TPC "Sneak Previews"

[Jordy]

Blown 472:
Send your carb to the carb shop, not all shiney and shit they just work. Something to be said for that. Perhaps they have an air fuel meter to aid in the fine tuning dial in, especially in situations where the customer doesn't know all the specifics of his/her motor.
Although, I found that knowing all the information doesn't make a difference with some shops. wink

[Froggystyle]

jordanpaulk:
Something to be said for that. Perhaps they have an air fuel meter to aid in the fine tuning dial in, especially in situations where the customer doesn't know all the specifics of his/her motor.
Although, I found that knowing all the information doesn't make a difference with some shops. wink Yeah Jordy, I know what you mean. With some shops, they can't even dial in your motor if you have a bunch of corrosion in your tanks and lines! I mean, what is a little water in the gas, huh?
Funny story. I knew this guy once, who had a bunch of water and corrosion in his lines, which ruined his carbs among other things. Plus, he had a bad regulator, his timing was way off because he had a bunch of different timing marks on his balancer and stuff, and to top it all off, he was impatient with the builder and needed his carbs back together for an impromptu river trip. But, they were waiting on parts, so he decided to use his old floats in the meantime. THEN, when he re-used his old floats while they waited for the new parts, they went bad! Can you imagine the headaches? So, with bad floats, water in the fuel and a gobs of corrosion throughout, he went to tune his carbs in and couldn't keep the boat running. Weird, huh? The carbs must just be junk I figure.
What is really strange is, this builder didn't use an air fuel meter either. I would blame the lack of air/fuel meter. That was probably at least as much to blame for the problems as the rest of the train wreck.
The best part is, my buddy got all pissed about the carbs not performing under these ideal circumstances, and now wants his money back. The carb builder had the balls to offer a new rebuild and update free of charge instead! I mean, why should it be my buddies fault if he brought carbs to a builder and then bolted them on a motor with a lot of problems? Some sob story huh?
Boy oh boy, I would hate to be that carb guy if that story ever made it on the internet. To think that spending a bunch of money on carburetors won't solve all of your fuel delivery problems. I mean, you would think that spending some serious coin on carbs would get all of the other problems solved too, right?

[Jordy]

You know Wes, that's a bummer of a story. However I was making reference to a comment made by the "Carb Guru" where he said it wasn't necessary to have an air/fuel meter to dial a carb in if you knew all the specifics of the motor.
I know a guy who did know all the specifics, other than a vacuum reading, and relayed them to a carb shop and was just trying to get a baseline for jetting to get through the season and then send the carb in for a prettying up. That shop was no help at all and needless to say, didn't get to do a rebuild. Shit happens I suppose. Kind of a shame with all the free advertising (spam) that this shop gets to use.
I'm kind of curious on one thing though, a customer has a bad experience with a carb shop and Trident Boats steps in. Hypothetically speaking, if someone has a bad experience with Trident Boats somewhere down the line, is TPC Racing going to step in with sob stories about boat building?
Jordy

[Froggystyle]

Good question Jordy.
If, in the instance that I was to have a bad experience with a client, as will inevitably happen, I don't plan on it reaching a fever pitch, nor do I anticipate the need to do damage control. Funny thing that you mention that Trident boats is stepping in. I don't see it that way. No more than if you owned some company and you expressed your opinion in this matter. You would be accurate in saying that I am stepping in a little personally however.
But to answer your question, yes. If in the instance that I was to have a displeased client step up and start bashing me, and Ty were to know both sides of the story, from both parties, I feel comfortable that A) He would make his own decision regarding the outcome, B) He would tell me if he felt there was anything left to be done from my end (which by the way I did) and C) Defend me publically if he felt my business or myself were being unfairly degraded as a result of a public forum.
Ty has a new business. He is good at his job, and he has a whole lot of very pleased clients, and one not so much.
The most important thing is, Ty recognized that his client was upset, and 8 months later after it had come to a head went hugely out of his way to resolve the issue, to the degree where he offered, at no expense whatsoever to the client, to rebuild the carbs again, powdercoat them again with whatever color he wanted, boost reference them for the new supercharged application, add some new high speed booster deal, and provide him with a documented blueprint of the entire process. This offer was met with the finger.
In my personal as well as business opinion, this is a client unwilling to be satisfied, and that sucks, because I know both parties, and think that this is an adequate resolution. The displeased client would rather be a martyr with a beef than a happy client with two new carbs.
I am upset about the whole situation, and I said I would stay out of it unless it got into an attack on the business in question. It is all fun and games until you affect someone's livelihood.
Let's take this to e-mail, shall we?

[Blown 472]

I thought it was all fun til someone lost an eye.

