I WILL LIVE FOREVER IN YOUR MEMORY, REMEMBER ME

Gentle and beloved readers:

"I know you paid up the wazoo to be here, so I am going to sing my ass off for you"

Josh Groban, July 15, 2011 Concert

And he did. It was a wonderful time and getting away from the shop and doing something normal, gave me the feeling for the evening that I was human again, the gentle LADY I used to be. Thank you Josh, and thank you my children for being a part of it.

Last week was a strange week of flux in the shop. Most of my time is in the back now, hot and sweaty, but I keep up front when it is busy or when anyone comes in with a bad vibe. It was hot, but I have felt worse, so I compare everyday to the "worst" and then it is not so bad.

Two young men came in and wanted their car painted......ok.....it was very old, beat up....boss had to approve it. I looked at the car, talked about restoration vs. paint. Told them we usually will not do an old car, faces drop......without my approval.....faces back up. That comes with talking to you and your understanding the potential reactions that could happen. etc., anyway, by the end of the conversation, their commitment to not complain, accept how it turns out, etc. they then left a down payment of $300 in 5s and 1s. I will leave that to you, gentle reader, to figure out.

God, My Lord, you put me here for a reason, it sure would help if you told me what that reason is. (little prayer)

Had two customers yell this weekend over nit pick crap. I handled them better, I did not yell back, just talked and/or cut them off nicely. People. One man, extremely nasty and rude, did his own body and prep, refused to pay a dime more than paint, was not happy with a spot under the paint. He yelled at me, "it would have taken 5 minutes to fix that before we painted and I should have done it for free."  I told him my body men were funny about working for free and he stated he did not want any bodywork. Well, sir, that was body work and it would take much more than 5 minutes. He said he would give me $40. to fix it and not a dime more. I told him I was not interested in working on his car for any money. It is a great feeling to be at that point. Take your attitude elsewhere cranky old man.

The shop itself is in flux. As you know, I fired a body guy, hired two and promoted one. I am now short paint line techs. I have one new one starting Wed, but did not get the cars done last week we needed. I am going to try to hire another person next week for the back. One of my guys let me know he had another job and I asked him for just a few days lead time to replace him. He PROMISED me to stay till Friday and did not show up the next day. He texted Brady telling him he wanted to come in on Friday and pick up his check, Brady told him I was pretty mad and he would not advise it. I mailed his check. I did not want to see him. Coward.

My new bodyman seems to work hard and do very good work. He has his head down and gets quite a bit done. I get a hinky vibe from him and cannot put my hand on it. At least work is flowing. I have another one who won't make it past next week. He talks about work, more than he works! He does not get things done as he is always screwing around. I will give him a few more days and then cut him loose. He has been told 25 times now to shut up and work. Does not get it.

I wish Mr Anthony Spumoni from New York was here to size up the bodymen. I know what he would tell me an I will do it, it would be easier if he was here.

I have been talking to another owner in town of a like body shop. He is an older gentleman and gives me almost as much shit as I give him. After we BS and lie to each other for a while, there has been a friendship develop. Some of the advice he has given me has helped. Someone in the exact place as me, who understands me and treats me with respect, I am starting to let this man in, spent the last three years not trusting him. Is there help for me yet?

Got to get productive, looking forward to our next visit. Je Tem, Mon Cheri.

In the words of my granddaughter, age 4, "I love you my love".

Lynn

EXCUSE ME WHILE I KISS THE SKY

Best Beloved, Mon Ami,

Good evening, it is after midnight here and I am in the agonizing reality of no matter how tight I squeeze my eyelids, I cannot sleep. The only upside to this, that I can even think of, is when I do begin to suffer the effects of sleep deprevation, it may be more fun than work.

In the words of a friend, it has been a hoot. (My best and favorite) consultant, would call me a "California hillbilly" for saying such a thing. That, when you think about it, Mr. Spumoni, is an oxymoron.

