At the risk of another letter from Sheldon Barthlama and his lawyer, I feel I must respond to his rebuttal of 1/18/08. Sheldon Barthlama has chosen to misrepresent the facts and has not followed his own counsel in regards to me.
I was not aware that Rick Barthlama was not the Rick that I dealt with at Stan's Auto Service. At the time, Rick Barthlama was listed on the NAPA website as a co-owner with Sheldon Barthlama and Stanton Southward. Sheldon never pointed that out in his letter from October '07, nor did his lawyer choose to point out that error in his letter of December '07. It was an honest mistake, and I would not have made it had Sheldon pointed that out to me in October as he did that Stanton Southward no longer owned Stan's Auto Service.
I was also not aware that Diane Barthlama was not the bookkeeper that I spoke with in September '07. Again, an honest mistake that Sheldon or his lawyer could have pointed out earlier. The name emblazoned on the desk was that of Diane Barthlama and I had no reason to believe otherwise. So, I apologise to both Rick Barthlama and Diane Barthlama for including them in the disagreement and notices regarding Sheldon's business. I was not aware that they were not involved.
Sheldon Barthlama accuses me of being a liar. I take great offense at that as I have never knowingly misrepresented the facts or my own beliefs in this matter. I realise that I have no witnesses of my own so I can only say that we disagree on the actual events, and it amounts to my word vs. That of Sheldon Barthlama and his employees.
While accusing me of being a liar, Sheldon Barthlama then puts words into my own mouth and chooses not to get the facts straight. I never once stated a belief in price-fixing. I did question the quality of service and the need to charge over 60% above NAPA's walk-in price when Sheldon charges $85/hr, approx. $10 to $20 more per hour than other shops in Loveland. I think it only reasonable that an auto repair facility not charge more than a customer will pay for the exact same parts from a parts retailer. It is also reasonable to assume that since a shop is prominently displaying the NAPA logo that only NAPA parts will be used in the repair. I was not aware until after e-mailing NAPA AutoCare that NAPA AutoCare Centers were not required to use only NAPA parts.
Sheldon is in the auto REPAIR business, not parts re-sale. The practice of charging more than walk-in price is especially despicable when a shop does receive a discount. A generous one in deed being a NAPA AutoCare Center. After speaking with a NAPA AutoCare Center in Longmont, they readily agreed that 80% to 100% over shop cost was typical of themselves and other NAPA AutoCare Centers in Colorado. Mark Gittelman, an ASE Certified Master Technician of over 20 years, points out on his website, http://www.Auto-Facts.org, that anything over 40% of the shop's cost is dishonest, and no shop should ever charge more for parts than the customer can get at a parts retailer.
I also never said a business should not show a profit. That is absurd, but I do believe in being forthright and honest. It is obvious that auto repair can be a very lucrative business in Northern Colorado as there are many shops in Loveland of various varieties. When many automotive technicians make $20/hr, it does seem a bit excessive to charge both a high mark-up on parts and labour. The argument given to me and NAPA AutoCare is that they must charge extra for parts to warrant the labour of installing the parts. I find this insulting. Sheldon and NAPA AutoCare is assuming that the technicians will make a mistake in installing the part so it is necessary to cover that eventuality up front.
The cost of the parts includes part warranty. Why should I have to pay twice? Sheldon and NAPA AutoCare insult my intelligence as a consumer and the hard-working technicians that work for them. It is important to note that Stan's Auto Repair may not be a good place to work. I recently found a posting on a recruiter's website stating that Stan's is looking for technicians and is even willing to pay moving expenses. With many nearby technical schools, a good shop that has been around for over 20 years should have many qualified applicants and not have to pay a headhunter to find people to work for them, but that is just my observation. I could be wrong.
Sheldon Barthlama states that Stan's Auto Service has been in business for over 20 years. I do not know how his older brother, Stanton, ran the business in the past. What I do know is how I was treated, and I was not treated well. I do believe that I was cheated by Sheldon. Many others agree.
While I am not aware of the day-to-day operations of Sheldon Barthlama's towing business, I think it is reasonable to say that having many shiny new International tow trucks is a benefit to Sheldon's bottom line otherwise the money for new equipment would not have been invested or even that portion of the business continued. It has been my observation that more often than not the local law enforcement choose Stan's Auto Service wreckers for their needs; possibly due to Stan's Auto Service's impound lot. It has been my own understanding after being in emergency services for 8 years that towing and impound is an especially lucrative business. Folks that happen to break down near Loveland also are unlikely to know whom they can trust to repair their vehicle, esp. If a tow truck is arranged for them by a helpful police officer.
Sheldon claims that he did not realise until 1/18/08 that I had recently acquired my '89 Wagoneer. My Jeep was displaying CO temporary tags. Tags that are only good for 60 days and prominently display when permanent tages are due. 10/20/07 in my case.
I do not understand why a simple review of Justine's Pizza on CitySearch is relevant to the discussion in whether or not Sheldon Barthlama ripped me off in September '07. However, I think it not unreasonable to post such a comment especially when it is true. I guess I am just too concerned about other consumers. I have no doubts that Justine's Pizza is good, but they are only open from 4 to 9 PM. A restaurant open for only 35 hours a week borders on being more of a hobby than a business.
I also don't know why Sheldon felt it necessary to comment on my automatic e-mail signature opposing the IRS and Federal Reserve System. Since he brought it up, though, I will encourage folks to watch Aaron Russo's documentary, America: Freedom to Fascism, free on-line at http://video. Google.com/videoplay? Docid=-1656880303867390173. More information is also available at http://www.FreedomToFascism.com.
For over 130 years, these united States of America had no IRS or Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve came into being in 1913. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were adamantly opposed to a fiat currency and an income tax. After watching the documentary, America: Freedom to Fascism, I encourage folks to also actually read our uS Constitution and maybe even the Federalist Papers and the anti-Federalist Papers. I think y'all may be surprised.
Since Sheldon brought the subject up, and asked about my "plan" to run the government, I thought it only the right thing to point people in a direction that they can learn more. What does the Federal Reserve and the IRS have to do with a dispute on auto repair prices? You would have to ask Sheldon Barthlama.
0 comments