Not a flame, but more of a "just so you know" kind of post~

[07 GT500]

I had Mike Hartman, ie: Mikey's Pinstriping, do a small job for me. I emailed him a picture of what I wanted painted on the back of my car, and asked him for a price. I was told $200. Where I'm from, if you give someone a quote, you change your price after you actually see the job and before you start the job, not add another $50 after it's done. If I was in the habit of upping the price on customers, I certainly wouldn't brag about it in an email. Is this the norm here in Texas? I'll post most of the email correspondence on this deal, FYI
Please tell me if Mikey has quite an attitude, or am I way off course here.






Mikey,
You can call me a whiner if ya want, but I gotta say that I'd have a much better feeling about promoting Mikey's Pinstriping, and having you do more work for me, if you'd have stayed closer to the $200 quote you gave me for the cartoon and lettering, especially since you didn't have to drive to Victoria to do the work. I called you today about this, but you probably were busy, and I didn't leave a message.

"Lettering and doggie about $200 with size about 6" to 8" and lettering about 3" or so in a bold mean looking style. " This taken from his email to me, further down in this post.

Have a great weekend sir,,,,,,

Chris

----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Hartman
To: Trickpony4@suddenlink.net
Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 6:30 AM
Subject: Re: Price estimate please........


Well, what can I say. I don't think it will ruin me. Chris, In the time it took to do you car I could've strped 3 vehicles. That would have been anywhere from 500 to 800. Not counting consultastions for cartoonwork. (You probably did not ake that into consideration. I own a consulting business and charge up to 500 an hour for that service). At my normal 300 per hour I'd say you got one hell of a deal. And if you don't think I make that much, watch me at the show this year when I' striping and see for your self.

My customers never bitch about me charging a few more dollars than I told them. ALL of them are happy to get me.

I got one today that I told the guy $500 two weeks ago and he called last night and asked again and I told him closer to 800....he's still doing it. I did two last Monday and the prices where 250 each the first time he called me but I still made 700 off both.

I don't let others dictate to me what I do and what I charge. Let's not let a few bucks spoil the whole deal. If it makes you happy I'll give the 50 back when I see you at the car show but it has to be done when ALL the guys from the club are standing there.

Like tell people, this is my gig I do it the way I want and there are about 5 people in the 30 years I've been striping that I had to say that to.

Let's see how this really works, I'm going to Walmart to spend 20 bucks and come out spending 100, damn I'll never go back there again! Get the picture. Oh just one thing, get your phone book and call all the stripers listed for a price quote....Mmmm, not many in there. Call a plumber and they charge x-amount dollars just to show up and there's lots of them listed, maybe hundreds in the phone book.

Okay now you owe me another 150 for consultation!!! just kidding. I'm done.

--- On Thu, 3/5/09, Trickpony4@suddenlink.net <Trickpony4@suddenlink.net> wrote:


From: Trickpony4@suddenlink.net <Trickpony4@suddenlink.net>
Subject: Re: Price estimate please........
To: mike@mikeyspinstriping.com
Date: Thursday, March 5, 2009, 9:48 PM





Wednesday works for me. I'll be at Auto Worx Bodyshop in Seguin 9:30-10am. I'll have my black 92 Buick wagon parked close to the street, it's black with blue flames. Theres a map on their site for directions http://www.seguinautoworx.com
Bring cash!!!!$$$$

Mikey
512-396-7716 my cell in case you get lost.









--





From: Mike Hartman
To: Trickpony4@suddenlink.net
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 4:30 PM
Subject: Re: Price estimate please........


I can probably clean up that white. Might be too hard to get off wthout scuffing the stainless.

As for which dog I like em all. And it'll only cost you one dog leg. Lettering and doggie about $200 with size about 6" to 8" and lettering about 3" or so in a bold mean looking style. I just kinda let it flow when I'm doing this stuff, no science.


Mikey
http://www.MikeysPinstriping.com
http://www.HotRodConsulting.com



From: Trickpony4@suddenlink.net <Trickpony4@suddenlink.net>
Subject: Price estimate please........
To: mike@mikeyspinstriping.com
Date: Wednesday, January 28, 2009, 4:05 PM


Mike/Mikey,

On the trunk lid, I'd like for it to say "Junk Yard Dawg", in nice looking lettering, and have one of the pics that I have sent, used in conjunction with the lettering. You pick one that you think you can make look the cutest, that's not going to cost me an arm and a leg. :-)

Let me know watcha think please, and we'll work out a time to get together. Email or call,,,,,,either way. Thanks!

Later,
Chris
361-550-3017

[jordanj]

he did say ABOUT 200 which means a little more or less,he never said it was a confirmed 200.

[07 GT500]

he did say ABOUT 200 which means a little more or less,he never said it was a confirmed 200.


This is true! We're talking about a healthy mark up though, more than 40%, plus the fact that maybe something should have been said before he actually started. Did you read down where he seems to pride himself in doing this to two or three other people in the last week and a half? Thanks for your opinion.

[vic]

That is a nice mark up. Especially if he is doing this to a lot of customers. 40% is very unreasonable. We don't quote clients at our nail salon a price then raise it 40% after services rendered..lol We would be out of business. I see where you are coming from and this, to me, is not normal business ethic.

The quality of work does look A+ from the picture you submitted. Were you happy with the outcome? One thing you have to keep in mind about the automotive industry, is mark ups. If you drop your car off at a shop, it will end up costing more then originally quoted. Usually because there are things that come into play that weren't visible at the time of quote. But that being said, a decent business would call you and make these mark ups know to the customer. They should present you an opportunity to accept or decline the service.

[BlackSS]

that's a 25% increase, not 40. Is the work worth what he wants?

[07 GT500]

that's a 25% increase, not 40. Is the work worth what he wants?

You're right,,,,,,where's my math smarts huh?

I don't know if it is worth it or not. It's not the money, it's the attitude/ethics to me. $50 isn't gonna break either of us, but folks should know that this guy thinks it's cool to quote a price and then jack it up after the fact.
Thanks for the math lesson! :D

[vic]

haha you suck at math, I didn't crunch the numbers just read 40% well either way he should have called to inform you of the mark up and given you the option to reconsider.

[07 GT500]

haha you suck at math, I didn't crunch the numbers just read 40% well either way he should have called to inform you of the mark up and given you the option to reconsider.

That's another thing with this deal, I was right there the whole time! :bs:

[vic]

What? Thats crazy. So he quoted you, you watched him do it, then you guys go to get the cash part done and he tells you oh its this much more?

[07 GT500]

What? Thats crazy. So he quoted you, you watched him do it, then you guys go to get the cash part done and he tells you oh its this much more?

Yes sir!

[98Aggie]

If he did that to me I would not have paid him and let him wipe the pin striping off the car. If I quote a price I eat the difference if I under bid. Guess if I do ever decide to use him I will get a write quote and hold it to him or he can try to tell the judge that line of crap.

[vic]

If he did that to me I would not have paid him and let him wipe the pin striping off the car. If I quote a price I eat the difference if I under bid. Guess if I do ever decide to use him I will get a write quote and hold it to him or he can try to tell the judge that line of crap.


:lmao:

[ihavenocarhaha]

any work i do i also quote higher then i think it will cost soo i have some play room,
but raising the price is BULL SHIT.

[95civicgsr]

i agree with kurt,if i give you a price ill stick to it. if theres something else kinda small that needs to be done ill go ahead and do it and not charge extra but thats just me. if its something thats going to tke an additional part or a signuficant amount of labor that will req more money then ill contact the customer to get approval for the work,if they dont approve it it just doesnt get done. i cant believe that he would tell you that he does this to all of his customers,that is just bad bussiness that you continue to mark up like that and seem to pride yourself in it. its called principle and apparently he has none. do yo uknow any of his other customers? if so have you verified his claims with them? i def wouldnt recommend him to anyone.

[MCH]

Hey Chris, sombody's reading this slander about Mikey.

[MCH]

Whoever is slandering Mikey has used his email without permission on this forum. Furthermore, one of his vehicles was vandalized sometime after this slanderous rumor started. This was reported to the Sheriffs dept in Guadalupe county. Not sure if they are related but we intend to find out.

[jordanj]

Whoever is slandering Mikey has used his email without permission on this forum. Furthermore, one of his vehicles was vandalized sometime after this slanderous rumor started. This was reported to the Sheriffs dept in Guadalupe county. Not sure if they are related but we intend to find out.
?
how can you use an email without permission,an email is an email.You can do whatever you want to do with it.

[MCH]

Really? Are you absolutely sure you want to take a chance on that?

[jordanj]

pretty positive.I can easily look up right now on google and get peoples emails.The only time a use of an email would be illegal is if i got his email and subscribed him to gay porn or sent him spam,but then again that is untraceable and the cops would rather bother with real crime.

[MCH]

Sure they would if the cops are freinds. Our attorney said that it could be a form of spam. We are not getting into this trivial shit though, the issue is this guy slandering Mikey's name and that he was victimized around the time all this bogus shit strated over the right for Mikey to charge whatever he wanted. According to law enforcement here, the vadalizing happening just when all this came about is very questionable. Nobody is being accused of the crime, it is just very strange that right after the person causing this, vandals took to Mikeys car. He lives out in the country so why would someone just do this right there with the car parked at least 100 ft away from the road. The cops said we have had no other reports of vandals here, still they were very coincerned that someone took it out in revenge. Mikey has no enemies that we know of. And this guy is the only person to ever spread bad news about Mikey. Since you are an expert on Internet law look for youself.

Once again we are not accusing anyone but sureseems strange that this would happen at that particular time.

Also, you are not involved with this legal issue so don't push it.

Furthermore the person causing this never told anyone on here that Mikey said he would give back the 50 bucks, although reluctantly. So I would suggest, from a legal stand point for all to cease and desist this slander.

Mikeys has an exceptional reputation with thousands of customers and they will stand behind him all the way on this.

Also we will be with Mikey at your car show. If anyone has an issue they would like to discuss please come and see us. We will be the ones riding Harley's.

[jordanj]

Actually i do know what im talking about when it comes to internet law.And this thread is in no way spam or slander,just someone stating his opinion.And the "attorney" doesn't know what he is talking about,saying this is spam will never hold up in court and it will fail.And im sure somewhere in the Terms of service for this forum that everything on here is an opinion and not the truth.You agreed to those terms when you made the account,therefor anything you say will mean nothing than a threat

[jordanj]

Right here it says that spam is prohibited,and posting false info it prohibited.If the admins felt that the thread broke any of those rules they would have deleted it a long time ago.Even two mods posted in here so you cant say they have never seen this thread.
Posting Guidelines - Effective 11-9-2005
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In order to maintain a pleasant environment, the following guidelines have been established.

1. Treat each other with respect. Posting on this site should be an enjoyable experience for everyone involved.

2. Flaming (insults) will be kept to a minimum and not intended to be abusive. Excessive flaming of one another will lead to editing, deletion or movement of a post or thread. The "Flame Throwers" sub-section is intended for such posts. This section is not a "free for all" and it will be moderated in accordance with these guidelines.

3. This forum is intended to be a resource for information and an area where members can exchange ideas and experiences. Posts should be constructive in nature and not intended to be condescending.

4. Posts should be in reference to the original topic of the thread.

5. Spam is prohibited.

6. Posting sexual explicit images is strictly prohibited. Images should be of a PG-13 nature.

7. Discussion of illegal activities is prohibited. VTown racing does not promote or condone illegal street racing.

8. Posting false information, with prior knowledge of its lack of validity, is prohibited.

9. The staff of VTown Racing reserves the right to edit or delete any post/thread.

10. Grievances with the VTown Racing staff should be handled through private messaging.


Thank you for your cooperation, and enjoy your stay at VTown racing.

[Jitsu Jr.]

Good luck trying to file suit on slander, libel, or defamation.

A. Defamation- defemation of character involves wrongfully hurting a person's good reputation. The law imposes a general duty on all persons to refrain from making false defamatory statements of fact about others. Defenses to defamation- truth is almost always a defense against a defamation charge. In other words, if the defendant can prove that the alleged defamatory statement is true, then no crime has been committed.

B. Slander- the "defemation" did not occur orally, seeing as it was written so that takes care of that one.

C. To recover damages for libel in a court of law, the defendant must prove that he or she was actually injured in any way as a result of the libelous statement. Hypothetically speaking, if what 07gt500 said was false, it would still be very difficult to prove injury.

[MCH]

I do not care what the rules are. By him posting the email address, unknown and unwelcome people have access to it and can use it for those very reasons you stated And yes he is defaming Mikeys good name. Like I said in my last post he has thousands of satisfied customers from 30 years of service, even in Victoria. Yes he is abusing a name over a measly 50 bucks. Condescending yes. But more importantly, I don't think the problem is what has been said here as much as with the fact that Mikey's has had enough of the guy saying these things. And for what? A f'n measly 50 Bucks. Mikey has been in this biz for over 30 years and has striped thousands of cars without any probs whatsoever and if any of you MOFO's think you can do any better, then you pick up a brush and try it yourself.

And let's not forget the vanadlism problem. That's criminal

Of course you people can say all you want being invisible on here and not to his face but the fact remains Mikey has been a highly respected figure at car shows since 1981 all over the USA and with other notable clientele in the rodding scene. He has a flawless rep and this is where the problem lies with this derogatory posting.

[vic]

Whoa, settle down there buddy. Its easy to jump online and start running off at the mouth. Calm down, step off your pedastool and get back down here to reality. Its not a bout $50. Your missing the point. Its about customer service. The customer trusted the word of your friend. He was quoted a price and your friend failed to honor his quote.

As to the "mofo's think you can do better" I am sorry if I dont think pinstriping is my next get rich quick company lol. Some of us leave it to people blessed with the skill. We pay them with money made through our own skills and talents. Your acting as if we are less of men because we don't "pinstripe" lol. Did I take it wrong?

Now what I think is happening is a good ol fashion "hide behind a screen name" scenario. Let your friend fight his own battles. He was man enough to take the op's money. Let him be man enough to make sure his customer is satisfied.

There are multiple business owners on this site. Even others whom may not own a business but do in fact deal with customers. Obviously majority feels this bit of business with your friend was not done with the best business ethic.

$50 bucks may not be much to you, but it may be to someone else. Feel free to chunk me a $50 bill anytime. Heck its only a measily $50 bucks. Thats equal to 45 minutes of my wifes time at our shop. But like I said its not about money its about business ethic.

Lets keep the name calling and big talk down until you meet in person.

And until you have proof that the alleged "vandalisim" was in FACT an effect from the post of this ad, there is no need to keep talking about it. Your speculating. You have no evidence.

[Jitsu Jr.]

I think I am going to post this everywhere, seeing as his e-mail address is in public domain.

http://www.mikeyspinstriping.com/contact

[Bullitt3613]

^^^^^^ LOL

[vic]

lol "mikey does pinstriping and other stuff" that has to be an original business slogan.... :lmao:

[jordanj]

I think I am going to post this everywhere, seeing as his e-mail address is in public domain.

http://www.mikeyspinstriping.com/contact
Just about to say the same thing.

Since this guy is being a douche i think ill sign that email address up for some gay asian porn.

[leedog]

We will be the ones riding Harley's.

lol Harleys. We'll be in all black....riding horses.....tough guy. You realize claiming to ride a Harley doesn't instill the same fear that it used to. Have you seen people on Harley's lately?

I would have told him the same as Kurt. "Take a few letters off. I just want $200 dollars worth."

Good luck getting anything on the intrawebz to hold water in court. I am sure no one here read this and decided to go bust a few windows in Chris's honor. No offense intended Chris. Get over it Mikey, it's not that big of a deal. Not a lot of "Pinstriping" customer base on vtownracing anyway.