[Jordy]

Froggystyle:
Ty recognized that his client was upset, and 8 months later after it had come to a head went hugely out of his way to resolve the issue, to the degree where he offered, at no expense whatsoever to the client, to rebuild the carbs again, powdercoat them again with whatever color he wanted, boost reference them for the new supercharged application, add some new high speed booster deal, and provide him with a documented blueprint of the entire process. This offer was met with the finger.Suppose Ty did offer to make it 100% correct (in his opinion mind you) to a customer whom he had previously raked over the coals and pretty much dropped the ball on in several serious customer service areas, none of which were TPC's fault as I recall. Everything was a fluke Holley supply deal that had never happened before, but that's neither here nor there. Now, 8 months later after a severe dry ass ramming and plenty of time to think about it, suddenly and miraculously enough, TPC wants to make good? I'd give him the finger too, especially knowing where the offer was coming from (read Wes/Trident Boats, and you are one in the same now, like it or not). Had he addressed these issues 8 months ago, I might see fit to let him have another try if he was working on my stuff, but to have someone else goad him into retribution, not a chance. After the first ordeal, why would someone want to subject themselves to it again?
And as far as messing with someone's livelihood? That's a pretty weak argument when he parades (spams) his work all over the boards. I'd say that opens him up to criticism. Being in business opens him up to criticism, especially after the way this particular incident was handled, among others. He does build a pretty carb though.
I do find it rather ironic that he has 78Eliminator in his testimonial section on the TPC webpage with the satisfied customers. Not to mention the lead in bullshit statement of "Quite a ride at 6500RPM!" Nothing like a little exageration to get business.
[ March 26, 2003, 09:10 AM: Message edited by: jordanpaulk ]

[miller19j]

I don’t really know the whole story so I am going to stay out of the debate except for one part.
Jordy brings up a very good point (did I really say that!). TPC benefits from all the free advertising he is getting on the boards. So in all fairness a dissatisfied customer should have the opportunity to voice his opinion on the same free boards.
The future customers will weigh the information and make their decision. It is a two way street. If you want the free exposure the customer is also free to critique your work.

[Jordy]

miller19j:
Jordy brings up a very good point (did I really say that!).That's a couple times in the same year!!! Yeah. Miller's coming around.

[Blown 472]

miller19j:
I don’t really know the whole story so I am going to stay out of the debate except for one part.
Jordy brings up a very good point (did I really say that!). TPC benefits from all the free advertising he is getting on the boards. So in all fairness a dissatisfied customer should have the opportunity to voice his opinion on the same free boards.
The future customers will weigh the information and make their decision. It is a two way street. If you want the free exposure the customer is also free to critique your work. Not just here but the spam is on mopar sites as well.
[ March 26, 2003, 09:17 AM: Message edited by: Blown 472 ]

[Hotcrusader76]

At this point I will delay the relief the ***boat audience is seeking of the mystery shadowing 78Eliminators complaints about my company. Please stay tuned…
But I will comment on this…
You know Wes, that's a bummer of a story. However I was making reference to a comment made by the "Carb Guru" where he said it wasn't necessary to have an air/fuel meter to dial a carb in if you knew all the specifics of the motor.I still stand behind my statement 100%. From a true Professional standpoint, having an Air-fuel ratio gauge at my shop doesn’t help with “squat” for a client’s motor on the East coast. This is the reason carburetor specialist utilize basic math and the dynamics of the application to determine proper baseline jetting.
On the other hand dialing in a motor, specifically for a Jetboat with water-injected headers doesn’t warrant the use of an oxygen sensor. Now as I stated before taking the motor over to a DYNO would reap large rewards in obtaining max horsepower/torque gains as well as reading spark plugs. That’s all you have on the water vice a vacuum gauge.
I know a guy who did know all the specifics, other than a vacuum reading, and relayed them to a carb shop and was just trying to get a baseline for jetting to get through the season and then send the carb in for a prettying up. Now remember a vacuum gauge only gives real time values. When the clients motor is a “train wreck” before his new carbs are installed, what good is a vacuum gauge?
That shop was no help at all and needless to say, didn't get to do a rebuild. Shit happens I suppose. Justin asked me to rework a set of carburetors two days before a river trip that he had filled back up with the water in the fuel corrosion he claimed to have eliminated. He ruined his new carbs within seconds of restarting his boat. He put all that corrosion right into them, along with a large helping of water it appears.
Kind of a shame with all the free advertising (spam) that this shop gets to use. Perhaps I went about getting the word out the wrong way, but I am not claiming to be a marketing guru. My advice has been met with great enthusiasm though, and I have developed a large client base that has been assisted in their tuning through questions asked directly to me, and I will continue to answer those questions as long as people ask them. There will be a modification in execution from now on though.
I have consulted with my advisors, ***boat moderators and professionals alike and have come to a resolution to this small complaint. I will no longer post pictures on this site or start off threads starting with TPC. This will alleviate any sort of insults that some of you have over free “SPAM”. What I am doing though is sending out a CDROM with all their project pics (BTW I love snapping photos of my work, being modest here, LOL) I am including a photographic buildup of every carburetor to my clients on CD rom from now on. Those pictures are theirs to do what they wish with.
I'm kind of curious on one thing though, a customer has a bad experience with a carb shop and Trident Boats steps in. Hypothetically speaking, if someone has a bad experience with Trident Boats somewhere down the line, is TPC Racing going to step in with sob stories about boat building?
Jordy Well I would say yes to that statement if I had discovered that his clients boat was screwed up before it ever went to him. I reserve the right to make my own decision on the situation, and provide whatever criticism of his work may be justified, as well as and criticism of the upset client. I have confidence in his abilities, considering that Mr. Inskeep (Froggy) is currently working some of the finer details to my hull and trailer. Not to mention his work is flawless and his business practices encompass all the aspects of “Honor, Courage, and commitment”. I follow suit as well since that’s the foundation to our success as professionals.
Thank you for your interest, and I appreciate your protection of a fellow hot boater, but understand that every effort has been made to resolve this situation, and it has met with a brick wall. Justin wants a full refund, on carburetors that were documented as done properly, and he ruined himself. That is an unacceptable request, and the only thing that I have not agreed to do.
Good day,