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      04-03-2014, 11:13 PM   #1
NikB316
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MODS: V12 aka Rich REQUESTING I CENSOR MY REVIEW AND THOUGHTS! VERY OBNOXIOUS & RUDE!

MODS: V12/RICH tried to convince me to remove part of my review of another vendor's service for his own personal benefit. I will forward any emails illustrating this as he is trying to do an injustice to the community by not wanting anyone to know about a viable alternative to his service at less than half his price. I made no mention of him in my review and have never posted negatively about him. He has crossed the line IMO so please PM me.

I am sure this is against vendor policies.


Snippets from one of the emails below...

"...Your post is nice for him but it did me a disservice.
What bothered me beyond what I thought the wording was directed at me was the mention of pricing.
There is no need for that because it sets the bar and it takes away the ability for others to price to suit their experience...

...But I just hate having to address price variances just I had to with you during out exchange. It takes me away from doing my work and into back-and-forth silly dialogues...

...Could you please remove the mention of money from your review? Your good experience and outstanding relationship with Alex should speak for itself. It isn’t always about the lowest price. You wouldn’t think of hiring the lowest bidder to build you a house or manage your money right?

I hope you understand.

Thank you in advance.

Rich..."

How this started:
I contacted V12 (Rich) to ask him about his coding services. He also told me he sells radar & laser equipment. I mentioned I have had coding done in the past at a certain price and what his best price would be with also bundling approx $2k of radar & laser equipment. I tell him his coding pricing is fair and I'm sure we can work something out on the bundle. I decide to go with a different laser jammer brand and therefore have no use for his services. He begins to insult me on financial decisions and especially on my decision to use someone else.
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      04-04-2014, 07:51 AM   #2
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This doesn't sound like Rich at all. It does sound like you tried to negotiate him down from his established cost, and created plenty of email exchanges of your own.

Curiously, did your other coder successfully code the adaptive LED lights? I'm guessing no, because no other coder can do this yet. To me, this feature alone, is worth more than what you paid to you coder. Rich deserves a premium because he put in the hours to crack the code, and gives spectacular customer service.

I am glad you found someone to code at a price you found reasonable, but if you follow any of the vendors/sponsors on this site, you will see price is not mentioned unless they have an established website (like iND). Reviewers, as a courtesy, keep their prices paid private because not every sale is the same for every person, in fact most are very customized, be it wheels, cosmetics, or even coding.

I don't think Rich's request crossed a line so much that you had to post all this slamming him... you could have just ignored it, like you ignored his offer to provide services at a reasonable cost, after you contacted him in the first place.
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      04-04-2014, 08:16 AM   #3
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      04-04-2014, 09:06 AM   #4
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Did ask him literally ONCE if he would consider matching another price. He said no, I said fine your price is fair based on what you do. What kind of person would contact me after posting a positive review about a vendor and saying nothing bad about him? I did not go with him because I wanted a different laser jammer and a guy that done all my previous coding was able to do it. I didn't want a cable to keep nor someone coming to me. I find that more inconvenient as I must keep an appointment for something so small.

I have dealt with a ton of vendors from my previous car and I have never, nor thought I would ever, had to post this. This guy is really off his rocker. Started making personal insults to my character over something so minor. He should have never contacted me in the first place.

You won't believe how many long, rude, emails he has written to me about this. Hell he was the one that told me to "post this".

I figured with the coding he has done in the M5 community I am going to get more crap for this than him but so be it. What he did was wrong and instead of apologizing he continued to insult me and my financial decisions....over a $200 coding job he didn't get!

Anyone who thinks he has the right to email me telling me to edit my review seriously has their blinders on. Come on now...

I apologize I even had to post this but enough is enough.


B-1Pilot,
Yes my other coder did successfully code the anti glare adaptive high beams you are referring to. Contact any other successful coder and they can do it. Rich didn't crack anything - just all marketing man. The other thread I have about my review goes in depth about the coding for that feature. It's been around for a long time. From my understanding it's a European feature which gets coded off when cars come to the U.S. It's as simple as enabling the European feature. Nothing crazy complex to crack.


Quote:
Originally Posted by B-1Pilot View Post
This doesn't sound like Rich at all. It does sound like you tried to negotiate him down from his established cost, and created plenty of email exchanges of your own.

Curiously, did your other coder successfully code the adaptive LED lights? I'm guessing no, because no other coder can do this yet. To me, this feature alone, is worth more than what you paid to you coder. Rich deserves a premium because he put in the hours to crack the code, and gives spectacular customer service.

I am glad you found someone to code at a price you found reasonable, but if you follow any of the vendors/sponsors on this site, you will see price is not mentioned unless they have an established website (like iND). Reviewers, as a courtesy, keep their prices paid private because not every sale is the same for every person, in fact most are very customized, be it wheels, cosmetics, or even coding.

I don't think Rich's request crossed a line so much that you had to post all this slamming him... you could have just ignored it, like you ignored his offer to provide services at a reasonable cost, after you contacted him in the first place.
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      04-04-2014, 10:58 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skypx View Post
Boots is not going to be happy with me using the quote function.

I just received a PM from another member that didn't understand my post, so please allow me to explain.

I am simply disappointed this has issue has gone this far.