[MCH]

Mikey is not hiding behind a screen, all of you already have his privy info. You are the ones doing the hiding.

The douches that say he's the Douche started this shit. You drew first blood. They need to call Mikey. His phone is on the website. We all need to meet and chill this out. But you go ahead and post this everywhere. We really do not care. Everyone who has known Mikey for years already knows he is a DICK anyway. He is rude and obnoxious, spent 7 years on vacation with the feds and really does not care about any of you. He has made his business what it is and at this time retired. He only stripes for select customers.

For all you smart asses on here, this is not Mikey writing this, it is is his sister. I live here. Yes he is quit a complicated person, He even charges me, his own sister, when I want him to stripe something. I don't like it but I don't go around defaming his character. either This really needs to stop before it gets out of hand.

On that Harley thing...you really should tell that to our ex-con brother and the H.A. biker club he is with. I'm sure they would love to get with you guys and hang out. My bro raised hell in Vic in the 1980's and he will be there this year at the show. He told me anyone will be welcome to speak with him if they wish.

As for this business of slander...one bad customer out of thousands ain't too bad. Mikey has been doing this too many years before Chris came along, so why bother. Right? And yes not many stripe jobs in Victoria. Just for real hot rodders only.

Bad news on the Internet about a person in this day and time really does drive people to their website. So spread it like wildfire. Most hot rodderrs already know what pricks pinstripers are so it won't matter.

Mikey will be at the show this June with his "SISSY'S" on Harley's so I think you all can get this resolved then. If not before.

We're done

[vic]

Its great that you decide to walk away. And the cheap shots about Victoria were uncalled for. lol This is little kid stuff already. If you are typing for him and you live with him, I am sure he is right there. Like I said its about business ethic. I am not going to spread anything all over the internet. Thats kid stuff also. I just thought it was fair to honor a quote.

I do not attend your shows and wouldn't waste my energy looking for these biker guys but give us a ring if you are ever in the area and I would be more then happy to meet with you and discuss it further. I love to raise hell in Victoria. I did it 7 days a week 365 days a year when I was younger. Big, small, short and tall, many have fell to my feet ;)

I went bar to bar many of nights and romed the streets looking for a challenge. I have 100+ fights under my belt. Street fights. I fought guys twice my size, fought 4-5 "gangsters" at one time, alone. some armed some not. I dont back down for anyone. Nothing scares me besides one man. If you are not him then lets do it.

Don't try to come on here an threaten anyone. Just because there are alot of kids who do nothing more then type online doesnt mean there arent a couple who would gladly accept a physical challenge in a heartbeat. I rolled 7 days a week starting when I was 15... Not by choice. I had to.. lol
But i have eaten one too many cheesburgers since 20yrs old hahaha might not be as fast as I was then but I can garuntee you one mighty fine round that will test your strenghts.... :headbang:

[Bulldog Stang]

Well there Mikey's Sister.

As a Police Officer, Admin, & Owner, What was posted was his experience with a "business." Businesses are not protected by Slander, Defamation, etc ... Read your laws honey!!! Your attorney is an IDIOT, like most of them are.

As a "business" you put yourself out there for people to judge, make comments about, complain, etc ... Its just part of being a business.

For instance, if you go to your Harley Shop and you get a QUOTE on a price for a new tank and then you go and pick it up and it is more than you were quoted, would you be a bit pissed ??? Yeah, I thought so. Would you tell all of your friends not to deal with that Harley Shop because they ripped you off ?? Yeah I thought so too ...

As for the Criminal Mischief that occurred in Seguin / Guadalupe County, that sucks that that happened. As to my knowledge, there are NO members on this site that reside even close to there, so I would venture to say that it must have been someone else that he OVERCHARGED.

If an investigator from the GCSO would like to talk to me in regards to members information if it would help solve the case, let me know. This website WILL cooperate with any law enforcement investigation.

My contact information is in my profile or he can reach me at the Kenedy Police Department.


