Stories from the Sales Frontlines

sterlingdog

"Case closed on my psychoanalysis."

Now we understand your "love affair" with cars.

The news about the MRI is your third misfortune. Since things seem to come in threes, perhaps your luck is about to change. I hope so.

Richard

sterlingdog

On your way to the service dealer, you need to stop by your doctor's office. You need to explain why you drove 900 miles to a college hockey game. :P

Richard

oldfarmer50

"...I don't think anyone in here is going to get nasty..."

Are you kidding? First you brag that you live in a wealthy neighborhood then you detail how your did a grinding job on the kid with a snow shovel and now you want a dues reduction?

You have to pay your fair share....dues are doubled! :mad:

sterlingdog

"Gotta wonder what's wrong with them."

When their parents are giving them $100 a day for doing nothing, why would they shovel snow for you for $50? :sick:

It's very nice of you though to think of the children before calling the plow company. Some where there are children who would appreciate it.

Richard

abacomike

Mike - I hope you never need numbers 1 and 3.

Actually, venture, I have, on three occasions. Twice at Boca Town Center Mall - forgot where I parked after shopping for several hours. So I went to my regular parking area, and my car was not there. So I used the app and it showed me where the car was parked. Again I used it at Sawgrass Mills Shopping Mall (largest mall for outlet stores in the country) and was able to find the car.

As for the other options, I look at it this way - if my insurance company is going to subsidize the cost of my Mbrace subscription, it's definitely worth the hundred or so dollars I pay for the other services.

But I agree with you regarding spending money on something you never use. I just called Sirius - they wanted $275 per year for Weather, Traffic, and music. They told me I could have music only for $35 less. It is not worth over $200 a year to have access to Satellite radio and services if I don't use them at all. So I told them to "not renew" my subscription after March 11th. They sure tried every trick in the book to get me to stay, but I refused their "advances", so to speak.

I would imagine I will get letters and phone calls and emails from them for the next 100 years, but unless I can get everything for about $150 a year, I am definitely not interested.

robr2

Because we like the golden hue that comes from regular bulbs

You know you can get CFL and LED's in warm white. I replaced all the incandescent bulbs in our recessed lights with LED trim kits. Same warm, golden hue along with a tremendous savings in electricity. The LED's come up to full illumination immediately as well.

Yes they were $25 a piece but they should last over 10 years and they use 90% less energy.

I'm amazed at the difference in the amount of heat from those lights. I can touch the LED with my hand after hours of being on. You can't do that with an incandescent and of course all that heat is wasted electricity.

sterlingdog

"Here in W. Ohio, 4 inches is the end of the world!!"

LOL! Here in southeastern N.C., one inch is the end of the world!

Richard

oldfarmer50

"...Mechanical methods to remove deposits-walnut shell blasting..."

What about the old more fun method of beating the heck out of things every once and a while? Does that actually work or is it just an excuse?

sterlingdog

"It felt wonderful."

It made me feel good just reading about it. Your wife is correct. We never really grwo up; we just get a little wider around the middle and a little thinner on top.

Richard

imidazol97

>You have to pay your fair share

Maybe some income redistribution would be good. I'll give you my POBox to mail the checks to. imid

houdini1

I had a similar experience with that same host. That host was extremely liberal and if she got the idea that you were not, you were finished. There is still one of those around here.

Overall, the Edmund's experience has vastly improved.

oldfarmer50

"...I'll give you my PO box..."

Ha! I think you have the mail going the wrong way. I'm so broke that I just filed my state taxes early hoping the refund gets back in time to pay what I owe to the Feds. If not I may be posting from Levenworth.

Now accepting donations to farmer's car buying and bail fund.

imidazol97

>I think you have the mail going the wrong way.

Ha ha.

sterlingdog

"Glad you checked in."

We're glad that YOU checked in as well. It's good to know that you still have power. Be careful if you shovel that snow; you know what we said here. Also, thanks for sending that storm our way. Though it's just rain, I don't have to water our new shrubbery in the front.

Richard

sterlingdog

Even behavior at the movies is getting bad. Too many people talking and too many cell phone lights on around you. I don't know why the fools even buy a ticket. They only half watch the movie. :sick:

Richard

sterlingdog

LOL! That's about it.

