Today I received an email from someone I do not know and was not a regular reader of the site. Like all the emails I receive, I answer it the best I can. However, sometimes I do make mistakes (which is painfully obvious if you follow the site regularly). In this particular situation, things went sideways quickly . . .
The emailer has a low mileage, 100% stock jeep that he is excited to sell. He told me it was so nice that he would “defy anyone” to find a better example of it. Challenge accepted!!
He then asked for my opinion on it and about listing it on eWillys, so I downloaded the pics he sent into my CJ-5 folder to review them. **Spoiler Alert** It is important for our story to know that there are a couple thousand photos in that one folder.
I looked through the pictures he sent, noting there were five interior photos that showed the dash and engine in excellent shape. The interior was green (forest green perhaps), clean, and appeared brand new. However, when I dropped to the last two photos it showed a jeep with a rough orange exterior and a shoddy soft top. I thought it strange that the inside was so nice and clean, but the oustide was poor. However, I was in a hurry, as I was trying to make dinner and finish rewrites on a book chapter so I could head to a party with my wife.
Therefore, I responded to the seller with an email that noted I thought the interior nice, but the exterior poor and not 100%. I said it looked like the exterior had been repainted and the top was unoriginal. It was hardly a brutal assessment of his jeep by any means. He thought otherwise . . .
Almost immediately after sending the email my jeepsense (kind of like spiderman’s spideysense??) told me revisit the photos. I just knew something wasn’t right. That’s when I realized the orange exterior shots belonged to a different jeep. Oops, my bad!! So, I fired off a second email within minutes of the first offering my apologies for my mistake and informing the seller that I thought the outside was as good as the inside.
Well, the seller was not pleased by the short review in my first email. You’d think I’d questioned his manhood or thanked his mother for last night. Rather than address my incorrect comments about the jeep’s exterior (about which I was clearly wrong) or wonder if I’d looked at the wrong photos, he attacked me.
He began by questioning my knowledge, calling me an “amateur.” Okay, so this is almost true. I’m not sure I make enough money to be called a professional, thus I am an amateur by its very definition. But, he didn’t stop there.
He also told me he doesn’t need amatuers—there’s the word again … how did he know— like me “spreading misinformation on truly classic vehicles.” He added that I reminded him “of the idiot at the title agency who said the odometer wasn’t correct.” Did he just compare me with someone from the DMV? (I must come clean that Ann did work for the DMV for a short time, so I know they aren’t all ‘idiots)
Finally, he offered me some advice, telling me to “get an education before making false statements.” Well, I would have him know that I bought a fine education from the University of Utah, but that has never helped me identify a jeep!!
By the end of his email I was sure his keyboard’s keys were melting from the heat of his prose. If I was his dog, I’m sure he would have kicked me. Perhaps he was confusing me with his dog?
Unfortunately for him, it seems he never got around to looking at my second email (and probably not the third one I sent following his response). Had he bothered to tone down the verbal abuse, he might have seen me apologize for a simple error. Perhaps his fury made it impossible for him to read. Who knows?
So, I publish this as a reminder to all readers. Sometimes I make mistakes and I greatly appreciate those willing to tell me that. Email can be a tricky communication tool, especially when I’m working on a book deadline!!! So, if I say something that seems untrue, completely wacky, senseless, or without forethought, just send me a thoughtful message.
On the bright side, I believe that’s the nastiest email I’ve received all year. And, each year, there always seems to be someone pissed off at me for something. I guess it comes with job. Hopefully, nothing else tops it during the next two days!!!
So, to sooth the gentleman’s sensitive feelings, I’ve added this card:
Not even a teaser photo, huh?
Wow! That’s unfortunate that you were verbally attached. We all make mistakes. Heck, I was texting a customer at same time as my wife and ended up telling the customer that I loved him. Lol. He was very nice about it. Actually made his day. At least that’s all I said. Most of us appreciate everything you do on ewillys and enjoy it.
