willing to give us free lodging was a bad idea?

What do you think?

PS. Joan and Brandon have really tried hard to facilitate things for us and for that I am grateful. I mean it isn't their fault that Bert is a completely dishonest and zero integrity individual. Oh, and even though we really did drive all that way primarily for free lodging and to see our adorable nephews, we did have fun with their parents, especially on movie night.