Richard

sterlingdog

"...and did everything legally."

You're right and I apologize. I didn't mean to generalize. I should have said, "I wish that SOME of those to the south of us had done the same." While there are many nice people such as yourself who did things the right way, there are just too many who did not.

Richard

sterlingdog

"A little Motown is good..."

A lot of Motown is good!

Richard

sterlingdog

"...more flexible than we were 4 or 5 years ago..."

Much more flexible! Host Tom (RIP) was a wonderful person. He tried so hard to keep us on task and did it in such a nice way. We had a few disagreements here between posters, but Tom managed to get them leveled out. I know that you must miss him. You've done a great job yourself and we appreciate it.

Richard

jayrider

Just make sure your credit card isn't charged in an auto-renewal.

isellhondas

I've been around since the beginning too and I remember you as one of the originals. A lot of people have come and gone.

Some I really miss and others good riddance!

Yes, much friendlier and that's the way I like it. I used to REALLY have to walk a tightrope. I learned to pull my punches at least most of the time!

roadburner

I was a big Pretenders/Chrissy Hynde fan (still am). That was barely acceptable to my friends, barely. They were more into the whole Sex Pistols and punk thing back then. I wasn't.

My son has a wild variety of music on his ipod- from 50 Cent to Hank Williams Jr., The Ramones to Poison, Frank Sinatra to Joan Jett...

Last year we saw Rush on their Time Machine tour. Just last week we saw The Who. They performed Quadrophenia in its entirety and finished up with Baba O’Riley,” “Behind Blue Eyes,” “Pinball Wizard,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Tea & Theatre.” Just brilliant. We're probably going to Indy to see Ian Anderson perform Thick as a Brick and Thick as a Brick 2.

Matter of fact, because of my older sister listening to the Temptations, Four Tops, Sly and the Family Stone, I have a healthy love and respect for soul and funk, too.

You would have loved the Who's opening act- Vintage Trouble. Outstanding!

VT: "Strike Your Light"

jayrider

If you want sirius, call on March 9 and make sure they will be cancelling. Tell them too much money. I get renewed every year for $90 using this method. They transfer you to the "Dealmaker."

isellhondas

Oh, I never goaded anyone toward self destruction...not me!

abacomike

If you want sirius, call on March 9 and make sure they will be cancelling. Tell them too much money. I get renewed every year for $90 using this method. They transfer you to the "Dealmaker."

Ahhh, the old proverbial "dealmaker" routine! They do not have my credit card info, so I know they can't automatically renew my subscription. If I decide to keep the car after May 1st, when the 2014 is due in, I'll call and see what the have to offer. I do use the traffic info in determining which route to take but, I can live without it if necessary.

Thanks for the info. I'll make my decision then.

isellhondas

" These people do walk among us"

Yep, and I'm one of those people.

When I picked up our 2011 CRV, I walked around it, signed the delivery papers and drove it away. I knew how it would drive and it exceeded my expectations. Same thing with several new cars I've bought over the years.

I once bought a used Miata without driving it. It was a dark afternoon, pouring rain and it was nicely tucked into a well lit garage. The seller was
the original owner with a file folder full of receipts. He was a very fussy person who lived in a 1.5 million dollar home.

I saw no need to take it out in the pouring rain. I left him a deposit and returned the next day with a check. Car ran like a top!

houdini1

I made it just fine thru all the shoveling and snow blowing, etc. The plough finally cleared our street pretty good last night, and even though we could get out today, my wife still wants to stay home for a while longer. We haven't left the house since last Wednesday !

I started kidding her this morning about the movie, "The Shining" and asked her if she knew where I could get my hands on an ax...then I had to run for cover.

No power problems. Warm and well fed. Our little dog Daisy loves the snow and makes me take her out every couple of hours..good exercise for both of us. I wear boots with ice cleats so no problems with falling, etc.

We might have another storm on the way early next week.

gogiboy

A couple of years ago I found a calendar in the bargain bin at some store and decided to put it up in the studio for my students. Each month had a rather simple image with a slogan.

A couple of my favorites were: "Classes--If at first you don't succeed...Drop it!",
"Video Games--How to kill those annoying 20 hours between classes!", "Parents--Like your own Private ATM!", and my favorite "Professors--Proof that it's possible to stay in college forever!".

Strangely enough, none of them found the captions as humorous as I did.

Gogiboy

abacomike

The news about the MRI is your third misfortune. Since things seem to come in threes, perhaps your luck is about to change. I hope so.

Well, after my second physical therapy treatment, the therapist (a nice guy who has been a PT for 30 years) told me that 95% of my pain is coming from the rotator cuff muscles located on the right side of my upper right back to the top of my right shoulder, then pain radiates down the front a bit. It is his opinion that I probably tore the rotator cuff which is causing me the acute pain. I have difficulty raising my right arm in front of my body straight up over my head. Much pain. Also, cannot reach behinds back with my arm.

Depending on the remaining 4 treatments, he said I need to have an MRI to determine how severe the tear is. He feels it's bad enough for surgery - just what I need! He is not a surgeon or radiologist, but he says he's treated enough injuries like this one to pretty much figure out the cause of the pain.

My primary care physician will probably have the MRI done next month sometime and will then refer me to an orthopedic MD for final determination. Not looking forward to this at all!

I remember when I went down those stairs head first, I broke my fall on my right shoulder, then slammed the back of my head against the landing. So, I figured I did something to that poor right shoulder.

verdugo

Remember where you heard it first if you see an NHL player in about 15 years with a shirt on that says “my grandfather is jmonroe"

LOL

Best of luck! Hope he makes it into the NHL -- just make sure he wears a face mask (or whatever they're called in hockey)

fezo

I'm going though PT for a strained right rotator cuff. Lots of the symptoms you describe. It's coming a long but a long recovery. If it's torn it'll be a much bigger deal but you can still get through it and be beack to normal.

sterlingdog

Like you, I don't use the OnStar system. I only used it once because they sent me the wrong CD for the Nav. system. I let the subscription lapse. Would you believe that I never heard a word from them about coming back on board?

Richard

abacomike

I'm going though PT for a strained right rotator cuff. Lots of the symptoms you describe. It's coming a long but a long recovery. If it's torn it'll be a much bigger deal but you can still get through it and be beack to normal.

fezo, this is "mike" you are talking about - I'll never be "normal"! Better, maybe, but never "normal"!

sterlingdog

If you forget where you parked, just use the panic button on your key fob. When you get near the car, it will go off.

Richard

sterlingdog

"I'll have to look up that term...never heard 'crop' used that way."

Make sure that you use a Southern dictionary honey.

Richard

abacomike

If you forget where you parked, just use the panic button on your key fob. When you get near the car, it will go off.

Each time I forgot where I parked and used the Mbrace app on my iPhone, the car was parked on the other side of the lot. The panic button would not have sufficient range. But on the app, you can also activate the alarm and lights, but it's done through the satellite connection. Still, I wouldn't have heard the alarm or seen the lights because I was do far away from the car. So the "locate car" button on the app worked like a charm.

imidazol97

Onstar also has a locate feature that does not require a police report of stolen vehicle. For a few dollars per month above the OnStar subscription, there is family link. It let you locate the car in just a couple of minutes. It gives you a Bing map/satellite view of the car's location which is good enough to tell which lane it's traveling in on a multilane road or which parking space it's in at an apartment building.

Perfect for checking on that teenager's travels or that errant spouse's location, and who knows what other uses...as long as you are the legal owner and have the OnStar subscription, you can locate the vehicle.
onstar.com/familylink

sterlingdog

We tried the "warm white" but didn't care for it. We did put LED's in all of the recessed ceiling lights in the kitchen, family room, bathrooms, and office. As for table lamps, we still prefer the old style.

Richard

sterlingdog

What?! I'm amazed, especially knowing how particular you are about things. Having been a car salesman, you must have had an inner sense.

Richard

abacomike

Onstar also has a locate feature that does not require a police report of stolen vehicle

Sounds like the features on ONSTAR are exactly the same as Mbrace. I do get vehicle apps with Mbrace so I can surf the net, etc. Mbrace is operated digitally by Hughes telematics inc. I believe they are located in Houston or Dallas.

driver100

If I decide to keep the car after May 1st, when the 2014 is due in, I'll call and see what the have to offer.

If I may add, I followed JMonroes excellent advice and ignored all their fantastic useless offers, like 2 months free if you sign now and give them your credit card info.

About 5 days before expiry the called and had a special offer...$76 plus music fee and tax about $94.

The only thing is, if it expires you may have to pay an activation fee.

Ah, just easier to get another car with free Sirius.

graphicguy

Imid..,,you're right...4 inches of snow in SW OH, the entire part of this part of the state comes to a complete stop, for at least 48 hours.

RB...love the clip from Vintage Trouble. I'll be looking for more of them. Thanks.

My son turned me on to some of his favorites (Lincoln Park, comes immediately to mind). He heard plenty of my favorites growing up. Been following this band for a couple of years. They're just now starting to get hot.

http://m.upi.com/story/UPI-5111361198232/

When he was younger, I'd take him to "concerts in the park" where the late, great Eric Kunzel would direct the Cincinnati Pops at a bunch of open air parks throuout the area all summer long. Great memories!

I bet the Who concert was great. Just saw a documentary about thewriting of Quadrophenia, where Townsand and Daltrey were interviewed. Still, two huge egos.

My former BIL was a huge Rush fan. I only know their hits.

The summer concert series where touring acts perform in an amphitheater on the Ohio River should be coming around in about 8 weeks. Always a good time.

cdnpinhead

Yep, and I'm one of those people.

So am I.

I keep my cars a long time and spend 95 - 98% of the time driving them to work and back. For the remainder, I'm pretty sure that I understand what the capability of the vehicle is, and I've not been disappointed yet.

I did want to drive the TSX before I bought one, but for the previous three vehicles (Lincoln LS, Eagle Vision, Miata R) I bought them on the spot. For the Miata, I was replacing another one that was totalled, so I knew what I was getting.

cdnpinhead

Strangely enough, none of them found the captions as humorous as I did.

You're my kinda guy. There is a website for a "Demotivator" series of posters that pokes fun at corporatations in general and slogans in particular, in a big way. I have several of them up in my cube and enjoy the reactions of the newbies who take this stuff seriously, as they read them. I've worked at this place for the last 33 years continuously and for 45 years off-and-on. I have a different point of view.

This month's offering on my Demotivator calendar says "Because nothing says 'your're a loser' more than owning a motivational poster about being a winner."

There are dozens of others. I love them.

abacomike

The only thing is, if it expires you may have to pay an activation fee.

Ah, just easier to get another car with free Sirius.

Easier, yes! More expensive, without doubt! More fun, to be sure!

bwia

"Video Games--How to kill those annoying 20 hours between classes!"

I can understand why this type of humor may not be funny to some students. At my school, an untenured professor could be suspended or even be fired for using such non-PC words as "kill" in a college classroom. Political correctness has its place but sometimes college administrators use no common sense in enforcing these unreasonable policies.

venture

I think I'm not going to renew.

I will push that blue button a few times before the end just to see if it really works.

The only thing I will miss will be being able to see diagnostics by using my cell phone. It's cool, but really not anything I can't do "manually".

venture

When I was finished shopping, I didn't even remember what store I entered.

It looked like acres and acres of surface parking (I rarely park in the parking garage).

I finally remembered what store I entered, but couldn't remember which door I entered. Point being - I don't think I was close enough for the car to pick up the signal from the fob.

I just wandered around a while pushing that button until I finally heard some fools car beeping and flashing it's lights.

bwia

In the latest Bruce Willis "Die Hard" flick a record 132 vehicles, worth $11 million, were destroyed. Don't know how many of them were Mercedes Benz but MB supplied many of the vehicles for promotional consideration.

What a waste. With CGI and other movie magic tricks they did not have to sacrifice so many vehicles. I guess if you want to make a big splash you gotta smash up some cars to satisfy the testosterone laden movie crowd.

stickguy

agreed.

actually, that would be a great use for the estimated 250,000 vehicles destroyed by Sandy, but that may still run (and usually look fine).

Use them as the "props" to be destroyed in action movies!