Jim_75Sahara wrote:

You've got to think that Al would get a fantastic amount of orders from FAQ'ers if he followed through on his high quality work with great customer service and personal integrity. He would be successful and we would all be happier. Too simple, too obvious perhaps?

Hi Jim,

That was the case, many years ago. The FAQ and FAQers supported my shop nicely. Things went out timely, I knew everyone's name, their car, the colours they ordered, etc. I always answered the phone, replied to email, and generally got shit done!

We grew very big, very fast, and I had troubles keeping up. I never really intended Seams Perfect to be a primary business, but it turned into one, whether I wanted it to, or not. I am not an e-commerce businessman, but I did my best, for as long as I could. Staffing troubles got in the way, and then a series of personal problems got me even further behind. We were never really able to keep up. Then I went and bought the repair shop! That turned a bad situation, into a worse one, as it kept me busy full time, and so did Seams. 2 full time jobs is not what I wanted, and I simply burned out.

5 years later, I have learned a TON, and apply those lessons to my day to day business life now, in hopes of never repeating history. So far, so good. Now that Seams Perfect is no longer in e-commerce on the level it once was, I can still feel proud that we supplied a LOT of 02ers with the best quality products on the market, hands down. It was fun while it lasted, but it has to end now. I'm tired, burnt out, and frankly, I need a change.

My personal integrity is still very high, higher than my abilities to ship promptly! The FAQ has made me a lot of friends, as has Seams Perfect. None of that will ever change, and it is almost all good memories. Perhaps one day, in a few years, I'll come back. US dollar has to turn around for it to be viable again, and I'll need to assure I have a proper staff in place before I dig in, but I think next time, we will come back bigger, smarter, better, faster, and freshed than ever.

Thanks to everyone for all the support, as well as the critism over the years. It was a great learning experience.

Al