Steve Brotherton,

I've never had the pleasure of meeting you, and getting acquainted, but I have read many of your thoughtful posts. I think that from reading these posts, I and many others who feel that we are part of this online community, understand that you don't do what you do because it's a job. You do it because you love it. And I expect that you don't realize that you are, unfortunately, the exception rather than the rule. It's all about attitude, and someone who does what they like to do, operates much differently than people who do it just because it's their job.

I believe that, unfortunately, news of bad experiences, travels much faster than good ones. In my industry, you rarely hear about the good experiences, but the stories about bad ones travel like wildfire.

The problem is finding someone like yourself. There aren't many of you out there.

The stories we have recited here are the bad ones, you know, the ones that travel like wildfire. The good ones we don't here enough about.

So, please don't take any of our comments as being aimed toward you or your shop. None of the experiences we've heard here have come from anywhere near Georgia or Florida.

The saddest thing is that it's natural for people to generalize. We have a few bad experiences at shops, and human nature takes over, we get it in our minds that, all shops must be the same way. In reality, businesses have personalities like people do. Some businesses have good, understanding and honest personalities and others don't.

One more thing. Even the very best of shops have an incident from time to time. Adding to that is probably the fact that some of the customers come in after a bad experience somewhere else and expect the same thing at the good shop. After all, they haven't had time to get to know the new shop yet. I've been guilty of this one.

The key is for the good shops to continue to have patience, and for the rest of us to do our best to be fair, and dilligently search for one of those good, honest shops that are out there.

I think I speak for everyone in our community when I say that we thoroughly appreciate your ongoing contribution to all of us. Also, I don't want anyone reading this to think that you're the only one we appreciate. There are several MB professionals who are involved here, and who offer on their personal time, their massive experience and savvy in helping us to diagnose our problems and sometimes even to help us get our heads back on straight. All of you are appreciated greatly.

Have a great day,

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Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 523K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles