The Itinerary Review Post

Moderators: Sluggo, Amskeptic

Post Reply
User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

The Itinerary Review Post

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Dec 04, 2013 7:58 am

You may choose to post your responses here, or you can cut and paste and send me a PM.

This itinerant life style has been such a unique banquet of experiences and sensations that I have quite ignored the business aspects. When I ran my old appliance/hvac service business, I left customer review cards at each call, and made sure that my technicians did too. This provided incentive for all of us. Well, after ten years of gamboling and cavorting about the country, I thought it might be best to drop off a review card here.

Please invest time and thought in your reviews. I *must* step it up a notch if I am to continue offering this service, and your feedback will be a critical first step in germinating new ideas for keeping my restless mind focused and on-task. Next year could mark a watershed moment in my equally "restless" resume vitae, it would be the longest time I have ever spent at any one endeavor. However, if it should get stale, or wither on the vine (not because of burn-out but lack of professional growth), I have been known to blow things up and then scramble to the next step.

While we are here, this would be a good time to ask you to drop a note on theSamba Buyer/Seller Feedback thread.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewto ... =amskeptic


*************************************************************************

1 - satisfied * - * - * - 5 not at all satisfied

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

PRE-REQUISITES

( ) ease of scheduling appointment

( ) clarity of deposits/details/requirements

( ) communication (any annoying misunderstandings?)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

VISIT

( ) punctuality

( ) politeness

( ) professionalism

( ) progression of your stated goals

( ) progression of state of vehicle

( ) follow-through after visit

( ) price/value

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

LEARNING

( ) clarity of concepts introduced

( ) clarity of explanations

( ) clarity of hands-on/field practicum

( ) your degree of knowledge retention

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

APPOINTMENT IMPROVEMENTS YOU'D LIKE TO SEE

open essay

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FUTURE

open essay

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Re: The Itinerary Review Post

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Dec 04, 2013 8:05 am

Here is a sample response, I cut the blather and filled in the numbers . . . if you hit the cursor in the middle of the parentheses your number is centered

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

PRE-REQUISITES

( 3 ) ease of scheduling appointment

( 3 ) clarity of deposits/details/requirements

( 3 ) communication (any annoying misunderstandings?)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

VISIT

( 3 ) punctuality

( 3 ) politeness

( 3 ) professionalism

( 3 ) progression of your stated goals

( 3 ) progression of state of vehicle

( 3 ) follow-through after visit

( 3 ) price/value

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

LEARNING

( 3 ) clarity of concepts introduced

( 3 ) clarity of explanations

( 3 ) clarity of hands-on/field practicum

( 3 ) your degree of knowledge retention

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

APPOINTMENT IMPROVEMENTS YOU'D LIKE TO SEE

write as much as you like

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FUTURE

write as much as you like

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

User avatar
whc03grady
IAC Addict!
Location: Livingston Montana
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: The Itinerary Review Post

Post by whc03grady » Wed Dec 04, 2013 2:43 pm

Amskeptic wrote:if you hit the cursor in the middle of the parentheses your number is centered
I will be taking ratings out to four, perhaps five decimal places, and you can't stop me.
Ludwig--1974 Westfalia, 2.0L (GD035193), Solex 34PDSIT-2/3 carburetors.
Gertie--1971 Squareback, 1600cc with Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection from a '72 (E brain).
Read about their adventures:
http://www.ludwigandgertie.blogspot.com

User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Re: The Itinerary Review Post

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Dec 04, 2013 8:00 pm

whc03grady wrote: I will be taking ratings out to four, perhaps five decimal places, and you can't stop me.
Weeze proud of our outstanding work on breaks . . . hey Vito
Tony
Director of Compliance
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

jackstar
Getting Hooked!
Location: Gulf Breeze, Florida
Status: Offline

Re: The Itinerary Review Post

Post by jackstar » Thu Dec 05, 2013 1:02 pm

PRE-REQUISITES

( 1 ) ease of scheduling appointment / Not a problem.

( 1 ) clarity of deposits/details/requirements / Nope, you took my money pretty easily.

( 1 ) communication (any annoying misunderstandings?) / Other than that nasally Newt Yawker accent, no.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

VISIT

( 1 ) punctuality / Very much so. You woke me up fine.

( 1 ) politeness / There was the requisite number of Yassirs.

( 2 ) professionalism / Had to give you a 2 because I did not get a WWCD t-shirt in a large. Also, you did not have on a shirt with your .
name on it like down at the Jiffy Lube.

( 1 ) progression of your stated goals / Very good. Even got to some of my unstated goals.

( 1 ) progression of state of vehicle / It progressed real good afterward.

( 1 ) follow-through after visit / I'll say. Has been here for the last 2 winters. May have to get a spray for it down at Ace Hardware.

( 1 ) price/value / Pretty good even if he wouldn't take my coupon.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

LEARNING

( 1 ) clarity of concepts introduced / After he stopped yelling at me, the concepts got more clear.

( 1 ) clarity of explanations / See above.

( 1 ) clarity of hands-on/field practicum / Didn't need to lay no hands on it like on Sunday, we cured what ailed it right good with our tools and such.

( 1 ) your degree of knowledge retention / Pretty good since I got retained a couple of grades.

Jackstar

Jivermo
IAC Addict!
Status: Offline

Re: The Itinerary Review Post

Post by Jivermo » Thu Dec 05, 2013 6:57 pm

Good one!

User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Re: The Itinerary Review Post

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Dec 09, 2013 9:12 pm

I am assuming that my customers are all out of town, on holiday, in their Volkswagens, save for the sterling loyal bunch (all three of you) who have replied.

Necessity is the mother of reinvention . . .
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

Jivermo
IAC Addict!
Status: Offline

Re: The Itinerary Review Post

Post by Jivermo » Tue Dec 10, 2013 5:14 am

PRE-REQUISITES

( 1 ) ease of scheduling appointment

( 1 ) clarity of deposits/details/requirements

( 1 ) communication (any annoying misunderstandings?) Although slight initial confusion when I disappeared to get Colin a cup of hot Starbucks coffee. "Where did he go?" Colin asked my wife. "I don't know.", she said.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

VISIT

( 1 ) punctuality

( 2 ) politeness-"Bluntness" would be the operative word here. If you're looking for Emily Post, keep searching.

( 1 ) professionalism-the consummate professional.

( 1 ) progression of your stated goals-and then some; prepare yourself for work!

( 1 ) progression of state of vehicle-simply amazing progress, and knowledge of workings, for a day's work.

( 1 ) follow-through after visit-Continuing Education

( 1 ) price/value-how does he do it?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

LEARNING

( 1 ) clarity of concepts introduced

(1) clarity of explanations

( 1 ) clarity of hands-on/field practicum

( 3 ) your degree of knowledge retention-Some of this stuff bears repetition, at least for me. Hence, future visits.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

APPOINTMENT IMPROVEMENTS YOU'D LIKE TO SEE
I can think of none. I've experienced two visits, and both were seamless. You tell Colin what you want to do, he tells you what to have on hand, he gets there, you do it, he draws pictures of stuff, drinks his cokes and coffee, gets his hands dirty, and then leaves.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Free copy of "The Book" for every Itinerant Visit.

A visit from Colin is the best thing you can do for your bus. Example: When he was here last month, a friend of mine backed his '71 bus into the driveway. If Colin had been a dog, you would have seen his head tilt, and his ears go up.
"There's something not quite right here." he said.
It took Colin all of 15 minutes to pinpoint the problem: one of the twin Webers was essentially non-functioning. The engine was running on only two cylinders, with minor assist coughs from #3 and 4.
My friend had been driving the bus that way since he bought it.

User avatar
whc03grady
IAC Addict!
Location: Livingston Montana
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: The Itinerary Review Post

Post by whc03grady » Tue Dec 10, 2013 9:30 am

Amskeptic wrote:I am assuming that my customers are all out of town, on holiday, in their Volkswagens, save for the sterling loyal bunch (all three of you) who have replied.

Neccesity is the mother of reinvention . . .
Colin
Shhhh! I'm composing my essays!
Ludwig--1974 Westfalia, 2.0L (GD035193), Solex 34PDSIT-2/3 carburetors.
Gertie--1971 Squareback, 1600cc with Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection from a '72 (E brain).
Read about their adventures:
http://www.ludwigandgertie.blogspot.com

User avatar
yondermtn
Old School!
Location: IL
Status: Offline

Re: The Itinerary Review Post

Post by yondermtn » Tue Dec 10, 2013 9:36 am

PRE-REQUISITES

( 3 ) ease of scheduling appointment/ when you're just passing thru once/yr it can be difficult to have the stars align. I understand that there's only so many places you can be.

( 1 ) clarity of deposits/details/requirements

( 1 ) communication (any annoying misunderstandings?)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

VISIT

( 1 ) punctuality

( 1 ) politeness

( 1 ) professionalism

( 2 ) progression of your stated goals/ unexpected things come up, what can you do?

( 1 ) progression of state of vehicle/ the bus has always been happier than before Colin arrived.

( 1 ) follow-through after visit

( 2 ) price/value/ hey, it could always be cheaper;) I really do think it's a great value, but there might be some who are always going to be in over their head. I'll hold onto the sketches and diagrams forever :salute:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

LEARNING

( 1 ) clarity of concepts introduced

( 1 ) clarity of explanations

( 1 ) clarity of hands-on/field practicum

( 2 ) your degree of knowledge retention/ Colin brings so much knowledge I don't know how anyone could retain all of it.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

APPOINTMENT IMPROVEMENTS YOU'D LIKE TO SEE

Other than being selfish and wanting Colin "on-demand", I think switching up the routing from year to year is a good practice which I think has been executed. Some people might consider more than one appointment if Colin passed thru more than once and again I understand this is probably hard to do.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FUTURE

One thing I just thought of is it would be neat to be able to search past Itinerary Reports for particular procedures that have been done in past Itineraries. Say I want to adjust my AFM. It would be neat to find a past Itinerary Report where that procedure had been performed. Just thinking out loud here.

Overall, I can't say enough good things about my 2 visits. I must get my 3rd visit in 2014. Thanks for all you do, Colin.
1977 Westy 2.0FI
1990 Vanagon MV 2.1 Auto

User avatar
WaterDawg
Getting Hooked!
Location: Vagabond
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: The Itinerary Review Post

Post by WaterDawg » Tue Dec 10, 2013 9:10 pm

Can I participate even if you didn't physically work on/visit my bus?
I did get to work along side you on Tim's bus and you did save my royal butt on the road a couple of time. :salute:
Larry Jensen
Follow me at
http://www.WonderofWander.com

71whitewesty
Addicted!
Status: Offline

Re: The Itinerary Review Post

Post by 71whitewesty » Wed Dec 11, 2013 1:30 pm

ok, with out cut and pasting I'd just like to add that my visit with Colin could not have been better. Really. It was just what I and my bus needed and we were able to do it all while enjoying the campout in Maupin. I'm definitely scheduling again and telling my local VW buds that they must also. (maybe it would help keep their busses out my driveway!) =D> Meanwhile, I'm going over to the samba to add to the positive feed back. I'm desperate to keep this going!

User avatar
aopisa
Addicted!
Location: Vermont
Status: Offline

Re: The Itinerary Review Post

Post by aopisa » Wed Dec 11, 2013 6:59 pm

PRE-REQUISITES

( 1* ) ease of scheduling appointment - (personal preference would be to switch back to Spring vs. Fall, but that's just me being selfish)

( 1 ) clarity of deposits/details/requirements

( 1 ) communication (any annoying misunderstandings?)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

VISIT

( 2 ) punctuality

( 1 ) politeness

( 1 ) professionalism

( 2* ) progression of your stated goals - *see below

( 2 ) progression of state of vehicle

( 1 ) follow-through after visit

( 1! ) price/value

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

LEARNING

( 1 ) clarity of concepts introduced

( 1 ) clarity of explanations

( 1 ) clarity of hands-on/field practicum

( 3 ) your degree of knowledge retention

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

APPOINTMENT IMPROVEMENTS YOU'D LIKE TO SEE

I think sometimes the side or smaller projects begin to take on a life of their own leaving some more important items as a race to the finish (we always get to steering related things in the dark with minutes to go). We all know how fast the day goes and seems to accelerate once the afternoon hits. Some slight improvements in time management and keeping the bus owner on track might be considered.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FUTURE

I think this service is an invaluable component of owning a vintage VW in this day and age. I would really have to think long and hard about continuing the ownership of my bus if you were to stop providing it. I can honestly say that my bus would suffer without your help. I wish I could schedule two visits bookending the season. I tell everyone one that owns an old VW about Colin and his service as I think it is the best investment one can make in their vehicle. Actually, just having Colin around for the day is worth it for entertainment value alone, getting to work on the bus is an added benefit. :flower:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
1977 Westy 2.0L F.I.

Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate. - Chuang Tzu

TrollFromDownBelow
IAC Addict!
Location: Metro Detroit
Status: Offline

Re: The Itinerary Review Post

Post by TrollFromDownBelow » Wed Dec 11, 2013 7:19 pm

I sent you a PM - however, thought it would be fun to post some of this publicly. In the spirit of spinal tap where all the amps go to 11, I will use the score of 0 to show where Colin is OTT (over the top).
PRE-REQUISITES

( 1 ) ease of scheduling appointment

( 0 ) clarity of deposits/details/requirements - read the directions!

( 1 ) communication (any annoying misunderstandings?)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

VISIT

( 2 ) punctuality - hey, sometimes you've gotta use your imagination and pretend you are in a different time zone. :) However, after 5 visits, you gotta figure there would be some logistics challenges...he was only late for one.

( 0 ) politeness - Never called me a dolt, an idiot, made fun of my moderate political leanings, or more importantly, my lack of ignorance of politics...oh yeah, didn't make fun of lack of a/c knowledge. :) the consummate teacher.

( 1 ) professionalism -

( 1 ) progression of your stated goals

( 0 ) progression of state of vehicle - considering that we started with a sawdust filled used engine block with an unknown history and a helicoil that held it's spark plug with a death grip (cleaned said spark plug, and it now has 15k miles plus whatever it had BEFORE I got it) it runs pretty darned good!

( 1 ) follow-through after visit

( 1 ) price/value - phenomenal value

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

LEARNING

( 0 ) clarity of concepts introduced - made things extremely clear

( 1 ) clarity of explanations

( 0 ) clarity of hands-on/field practicum

( 3 ) your degree of knowledge retention - that's more a reflection of the student rather than the teacher...however, will say he gave me the confidence to tackle almost anything.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

APPOINTMENT IMPROVEMENTS YOU'D LIKE TO SEE

extended periods of philosophizing, beer drinking, and over consumption of caffeine :)

The only other suggestion, that may help cut down on cancellations, etc, is offer two choices of payment; original 50% deposit, 50% at meeting, you offer a choice to breakout the payments monthly, weekly etc, but the cost goes up 5 or 10% (or some factor). People are used to paying monthly and 100 a week or month (or whatever) maybe easier to digest...just a thought.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
1976 VW Bus aka tripod
FI ...not leaky, and not so noisy...and she runs awesome!
hambone wrote: There are those out there with no other aim but to bunch panties. It's like arguing with a pretzel.
::troll2::

Jivermo
IAC Addict!
Status: Offline

Re: The Itinerary Review Post

Post by Jivermo » Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:15 am

The concept of having time payments is an interesting one. However, I must say that I don't think it is a realistic approach. We all have a business relationship with Colin, first and foremost. While I now consider him a friend, our work on my bus is how Colin makes his living. His terms of payment are very straightforward and simple. Deposit paid, he comes and works, balance due and paid. I've been in business for 40 years, and keeping track of time payment schemes take up an incredible amount of time, energy, telephone calls, emails, etc. Between finishing his book, and doing the itinerant work schedule, I can't imagine Colin having the time to take over an accounting task like that. If he did, I think that we would all see an increase in his daily rate, as he would need to hire a second person to keep the books. My suggestion: If you are going to hire Colin, start your own Itinerant Fund, and put money away every week solely for that purpose. Right now, you have 4 months easy before the 2014 trip begins. We all value his work, and we need to keep it simple for the guy. I want him to finish up the Air Cooled book, not take up accounting.

Post Reply