Letter from Max at Autogeek.net

[nosbusa1700]

But if what David said happened about one of the MODS/employees stating something that wasn't correct, why was he banned? Was it embarrassment on their part, or something else that caused the banning?



Their forum or not, if you state something incorrect you should be called on it plain and simple. Without fear of being banned or reprimanded. I'm not talking about being nasty about it. I'm just talking about politely saying you disagree, or what you said isn't correct. jmo



I mean if I stated something that wasn't correct (here or elsewhere) I would be called on it in a second. (As I should). Why should an employee or a MOD be any different? If anything they should be held to a higher standard.



Life is too short to let any of this get anyone down. Either side.

 

[armstrongdetail]

That was the cheapest and most generic apology I have ever read in my life. I bet Max didnt even write it.



I thought it was funny that he said he will not give any further response. Why cant he just stop being such a coward and stop hiding behind his business. Be a man!

It sounded like a good response to me. Would it really do any good for him to keep responding to attacks on here? Everyone is showing their colors and that's really about all that can be attained from these two threads.



Ignoring his demands for an explanation was probably what Max was apologizing about. Maybe they are too busy over there to deal with a disgruntled forum member. Maybe they would rather spend their time servicing their customers rather than answering to somebody who appears to just want to make them look bad.

This backhanded "apology" reassured me that I made the right decision by switching my business over to CMA. I can't believe a business owner in their right mind would think that the number of purchases made should have anything to do with the way customers are treated, particularly when responses are being made publicly. Whether I buy a single wash mit or $500 worth of product, I expect integrity and mutual respect from those I do business with.



I suspect I'm not the only one that has "seen the light" after reading this exchange.



Customer service FAIL.

The only thing coming to light is the opportunists on here exploiting these threads and name dropping other companies.



Saying they have bad customer service is just a flat out lie. Their customer service is awesome. In fact it was a factor in me closing my store. I couldn't compete with how good their customer service is.

The first post in this thread states it pretty clearly...

"Even though this controversy was started from a person that has bought from us one time according to our records..."​

Really dumb move for that to be brought up, IMO.

I can't help but get angry at seeing the way you guys are acting. He mentioned that to point out one thing... David makes himself out to be a loyal Autogeek customer which is not the case. He is good friends with the people at CMA. Somebody might call that an affiliation.



I want to make a few things clear so people know exactly where I stand. I neglected to make clear before that I am no longer owner or even a moderator over at Detail City. I have absolutely nothing against CMA. I've done business with them in the past. I don't benefit at all from taking sides in this, in fact, it's probably killed any chance of me becoming an active member over here which I was looking forward to.



I just hate seeing my friends at Autogeek being treated like this. It's wrong and I agree with Todd, this whole thread should be erased except for the first post and then closed.

 

[Thomas Dekany]

It sounded like a good response to me. Would it really do any good for him to keep responding to attacks on here? Everyone is showing their colors and that's really about all that can be attained from these two threads.



Ignoring his demands for an explanation was probably what Max was apologizing about. Maybe they are too busy over there to deal with a disgruntled forum member. Maybe they would rather spend their time servicing their customers rather than answering to somebody who appears to just want to make them look bad.







The only thing coming to light is the opportunists on here exploiting these threads and name dropping other companies.



Saying they have bad customer service is just a flat out lie. Their customer service is awesome. In fact it was a factor in me closing my store. I couldn't compete with how good their customer service is.







I can't help but get angry at seeing the way you guys are acting. He mentioned that to point out one thing... David makes himself out to be a loyal Autogeek customer which is not the case. He is good friends with the people at CMA. Somebody might call that an affiliation.



I want to make a few things clear so people know exactly where I stand. I neglected to make clear before that I am no longer owner or even a moderator over at Detail City. I have absolutely nothing against CMA. I've done business with them in the past. I don't benefit at all from taking sides in this, in fact, it's probably killed any chance of me becoming an active member over here which I was looking forward to.



I just hate seeing my friends at Autogeek being treated like this. It's wrong and I agree with Todd, this whole thread should be erased except for the first post and then closed.

I agree with your reply on all but the last point. The thread should stay as it is. People are behaving again. No reason to delete a VERY important part. mho.



(I am speculating here but as far as I know Todd and DF are friends. CMA has a relationship with Menzerna. DF HAD to know the answer about the product prior to questioning Meghan's/AG's stand on where the product IS coming from.



Why did he question it IF he knew the aswer?)



I have received top notch service from AG all these years and Meghan/Jason/Matt/even Max went out of their way several times for me in the past. But to be fair ALL detailing vendors have beed top notch in my experience. One can't say that about too many businesses.



Obviously you don't get as big as AG if your CS sucks. Bad mouthing AG because you were banned IS pretty sad. And Scottwax is also correct.



People get banned all over the place. Weren't those individuals equally as important as DF? As Brandon said, we are on detailing forums. We need to remember that.

 

[WAS]

No, if it werent for this forum nobody would know this was going on.

Isn't that the whole point of a forum ? So we can give each other information on our experiences so we can help others make more informed decisions ? BTW, some of us have opinions other than simply getting into a pissing match. My opinion, for example, is that I think it's bad business practice for a "professional company" to be preaching to the public about "the best" of a product out there, when that company knows very well that other products by other manufactures provide excellent results as well.

It sounded like a good response to me. Would it really do any good for him to keep responding to attacks on here? Everyone is showing their colors and that's really about all that can be attained from these two threads.



The only thing coming to light is the opportunists on here exploiting these threads and name dropping other companies.



Saying they have bad customer service is just a flat out lie. Their customer service is awesome. In fact it was a factor in me closing my store. I couldn't compete with how good their customer service is.



I just hate seeing my friends at Autogeek being treated like this. It's wrong and I agree with Todd, this whole thread should be erased except for the first post and then closed.

I'd keep responding to attacks, genuine or not. Any self-respecting person, business-man or not, wouldn't sit there and let themseles be trash talked.



Opportunists ? Exploiting ? Have I been throwing out names and insisting people use "x" company because "they're wayyyyy better than AG" ? Nope. I still have an opinion and I'm not dropping company names, wow, I must be a genius eh ?



Since when can you tell everyone else on the planet that if their opinion is that AG has bad customer service, that they're lying ? Do you know every single transaction that happens with AG ? Do you know about my own personal transactions with AG ? .... Didn't think so.



Ahhhh, here we go. Your "friends" are getting some flak for a controversial decision they made, and you don't like it. So basically, anyone who doesn't like your "friends" is an opportunistic clown with their own personal and business agenda ?

 

[imported_weekendwarrior]

[quote name='tdekany'](I am speculating here but as far as I know Todd and DF are friends. CMA has a relationship with Menzerna. DF HAD to know the answer about the product prior to questioning Meghan's/AG's stand on where the product IS coming from.



Why did he question it IF he knew the aswer?)QUOTE]



Thomas, as I understand it (based off all I read)....David saw something on Autogeek's forum that he believed to be incorrect, so he questioned it. Whether he KNEW the answer or not is irrelevant.



If you were to post on here that M105 is a diminishing abraisive, and I KNOW it is not, I am going to question you on it, and try to correct it. As a matter of fact, I would probably give you the courtesy of posting something to the effect of "Are you sure about that?", instead of coming right out and telling you you are completely wrong. You see, even though I would KNOW you are incorrect, I would question you to try to resolve it, as there are many novices on these sites that do not need to be getting incorrect info. (Just for the record, I know nothing about the Meznerna product in question, so I don't know if what was posted on that forum was correct or incorrect...I'm just sayin').



I think you are grasping at straws with this logic.

 

[imported_blackfire1]

Troy,



Did you consent to a non-compete clause with Autogeek?



Just curious. You can plead the 5th or "no comment".



I'm asking as a businessman myself and I would have required you to do that.

 

[Bunky]

My opinion, for example, is that I think it's bad business practice for a "professional company" to be preaching to the public about "the best" of a product out there, when that company knows very well that other products by other manufactures provide excellent results as well.

What is "best"? Everyone has a different opinion so there is no absolute.



It is a competitive world and it is not good business to not promote your own products or what you sell. You see it in every aspect of life. Marketing is all about building loyalty to get beyond just selling on cost.

 

[armstrongdetail]

Isn't that the whole point of a forum ? So we can give each other information on our experiences so we can help others make more informed decisions ? BTW, some of us have opinions other than simply getting into a pissing match. My opinion, for example, is that I think it's bad business practice for a "professional company" to be preaching to the public about "the best" of a product out there, when that company knows very well that other products by other manufactures provide excellent results as well.





I'd keep responding to attacks, genuine or not. Any self-respecting person, business-man or not, wouldn't sit there and let themseles be trash talked.



Opportunists ? Exploiting ? Have I been throwing out names and insisting people use "x" company because "they're wayyyyy better than AG" ? Nope. I still have an opinion and I'm not dropping company names, wow, I must be a genius eh ?



Since when can you tell everyone else on the planet that if their opinion is that AG has bad customer service, that they're lying ? Do you know every single transaction that happens with AG ? Do you know about my own personal transactions with AG ? .... Didn't think so.



Ahhhh, here we go. Your "friends" are getting some flak for a controversial decision they made, and you don't like it. So basically, anyone who doesn't like your "friends" is an opportunistic clown with their own personal and business agenda ?

I quoted your post as an example. What I said was directed to all who have used these two threads as an opportunity to name drop and say false statements. If you did it innocently then I apologize but I suspect that more than one person in these threads has not been innocent about it.



Your "friends" comment seems to question my use of that word. That's exactly who they are and I never hid or denied that fact.

Troy,



Did you consent to a non-compete clause with Autogeek?



Just curious. You can plead the 5th or "no comment".



I'm asking as a businessman myself and I would have required you to do that.

I don't see your point in asking that question. Is it to cast some sort of doubt of my integrity? I've stated that I have nothing to gain by my posts. I do not benefit in any way from Autogeek's success or demise. That's all you should need to know. Not trying to hide anything but anything else is my business.

 

[ThomasC]

What could the intent of the op be?

 

[Scottwax]

It is a competitive world and it is not good business to not promote your own products or what you sell. You see it in every aspect of life. Marketing is all about building loyalty to get beyond just selling on cost.

Agreed. If a potential customer calls me for a detail I'm not going to suggest they call my competition too. I'm going to rightly tell them I am fully competent to handle their detailing needs. What I am not going to do is point out how good Josh Ottman and Rick Springer are and that they also service the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

 

[Pats300zx]

on't benefit at all from taking sides in this, in fact, it's probably killed any chance of me becoming an active member over here which I was looking forward to.

Troy I sure hope this won't affect your decision to be a member on this forum. You are more than welcome here. :2thumbs:

 

[gmblack3]

Troy,



Did you consent to a non-compete clause with Autogeek?



Just curious. You can plead the 5th or "no comment".



I'm asking as a businessman myself and I would have required you to do that.

I don't see your point in asking that question. Is it to cast some sort of doubt of my integrity? I've stated that I have nothing to gain by my posts. I do not benefit in any way from Autogeek's success or demise. That's all you should need to know. Not trying to hide anything but anything else is my business.

:think: I take it that means yes you do have some kind of agreement with AG, otherwise a no would suffice.

 

[gmblack3]

It sounded like a good response to me. Would it really do any good for him to keep responding to attacks on here? Everyone is showing their colors and that's really about all that can be attained from these two threads.

IMO anyone could ascertain the same from your threads.

Ignoring his demands for an explanation was probably what Max was apologizing about. Maybe they are too busy over there to deal with a disgruntled forum member. Maybe they would rather spend their time servicing their customers rather than answering to somebody who appears to just want to make them look bad.

So Max apologized for ignoring his "demands" for an explaination, but still could not give a valid explaination for why he was banned.

The only thing coming to light is the opportunists on here exploiting these threads and name dropping other companies.

Its called an open forum, any vendor here knows this is not your average sponsor controlled forum.

Saying they have bad customer service is just a flat out lie. Their customer service is awesome. In fact it was a factor in me closing my store. I couldn't compete with how good their customer service is.

How could anyone consider you biased in your assumption of their CS?

I can't help but get angry at seeing the way you guys are acting. He mentioned that to point out one thing... David makes himself out to be a loyal Autogeek customer which is not the case. He is good friends with the people at CMA. Somebody might call that an affiliation.

Max makes David out to be a one time customer, David has stated that he has been more then a one time customer. You are good friends with the people at AG, plus you have had a business affiliation with them. I'd say that would taint your objectives in this thread to a higher degree then anyone here.

I want to make a few things clear so people know exactly where I stand. I neglected to make clear before that I am no longer owner or even a moderator over at Detail City. I have absolutely nothing against CMA. I've done business with them in the past. I don't benefit at all from taking sides in this, in fact, it's probably killed any chance of me becoming an active member over here which I was looking forward to.

Autopia is a different forum then most. Some prefer a forum where members can respectfully voice their concerns without being banned.

I just hate seeing my friends at Autogeek being treated like this. It's wrong and I agree with Todd, this whole thread should be erased except for the first post and then closed.

I vote for the first post and DFs reply.

 

[Thomas Dekany]

[quote name='tdekany'](I am speculating here but as far as I know Todd and DF are friends. CMA has a relationship with Menzerna. DF HAD to know the answer about the product prior to questioning Meghan's/AG's stand on where the product IS coming from.



Why did he question it IF he knew the aswer?)QUOTE]



Thomas, as I understand it (based off all I read)....David saw something on Autogeek's forum that he believed to be incorrect, so he questioned it. Whether he KNEW the answer or not is irrelevant.



If you were to post on here that M105 is a diminishing abraisive, and I KNOW it is not, I am going to question you on it, and try to correct it. As a matter of fact, I would probably give you the courtesy of posting something to the effect of "Are you sure about that?", instead of coming right out and telling you you are completely wrong. You see, even though I would KNOW you are incorrect, I would question you to try to resolve it, as there are many novices on these sites that do not need to be getting incorrect info. (Just for the record, I know nothing about the Meznerna product in question, so I don't know if what was posted on that forum was correct or incorrect...I'm just sayin').



I think you are grasping at straws with this logic.

In your case, I agree. As a matter of fact, do correct me OPENLY if I give out info that is incorrrect



However, if it was a vendor and I am on their site and I know/or think the answer maybe incorrect, AND I HAD GOOD INTENTIONS, I AM GOING TO PM THE REP. OUT OF RESPECT.



Does that make sense?

 

[NSXTASY]

Any info on this new Menz sealant: Power Lock - Page 4 - Detailing Bliss Forum



This question was posed here as well. Is there an answer yet?



Yes/no/We don't disclose this information?

 

[armstrongdetail]

IMO anyone could ascertain the same from your threads.

I didn't exclude myself from that statement. You have formed your opinions long before this thread happened. Shouldn't my past dealings with them qualify me at all in knowing what kind of people they are? They have been a customer of mine, I have been a customer of theirs. Call it biased if you want, I call it having enough experience dealing with them to know if they are the villains you guys are making them out to be.

So Max apologized for ignoring his "demands" for an explaination, but still could not give a valid explaination for why he was banned.

They don't go around banning people for fun. They certainly wouldn't ban someone like David who has influence on the internet without good reason. They are under no obligation to disclose it though. I don't know myself and don't really care to be honest. There forum exists to create relationships with their customers and help better the world of car care. I think they are doing that very well.

Its called an open forum, any vendor here knows this is not your average sponsor controlled forum.

Glad to hear it. Keep in mind there is no such thing as a forum that is going to be free of manipulation, whether it's through members or management. I've defended this on many occasions on DC. There is so much proof that is contrary to it being a sponsor controlled forum that anybody who does any kind of research would find that out. Nobody likes being duped though. I made an effort to keep it an open forum but always had to be on the lookout for undercover salesman trying to deceive DC members. Is it too hard for you to imagine that being the truth?

How could anyone consider you biased in your assumption of their CS?

We're all biased aren't we? You're friends with David doesn't that make you biased? David's friends with Todd and others at CMA doesn't that make him biased? Give me a break on the whole biased thing.

Max makes David out to be a one time customer, David has stated that he has been more then a one time customer. You are good friends with the people at AG, plus you have had a business affiliation with them. I'd say that would taint your objectives in this thread to a higher degree then anyone here.

If people want to discount what I say because I'm friends with them then that's their prerogative. Same thing could be said about any of the other friendships on here.

 

[a.k.a. Patrick]

Gadz!! Who cares anymore! Mods please close this garbage!

 

[Tuck91]

Very well said and very true.



I wonder if Mike P is having second thoughts about going to work for Autogeek. I know I have lost a lot of respect I once had for him after this whole thing.



After all, you did help him with things in his personal life, looks like he does not have the balls to apologize either, its not like AG can forbid him to talk to you when not at work.

 

[Pats300zx]

This thread has run it's course. Several people have been warned and can't seem to act like adults. If you have issues with other forum members I suggest you review the forums rules on attacks and take the stuff offline.