August 2013 The Paint Spot Newsletter

The Paint Spot Newsletter (August 2013) For starters...............................IT'S HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, welcome to another "scorcher" here in the beautiful "Republic of Texas", I almost miss California............NOT! Speaking of California, my daughter will be leaving Texas for San Diego State University August 21st. I will miss her dearly while she is away, but with any luck, she'll come back home to Texas, and she won't be a "Democrat"! As a last "daddy daughter" excursion, and a graduation present, I'm taking her to Costa Rica for a week. We're leaving August 6th, and returning August 15th. My staff will fill in for me while I'm gone, and don't worry, you can always get me on my cell phone........wait a minute...........I DON'T HAVE ONE !!!!!!!!!!!!! Now, speaking of "Morons" (I mean Democrats), last months newsletter caused some shit with regard to my little "newsletter". It seems that I inadvertently pissed off 6 subscribers, and they asked to be "nixed" from the mailing list. There is a "common denominator" though.............they were all female! We did honor their request, and the only thing I feel bad about, is that now they won't be able to read this.................listen you idiots, I'm not married, and I wasn't "cheating" on anyone. I also don't believe I was "exploiting" anyone! I am a single man, and I can date anyone I want to. I was also quite clear (I think) about me feeling the need to "verify" a few things. Since I'm not "queer", I think the "female" idea was a good one! Also, it's a well known fact that if you want a liberal perspective on things, an actor is about the most stupid and ignorant liberal you can get! I thought it was brilliant! The other side of the coin was 13 new subscribers! Now that just sounds like good odds to me. Update: The deal with CVS has been finalized! I signed the last of the papers July 18 2013. I find it absolutely amazing how these corporate "Bozos" can take almost one year to the day to get their act together, and when I signed that last paper, they gave me ten days to "vacate the property"! I'm telling ya'll right now, moving a business and never missing an order or letting any of you even think for a moment that we were "frantic", is monumental! We're relocating The Paint Spot to the 292 Canyon Bend address (right next door to Slix) short term, while I pick out the right piece of property and build our "new" (and final) home. All billing and deliveries will go to that address. Some of you might remember The Paint Spot being there a few years ago, but realize this, we were half the size back then! I had to excavate 8 foot of solid rock out of a space 45' x 65' to make way for a slab and building addition to accommodate the larger Paint Spot. Since I had no idea when (if ever) this deal would get done, I only had the "10 days" they allowed me to vacate. It's totally impossible to pull that off, so we managed to rent three storage units, and cram the essentials into the 292 location! Short term it's going to be tough on us all, but we are a "team" in the truest sense of the word, and will "do whatever it takes" to make sure our customers don't feel the pain. Other news: One of our customers sprays "headache" racks for a distributor in Marble Falls Texas, and apparently he's not the only shop that does. Recently a hail storm went through the area and tore up a bunch of the racks that had already been installed on trucks and sitting on a dealers lot. Our customer was told of the damage and then asked "what kind of clear do you use"? He naturally asked ..."why"? The guy that builds the racks said, "because none of the racks that your company painted had any damage what so ever, and the others guys were destroyed"! He then replied, "Matrix" (specifically, MS-52) then stated he used to use DuPont like the other guy, and because he was sick and tired of getting ripped off, he went to Matrix and The Paint Spot! Congratulations "K.O. Collision", and we'll see you in a couple of weeks for a brand new Matrix mixing system. To all you Matrix guys, does that not bring meaning to your old saying......."Put it to the test"? :) Since I'm on a Matrix roll.....................You (Matrix Systems Automotive Finishes) have in your employ some of the finest and most talented people I've ever interacted with. I'm not trying to "patronize" anything or anyone, but simply stating a fact. I could name lots of names right now (you all know who you are), but don't want to for this reason: It would take away from one "Jennifer Mastro" whom many times has single handedly helped The Paint Spot (and Rick Ciotti) get our asses out of a crack! Because of my incestuous "whatever it takes" type 'A' personality, I've had to rely on that girl for some of the weirdest and extreme requests. Jennifer, how many hats do you wear? Because no one could ever have a written job description that extensive, I can only conclude this: "You" are always willing to "Do Whatever It Takes" for your employer, and it shows itself to your customers. Mr. Brunori, you are a blessed man to have such a "proactive", "loyal", and "dedicated" employee! Jennifer has NEVER let me down or left me hanging. Yes Jennifer, even the MS- 25 thing, that you felt devastated about (I could hear it in your voice), never made me feel like I had been let down. It is employees like you that breed the loyalty into jobbers like me, and I damn well appreciate it. I hope this doesn't cause you any embarrassment Jennifer, but we don't often take the time to thank others for being "over and above" and going "beyond the call of duty", I see it, and this is my way of saying it, I apologize that it's so long over due...........a thousand thanks to you! MS-78: We definitely have a winner! MS-78 has instantly moved up to our number one in sales. Not to take anything away from the MS- 42 or MS- 52, but the majority of work being done out there is collision. Since collision work dominates our industry, it only makes sense to get the most bang for your buck...........MS-78 has ZERO competition! I defy anyone to show me a warranteed, medium solids clear that even comes close in both price and quality! MP-200: Outstanding! The Paint Spot is selling the hell out of this product. This comes as no real surprise to me, as I was the worlds greatest fan of its predecessor "MP-1000". I saw the advantages in the whole concept of having so much versatility in one product, and it's too bad everyone didn't see that earlier. To all Matrix sales staff: If you're not selling lots of the MP-200.........you're not doing your job! My advise is to get with it, and do so with no whining. My eyes and ears will be on you, and I won't let what happened to MP-1000 happen with this product! Matrix vs. ANYONE else: I want to talk about something that literally baffles me. Why is it that so many jobbers have competing paint lines? Before anyone calls me a hypocrite, I know we have North Star, Gen2o, and CPS, and here's why. North Star is "hands down" the finest fleet paint available! It offers both price and quality, and the company "Lusid Technologies" offers excellent service....."Three for three". Matrix doesn't offer an extensive fleet line. Gen2o, is our waterborne, and back when I tested several waterborne paints, Gen2o was the only one that I actually was able to consistently use with "real" water! I was not impressed with Matrix waterborne. I am, however, impressed with Matrix "LV" (a solvent alternative to waterborne that totally "makes sense"). CPS, is our industrial line, and it also offers "price and quality". Service from CPS is also top shelf. Matrix didn't have an industrial line at the time I signed with CPS. Now that I got that out of the way, let's talk about the real situation.

A complete Matrix system offers a wide range of options. When I say "wide" I mean this..........YOU WOULD HAVE TO HAVE SEVERAL OTHER PAINT LINES AND A HOUSE OF KOLOR DISTRIBUTORSHIP TO EQUAL IT !!!!!!!!!! The reason I put all that sentence in caps, is because apparently NO BODY UNDERSTANDS THAT! "Caps" also implies that I'm yelling......I AM !!!!!!!!!!!! This mailing list includes Matrix employees, customers, friends, associates and......JOBBERS and WD'S (warehouse distributors). The jobbers and wd's are the ones that need to hear me loud and clear. These are the ones whom I see more often than not stocking their shelves with competing paint lines, and that sounds really STUPID from my perspective! In my quest to try and understand why you do this, I have to conclude that.......You are not aware of the options that ONLY MATRIX GIVES YOU! Matrix sales staff..........Make sure to educate WD's and JOBBERS on ALL that can be done with your products. "Redundancy" implies "inefficiency", and with respect to Matrix, it also implies "disrespect" and "non loyalty". If you are doing this because you don't understand, then ASK! I took it upon myself to learn as much as I could about Matrix when I signed on as a jobber, and thought that was what any thinking, rational, business man who wanted a great product and produce a good profit should do. When you make the decision to put other paint lines in your store a few things happen. Number one: You're spending what could have been profit bringing it in. Number two; You are forgetting who was there in the beginning helping you get started (loyalty). Number three; The statement you make to your customers is, that Matrix has limitations or that it is inferior to the new line (absurd and mixed signals). Number four: The new line offers savings that can't be achieved with Matrix (MPB, MSB, RPB, RSB, MPX, UC, MIP, MIS, MCU, MAU, ETC............SERIOUSLY?) All this adds up to "bad blood" and "resentment" between you (the jobber) and the "big guns" behind you that have your back (Matrix). Again, I have to ask...........WHY? Lee Iacocca used to say "look at the situation from ten thousand feet", well if you did, you would see clearly what you are doing. Another simple observation; how would you feel if the shoe was on the other foot, and they did that to you? I brought this up because I have "counter parts" that distribute the same paint lines as I do. One of them has a thriving operation (actually three locations) in another territory close to mine. I have absolutely NO ill feelings or bad intentions towards this colleague. I will go a step farther by saying I recognize their strengths and how it differs from The Paint Spot. They do a much larger volume than we do, and they do it quite well. Their walk in business is probably 10 times what ours is. With that said, our strength is in the "technical" and "custom" areas (for now anyway). I am blessed with being able to figure out what is wrong, why it's wrong, and make it right ( thanks to the likes of people like Brian Lynch). I think that I'm being misunderstood however. This jobber feels that I am "stealing" their business and selling in their territory. Here's a fact: I have gone out of my territory and in to theirs at the request of the shop owner and restored Matrix. One shop had actually gone to Sherwin Williams because they weren't being adequately served by my colleague. The others have had similar reasons for calling me in. In every instance, it has been due to their lack of what Matrix was capable of, and lack of technical experience. To you, my counter part, I offer this: I will at no charge to you, be glad to work with you in "fixing" this problem. I am even willing to sign documentation stating that I will not attempt to sell them one single thing related to Matrix. We are both part of the "Matrix family" and as such we need to help each other. I fully realize what I have just stated and I mean every word of it, so if (by chance) you've taken on competing lines in an effort to compete in my area without reprise from Matrix, know this: STOP RIGHT NOW. There is nothing better than Matrix, and I can prove it, so take me up on it and save money, earn more profit, and above all, be loyal to who made you what you are today............ I just offered to help you FOR FREE ....."Put me to the test"! Story: A good customer of ours "Craig Wood" told a friend of his (maybe not after this) about our company, and how we were not only closer than the one he had used, but that we new what we were doing. This "person" decided to come in and "pick my brain", then purchased some materials. I did what I do........asked what he was doing and the results he was expecting. I then gave him his options, which he appeared to appreciate. At the time, we were in the process of moving and actually had production and administration in two separate locations. I apologized for the inconvenience and told him "I'll fill the order here and you'll have to pay for it down the street". I called "Tracey" (our office manager) and told her what the customer was receiving, then told him "we're using some old fashioned technique here, it's called the honor system". He laughed and agreed saying "you don't see that much anymore". Between the phone call and the time he left, he decided to add to his order a quart of POR 15 and a quart of Prep & Ready. I told him "no problem, just tell Tracey and she'll add that to the bill". I intended to call right after he left just to make sure he did that, but got side tracked on another order. Two hours later, I talked to Tracey and asked if he paid the bill and what all was on it. She said there was nothing other than what I had told her.....prior to the POR 15. I thought one of two things just happened; either he forgot, or he intentionally stole from us. Giving him the benefit of the doubt ("the tie goes to the runner") I assumed he forgot. I asked her to call him and remind him of the over sight, and she said "I didn't get his phone number", then added "but he said Craig Wood referred him". She called Craig, who ponied up his number without question. Trace = 1 \* Arabic 1 y called this guy, and the first thing he said was "how did you get my number". He then proceeded to talk a whole bunch of shit about me and this company..........he was caught, and he didn't like it! He made a complete ass out of himself over the phone and swore he would never do business with us again, and how unprofessional we were, and "The Paint Spot just lost a good customer". I could be wrong, but I don't consider a "thief" a good anything!

This idiot came into my shop and tried to steal from me. He got caught, but instead of feeling like the low life piece of shit he is, he tried to justify his thieven actions with threats. Well, here's to you, you son of a bitch. Thanks to someone who IS a good and ethical customer, you not only got caught and was forced to pay for the stolen merchandise with your credit card, but you got exposed for the low life that you are. Craig pretty much knows your caliber now, so he can determine whether or not to call you a "friend". Furthermore, there's people from one end of this country to the other who will know about you, so congratulations you opportunistic, probably "Democrat" scum sucker. By the way, you better have meant one thing.........you better never darken the door step of The Paint Spot as long as your sorry ass should live! Wow, I think I need a beer after that............but let's get to the last item. SIA Abrasives: We have done extremely well with this line of abrasives, and continue to grow daily. We have done so well in fact, that we've become a bit of a model for how they want to distribute their products. I was informed moments ago, that they are looking for distributors in specific areas (not in south Texas, that belongs to us). I was asked personally to see if any of the people that I have ties to would be interested. So, to Lusid Technologies and Matrix specifically, along with you others, do you have any of your contacts in the DFW, Houston, Oklahoma, New Mexico, or Louisiana areas that would like to distribute an outstanding abrasives line with an excellent profit margin? If so, contact me at The Paint Spot or call "Josh Harris" (SIA) @ (214) 587-8737 . More about Abrasives: Recently I was informed of a "loading" problem with 320 grit sand paper. This customer was final dry blocking with the intention of repriming and then wet sanding with 600. I asked him why he was using 320 and he said "because that's what we always use and I don't want scratches too deep left that the 600 won't take out". I explained that SIA 320 was probably rated differently than what he was used to, and that I would give him a roll of 220 to try...FREE. (For an illustration on grits and measuring standards consult my newsletter on the subject last year www.thepaintspot.biz they're subtitled) Here's my point: That last coat of primer doesn't know the difference between a 150 scratch and a 400 scratch, it will cover them all the same! The only difference is how much you want to work, and how much primer you want to waste! It then occurred to me, that most of us don't know about all the choices in between the ones we've been taught to use. Example: Between 150 and 320, there are...180, 220, 240, and 280. Any one of which, will decrease your labor and increase your primer efficiency. The customer thanked me for my involvement and willingness to address his concerns on "my dime", and has learned a little bit in the process. Thank you Danny @ "Danny's Hot Rods" in New Braunfels Texas for being you and for giving me an opportunity to save you time and money......it was my pleasure! A special thanks to:Brian Davis for not only being my friend, but for caring so much about the guy who signs his pay check.........the world could use some more employees like you........just don't let it go to your head! :) "Whatever It Takes" Rick Ciotti