Anyway, it has been quite a hoot. We are repairing a car, for the second time in two weeks for a very nice gal, Ms. Wacking. Now this dear lady, we assumed had a mental defect which rendered her extreemly strange. Truly, we thought she was mentally challenged. She could barly speak without repeating words over and over. She needed to have "repair a dent" explained for over an hour. R..e..p..a..i..r......a.....d..e..n..t.

Again, we thank Our loving Lord for our blessings. You can imagine my shock when I found out she was employed, and you can imagine my "unshock" when added to that bit of information was the fact that she was employed by the IRS. I quietly walked into my office and bowed my head and prayed that I was never audited.

The gal who ran her rental out of gas, (who can forget that piece of work) called me, three times after I hung up on her, screaming at me that I owed her a new battery. (My inability to sleep started last night and I completely agree that it is unforgiveable to hang up on a customer)When I could get a word in, I reminded her that her vehicle wazzzzz 6 years old and she probably needed a new battery, and should buy one. She yelled at my that her 2005 was NOT 6 years old! Oh, my bad.

In a tough situation, last week I had to let one of the body men go. It was not fun or funny, and I have no plans of making light of it. The aftermath is probably the reason I am writing and not sleeping. We have so many cars and not the man power to move them out fast and it is a nightmare I would not wish on even my competition.

A very nice man, who did not want to pay $150. to have a rust hole repaired, fixed it himself with wall plaster. His new paint fell of the plaster within 10 minutes. He has now spent over $450. putting flames on his car and having them removed and replaced as he keeps changing his mind on the color. Can you explain that to me???

My few friends wonder why I cannot carry on a conversation and have given up on me at the moment. Probably for the best. I am finding everyone annoying and am acting out. A man who had a vehicle from the 70's came in to complain to me that there was one "fisheye" on the hood. WELL, he did his own body work and "knew" it was our fault. Again, I am without patience. I looked at him and asked did he know how old his car was, it was his bodywork and would he like the corporate number so he could call and complain about me to them as I would not do anything for him. Of course you do, here is the number.

fisheye: fish, the root work for water guy, eye, the greek word meaning, what are you looking at? (noun) A fish eye is a pin prick size, upside down bubble in auto paint due to some jerk's bad bodywork, or a chemical reaction to some jerk's bad body work.
Webster's Dictionary of Auto Body Terms

"As I sit here racking my brain apart,
searching the chambers of my heart,
I find I cannot compose
a poem, or or even a little prose."

Lynn Moore, high school assignment

Gentle reader, I do see how silly I am sounding and pray for your compassion. I hope to see you in my dreams and am signing off. TTFN, L Moore

ALL IN A DAY'S FUN, FUN AND MORE FUN

Bon Jour Mon Ami! Another week....and yes, I think we are still sane. Last week a crazy gal who wanted her car every day as she was in a rental, took 4 days to show up when it was finally done. She must have planned on turning in the rental on empty, because she called us from 5 blocks away, empty. I was mad, but she had a 3 grand check I needed. I went and bought gas, my money, went to where her car was and she was cracked up on something, with two guys. I put a gallon of gas in her car and she drove to my shop. I told her that I bought that gas with my own money and she owed me 3 dollars. Of course! she did not have a penny on her. We jumped her car for her to leave, and they immediately went to the gas station at the corner and turned off her car. She called again and I said NO! Abby insisted on going down to the gas station, even though I told her not to. She refused to bring a guy with her. When she was jumping their car, one of the guys hit on her. She got a little I told you so, from her mother in law. Never saw that three bucks!!!! As if I expected to.

We have had some pretty nice customers lately. It is a pleasure to work with nice people. But, then right in the middle of this kumbiya moment, comes Mr. and Mrs. Hasslers. They had a pick up from the grave in to be painted. It turned out beautiful. They were elderly and I gave them the whole bit about don't wash it for 4 weeks, etc. He called to tell me he cleaned it up as soon as he got home and found problems. His biggest problem is that he and his wife are complete idiots! They came in today and he in such a self righteous huff, pointed out to me finger prints on the interior of his truck. I reached my hand in and brushed them off. I said ok, what else. He said He was surprised the prints came off, I said, why, it was just dust. He pointed out two microscopic spots and I told him I would have my detailer rub a little wax on it. SHE, the other nasty one, said she thought they forgot to put clear coat on it. I told her she did not have clear coat on her vehicle because she purchased a single stage service. She began the, "then what did I pay all that money for.....?" I just stopped her and reminded her that we went over her estimate several times and she knows what she paid for. I asked Brad to polish the couple of spots and then they left. I believe they were disappointed that they could not get a good old fight going, or money back. You got to be bored to have nothing better to do than to look for reasons to pick a fight.