Here's the bottom line as I see it, NikB316 seems 100% satisfied with the services Alex provided and in the end that's all that matters!

I still think v12 is a class act and I can't imagine anyone else meeting my expectations the way he did.

NikB316, whatever transpired between yourself and v12 is unfortunate and I hope this is something you can overcome so we can continue enjoying other tragic yet entertaining posts!

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      04-04-2014, 11:14 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skypx View Post
Boots is not going to be happy with me using the quote function.

I just received a PM from another member that didn't understand my post, so please allow me to explain.

I am simply disappointed this has issue has gone this far.

Here's the bottom line as I see it, NikB316 seems 100% satisfied with the services Alex provided and in the end that's all that matters!

I still think v12 is a class act and I can't imagine anyone else meeting my expectations the way he did.

NikB316, whatever transpired between yourself and v12 is unfortunate and I hope this is something you can overcome so we can continue enjoying other tragic yet entertaining posts!

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He he. I just quoted you.
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      04-04-2014, 11:17 AM   #7
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I'm VERY disappointed this has got to this point too...it's insane. I was baffled that someone would have the nerve to ask me to censor my post or review. If I had posted something negative about v12 in that review that would be another story - I did not mention his name. He only started getting on me and insulting me after reading that and thinking I wrote the review out of spite. There was 0 spite or animosity. Just because one writes an honest review about a competitor? If one without bias were to read the emails that transpired between us I'm sure they would be in total agreement. I posted the pricing that Alpine offers to everyone right on their web site - it's no secret. I think V12 offers a very fair price considering he spends hours driving and gives you a cable.

There's only so much one can take. Once he started attacking my overall character as greedy, unfair, etc....all over this! The emails he sent me are really just beyond belief.

Would be nice for the mods to just do their thing and then lock this thread.

I've been a member here for 7 years and a lurker for probably another 3! I have never encountered something like this...
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      04-04-2014, 12:22 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boots View Post
He he. I just quoted you.
Copy that!
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      04-04-2014, 12:43 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NikB316 View Post
Would be nice for the mods to just do their thing and then lock this thread.
If that is the case, why did you start the thread? Locking it would simply prevent V12 and his supporters - of which I am one - to voice their opposite experiences. I found Rich to be supremely professional and provide amazing service. I don't have the foggiest notion as to how or why your interation with him spiralled so out of control, but it is completely the opposite of what I experienced.
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      04-04-2014, 01:04 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DrewM5 View Post
If that is the case, why did you start the thread? Locking it would simply prevent V12 and his supporters - of which I am one - to voice their opposite experiences. I found Rich to be supremely professional and provide amazing service. I don't have the foggiest notion as to how or why your interation with him spiralled so out of control, but it is completely the opposite of what I experienced.
I just don't understand why this was posted publicly...?

If you truly have a greivance, then take care of it with the Moderators and the parties involved.

Personally, I am not a fan of airing dirty laundry for all to see.

Just my .02.
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      04-04-2014, 05:09 PM   #11
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DrewM5,
I'm just as shocked that it spiraled out of control. He seemed nice in the beginning but the insults he was tossing around via email after I posted that review were disgusting. I realize that anyone that has has coding done from him will have a bias here.

Nobody finds it wrong that a vendor would ask a member to censor their review of a competing vendor? Keep in mind my review did not mention a single thing about him!

From there the insults began about being cheap, greedy, etc. Totally unfounded BS. Again, I've been a member here for 7 years and have had 0 issues.
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      04-04-2014, 05:58 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NikB316 View Post
DrewM5,
I'm just as shocked that it spiraled out of control. He seemed nice in the beginning but the insults he was tossing around via email after I posted that review were disgusting. I realize that anyone that has has coding done from him will have a bias here.

Nobody finds it wrong that a vendor would ask a member to censor their review of a competing vendor? Keep in mind my review did not mention a single thing about him!

From there the insults began about being cheap, greedy, etc. Totally unfounded BS. Again, I've been a member here for 7 years and have had 0 issues.
I have no problem with his requesting that you remove the pricing information. That doesn't amount to "censorship" in my book; just a simple request for courtesy.
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      04-04-2014, 06:04 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DrewM5
I have no problem with his requesting that you remove the pricing information. That doesn't amount to "censorship" in my book; just a simple request for courtesy.
I don't know what happened here so I won't comment on who did what.

However two important principles apply which I think board members should recognize:

1) Price transparency is great for consumers and it should be applauded. So I don't think anyone should criticize Nik for posting pricing for the guy he used. It should be applauded.

2) Competition is great for consumers and it is nice to know that there are 2 guys on opposite coasts who do a nice job for their customers.

I don't know why this got out of control. My interactions with Rich have been fantastic so I don't recognize the V12 described in this thread. He's been 100% professional, honest and dedicated in my book. I'd still recommend V12 to anyone.
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      04-04-2014, 08:54 PM   #14
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Sorry you had to deal with that. We do not tolerate behavior like this from our sponsors. Sponsors are not to interfere or attempt to affect another sponsor's business by either directly posting about the other company or doing so indirectly by asking members to say (or not say) something about another sponsor.

A warning has been given. If anyone experiences this from any of our sponsors, I encourage you to report it to me. Thank you.
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