Brian

[jitsumania]

Brian posted some informative data.
BTW- were we threatened by the prospect of violence by bad men on Harleys? Most of the Harley Riders I know are people of code and believe in respect. Right is right and wrong is wrong even if it is your roadie!


I am a consumer and believe wholeheartedly that business quotes are binding and if changes need to be made they need to be made up front to the consumer before the job is done and not after. We can call a spade a spade because a rip off is still a rip off whether it be $5 or $500.00. Good business is always guided by good ethics and good customer service.
BTW-Harleys just scare me to death, oh wait forgot that motercycles don't kill people, stupid people on motorcycles kill people :lmao:. Is it like in the movies 10 vs 1 or maybe 20 vs 1 HMMMMMMMM ? Knives, guns, chains.........HMMMMMMM sounds like fun to me cause everybody bleeds red (including me)....big or small, black or white brown or yellow....well you get the message. Enbracing death is very liberating :headbang:
Come visit Jitsu at Integrity Defensive Arts on Laurent st. for free introductory martial arts lessons. Love working with all kinds of people ;)

[Bulldog Stang]

You know what, I am going to open this back up and see what happens. I think that Mikey needs to have a chance to respond. I also want to see what responses come from others that may visit this site after visiting his site.

I just went over to his website (http://www.mikeyspinstriping.com/news) and he is accusing Chris of Slandering him, PUBLICLY on his website. Here is what he posted on his site ... I will post a few things in response to what he said on his site ...

Attention Customers, Friends, Enemies...

I'm Being Slandered on the Web

I've been striping for 30 years and have never had this happen over such a small amount of money....

I did a 55 Chevy for Chris from Victoria and charged the guy $50 more than I told him. I did tell him in our email conversations around $200. The price I charged him was $250 for about 2hrs work doing a cartoon bull dog with lettering under it. .

Hey, all of you who know me, will agree I'll be the first to say I'm not perfect and you also know I don't take no SHIT from no one. [(Is this a threat??? Not really, legally that is...) But this guy and his gang (What Gang??? No Gangs here) are threatening me with spreading what I did all over the net in a slanderous tone. And what i did is not all that serious. (Then what do you call it then??? Customers call it getting ripped off)

Obviously these people who have no idea about what I do and that you cannot put a firm price on doing artwork because of so many variables. (Dont tattoo artist give a person a price and stick with it ??? Every tattoo artist I have been to does. They are artist too!!!) And the people that have made comments on that site have no idea what this is and what the hell they are talking about. (Oh we dont huh ??? Thats funny!!! So what is it then???)

(maybe I should hand them the brush, HA-HA!) (If we had the skills, I am sure someone would.)

These people are slandering my name all over the place. I found one of his messages on the V-Town site and the site specifically says you cannot slander others on there. (Complaining about a BUSINESS IS NOT SLANDER!!!!)

Plus, one of his and someone elses email got sent to me by accident and it was very defaming.

What are we gona do about this? (You are not gonna do crap about it. Why? Because you CAN'T. You can hope that people will still use you as a pinstriper and that this doesn't get spread to other sites)

I know you cannot make everyone happy but I did tell him that I would give him his $50 bucks back but only if I do it in front of his club buds at the car show in June. Now he is being a total a$#hole about it. (Its not about the money. I know Chris and when it comes to things like this, money is the LAST thing on his mind. Get that through your head. It is about PRINCIPLE. Its about you telling a person one thing, and then changing it AFTER the job was done. If you wanted to change your price, you should have done it BEFORE you did the work. PERIOD!!!)

Like I told him after the fact, this is my f'n business and I'll do it the way I want to the way I've always done it. (EXACTLY!!!! You said it right there!!! YOUR BUSINESS!!!!!! And people have a right to complain about a business!!!!)

So boys from Vic, I ask you to cease and desist your unfounded comments. Don't forget, I will see you all in June at the carshow and there will be no hiding behind the smoke screen. (Our comments are NOT unfounded as this is a real customer's experience and your customer is telling us about his experience. Thank you for admitting this experience by posting it on your website for all to see. You ADMITTED on your website to OVERCHARGING him. Also, we WILL NOT cease and desist as our comments are NOT unfounded, they are the OPINIONS of the poster. We do have a 1st Amendment Right to Freedom of Speech.)

