Newsletter November 2015

So, for the second time in the history of this newsletter, I have completely deleted the first version. Actually, the first time I did that it was not deleted. Instead, that particular issue was (and is) referred to as “The Lost Episode”, and it’s not exactly “lost”. The one and only copy of that issue is in a secure place and the only way its content will ever be read will be upon my death (and that’s at the discretion of the beneficiary / reader). This time, not for lack of subject matter or agenda, I found myself just not into it. I knew that I had a lot on my plate with meetings and even business that would take me out of state. For those reasons, it was imperative that I come in early and get this issue written……but it just wasn’t “flowing”. As it turns out, the reason was because I was not supposed to write this issue until I had finished a couple things. Now, for those of you who just can’t get into “faith” and the belief in a “higher being” A.K.A. GOD……..it totally sucks to be you! Here’s what happened…….

Part one: I just returned from visiting the SIA abrasives plant in Charlotte North Carolina. SIA is the abrasive line that many of you Paint Spot customers are familiar with, as we’ve been distributing their products for quite some time now. I attended a certification class with the purpose of not only being certified, but to become familiar with the entire line. We traditionally only distribute automotive refinishing abrasives, but there is a vast amount of other applications and industries that we should / could be selling to. Scott Hunter and Larry Hardin would be the instructors for the class, and before it ended I was going to know more than I ever dreamed possible about the abrasives industry! These two individuals were hands down the most knowledgeable people I have ever met in the business, and their commitment and passion was outwardly obvious. They not only opened my eyes to markets I had never given a thought to, but they had the ability to make me feel perfectly comfortable with approaching shops from other trades. I’m pretty comfortable in any type of body or paint shop, but then again, I’ve been doing that type of work for a lot of years. It’s totally different to walk into a cabinet shop, machine shop, or some major manufacturing facility making who knows what, and feel like I can address their needs. Furthermore, should I need assistance they totally agreed to be at my beckoned call! I was also quite fortunate to meet another distributor in the class named Chad Damon. He runs a store named LDS&S Specialty Wholesalers in Wisconsin. This guy is one smart cookie, and was an inspiration to where I’d like The Paint Spot to someday be. Chad, thank you for all the information, and don’t forget to check out Matrix Automotive Finishes, you’ll be glad you did! We later toured the plant, and that’s where I met the operations manager Todd Jackson. Todd didn’t know it, but I had some issues that I wanted to get straightened out concerning orders, back orders, wrong quantities, wrong items, and shipping. As we proceeded to take the tour, I laid out these concerns, and every time I did Todd took the time to address each and every one of them. Not only that, but he showed me how they occurred, where they occurred, why they occurred, and the changes that have been implemented to make sure they would never occur again! This guy really knew what he was doing, and when he told me that he started at the bottom, ran every piece of equipment, performed every task that was now being done by “his team” (that’s how he referred to his employees) I immediately had full respect for him thinking “wow he’s a lot like me”. I was then taken to the front end of the company where I met the customer service team Omar Johnston, Lacy Montgomery, and Tammy McCaskill. I have to admit, I was a bit suspicious of them. We have had problems that seemed like this is the likely spot at which they occurred. All I can say now is, if they did occur there then it could only have been the computer system they were using, because these guys were tight! I was especially impressed with Omar, as he wound up on the wrong end of me one day. In that phone conversation I was extremely pissed about getting conflicting information regarding the shipment of an order. I don’t normally get involved with those issues, as my office manager handles that. This particular time I had just got my ass chewed by a customer and asked Thalia (our office mgr.) to find out what’s up. I was not hearing what I wanted to hear, so I got on the phone and ripped into Omar big time! So when I met Omar in person and told him who I was, I made sure to apologize to him and let him know that not only was it not personal, but I had noticed that the problem got resolved. I could tell in his eyes that he was “in it to win it” and that he harbored no ill will. I then got to have a meeting with Doug Sperry, the sales manager. In that meeting I wanted to discuss issues that had come up through out our tenure, many of which seemed repetitive. Some months ago I had met with Doug here at The Paint Spot at which point I had given him a report chronicling these issues. Although there was a noticeable difference from that point until now, it also seemed like there was some finger pointing, so now I wanted accountability. Doug shared with me some of the changes they have made, along with upcoming changes they intend to make, and then he graciously let me speak. I told him in no uncertain terms that when a company has as many passionate and qualified employees as this company has, there can be only one place to put the blame on excessive mistakes……..the upper management! It is the blue collared worker that makes it all happen, and the white collared guy isn’t just supposed to be recognizable by the color of the shirt, they’re supposed to be recognized by the examples they set. I then asked, who’s in charge of marketing? No body knows who SIA is! To prove the point I informed him that from my perspective (the one that matters seen as how I’m the guy in the trenches) there is no reason SIA should not dominate the national market share for abrasives. After all, you’ve got the price, you’ve got the quality, and I’ve just spent a couple days with your technical department, so I know you’ve got the service, and as an added bonus, you’ve got versatility! Doug is not into excuses and the meeting concluded leaving me every reason to believe SIA is about to become a household name! From The Paint Spot to SIA: Thank you for your patience with me, and for giving me the opportunity to learn as well as share my concerns. You have a winning product line and deserve the number one position and recognition as well as market share. Believe this……people are fed up with the likes of 3M. You have what it takes, so go out and kick some ass! P.S. I wanna start seeing your logo in the trade journals!!!

Part Two: “It’s easier to fool someone, than to convince someone they’ve been fooled” Mark Twain While catching a connecting flight in Dallas I passed by a gift shop that had a copy of “Killing Reagan” on display out front. I initially passed by because I was in a hurry to get to my gate, but something compelled me to go back and buy it. I started reading it right away, finishing it on my way back from Charlotte. Well, all I can say is that book was an eye opener, and I recommend it to everyone. The life of Ronald Reagan is what attracted me to it, but its content provided me with clarity that I never thought I could get, would get, or even necessarily needed. I know that sounds a bit confusing, and where I’m going with this may not seem to fit, but if you stick with me I think (I hope) you’ll see the connection.

The book begins with Reagan in his earlier days before acting and leads you into Hollywood during the 1940′s when he first gets into the business. Reagan quickly began to get gigs that propelled him into some pretty big pictures. In achieving this status he was around all the big shots of the time. Now since I have read quite a bit about Ronald Reagan, as well as other actors of the day, I knew that communism was somewhat of a problem in Hollywood. I also knew that Reagan was a proud member of the Democratic party. What I didn’t know was how rampant communism really was amongst celebrities, and how tied to the Democratic party it was! They were literally courting communism as if it were a trendy Hollywood love affair. Had it not been for “William Holden”, Reagan himself was getting ready to become a member! Now, it’s pretty much common knowledge that Reagan fought the communist infiltration into Hollywood, and that he was president of “SAG” (screen actors guild), but until I read this book, the magnitude of the problem was totally unknown. Furthermore, the link to the Democratic party triggered some things I had been thinking about for some time. Have you ever given thought to why it is that some celebrities (actors, musicians, directors, and producers) give their undying support to Liberalism? Why they are so anti Conservative? Here’s what I’ve come up with…… Celebrities all have one thing in common, they are dreamers. The dreams are coupled with their creative nature and egos, and then set into motion as an ideological narrative which is sold to us in the form of songs and movies. This whole thing sounds benign enough, and it would be if it weren’t for them trying to make it become reality! Communism and its play book ,such as “Rules for Radicals”, (a published example of how to start a revolution. And yes, I have read it!) are used as tools in an effort to give validity to their effort. Try telling the people from behind “the iron curtain”, who gained their freedom via Ronald Reagan himself, that Marxism or communism is a better form of government than democracy! This is where the Democratic party comes into play. As a matter of fact, Hillary Clinton even wrote her college thesis on “Sal Alinsky” (author of rules for radicals). Like I stated earlier, I never linked all this together before reading “Killing Reagan”. It’s as if I had a big puzzle, with thousands of pieces, and while I couldn’t see the entire picture (we won’t see that until it’s way too late), I at least was able to put together a couple of sections. Why does all this matter, and why have I chose to write about it in this issue? (I’m well aware that I should be finishing the jobber question and answer continuation to the last two issues.) The answer is simple: Because it needs to be said, especially by a simpleton like me. I also feel it was fate that put the pieces in front of me to find, disseminate, and write.

“Music sooths the savage beast”……….. I think everyone would agree that statement is true. Now, how many of you have come to realize that “Music creates the savage beast” as well? How many of you are honest enough to admit that what you see happening to society is a direct result of our exposure to “spoon fed” narratives and marketing? How many of you realize that we are all to blame for this happening? After all, is it the “creative losers”, or so called “artists” fault for where we are? Or, is it our fault for financially supporting their effort? I’ve been fortunate to grow up in a time where music has really gone through awesome changes. Along the way I’ve been able to appreciate so many genres, which go from opera to country &western and just about everything in between. I like anything that promotes a positive message. Is it any wonder why that type of song will more often than not, also have a nice rhythm, melody, be able to be whistled to, and promote happiness? So, at several points in my life I’ve had to defend my taste in music when others were convinced that I just couldn’t appreciate newer styles. Until now, I would sum it up by saying “if you can’t whistle to it, it aint worth listening to”! For a while I questioned whether or not I was “stuck in the past” until I listened to the words, which were negative, and attempted to follow the rhythm, which wasn’t there. It was then that I noticed the same negative words and lack of rhythm was happening socially! It was by design! Considering the quote by Mark Twain started this segment with, and the linkages I’ve laid out within it, is it inconceivable to think that the reason I don’t care for certain types of music is because of the message within? After all, I’m not the only one who feels this way. I’m also not the only one who looks at the past 4 decades and notices that the decline of morals, values, respect, and the belief in God, are all culture related. If these things I’ve mentioned are so harmless and benign, (as many have said) then you really have to question the creativity of these “creative losers”, because they definitely “missed their mark”! They want you to believe that they are somehow more cerebral, creative, and wittier than you are, and as such posses the ability to capture your attention long enough to suck you into their chaotic clusterfuck. Sorry for the word choice, but what else describes a country where killing each other, burning down your town, sitting on your ass and letting the government send you a check, cramming down our throats that homosexuality is “normal”, mandating health care that never cures anything, and brain washing its citizens to the point that they can’t tell they’ve been brain washed? Here’s another quote: “you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time”. With that said, I think it’s about time we collectively pull the plug on supporting these ideological losers!

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