Bullies bully when threatened...

tychancho · January 20, 2012

So what do you do when a competetor falsly goes around telling a lie about your work?

I recently found out that one of my competetors is going around town alluding that one of the cars that I bulked had to be repainted. Apparently, it was a red GT3 with a half hood coverage and a razor cut all the way across the hood.

Hmmm. The car did come from one of my accounts, but the story falls apart instantly when I learned both the type of car and type of install. Not only have I never worked on a red GT3 but more importantly, the last time I installed a half hood at that dealership was back in August 2011 and I've NEVER installed a half hood on ANY car anywhere that wasn't precut.

So what do you do? Raise hell? Stomp and piss and moan?

That's my first reaction. My wife is encouraging me to take the high road and let time prove them to be the liers that they are.

I know there isn't much use for this post here and I doubt many will even read this but I know that the guilty party will because they are often on this site.

Thanks for letting me vent a little. I look forward to being a thorn in their sides and taking as much installer work from them as possible. :flip

Booms · January 20, 2012

Just remember, what goes around, comes around. They will get theirs. :cool

Slick · January 20, 2012

Take the high road. People will see the competitor for what they are. :trusme

I have had the same situation....took the high road...and the positive feedback I got from customers was incredible. Actually, the competitor and I ended up on good terms after several years. In fact, he was just in the shop about 10 minutes ago...ran short on material and came to get some from me. Bought the stuff from me and gave me $20 for lunch. :thumb

Speed · January 20, 2012

They may not have even been cuts in the paint. I've removed several that look like cuts but were actually scratches on top of scratches. What happens is the car gets dirty and the edge of the film acts like a tiny gutter. When it rains on the car, as the water runs down, it carries grit down with it and some of it accumulates at the edge of the film. Now if the customer isn't careful when washing, and flushes that gutter out first before sponging left to right across the top, that grit will just grind away at the edge of the film. Repeated incorrect washing and rubbing in the exact same place will eventually leave a scratch deep enough to look like a cut mark.

tychancho · January 20, 2012

Love that quote, Slick! "Ego makes talent invisible."

Several people have told me that their egos have gotten way too big. I'm beginning to agree.

Thanks for the advice, guys!

tychancho · January 20, 2012

I thought of that, Speed. The problem is that the party involved knows better. They have more than a few years of experience and know the difference between a razor cut and edge scratches. I've seen the same thing and agree to an amature it looks like a cut but to someone with thousands of installs - well, again, they know better.

PPFdistributing · January 23, 2012

Its about letting your work speak for its self. Your accounts, if the relationship is good, will back you and your work up. All the more reason to take pictures of your work and post it on your website if you have one. All of the positive will squash the negative talk and he will wind up running himself out of business from being such a prick. No one wants to do business with people who talk s*#t about other people. Just comes off the wrong way. Keep up with what you are doing and it will all work itself out.

pro-tect mobile · January 25, 2012

Me personally, I will call them out. I wont let somoen run my reputation through the mud... not for one second. But that is just how I was raised.

By the way how many shops are down in your area? I only knew of two, you and Xpel.

tychancho · January 25, 2012

There are a few - mostly us small guys.

tychancho · January 28, 2012

I am happy to say that the situation has been resolved. I thank you all for your advice. It seems that this was a missunderstanding by my accounts manager. My work wasn't actually maligned but because the conversation included me and another installer who's work DID need repainting the manager heard both of us together as one. Proof that these managers aren't really listening to us.

TintDude, or other Admin. I'm requesting that this thread be deleted since it serves no purpose anymore. As you suggested, I've posted a conclusion and think that a day or two would be more than enough time to let anyone interested to know it's resolved. Thanks!

Tyler