I notice many shops going in and out of business in this area.
It makes me wonder what it takes for any type of brick and mortar
business to get started and actually thrive. The fact that they gave
bad service, and were rewarded with eventually closing....could very well be a result of the fact that there
was not a market for their services in that area. That plus bad
service is not a good combination for any business.

Im not so sure I believe in Karma. To me, it is a concept made up
by humans, to try and rationalize the irrational events that sometimes
occur to them and others in this world. Yeah it came from some
Eastern religion, and has roots there. Some elements of those religions
I do feel strongly about such as "act on purpose, not on outcome"...
which is a very profound way to live...

but to feel that there is any "punishment" or equal and opposite reaction
to the good things that have happened in a life, is pretty damned
fallacious, imo...particularly since there is no proof that such a thing
exists what so ever. (other than references in popular culture and songs)

To give bad service, puts a business in that slide towards their downfall,
therefore 'they' are the cause of their own karmic outcome....not some
mysterious ying yang force.

Be thankful that you have a business that trives on working for a positive purpose and have good people working for you.
In that realm you have been successful, and probably will be here
for a long time.

Re: Wayne's thoughts on Karma...
 

I don't believe in karma. I don't believe in luck, either. But I do believe in vindication as defined here:
vin·di·cate (vnd-kt)
tr.v. vin·di·cat·ed, vin·di·cat·ing, vin·di·cates
1. To clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting arguments or proof.

You seemed to have performed every action that defines the action of to vindicate, but only for yourself. Vindication is very subjective depending on the person who feels it.

There could be infinite reasons for the closure of the two stores you mentioned. And infinite (human) effects far beyond the stores themselves as a result of their closure.

I think you experienced vindication when you initially decided to not return to the yogurt shop or the mechanic.

Now, unfortunately, what you seem to be experiencing is something close to schadenfreude.

well, you guys do a seriously great job all the way around...
i pick up my parts at your place to a smiling helpful person every time
and the parts are always there, problems small (very very rare) are treated
with respect and resolved quickly...and you operate a healthy and useful
forum here + I have 2 of your books that have been invaluable in
understanding 2 911s, which has saved me countless hours of time
and certainly many dollars in maintanance that ended up being successful
DIY. Thats pretty cool, so pat yourself on the back!

Wayne:

We were in Maranello a few weeks ago - a town that eats, sleeps and breathes "Ferrari". The Formula 1 shop across the street from the gates to the Ferrari factory carries, among other things, an enormous library of every book related to Ferrari's that has ever been published.

In one tiny corner though, they had some books relating to other marques - probably no more than a dozen books or so among the many thousands of volumes on Ferrari, Formula 1 etc. In any case, there I found a copy of your book (see photo), and I thought that was rather charming. It was selling there for 48 Euro - which is US$ 66.- at current exchange rates.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1184418627.jpg

I think that's rather good Karma for you to have your fine book for sale less than 100 yards from the Ferrari factory.

And the concept of Karma is really hard to argue with. Everything is connected somehow through infinite chains of causation. Every thing you do effects others through this intricate web of cause and effect, and to the extent your actions are positive you influence the sum total of all actions positively, and your Karma increases.

Galatians 6:7
"Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds!" -The Message Bible

Karma works.

Believe it or not, it works.

If you do not believe in it, then move on...

Learning is selection. We select to watch the road while driving instead of inputing the shape of someone's mailbox. Notice that we see all.

Decisions are choices. We all have a tilt to why we choose. The level of insight determines. Decisions shape reality.

Vindication is worthless ego food. Retribution is reality.

Education should never end.




different strokes.......... :D

A good American pays taxes and votes. A great American also creates jobs.

Well said. http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/wat6.gif

On the topic of creating Karma...

Maybe 5 years ago I bought an expensive pair of GoreTex waders from LL Bean (about $270). I've worn these things in rivers in Montana, hiked through Manzanita in the Sierra and severly abused them in Alaska. They began to leak.

I tried to fix the leak with AquaSeal and that held for a trip or two but on a recent rip to Colorado they started to leak again. I sent them back to LL Bean with a note asking them to fix the waders for me. In the note I offered to pay for the repairs and I specifically mentioned that the waders had out performed my expectations and if they could not be fixed, I'd buy a new pair.

LL Bean sent me a brand new pair of waders for free.