I have got to admit, it is fun to see how bad some of the cars look before they come in and how great they look done. Well, most of them. We did a S-10 today that a young man had painted with a roller, used calk to reattach his CHEVROLET emblem. It did not look much better, just shiny. I guess that is how a kid learns. There are just some things you should not do yourself.

I am enjoying running the back. Unfortunately, my potty mouth is getting worse....I ruined a nice jacket with "bondo". But, there is less stress in the back and the sound of DAs and Grinders are better than phones.

I get to High Five, dance to the oldies and run from one end of the shop to the other. Then I have to carry out big bags of trash, whipe dust off stuff, vacume cars, sand, wipe, blow, tack...move cars from one place to another and check cars, order supplies and keep everything moving. It is all about getting more done, faster and right the first time. I guess that is all business these days. "CHECK PLEASE"

God Bless all. And to all, a Good Night. moi

WEEK ONE AS THE NEW SHOP MANAGER

Bon Jour Mon Cheri, It is early on Saturday and I have some time before a gentleman arrives to fix a broken water pipe in my house. Then it is rush to the shop to work. I have my beloved quiet time on Saturday morning and so want to tell you about the week.

First, this was my first week of being the FULL BLOWN shop manager. Small Businesses...you got to do it yourself! My first week at the production helm as well as all the others was a scramble, but this was the second most productive week we have had financially. Unless you pay someone commission only, they do not care about your business or money. It is my money and I care as it is life or closure!

I could not do it without my consultant, the Italian. God, I love that man. I did not need to be taught how to be a strong leader, I had that. I had to be taught how to handle my family and the knowledge of running a body shop. Logic dictates, I, it will get better each week. My guys are still talking about Anthony Andrew Spumoni and what he taught them. They like it that he was a marine, they like it that he pulls no punches and they know when and if he compliments them, it is for real. They are happy that what he accomplished has helped me. They are much happier when they see I am doing well than when they see me worry. I would guess that is universal in business. We got all the body work out. My two body guys did it and did it right and loaded the paint line till my painter was telling me he hated me and that he thought I was trying to kill him. I told him unless he wanted to come up with 10g to make payroll next week, he needed to keep painting. I have a second painter and he did jump in on two to give him a break.I told my son, the painter, when he owns the place and it is his money, he will push just as hard as I am now. I pray he believes me.

Now the week started with fun. I accuse the two girls up front of selecting gentlemen for me to give a ride home specifically to make me crazy. The rule is, I will give anyone a ride home if they leave their car. So, they got a car from a gentleman who was about 75, well dressed and soft spoken. Sure, lets go. On the way to his house, he explained to me he was a spokesperson for the local nudist colony, (I did not know ther was a "local" nudist colony. Thought that went out with Free Love) and felt I should look into it. He told me that they have a pool, vollyball, many of other sports and everyone is encouraged to bring their families. My visual of a 75 year old man's junk flopping around during a game of vollyball was enough to send me screaming from the car at the next light. This one beat the Elvis inpersonator the week before. I sped back to the shop and just stood looking at the girl's grins. They swear they have no idea......

The next morning started with a fire. At around 9, after the girls said they had been smelling something for a while, smoke started to billow out of an electrical socket in the office. I, repeat, I ran to the back, shut off the circuits, screamed "FIRE" and two of my men came running up front with me fire things. I got back up front and told Abby to call 911, the phones do not work...I turned off the circuits. Bear in mind all have cell phones, but I ran into my office and grabbed my cell and called 911. I then called the landlord for an electrician asap and then went out front to flag down the 4 fire trucks that arrived for my one socket. The question I asked is what would you two have done if I was not here?????

My body man, Brandy came up to me later and told me the electrician went to him and said Man, how do you work for such a fox. Brandy told him that Ms. Moore was his employer, that's how, and laughed all way across the shop. He gets a kick out of it.

In the shop, Brady had his DA turned up to run fast and it was loud. Harry, a body man came up to him and yelled...MAN TURN THAT THING DOWN. Brady, in levity, said I DO NOT GO TO YOUR AREA AND TELL YOU HOW TO WORK, SHUT THE F UP!. BRANDY, THE OTHER BODY MAN JUMPED UP AT THAT MOMENT AND YELLED "CHECK PLEASE". The entire shop erupted in laughter and all became a productive team again. (too bad Anthony Andrew Spumoni was not there for that)

Friday, I was pushing hard and everyone was working at high gear. (which they should do everyday) My shop has not been at high gear for a while now and we are learning some lessons. We had two cars done, yea, $$$, and Hugh was pulling one out of the booth and another guy was pulling one in the front garage door and crash, they ran into each other. There was a discussion starting over who's fault, what happened, everyone had to see....I yelled, which I do not do often, It is done, let it go, move the cars back to the body area and get back to work. I MEAN IT---N-O-W! Cars went back to body stalls and they went back to work. We will talk about that Monday. We are now working harder and faster which is why that happened. I would rather have an accident once in a while than have production happening at slow mo. But, we will talk about safety, safety, safety on Monday. I did hear one of the drivers needed a can of spray paint and was afraid to come up and ask me for the key, so Brady did it for him.

So, I am going in to do numbers today and see how we ended up. I gave the guys each $20. for getting the cars done one the list. (the two that crashed were done) Thus went my first week, we can only get better. Now we need more cars and the push up front will begin.....time to sell auto repair.

The girls are good, just need to push harder. We had a young man with severe OCD bring his car in. It took him over three hours to drop his car. He kept apologizing, for example, he had to have Abby hand his key back and look at it and give it back to her over and over again until he was comfortable leaving it. We have to accept the trials given to us by God and be thankful for the ones we have not been given everyday.

"Smile with Style"
Danny R. (1952 - )

Je tem mon Cheri. Lynn Moore

FIRE!!!!

Bon Jour Mon Cheri et Mon Ami, beloved.....I write to you as a New Shop Manager. It has been an exciting two days. I owe it all to my new mentor, the Italian Consultant. Let me give you a visual. 

Great hair, albeit graying, which works much better for men than woman, two pairs of Walmart Readers in the crotch of his polo at all times, intense eyes and an attitude that alone could break a knee cap in a nano second. It was fun, I was a California blonde and a hillbilly in the same 5 minutes. ???  I said that did not work for me, the California thing was OK though. He left on Friday and as he said his good byes, my body man, Brandy told him he appreciated all he did in a week in our shop etc., and Italian man told him to shut the F... up. It is a style, man. A style than only a very few can pull off.

It is late and I am too tired to be creative. But, I have to share the Pajama party that my crew is attending tonight, party on guys, just be at work on time and no hangovers....and get this, there was a fire in the office, complete with three fire trucks. Lots of shop levity including an employee who is quitting because he needs to work for someone who understands him. OOOOKKKKK. Stay tuned for the shop stories that I just cannot make up. Always, your love, Lynn

It is too hot to not laugh

Bon Jour, Mon Cheri!!!! It is Wednesday night and it is really hot! As I mentioned last, I have a consultant in my shop this week with one goal...to teach me how to run the shop. Well....where do I begin???? Could it be hotter in the shop???not. I am so impressed at how hard the guys are working and how hot it is. Things are humming and I am learning. I think it is time to share some of the funnier moments....

The other day, I opened the shop door to walk out and Brady, one of the young men was running to the men's room, screaming, "MY ASS" at the top of his lungs!!! He stopped, grabbed some paper towels and kept running...I am yelling, BRADY! What is wrong!!!??? MY ASS!!! I ran to the back where Gilbert sees me and starts holding his mouth shut to keep from laughing and the many comments he was dying to make. What happened to Brady? He sat in paint stripper. OMG! that stuff burns paint off a car in a matter of minutes. You do not want it on your skin! Tony said, I asked him if I could help and when he told me what happened, I told him you are on your own man." Brady's ass was the topic of concerned conversation....well, you get it.

So, a little later, from the stripper fumes, Brady had an asthma attack and I ran him to the urgent care. One of the things they did was give him a shot in the already tender area. He told me he immediately forgot about the stripper. Brady's injured area is still the topic of concerned conversation in the shop. They really do love each other.

I was walking through the back today and one of "my boys" was moving a pick up as big as a tank and honked the horn at me. I jumped 3 feet and all thought that was a hoot.....I told them, I forgot to do payroll this week, I thought that was a hoot.

Running a shop reminds me of directing a play. FYI, I am an old theatre person. I have written, produced, directed and acted. Running a shop is like directing a play. You coordinate, multi-task, answer a million questions at a time, run around like a mad man and always deal with people and their feelings. I do not have to know how to do bodywork to tell if it is done or not, if a car is ready to move to the next station and which one to bring in next. I have been given a system and taught how to do this by a great teacher. A grouchy New York Italian man, with a mouth that would embarass a sailor, and more skill in a body shop than anyone I have ever worked with. I can do this. I kinda have to. The down side is my hair has now become straw, my feet are always dirty and hurt, my nails suck and all my clothes are soon to be trashed. I wonder in how many years I will look like a crazy, wild eyed Body shop woman. How many weeks, I should say. So much fun you cannot imagine. The upside is I always have the best stories at the bar!

"When you charge peanuts, your only customers are monkeys." The Italian Sailor.

Bon Nuit mon ami. Lynn

What planet do these people live on???

Beloved,

Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn, by God, you learn.

C S Lewis

What I have learned in the last three years scares me. I have learned that the world is not what I thought it was. Nothing is as it was taught to me.

The last few weeks: Body men revolt. Family betrayal. An unknown harasser is threating me. Endless fatugue and no one to share with. No one wants to hear about the bottom rung of humanity or how it is affecting my life.

I answered the phone and a man, here from another country, proceed to demand a price on repairing the damage to his car. Sir, I am sorry I cannot do that without seeing your car. Can you bring it in for a free written estimate? Yelling began. What kind of customer service person are you. I will tell you the exact damage and you can give me a price. No sir, I am sorry I cannot...please stop yelling at me. YOU SHOULD BE FIRED WHAT KIND OF CUSTOMER SERVICE PERSON ARE YOU. IT IS A WONDER YOU HAVE ANY CUSTOMERS. Actually sir, many people do bring in their cars and we are able to give them an exact price in writing...I am thinking, please ask to speak to the owner....If I went to his country, I would not call people and yell at them. He then called me some names and hung up.

Two years ago a gal brought her car in to be repaired. She needed a new door. She made a deposit and we bought the door used. (those cannot be returned) She then came in and said she did not have the rest of the money and demanded her deposit back. I said no, fight was on. They left. To be safe, we kept the door for two years in a corner of our shop. Guess what. In she came this week announcing she had the money and wanted her car fixed. (most body shops would have sold the door by now) She got a rental for a few days and we fixed her car. She had a balance due and when her car was ready, Abby called her and she screamed she had no money. NO MONEY, NO CAR. She said she would figure something out. (sweet elderly lady, not all there, wild hair) She came in two hours later, with cash and loved her car......by the way here is a wallet I found in the rental, Bye! Rental company knew nothing about the wallet and did not want it. (everything in wallet, but money) I had the police pick it up Saturday Morning. I do not want to know either.

At the end of my rope with this business, I am bringing in a consultant next week to "fix the shop" He wants me to run it, lower overhead, but he has to teach me how. If I can do this and we make money, life will be good. I think problems are bigger than that and it will take more than a week. I will and am doing my best. everyone is hating me because I am making them work hard and be responsible for their work. I guess that is what it is about. I had to let my shop manager go as he was a high ticket guy and nothing got done. He visited all day. Now the challenge begins. I am your humble friend and hope you, mon Cheri, pray with me for the Holy Spirit to strengthen and guide me. Je Tem, All my love, Lynn Moore

TGIF

Happy Friday Mon Cheri! It is wonderful to have had the sun for the last few days. We have been busy. We have an emergency paint job, yes, you read that right, an emergency. A gentle man from Alabama called Abby several times on Thursday in a panic needing his car painted that day! He was very clear and upfront about the nature of the emergency and did not understand why Abby did not give the matter as serious attention as he did. He explained he was here seeing his girlfriend and they got in a fight. She scratched her name in every panel in his car. His dilemma was he had to get back to Alabama to his wife!

I dealt with another gentleman this week who was so out of line and loud that I had to tell him to leave. We were in the shop and he went ballistic and after I asked him twice to lower his voice and change his tone, I noticed two of my guys in the back walking up to clean his ornery little clock. I, in the interest of his safety told him to leave immediately. He stormed out and I went up front as I thought he was heading there to vent some more. The guys were coming up with me to be handy to clobber him if needed. Mr. Chap left and I went into my office to leave a message on his home machine. He was demanding his vehicle and I told him he need to pay for it first and walked away. His wife answered the phone, I am still a little irritated, and I told her I wanted to leave a message for him. I told her to tell him he was not to call or come in until I called and told him his car was ready. I told her to tell him what I was doing to it and that his behavior was not acceptable in my place of business and would not be tolerated again. She heaved a sigh and told me, "Honey, it is not you, I am so sorry, I have been apologizing for that man every day of my life for 30 years." She kept apologizing and, heaved again, and said and - I - have to live with him. What do you say to that!!!???!!! I told her not to worry and I would pray for her.

I called him yesterday morning and told him his car was ready and asked when he planned to come and get it. He said today and hung up on me. I thought, this will not be fun.

He came in very nice as she was standing behind him and they were giving each other that stink eye people give each other after 30 years of marriage. My sense was that she ordered him to apologize and he was not planning to do so and the stand off was happening right in front of me. I had no idea who would win, but I just wanted to take cover!

you gotta love this stuff....I am growing thicker skin and a wiser knowledge of how to stand my ground without inciting a riot.

The infamous Dave Durango!!!

Beloved, yesterday I was at an attorney's office regarding our dear 73 Vega issue and called the office to ask Abby a question....I was told Abby was on the other line trying to find a Compressor!!!!! INSTANT PANIC. I told her to call me if the office blew up, that meant the compressor too. As I made a U-turn in the middle of a busy street, risking my very life, believing we were on CODE RED, I envisioned sending everyone home, calling 40 customers and telling them their cars would be late and desperately wanting a bottle of liquid medication.

When I got to the shop, I ran up to my shop manager, Mitch, screaming/crying "What happened?!" He seemed to me to be very calm under the circumstances and, low and behold, I am thinking why were the DAs running????? He proceeded to tell me that one of our employees had to leave because his wife wrecked the car.........WHAT...WHAT...WHAT..No man, what happened to the compressor?? Oh, it just went down for a minute and came back up. It seems ok now. (For that I made an illegal u turn???) OK, here is where Dave Durango comes in. Dave is the guy we call when the compressor needs attention. Dave, I think, is getting used to our panic calls.

Yesterday at around 4, Dave Durango saunters in. "WElllllll, lets talk.....Your main compressor is ok, but.....lets talk about repairing the back up one." OK, Dave, got any idea what we are talking, money wise?? "Sure.....depends on what your are wanting..do your want me to rebuild it, get a new part or get a used part or if you want you can have a re-built part......Huh? "Yea, I remember, it went BOOM, and I thought, "That ain't good", then it went BANG, "yep, this ain't good" It is a cast iron piston and has to be pulled apart"........Huh? "Yep, you are talking around $2200. or $4500." HUH!!!

Yes, good old Dave Durango just sat and smiled. OK, I am a female, but spout from a family of engineers. OK, Dave, which would you do if it was your shop? (Visual..... Durango has Fabio hair and a wise grin.) Well, if it was my shop....then suddenly, we are talking about Marg Schott. Now I am confused???? I can usually follow a conversation, but how did Schott get into this??? Schott was a legendary lady, with a capitol B, known for her ability to create misery in the eyes of anyone who looked at her. Ok, Mr. Durango, now I am feeling like I do not know what you are trying to tell me...?????

So it goes, the colorful Mr. Durango is getting a few estimates to me for the back up compressor so the panic calls stop. The fear of having the main one go down, with no backup, is a scenario no body shop wants to face. Everything in the shop runs on air pressure.

Day goes on......now I am saying it too, "Aw, this ain't good".

The sun shines today, this is a good sign. Phone rings, "how much is a free written estimate?" I am serious! I am dying to say, $10.00.....well, you asked Sir!!

I walked into another body shop yesterday and now I want all new furniture in the lobby. Ok, what will it be? New furniture or a compressor? Let the sun shine.........let the sun shine in.....Ohhhh sun shine in.......Love, Lynn Moore

Products for the house stay in the house!

Bon Jour Mon Cheri!

Our thoughts become our words. Therefore, it is vitally important that we choose life-generating thoughts. When we do, right words will follow.

Joyce Meyer

Good Evening Beloved, Hectic and wild last couple of days. Monday typical, kinda slow, the day after Easter. Rain, of course. Tuesday am, Two police officers show up and ask me to step outside. It appeared someone had called them and told them I was going to kill myself with pills!! Now, that was a first. Was my ex-husband named Dan? No, I do not know a Dan. Dan who??? I WHAT! I assured them I was not that mad at the world. I wanted to ask them why they did not care when the creep threatened me in front of them, but seem to care now???? My fear was to be carried off and locked up in a loonie bin. When they walked in we girls were all laughing. A friend of facebook said I sure stirred someone's soup. I guess so.

That afternoon, I got a letter in the mail from the court house saying I was being sued by a gent who owned a 73 Vega! We painted it and it was a race car with a fiberglass front end. It was a real mess and the guy wanted it cheap, cheap, cheap. Did not want to do any bodywork, had done his own bodywork, crappy job. We told him several times, it will not look good as the surface sucks. His words, I just want it orange. The suit states, he does not feel it was a good job. I must admit it, I was chapped! Screaming chapped.

Here is another one for the books....A guy brought his son's car in to be painted and he had done the body work himself. Junk yard fender, etc. He also, bless his heart, attached the rocker panel with bathroom calk. Yes, you read it right. Brady, one of my guys came up front as he was precleaning it and it just kept coming off. I told him to take the car outside and leave it there, throw away all the rags and wash his hands really good. You see, beloved, Sylicone will cause auto paint to bubble. Sylicone anywhere in the air will cause auto paint to bubble. We could not get it off enough to assure a good paint job and it would effect the next ten cars if we had let it in our booth.
Abby called the man and told him he had to come get the car and clean the stuff off. He said he bought the alk at Home Depot and it said it was paintable. Abby, told him....SIR, House products stay in the house and auto products are for the car. He asked if we would clean it for 20 dollars, noooo.....maybe 200 dollars. They came and got it. I felt mean, but had to protect the next 20 customers. Bathroom calk. People!!!

I spent one day this week running the shop. I got in at 6 and had two cars done by the time the crew arrived. I made them come in the booth and I showed them what they had done wrong. There were a few other things I caught during the day in the back and I made them do it right and told them to do it this way everytime. I was so dirty and tired, but I think it is a good thing to do on a regular basis. I caught several things that needed to be changed and changed them. The guys worked hard. I told them that too. One of my boys had a car accident last night and got a concussion. He is the same one who the hood slammed on his hand a while back. He has had a rough month. Car was totaled.

Tomorrow, we shut down and are going to clean the booths. Massive job, power washing both of them, cleaning everything and then using pumps to get the water out. Dirty work, but way over due.

With that lovely thought, I will say Bon Nuit. All my love, Lynn, no such luck I won't be killing myself, Moore