I get over 5000 hits on this site a week this will get read Too bad you don't have a comment section for people to respond so that others may read "The Rest of the Story" but hey, I am sure that since you posted our site name, people who want to know about it will search the name and find my site, so thank you for posting that. I am sure I will get some new members out of it :)



Message to Mikey. DUDE, you are a BUSINESS!!!! Bottom Line. People have the RIGHT to complain about your business if they so desire. Let me ask you this Mikey. If you go to a restaurant over there in Seguin and the food and service is HORRIBLE, do you complain?? Do you tell all of your friends about your experience ?? I already know the answer to that, which is YES you do. So let me ask you this, What is the difference of you complaining about the service and food at a restaurant compared to you telling a person a price and then changing it AFTER the work is done? What if he would have refused to pay you for the extra money?? Let me guess, you would have called the cops and filed charges on him for Theft of Service right ?

Now if Chris was saying PERSONAL things about you, like saying that you are gay or something like that, then yes, you would have a SLANDER or DEFAMATION of CHARACTER case. Chris is not doing ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

Good luck on your business as I am sure that since you posted it on your site and folks may venture over here and see Chris's post, you might lose some more customers.


Brian

[95civicgsr]

You know what, I am going to open this back up and see what happens. I think that Mikey needs to have a chance to respond. I also want to see what responses come from others that may visit this site after visiting his site.

I just went over to his website (http://www.mikeyspinstriping.com/news) and he is accusing Chris of Slandering him, PUBLICLY on his website. Here is what he posted on his site ... I will post a few things in response to what he said on his site ...

Attention Customers, Friends, Enemies...

I'm Being Slandered on the Web

I've been striping for 30 years and have never had this happen over such a small amount of money....

I did a 55 Chevy for Chris from Victoria and charged the guy $50 more than I told him. I did tell him in our email conversations around $200. The price I charged him was $250 for about 2hrs work doing a cartoon bull dog with lettering under it. .

Hey, all of you who know me, will agree I'll be the first to say I'm not perfect and you also know I don't take no SHIT from no one. [(Is this a threat??? Not really, legally that is...) But this guy and his gang (What Gang??? No Gangs here) are threatening me with spreading what I did all over the net in a slanderous tone. And what i did is not all that serious. (Then what do you call it then??? Customers call it getting ripped off)

Obviously these people who have no idea about what I do and that you cannot put a firm price on doing artwork because of so many variables. (Dont tattoo artist give a person a price and stick with it ??? Every tattoo artist I have been to does. They are artist too!!!) And the people that have made comments on that site have no idea what this is and what the hell they are talking about. (Oh we dont huh ??? Thats funny!!! So what is it then???)

(maybe I should hand them the brush, HA-HA!) (If we had the skills, I am sure someone would.)

These people are slandering my name all over the place. I found one of his messages on the V-Town site and the site specifically says you cannot slander others on there. (Complaining about a BUSINESS IS NOT SLANDER!!!!)

Plus, one of his and someone elses email got sent to me by accident and it was very defaming.

What are we gona do about this? (You are not gonna do crap about it. Why? Because you CAN'T. You can hope that people will still use you as a pinstriper and that this doesn't get spread to other sites)

I know you cannot make everyone happy but I did tell him that I would give him his $50 bucks back but only if I do it in front of his club buds at the car show in June. Now he is being a total a$#hole about it. (Its not about the money. I know Chris and when it comes to things like this, money is the LAST thing on his mind. Get that through your head. It is about PRINCIPLE. Its about you telling a person one thing, and then changing it AFTER the job was done. If you wanted to change your price, you should have done it BEFORE you did the work. PERIOD!!!)

Like I told him after the fact, this is my f'n business and I'll do it the way I want to the way I've always done it. (EXACTLY!!!! You said it right there!!! YOUR BUSINESS!!!!!! And people have a right to complain about a business!!!!)