Seriously… pics, or it didnt happen, lol. 😉
Shame it went sideways so quickly, no good deed goes unpunished. Ya still gonna cash his check?
i guess as many junk yard dogs as ewillys digs up your bound to run into a few
live ones. he must have had a bad day or been at the end of a miserable life. you won’t get any more like this one ever.
we all do appreciate what you do and hope you keep doing it.
bob in PA
1 mistake, one terrible email. As much as you do for us Jeep loving folks! Please don’t give up what you are doing. Rob
Dave….. Ewillys is still a class act and your sense of humor is awesome, don’t sweat the small stuff!!!! You still have all your other loyal readers who share a common bond in our love of Jeeps. Do you have any idea of how large that number might be? Anyway, WE all appreciate what you do!!!! Keep up the good work!!!!
Post a picture so we know who to avoid dealing with.
Isn’t it priceless that someone elicits your help in selling their vehicle on your site, then calls you every name in the book when you don’t agree with them on value? I used to run a site for an out of production manufacturer whose cars I had 4 of (that’s 0.5% of their total production run). I’d constantly get requests for assistance in repairing the cars, finding parts, and obtaining manuals. When I put together a really good (IMO) section on “What are they worth?” using auction results instead of listing prices, I was soundly condemned by a member who I had EXTENSIVELY helped get his car back on the road. How dare I presume to tell people what the values of the cars were?! Isn’t it a decision between buyer and seller? etc… His email bothered me for a couple of days, and I finally sent him a response that I thought was the result of careful deliberation. I added, to the bottom of the multi-page discussion on the prices of the cars on the website, that the above information did not apply to (insert users real name here). I expected a severe backlash, but didn’t get it. It seems that who controls the media, controls the message!
Dave,
Awesome story! I very good reminder for anyone with a “hot head” (me included) to ensure that they have all the correct facts before reacting. Sage advice for daily life.
Don’t worry about this guy. Your loyal readers know who you are and what you mean to the world of jeeps. So, I’d like to give you some old Marine Corps advice. In a case like this we used to say, “Don’t sweat the petty things. Pet the sweaty things!”
I wondered what was wrong about someone who is “excited to sell” a 100% original nice Jeep. I would be “reluctant to sell”. A couple thousand photos?? How much spare time do you have Dave? Did they include wedding and vacation pictures too? And the birth of the first batch of kittens?
Oh Dave, he probably didn’t get held enough when he was young. Or maybe he was denied the teat too early. Or just maybe he couldn’t find ant more of those chex mix muddy buddies made with oreo’s! I got pretty upset myself when the local walmart ran out of those…hard to say. Wait a minute, MN Chris, that was me that you said you loved! Say goodbye to that twin stick and I’m telling mom! (love you too and bring my trailer back, I found another jeep!)
Dave, as you know, i’m running a website for a year and a half now and i got about 4357 comments on it so far….which 4223 was coming from spammers! I’m loosing my precious time reading those “unreal” comments. I try to answer to all those real comments the best i can. I can guess how much time you are taking for your very popular website. Keep doing our things as usual and let those negative energy out of your life.
Don’t loose any sleep over it Dave.
Keith: I slept pretty good last night 🙂
Pascal: I get about 1.2 million spam comments this year. Fortunately, the wordpress catches 99.9% of them using the akismet plug-in.
Todd: Chex mix muddy buddies made with oreos? I’m afraid to ask.
Blaine: That’s only one folder (contains only CJ-5 pics) — 2985 photos. My eWillys folder containing most of my jeep folders has 130,000 jeep images. Thus, organization and naming files is key.
Cody: I’ve been using email for 22 years. It took a while, but I eventually learned patience and understanding is important with emails.
Craig: I agree with the philosophy of taking time before responding to difficult emails. Or, I write something them let it set for a day before re-evaluating it.
All: I forgot to mention that the seller demanded that I not publish any photos (a demand in caps no less than three times). So, I won’t publish any photos, at least not until I see it on eBay. Then, it’s public information (and fair game). However, I will say that if you see a beautiful CJ-5 with under 5000 miles for sale, that might be the one . . .
Thanks as always. It’s a good exercise for me to turn something unpleasant into a humorous event. There’s a guy named Robert Kirby in Salt Lake who makes a living doing that for the Salt Lake Tribune. I wouldn’t mine doing that myself, but the problem is that most of the time I’m just not that funny!!
Polar bears don’t have red ears! If you knew anything about polar bears you’d know that. Amateur! 🙂
Remember Dave….10% of us are nuts.
So, if 99% of us love your site you’re doing pretty darn good.
Dave, I assume you are smart enough to know that you have a very loyal following that love what you do and know it is a selfless endeavor. That being said, it is probably nice to hear that occasionally. Dave, we love what you do and will break the knees of anyone we find who hurts your feelings. There.
Im going to give that guy the benefit of the doubt and assume he had a bad day. No reasonable person would act in such a manner. Dont give it another thought. What’s his address…
Lew
Dang, if I had a dollar for every mistake I’ve made.
Keep on truckin’ Dave!
Dave all the comments above mine are letting you know that you are doing a great job and we love what you are doing for us Jeep nuts. Keep up the good work!
Dave, I think the seller badly erred by including photos of another (orange) jeep amongst the photos of the one he was trying to sell.
I side with you on this one, he should have known not to do this.
Steve, the seller didn’t include those files. I already had them on my computer. But, his files were named close enough to two of my files (of the orange jeep) that I mistook them for two he sent.
I’m sensing that if he was that quick to react negatively, you’re not the first person to tell him his Jeep isn’t as rare and unique as he thinks it is.
Maybe it is… but in 40 years of searching for the holy grail of Jeeps, I’ve only seen a half dozen with less than 10K on the clock. Usually the speedo cable is broken, or it has a replacement speedometer.
I’d be happy to be proven wrong, happier if it was a rare model instead of a CJ5.
Dave, I have not had a chance to read your book yet, but I’ve got to say that your Untie story made for some enjoyable reading. Don’t really care about the guy or his Jeep, just real grateful for the tireless effort and the service that you provide for all of us Willys fans. Happy New Year. Paul from Indiana
Hey Dave, sometime when you’re really bored stop by for a visit. We’ll go out to the garage and I’ll point out all of the many mistakes I’ve made on my long time Willys rebuild. There’s lots of them but as Crazy Ralphie says, “The only person who never made a mistake is a person who never did anything.”
Thanks for providing daily updates to ewillys fans across the universe.
Happy New Year Dave,
Don’t let the nasty people drag you down. You and your site are awesome!!!
Rich
Dave thanks for all that you do. My dad used to tell me ” don’t let the bastards wear you down”. Chris and Todd your comments had me in tears laughing. Have a good New Years.
Guess it was too late for him to wish you a Merry Christmas?
Dave, we all make mistakes & it’ll all be forgotten by tomorrow.
Welcome to real world!!!! lol Have a good day! Funny’s thing I’ve read all day. Excluding the coming election.
It takes a REAL man to openly admit he has made a mistake. Thank you for that. I look forward to ewillys everyday. I enjoy going through the new postings and trying to learn about these cool little machines that have made such a difference to the US/world. Thank you for taking one for the team!
Dave, I have read your site daily for years now, you’re doing a great job! Keep up the good work.
He Dave, is this the one; http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/5366067561.html
Try this again:
http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/5366067611.html
Bingo!
You can’t quite see it in the pics, but the passenger side hood latch has a surprising amount of wear. In addition, not only is the radiator un original, it looks mounted too close to the front of the grille. I am surprised at the light rust on the frame rails and front crossmember given this should have spent most of its life inside. It seems a stark contrast to the perfect looking paint.
– Dave
SE Pennsylvania Steve and I share the same mistake. We both thought the guy had sent Dave the thousands of photos of the nice Jeep (and the orange one).
nice looking jeep. i am looking for another jeep and would have considered it. but not interested in buying anything from an asshole.
From the description in CL this dude sounds like a tool. I bet its not going to be cheap either if hes looking to buy a Hell Cat. I’d say you had better be setting down when you find out how much Mr. Tool wants for his $8000 Jeep.
Wow Dave ,I missed this one when it was posted .I guess it takes all kinds. I would have emailed him a hurt feelings report ,you know the ones that have lines like “in the line above with blue crayon can you describe and draw a picture of the Bully that hurt your feelings” Keep up the awesome work ,we all appreciate you and your hard work on Ewillys !!!! Happy New Years !!!!
It just showed up on sellajeep…over $30k!