Bob, please thank whoever the referral was from. We dont get the chance to thank the people that refer new customers often enough. The company that has the proprietary coating process normally requires two three weeks to turn around a cover for us. This does not include time allotted for assembly, upgrades or shipping to and from us. Feel free to contact us direct for specific details for your project in question. Thank You Brian
Back in business Brian, thank you for taking the time to respond to my (and other) comments. It is certainly your prerogative to charge whatever you wish as a deposit; some shops may charge 50%, or whatever. As well, it's your choice whether to accept credit cards. Doing so cuts into your profit by the several percentage points that the card companies charge. However, it also PROTECTS YOU from any disputed charges (some of which can be legitimate) that a customer may have with your products/services. It's certainly a convenience that most customes welcome, in any case. Having an M.B.A. from the University of Illinois, and having done several studies on this very matter, the preponderance of evidence clearly indicates that the additional revenue/profit that a company receives from accepting major credit cards (albeit with their service charge), clearly outweighs their "take" of 3-4% (typically). In fact, while it is difficult or impossible to exactly compare the work of one shop to another, I noticed no real difference in your price schedule when compared to other shops of equal reputation/experience. So, you may be "passing along these savings to your customers," or not. Hard to say. But, I bet your revenue/profits/sales would increase if you did indeed accept major cards, as well as probably add additional legitimacy to your operation. Just my opinion, at any rate. It's understandable and obvious that a customer should pay for any and all parts/services IN FULL before leaving your shop--as I myself did. You are confusing metaphors, here, as I was not implying that I should be allowed to do so. The only request I made was that I be able to personally inspect the parts and machine work that you did before I paid my remaining balance--which comprised approx. 25% of my total bill with you. I did not feel that this was an unreasonable request, yet at the time, you considered it so. You contacted me on or about 12/21/2004, telling me that all my work was done, and requesing immediate payment. I informed you that I would not be able to come and pick everything up for another month, and pay you in full at the time, yet this was not acceptable to you--you requested payment within the week. As stated, we were talking about $800.00--not $8000.00. To Brian's credit, it was almost 3 months later when I finally was able to make the 1600-mile trip (both ways) to his shop--due to some severe winter weather in Ohio--and to my wife's health--to pick up my parts, and pay my remaining balance. I understand that the machinest you use may be "first-class," but I assumed that he would be doing ALL THE MACHINE WORK on my block/rods/ pistons, etc. By your own addmission, someone else installed the cam bearings, failing to even bother to check to see if my own cam would even spin in the block!Imagine if you had done this with one of your NHRA/IHRA customers! Imagine still if they lost an engine because of such a careless oversight! In my mind, this is a BREACH OF TRUST. What other work did this guy (whom you say you no longer employ) perform on my project? Hard to believe that your NHRA engine builder did EVERYTHING on my project EXCEPT the installation of the cam bearings. I suppose anything is possible, but why would this happen? In any case, once trust is lost it is sometimes never regained. Once you cheat on your spouse (not that I ever had/would) I'm sure she will never have quite the same trust in you again. Thus, I will always wonder: was my block bored/honed using a torque plate or not? Was my engine balanced correctly? Were my clearances checked and rechecked, etc. You must clearly remember having my "header" gaskets in your hand, kind of bragging to me how much "metal" they contained. I've been building engine for 35 years. I should have said to you: "they look just like regular exhaust-manifold gaskets." Of course, that's just what they were. Still, I didn't say anything, since I have not seen the new generation of header gaskets that have come into the market in the past couple of years. It was only when I returned home and inspected my complete gasket set, that I noticed that every gasket was there EXCEPT the exhaust-manifold gaskets--which you had put in a separate bag. I assume that YOU can tell a set of stock exhaust-manifold gaskets from a set of header gaskets, so I can't pass that one off as a "mistake" on your part. Thank you for your offer to send me a set of REAL header gaskets, since that is what I paid for. My address is at the end of the post. I also told you that a set of T and D roller rockers was not in the budget at this time. So, I purchased from you a set of ARP rocker-arm-shaft hold-down studs. Then, you informed me that I could not use these studs on my stock rocker shafts without using hardened, cupped washers between the rocker shaft and the nut at the end of the stud. You didn't have these special washers, didn't have a part number for these washers, and said that I would have to get them from a "T and D" dealer. Gee, I thought you were a T and D dealer. You do sell their products, don't you? In conclusion, no business can please 100% of the customers 100% of the time, and even some of the world's best surgeons sometimes make mistakes. Brian did spend a lot of time on the phone with me, discussing my project, and was an invaluable source of information. I'm sure he has contributed more than his share to our Buick community. As I originally said, this was only my own personal experience, and hopefully, an aberrant one, at that. Cheers, Craig Stangohr Brookside Automotive 1773 Cedar Meadows Rd. Aiken, SC. 29803
Credit cards are a necessary evil in doing business now-a-days, IMO. Our shop takes them, and the majority of our customers use them. It is a cost of doing business, and we paid tens of thousands in bank charges last year alone. It helps us by expanding our customer base and it helps the customer by giving him financing options.
I never got a call Brian I never recieved a call. I am however glad to see that you have responded to this thread because I was beggining to worry since I hadnt heard from you. In case you forgot my #(319-594-5392). Tom
Waiting for response from Earick Tick, Tick, Tick. Still waiting for a response from Brian Earick as to: 1. Why I had 2 different machinests work on my block (one of them apparently installed ONLY the cam bearings--and screwed that job up), 2. When I am going go get the "header" gaskets that I paid for, instead of the "exhaust manifold" gaskets that I was sold (but told from Brian that they were "header" gaskets, 3. Why I was sold a rocker-arm stud kit that I can't use, due to missing washers? Cheers, Craig Stangohr Aiken, SC
Craig, fyi, i got a call from Brian on Friday, he will be out of town for most of the week. I don't know if he will have access to the board. Randy
Earick Racking Hi folks, Got a call from Brian Earick last night, Sunday, about 8:00. He apologized for calling late on a Sunday, and was very friendly and professional. I welcomed his call. We cleared up several issues, yet the main/major issue remains a thorn in my side--and always will. Still, I appreciate the time he spent with me. I have never questioned his knowledge of Buicks, or engines in general. He really knows his stuff. 1. He said that the "header" gaskets that he gave me were indeed true "header" gaskets and not just "stock" exhaust-manifold gaskets--as I had thought. He told me that the stock manifold gaskets come in 3 or 4 separate pieces, and that the header gaskets which he sells are one piece. Indeed, he did give me one-piece gaskets and they probably are "true" header gaskets. He told me that he "buys them in bulk" (must sell a lot of 'em!) and that's why they were not in any type of bag, container, etc. Now, I have seen other stock exhaust-manifold gaskets that are one-piece, as well. Still, I believe him on this issue, and thus offer an apology in that regard. 2. He said that I could get the "hold-down clamps," or "buttons," as Jim W. refers to them, from T/A. Jim W. said exactly this in a recent post entitled something like "To Rock or to Roll," which debated different rocker-arm types. I will call T/A today, as Jim W. and Eric think that these washers/clamps/buttons (which are used on T/A roller rockers) can be purchased separately from T/A. Still, it seems silly to sell a "rocker-arm stud kit" that comes without these aformentioned washers/clamps (which truly are needed to spread out the torque across the rocker shaft. But it seems that T/A does the same thing--sells the rocker-arm studs and nuts as a "complete kit," so to speak, without these "washers/clamps/buttons." Thus, I again apologize to Brian if I was being "too hard" on him over this fairly minor issue. 3. The MAIN issue remains-- and we did not broach it in our conversation last night, as Brian has previously apologized for it. That issue is my loss of Faith and Trust in the entire project, due to Brian's admitted failure to make sure his machinests (there were apparently two who did work on my engine) at least fitted my camshaft into the block--after they installed the T/A cam bearings. This is something that even a Napa/Car-quest type of general machine shop certainly would do. Before starting the project, Brian assured me that "each and every clearance" would be checked, and triple checked. He would not "simply spin my cam in my block," by actually measure the clearance between the cam bearings and the cam journals. As stated in my previous posts, my T/A camshaft was returned to me, unopened, in its original wrapping. If something so simple as sticking a cam in a block to see if it spins is too much trouble (takes 5 minutes), one wonders what other "short cuts," or oversights were tolerated, permitted, or just simply happened. As Brian has stated, the machinest(s) he employs is several hours from Brian's shop, so Brian is not there to personally oversee some or much of the work. Finally, to give Brian the benefit of the doubt, perhaps this camshaft oversight was a rare anomaly, and it is hoped that the rest of my engine project was afforded the perspicacity that it deserved--and for which I paid. Even the best doctors do indeed make mistakes, but it hurts extra when he makes them on you! Still, the next time I undertake such a project, I probably will go with a shop like Automotive Machine Performance, where all work is done in-house, in one location, and you can see the machines, talk to the guy who perfomred the machine work, etc. Just a personal preference, I guess. Cheers, Craig Stangohr Aiken, S.C.
I talked to Brian about a week ago and all seemed well on the phone. Brian has been working on my 1970 GSX 455 engine project for a little longer than planned due to his relocation attempts as of late........but keeps me in the loop on progress on a very timely basis. Looks like later Feb the engine should be ready. Can't wait to turn my 630 hp pump gas EARICK RACING motor loose here in Warsaw, IN. :TU: License Plate Reads............1SICGSX :3gears:
