This Takes the Cake

[kevinT]

This dude's tirade cracks me up. I came back from vacation and found this in my email box. The email is bogus and probably the guy's name.

I do want to mention that I take great pride in being a pompous ass at times . However, what hurts my feelings the most is that he tells me that if I stop talking and providing my opinion in forums that he will buy pickups from me. Well I guess he'll never buy from me then...

In addition, I haven't even been on the forums much lately but I guess he read an old post and got mad when I said that little old peasant chinese ladies from Hunan Province make GFS pickups.

And then he's not man enough to leave a working email address . Come on.

Anyway here it is for your amusement.


First Name: Jim
Last Name: Johnson
Email Address: Jjohnson@comcast.com
Comments: Ive read comments from you on forums, regarding GFS, Duncan and other pickups.
Ive even gotten a reply back from you from an ebay question.
Dude....IMO, yould sell more pickups if you didnt come across as a pompous ass. You may be good at what you do...but dont doubt anyone else's intelligence or talent. I custom make guitar straps, necks and other parts and have a rep that is hard to fault, according to my clientel.
Just a bit of advice, which you can tell me to shove...if you tone it down. Id buy from you...but not the way you come across currently..

[kevinT]

Id buy from you...but not the way you come across currently..

ok...I'm going to pretend to be Spence.

[David King]

Please don't post my email address like that. So cruel!

[jonson]

Well that's kind of him to let you tell him where to shove it and even kinder that he leaves all openings vacant.
Piece of advice Kevin "Dont pretend to be Spence." Those sheep carry all sorts of diseases, which is why "he is like he is".
PS. No UK jonsons were involved in this tirade.

[Spence]

Baa humbug!

Who are these people? It does seem crazy that you're expected to answer questions on such topics so long as you don't say anything that might offend.
You're either going to have to go through a check list before expressing your opinion or just stand back and watch them burn up in a blaze of acid reflux.

[kevinT]

I was told by a well known pickup maker a while back that once you start experiencing a little success and people see that you are, all the wackos start crawling out of the woodwork. I think this is one of those cases.

If this guy (or boy) really believes that I am going to stop being me...for the sake of his patronage, he's rudely mistaken.

It appears that this fella just doesn't like people that express their ideas and viewpoints. If you can't stand the heat, get the f*** out of the kitchen....

....oppps I'm I being pompous?

[Possum]

...

You know, the best way to handle comments like those in emails or on a forum, is be polite and civil and don't sling dirt, or you'll get triple thrown back at you, and then you leave your angry tracks for years for Google to find. Guy was just probably having a bad day and something you wrote hit him the wrong way, happens to all of us. I learned the hard way that if someone is trying to tear you down, you make light of it, be polite and sometimes they end up being a friend in the end. If not just walk away, if you let someone get to you, you are just giving away your power by letting it bother you.... My two cents.......

[Mark Hammer]

You know, the best way to handle comments like those in emails or on a forum, is be polite and civil and don't sling dirt, or you'll get triple thrown back at you, and then you leave your angry tracks for years for Google to find. Guy was just probably having a bad day and something you wrote hit him the wrong way, happens to all of us. I learned the hard way that if someone is trying to tear you down, you make light of it, be polite and sometimes they end up being a friend in the end. If not just walk away, if you let someone get to you, you are just giving away your power by letting it bother you.... My two cents.......

IMHO, those two pennies are shiny and worth keeping.

It is far too easy to forget that the sorts of interchange one can have with long-time colleagues in a forum may not be perceived the same way by folks who don't know you quite as well. They can't see the twinkle in your eye, can't see your hand gestures, can't hear the tone in your voice, so their inferences will be different.

[kevinT]

First of all, it doesn't bother me at all. I think it is a joke. Just hit me wrong because this is the first email like this that I've ever received. I thought about not posting this and I wouldn't have had he been a man and provided an email so that I could respond and ask him what specifically he is talking about.

I know, and folks on forums know, that I'm fair and honest and respect everyone's point of view..... and my customers will always be satisfied one way or another with a transaction from me.

But I think you're missing the point. I have strong opinions that is a fact. And if you want to call it pompous so be it. I don't mind being called names either....I've been called worse.

The point here is.. this joker is telling me (or mildly threatening me) to alter my behavior or he won't purchase pickups from me. It's basically a bribe. And with an attitude like his, he probably will never be a customer.

To tell me to shut up as well as forgo my First Amendment rights ....like I said is a Joke...and for him to believe that I am going to change just because he sends me a nastygram and then runs away like chicken s**t is a joke too.

Read his letter, if that isn't pompous I don't know what is. This person needs to get off of his high horse to think he has some kind of clout to make people do what he wants. NOT!!!

[Spence]

He's probably sitting at his computer, naked from the waste down with a giant box of kleenex, typing his next instalment as we speak.
You can't be everyone's friend Kevin and there will always be someone out there with some sort of motive to harm your reputation in some way.
It happened here with Ben some years ago with a guy calling himself Big Daddy.
Some nasty shit went on but eventually he buggered off with his tale between his legs.
I had some nasty shit from a guy on the My Les Paul Forum who turned out to work for a pickup maker from CA. The mods over there didn't delete any of it either. I'm talking about some pretty heavy personal abuse. But then people never think someone might turn up on their doorstep because they feel safe behind the computer screen.

[David Schwab]

I've had people tell me I'm opinionated after reading some of my posts at TalkBass. They still bought pickups though lol

Recently someone there started a thread asking "why do tone snobs and guitarist hate Ampeg SVTs" I'm not a tone snob, but I really dislike that amp, so I answered. Then people got all bent out of shape and told me my opinion on the amp was wrong! I guess they wanted people to come in and say "naw, everyone loves that big ol' lug" lol

I said they are fine if you don't want to hear what your bass sounds like.

But I do agree that you should watch what you say in a public forum if you are representing your self as a business. I can't recall Kevin ever being rude or nasty. Spence, yes, but we love you for that!

My new policy, enacted yesterday, is if I'm in a bad mood, stay the hell off the computer! I'll just end up calling someone a moron...

There's a guy who builds guitars... I can't remember the website, and he's always talking shit about everyone else's stuff. It's really juvenile and tasteless... but people still seem to buy his guitars.

[Dave Kerr]

You mean this guy?

[David Schwab]

You mean this guy?

Oh no... much worse!

This Zachary guitars

Look what he says about the The Klon Centaur

[edit]

More crap from this guy... he likes to title the pages with his guitars with names of real guitars probably so he gets hits in searches

Rickenbacker 480 Guitar

[kevinT]

Oh no... much worse!

This Zachary guitars

Now that is just plain funny. I really like the bit where you have to qualify in order to purchase one of his guitars.

[kevinT]

You mean this guy?

I heard that Mr. Roman has body guards around him when he attends the NAMM shows.