Thank you for believing
When I go to sleep I believe that the sun will rise in the morning and it does. I also know that hard work and honesty pays. But does it really? This type of belief is much harder to keep. When running my security company I always tried to treat my customers as people, not dollars signs but my security company is not a multimillion dollar company. Its small.
I hear stories about bad people who make tons of money all the time. I supported a local politician here in NYC because I believed he was a good person only to find out that he was a con artist. How I’m I supposed to live my life believing, when so often I see conflicting signs?
I own a BMW M3 (1998) and two weeks ago my power steering pump/hose broke. It made turning the car at slow speeds almost impossible. I was bummed and ended up leaving the car in the parking garage. Only a few months ago someone keyed my car and since I only drive it once a week to visit my family I was convinced that after I fixed the car I would sell it.
I’ve never taken a car to the shop but my friend recommended I take it down to the BMW dealership and they would be able to take care of it. When the quote from the dealership came in they said I would have to have the power-steering pump and both of the hoses replaced. Cost, $1,200.
Mechanics are famous for ripping people off, but I didn’t expect to get ripped off at a BMW dealership. $1,200 is lot of money so I researched on the internet the problems they reported and came to the conclusion that $1,200 really was a rip-off, $600 maybe, but not $1,200. I found another shop in New Jersey and he said it could be a $20 problem or a $200 problem. In the end he charged me $190 and it wasn’t as bad as the BMW dealership said it was, the dealership lied.
The name of the guy who fixed my problem is Rui and he runs Azevedo Motorsports. He started the company 18 years ago and came well recommended and now I know why. When we find a business or someone that appears to be honest and trustworthy we cheer for them, we tell our friends about them we want to believe that even when they do wrong they mean well. I ended up having another $400 of work done because I knew he was a good person. We should reward those who validate our positive beliefs.
Unfortunatly, like the NYC politician their are people and companies that will take advantage of our trust. I feel horrible when someone I believed in tries to take advantage of me after I’ve made a leap of faith. So I really do appreciate your support and the risk you have taken to stick with me.
July 7th, 2006 at 5:02 am
Ejovi, I don`t know if it consoles you but to me, in an official dealership of Audi in Madrid, Mavilsa, charged me 580€ (696 $+ or -) to make the revision of 60. 000km (38. 000 miles), in fact: to change the oil and to revise the points of security of the car.
When I told them that it was a swindle they responded me: Look at the list of prices before coming! ! !
Then, I saw that in another dealership it cost 185€
My conclusion is that one cannot have good faith with the mechanics. It is necessary to close the first price, although it is complicated to find time in a great city
July 7th, 2006 at 5:11 am
SORRY. I forgot the end: the friends are to look for them deeply, it is not worth anyone although he has “appearance of official dealership”
July 7th, 2006 at 9:15 am
thats the heardest thing believing people…in any way esp business.
I been working for my dad office for 3 months now.. and i see it.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:47 am
i like the way you think. and there really arent enough honest people around… i have to get some suspension work done on my durango and the hardest thing is feeling like the person ur dealing with is indeed being honest… it definitely seems like the best way to generate business is to keep it real with ur customers and give them a fair deal… who wouldnt want to patronize a company with an honest track record? yet… we get jip’d again and again. : \
July 7th, 2006 at 4:07 pm
Unfortunately, dealerships are a poor choice for routine out of warranty repairs. They make money on intervals (ie 15K, 45K, 65K, etc).. So, if your vehicle was up for one of these established milestones, they would naturally find other problems to substantiate your visit. A common scam.
July 17th, 2006 at 4:33 pm
My friend, without the belief of a supportative group of friends, it would be hard for any of us to carry on. I read this while vacationing in St. Kitts and it struck a cord. I hope you can sense from the outpouring of your colleagues and friends the world throughout that we are indeed pulling for you—knowing that you have reached and believing that you will reach other heights of pinnacles! I personally get (re)motivated simply from hearing about your various pursuits. So in a nutshell I hope our belief in you overshadows the shadowy figures that interrupt our daily lives from time to time.
July 18th, 2006 at 11:53 pm
Hey Ejovi,I wanted to say that tough decisions are never easy, but if you remain undecided on something, your mind cannot fully focus on anything. I belive is better to go with your gut instinct and convictions and be decisive, rather than indicisive. The inability to make a dicision will only worsen with time. We are bombarded with having to make decisions everyday. For example, consider going to the supermarket to buy cereal, there are so many cereals to choose from that sometimes the mind is paralyzed by indecion. So I applaud you making the decision to move on. Hope to see you in NYC the next time I’m in town.