So boys from Vic, I ask you to cease and desist your unfounded comments. Don't forget, I will see you all in June at the carshow and there will be no hiding behind the smoke screen. (Our comments are NOT unfounded as this is a real customer's experience and your customer is telling us about his experience. Thank you for admitting this experience by posting it on your website for all to see. You ADMITTED on your website to OVERCHARGING him. Also, we WILL NOT cease and desist as our comments are NOT unfounded, they are the OPINIONS of the poster. We do have a 1st Amendment Right to Freedom of Speech.)

I get over 5000 hits on this site a week this will get read Too bad you don't have a comment section for people to respond so that others may read "The Rest of the Story" but hey, I am sure that since you posted our site name, people who want to know about it will search the name and find my site, so thank you for posting that. I am sure I will get some new members out of it :)



Message to Mikey. DUDE, you are a BUSINESS!!!! Bottom Line. People have the RIGHT to complain about your business if they so desire. Let me ask you this Mikey. If you go to a restaurant over there in Seguin and the food and service is HORRIBLE, do you complain?? Do you tell all of your friends about your experience ?? I already know the answer to that, which is YES you do. So let me ask you this, What is the difference of you complaining about the service and food at a restaurant compared to you telling a person a price and then changing it AFTER the work is done? What if he would have refused to pay you for the extra money?? Let me guess, you would have called the cops and filed charges on him for Theft of Service right ?

Now if Chris was saying PERSONAL things about you, like saying that you are gay or something like that, then yes, you would have a SLANDER or DEFAMATION of CHARACTER case. Chris is not doing ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

Good luck on your business as I am sure that since you posted it on your site and folks may venture over here and see Chris's post, you might lose some more customers.


Brian

it is about principle. it doesnt matter if its 20 dollars of 200 dollars if the price of the labor is going to exceed the quote the customer should know. esp if the customer is present. also who would give a quote over an email without actually seeing the vehicle the design would be on? i know a few tatto artist and they would never give a quote over the phone or an email. and he is right i cant do artwork,but i can build an 800whp car,does that mean there are different types of bussiness ethics for us?


and gangs??? there arent any gangs affiliated with vtown racing.....if we were to go by his example he is slandering out website,maybe i should contact my attorney and file defamation of character charges on behalf of our beloved forum.......

[Bulldog Stang]

Amen J !!!

[07 GT500]

FYI

These people are slandering my name all over the place. I found one of his messages on the V-Town site and the site specifically says you cannot slander others on there.
Plus, one of his and someone elses email got sent to me by accident and it was very defaming.




The above quote is from Mikey's website. Below is the "defaming" Mikey found in that "someone else's" email that got sent to him purposely from another disappointed customer:

Chris, It looks like you got taken to the cleaners and didn’t have a garment. Is this the same guy who did the small model Yenko at last year’s car show that I had to repaint because of all his fingerprints, smudges and crappy linemanship? Hope you learned a lesson. Also, he needs to spend that extra fifty he took from you on a spelling dictionary. Signed, Disappointed with his work.

[Bulldog Stang]

Well, I got sent this email from someone who I will keep anonymous out of Respect for a Friend.

It seems that our "little" website is getting some exposure on the big ol' World Wide Web.

I am glad to see that the word is getting out about Mikey. I am sure that his tricks of ripping people off will be over soon if he plans to stay in business.

Here is the link ... http://www.trifive.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25008

[Jitsu Jr.]

Well, I got sent this email from someone who I will keep anonymous out of Respect for a Friend.

It seems that our "little" website is getting some exposure on the big ol' World Wide Web.

I am glad to see that the word is getting out about Mikey. I am sure that his tricks of ripping people off will be over soon if he plans to stay in business.

Here is the link ... http://www.trifive.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25008

:10:

[98Aggie]

He pulled his comment from his website but it will always be eternal on here since it was copied before being deleted.

[Bulldog Stang]

:lmao: :lmao: