Friends,
Over the years, it seems like when ever I or others make a make a post
like this that simply asks for a referral, (in this case, about finding
someone to repair my tonneau.), a barrage of replies seem to fly in that
suggest, in essence, "Hey, just look in the yellow pages!"
I believe in networking. I believe in passing work along to craftsmen
that have demonstrated their abilities in the specific task at hand.
Better yet, I like to pass work along to people that cater to the hobby.
I believe in being patient and seeking out the best people for any
specific task. Ultimately, I like to reward craftsmen for their good
work and fair pricing by giving them my business and passing along the news.
Of course, being in Southern California, I'm basically in one of the
custom car centers of the world, not far from a major garment industry,
and a short drive from the Pacific Ocean where plenty of nautical
cover/sail/etc. companies can be found. However, my post wasn't
looking for suggestions on how to find a place to repair a zipper. It
was to find a referral. Obviously it would be great to get a referral
that is local, but if a glowing report came from another part of the
country, I would gladly save the gasoline/drive time and expend the
costs to ship the cover.
Unfortunately, well intentioned replies have a way of making one feel as
though people are thinking that the originator of the thread, in this
case me, is just too lazy to pick up a yellow pages or too dumb to
figure out where to find such a service. I know better, but the rub is
there and I fear that some may actually be thinking just that of my request.
Over the years, it just seems like I've seen this trend. People ask for
a specific referral for a service, and they get replies like "Just take
it to any machine shop.", "Don't bother to send it to a rebuilder, just
buy a new one.", etc.
If someone asks for a referral, may I suggest that we might all embrace
"networking" and provide leads to individuals that deserve our
business. And I think good leads should be cc'd to all as they will
become part of the autox-searchable library. Word of mouth is a very
powerful resource.
---Justin Wagner
P.S. Despite how this may have sounded, I did appreciate all replies,
public and private, and know they were all well intentioned and, in
fact, good suggestions, with or without actual referrals. I plan to
have the tonneau repaired this spring, so that I may use it this
summer. If I have a good experience, I will certainly pass on the news.
Have you ever heard of networking? Have you ever heard of passing work
along to people that deserve it?
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