This is not the first time they have done this type of thing. They have replaced broken fly rods and fixed jammed fly reels. All free of charge. When I need new fly fishing equipment I never shop price. My first call is always to LL Bean. They have created some serious corporate Karma.

Corporate good will is pretty simple. Give the customer a little more than expected and/or charge them a little less than they expected to pay. When do both, your business prospers.

That's just good sense. The same applies to my personal life. When I'm nice, God/Karma/luck all smile on me. Every time I do the wrong thing they bite me on the a$$. :D

A very wise person once said:

"Sorry, my Karma ran over your dogma"

But seriously (no really!) Re: the two businesses Wayne described are a perfect example of selfish people who go into business just to make a buck and give horrible customer service as a result and it follows that their biz goes down the toilet.

Was that Karma? Well I suppose they were catering to their lower desires (greed) rather that doing something they love. As opposed to Wayne who went into the car parts biz because (I presume) he loves cars and that positive energy shines through into the company and its employees.

I haven't read all the posts, but in your first post, that's not "karma" or anything mystical at all. That's a false causation argument.

Your exchange with her was merely a snapshot of her poor business practices. Businesses (esp those that offer highly discretionary goods or services) that are run poorly fail. That's not karma, that's just business.

Your business has not been successful by "karma" or "luck," but instead by work and design.

It always surprises me how many people really believe in mystism and superstition. I guess it helps to make life easier for many.

karma just is. It isn't good or bad.

As for the business world, we have an internal rule: under-promise and over-deliver. And during the interim, work your arse off. Seems to work pretty well.

An interesting Pema Chodron quote concerning karma:

People get into a heavy-duty sin and guilt trip, feeling that if things are going wrong, that means that they did something bad and they are being punished. That's not the idea at all. The idea of karma is that you continually get the teachings that you need to open your heart. To the degree that you didn't understand in the past how to stop protecting your soft spot, how to stop armoring your heart, you're given this gift of teachings in the form of your life, to give you everything you need to open further.

Wayne,

I teach Sales and Service. One statistic I trot out is just over 2/3 of customer-base turn-over is caused by the way the customer is treated (or mis-treated) by staff.

Les

I think that in a business sense, what LL Bean and other good companies like Pelican are reaping is the result of a philosophy of delivering quality at every level. In order to do this, the company has to sell well-made goods and back them beyond what it says in the fine print. IMO, this creates loyal customers like Moses and Sonic, but I would not call it karma because it's too direct.

I always thought of karma as being a little more indirect and working behind the scenes, something that requires faith and belief. And BTW, horribly run businesses can stay open forever in the absence of good old-fashioned competition, I've seen it a hundred times. Haven't you ever been in a lousy restaurant (or yogurt shop), and thought to yourself, "I should open one of these across the street and take all of their business in 1 week?" :)

I believe in karma on a personal level in that every action has energy and results, (intended and otherwise), you start adding them up and you have quite a pile of good or bad energy. I believe in the corny old thing about courtesy being contagious, (and the opposite), that it will reverberate throughout the city in the contacts of the person that you are treating well or badly, etc... The problem for me is that I am a very imperfect human and while I usually treat my fellow man very well, sometimes I don't. I always feel bad if I am less than polite to someone due to impatience or some other worthless excuse for a bad mood, but like a bell that cannot be unrung, the damage is done. I believe in karma on that level, because the way that you treat others chemically changes you; one's actions define who they are and how happy they are, whether you are smiling or furrowing your brow at everyone, etc...

For Wayne, lastly, and most importantly, I believe that the universe (God) gave you that child because she needed great parents and a stable caring household. Children are simply put in the care of other older humans while young on earth, in this one instance she wound up in a good place. Imagine if she had not been so placed, though it is an intolerable thought. If there is karma, it is demonstrated whenever a child with special needs winds up being born to great parents, IMO.

Good and Bad are value judgements

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=158633

Another recent Karma thread with relevant commentary from bright people (like Pelican!).

And "value judgements" are bad because..., no wait, that would be a value judgement on value judgements. I'm lost here. :confused:

I should not skim and speed read when tired. I thought you typed "valve adjustments". Must be one of the 911's sending a subliminal message.;)

Ha, see... all the negative vibes on this thread brought down the server!

NEGATIVE KARMA POOPYHEADS!