NO BULL! AJ is AWOL.

[icepenguin66]

On a serious note, how about everyone on the boards who uses AJ shows-up in the parking lot one saturday? Maybe after Cars and Coffee? Imagine the impact on management if they saw all those performance cars with pricey tires at the same time, then being told that most will not bring their business back without AJ?

Good luck with that! I already barkes up that tree. Even got to meet with the VP about the lack of performance tires we sell compared to our competitors and they did not agree, not enough people or margin etc. They completely missed the point that the smaller high performance tire crowd also has daily drivers & tow vehicles etc & that all of that business will go to whom ever can take care of them with their sports/race car!

[BAM!]

if our machine was $4k, id sell off one of the cars and get one built in the garage. our bad ass machine is more along the lines of 70k installed. so it will take a stretch to pay it off. As for showing management whats up, my boss is well aware of the situation. it wasnt his call and I am not mad at him for doing his job. crap rolls down hill and the cold corporate world has no personality or value. well, thats how i feel right now. who knows, maybe ill come chasing up another corporate ladder one day. Or break down and get my own machine. but even so, it would very much suprise me if Gary springs for a machine as its too hard to pay off. what we had going on was a great deal for everyone and is very hard to replicate...

[BAM!]

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/tls/1557373369.html ok guys time for a road trip!

im sending this to Brandon now as hes in LA lol

[altiain]

Good luck with that! I already barkes up that tree. Even got to meet with the VP about the lack of performance tires we sell compared to our competitors and they did not agree, not enough people or margin etc. They completely missed the point that the smaller high performance tire crowd also has daily drivers & tow vehicles etc & that all of that business will go to whom ever can take care of them with their sports/race car!

Your boss doesn’t have a strong grasp of strategic marketing.

The reality is this: for every tire you sell to a racer, he’ll sell ten more tires for you. Not only do racers buy a ridiculous amount of personal tires (I buy three or four sets a year on average, and that’s on the moderate side compared to a lot of guys I know), but they also drive the buying decisions of almost all of their non-gearhead friends. Everyone in my office – and my extended family - now uses Tire Rack, because they all come to me for advice when their Dodge Caravan or Ford Fusion needs tires.

Make me a happy customer, and I’ll not only personally spend three grand a year in your shop, but I’ll drive another ten or fifteen grand your way every year. Rip grandma off on a set of tires for her Caddy every four years, and how much money are you making?

The problem is that most store managers are short-sighted and/or moved around so often that they don’t have the time or the resources to establish a solid enthusiast base and then reap the rewards. They know they can overcharge Grandma and see an instant profit. They don’t take the long term view, because they probably won’t be there long enough to see it pay off.

[icepenguin66]

Your boss doesn’t have a strong grasp of strategic marketing.

The reality is this: for every tire you sell to a racer, he’ll sell ten more tires for you. Not only do racers buy a ridiculous amount of personal tires (I buy three or four sets a year on average, and that’s on the moderate side compared to a lot of guys I know), but they also drive the buying decisions of almost all of their non-gearhead friends. Everyone in my office – and my extended family - now uses Tire Rack, because they all come to me for advice when their Dodge Caravan or Ford Fusion needs tires.

Make me a happy customer, and I’ll not only personally spend three grand a year in your shop, but I’ll drive another ten or fifteen grand your way every year. Rip grandma off on a set of tires for her Caddy every four years, and how much money are you making?

The problem is that most store managers are short-sighted and/or moved around so often that they don’t have the time or the resources to establish a solid enthusiast base and then reap the rewards. They know they can overcharge Grandma and see an instant profit. They don’t take the long term view, because they probably won’t be there long enough to see it pay off.

Yeah I know, exactly what I explained to the NTB VP! I sent an infamous email to all the big wigs at NTB a year & half ago that got the VP to fly to Dallas just to meet & talk to me! (& almost got me fired for stirring the pot too much!)

***Hey send them to me & I will price match Tire Rack`s price with shipping so they get the same price yet can have any warrenty through us instead of the hassle of mailing tires back to Tire Rack and all.

[OZMDD]

Yeah, the Trackdog alignment idea is only a pipe dream, but I do agree with altian about the value of a dedicated racer as a business-driver. I, too am responsible for 8-10 customer referrals a year for various car-related services, between my buddies and my wife's girlfriends who think I know what I'm talking about.

I'm definitely "in" for the "protest parade", even if its only a few of us. If 10-15 of us show up there at the same time, that would be damn cool, but I'll still go alone and walk-in, ask for AJ, then leave when they tell me he is gone. I plan to leave from C&C around 11-ish and head to the NTB.

BTW - I agree that the actual store manager is a nice guy doing his job, but he can relay the message up the chain that customers are displeased with the corporate decision.

[SirHustlerEsq]

This just in:
AJ is mounting my rubbers ATM, lol. I rule.

[jeff_man]

This just in:
AJ is mounting my rubbers ATM, lol. I rule.

you need help mounting your rubber??

[channelmaniac]

Looks like a true to life

[Davidss]

One of the guys on DI took his car to the grapevine NTB yesterday and had it aligned... and they took it for a joyride!:

Well I just got home from NTB and not sure how I feel yet. Scott paid great attention to detail and made sure the toe was 0'd out to the hundredth. I was up there for 2.5 hrs and they said my car is the only one they have ever had trouble aligning, guess they don't do many subarus. Everything drives straight now but one thing got to me. After the alignment Scott took it for a test drive to "make sure it was driving straight." I thought he was just going to take it around the block but he disappeared for like 5 minutes so I was a bit suspicious. When I got the car back I checked the peak boost on my gauges, and sure enough.. maxed out. He took it for a joy ride!! I am really anal about my car so this really pissed me off. On a positive note they did give me $20 off the 1 year alignment for mentioning DI, so $99 out the door for a year's worth of alignments.

[waijai]

Ally told me she talked to you the other day and about your situation. Let me know if I can help out in any way and your availability for side work jobs. I'll always have guys I can refer from my network.

[CosmosMpower]

One of the guys on DI took his car to the grapevine NTB yesterday and had it aligned... and they took it for a joyride!:

That's messed up. AJ took my car for a joyride when he was done but with my permission and with me in the passenger seat, it was fun, and scary :)

[jeff_man]

That's messed up. AJ took my car for a joyride when he was done but with my permission and with me in the passenger seat, it was fun, and scary :)

ya but when AJ rides the wipe he just runs in down the back straight at 200 mph =P

[mk2tmr2]

Count me in as one more unsatisfied customer. I'm due an alignment and was going to be ringing up AJ in a few weeks.

I've used 5th gear in the past and was happy. They sandbagged my car for weight and the alignment was good. So I suppose they're my backup if I can't get AJ into the shop on the down-low.

I would imagine it would take a good few years to pay off a used $35k alignment rack. Pretty similar to a dyno. I can imagine having "alignment days" down at TDR on the weekends. Could be fun.

[Geckotek]

Waiting on my Teins...was gonna go to AJ for alignment after. Would be pretty convenient if TDR could do the alignment too.

[SirHustlerEsq]

One of the guys on DI took his car to the grapevine NTB yesterday and had it aligned... and they took it for a joyride!:

Oh that scares the shit out of me, and I must get my car aligned next week. I don't understand why it needs a test drive if the tire pressures are right and its on spec.

[SirHustlerEsq]

I guess I can drop my car off with a 3k rpm rev limit.

[Dave04]

Oh that scares the shit out of me, and I must get my car aligned next week. I don't understand why it needs a test drive if the tire pressures are right and its on spec.

"Offer" to ride along with the tech... if that doesn't work, I make a point of resetting the stats on my GPS unit (which shows max speed and such) and make and offhand comment like "just so I can keep an eye on you"... it usually works...

[mk2tmr2]

I guess I can drop my car off with a 3k rpm rev limit.

This.

Back when I had my 300whp WRX I took it to NTB to get some new tires mounted. I watched as the tech took the car out the back and up the highway service road. He was gone for a good 5 minutes - which is not just an "around the block" test ride. I was happy that I had set the electronic boost controller to run off the wastegate (~7psi). He probably thought the car was a dog.

[icepenguin66]

Oh that scares the shit out of me, and I must get my car aligned next week. I don't understand why it needs a test drive if the tire pressures are right and its on spec.

Because you could have a tire pull. Nothing like having the alignment in spec & pressures set & customer comes right back says it pulls.