Anybody seen Joe?

[Tully]

Joe drove to my house and picked me up. Drove me 1 1/2 hours North and helped me drive my new bus home. Spent and entire day helping me learn the bus. I had no idea who or what he was about. He made the offer.

I did not know Joe. He asked for "Zero Money"....

He simply contacted me when I was posting I had found a bus. He was and is a very real and honest person.

Joe has a true love for these "campers" and it always shows.

I had repairs done one time and they were 100% correct. No guessing.
Getting it right the fist time. Not getting paid to learn.

For whatever it is worth- I will continue to work with good people.
Joe is good people.

I was not aware of the matter with Joe. I figured he was busy. Will call him and let him know he still has my vote.

This site still rocks! It is full of info and the people are good people
My pennies worth.

Tully

[bluevost]

There have been many comments made, but Jello's was right on the money. This was a business decision and we aren't owed any explanation. Tough business decisions are made daily.

Come on Joe, do it right. Get a business license, a Fed. I.D. number, insurance, pay your POG dues and come back.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I would agree with that statement 100 percent. At times it appears that all our toys are nothing but problems that need fixing all the time. Perception is reality and I have to be honest that my perception and mine only, is that the site appears to be a mechanics forum most of the time. I honestly like to hear about the trips and see the great pictures you guys take. I am not a big poster but I am sure I am not the only one who signs on and hopes to read about some fun stuff rather than mechanical issues.

This site is driven by the POG members. Any member can discuss any topics. I often am concerned about a few of us who have been posting on P-Stuff before POG, and then who became the core of POG in the beginning having an impact on other members. We all have had coaches for quite a while, we know one another, we have probably gone through the range of mechanical problems, and we likely have traveled in our coaches extensively. So we carry on insulting one another and occasionally answer questions. My point is I think it can be intimidating to newer owners or members. The only way you will enjoy this site to the maximum is to post topics of interest to you.

Please don't worry about topics others post, and for sure don't let our horseplay here stop you. You can drive the direction of the posts by contributing. If you feel you are too new to post don't worry about it. Every one of us was new at one time.

I think the reason for what appears to be mechanical issues dominating the site is because we are driving complex assemblies of parts and systems down the highway and those things need to be repaired from time to time. What you may or may not notice is the mechanical questions are rarely new. As new owners join and they experience problems they ask questions about topics that have previously been covered. We can tell them to do a search, but that is not fair to them. When a person has a problem with their coach it is very important to them and since I know the feeling of being inneed of help, I for one want to provide someone the help they need.

It would be nice to see more pictures, not necessarily of just buses with a nice sunset in the background, but of the people who make up this site doing things in their buses, and visiting places I might want to go. I like seeing some of the great photos of places others have gone such as Dale's excellent photos (both Dales). I would love hearing stories of people's experiences. So to make your wish come true why don't you guys who want less mechanical stuff and more lifestyle stuff start posting those things. I will join you and say I want to see more stuff of interest to the women. It is a lot easier to sell a trip to Mama if there is a lot of neat stuff from the woman's perspective. All guy stuff doesn't cut it.

If you want to see a great lifestyle Blog, look up Lloyd and Pam's site. They epitomize the thing you are talking about. But keep in mind, sometimes Lloyd has mechanical problems so he asks questions here.

[JIM KELLER]

Nice post, Jon.

[mike kerley]

Off line for two days and look what happens!!

Lots of pro's and con's on members rights, but unfortunately, Jim Skiff still holds "most" of the cards. Its his forum for our use and I'm gratefull for it.

That said, I dont agree with Joe being removed. I believe the issue was more pressure from advertisers than insurance and find that to be regrettable (if its true). I state that after talking to Joe and reading Jim's posting.

From what I've seen, most of the work Joe did was for other than monetary exchange. Without question his postings on the forum were very helpful to many of us and cost us nothing other than our time and membership. I do not know him personally, he has never stayed at my house or done work for me, but, until I see otherwise, he has my vote for a decent, honorable man who genuinely loves working on his bus and helping others with theirs. I hope Joe and Jim can converse as adults and mend the torn fence.

As for Lew. I know Lew is attempting to sell his bus, so it may not be a big deal to him, although his dry humor is missed and I'm sure he misses reading every ones posts. I dont know that he would come back if he was invited.

This feels like dealing with family! Notice the similarity. Its never all hugs and kisses.

[Jerry Winchester]

How about we move on from this one and find something else to obsess about.

beating a dead horse.bmp

[mike kerley]

Jerry, So, your first comment is "no comment", shuffle off? What flavor have you been drinking?

[Denny]

I think something needs to be said about Joe and why he got involved in the bus repairs business. Many newcomers may have never heard the story.

Joe was an owner/operator truck driver meaning he owned his own truck and worked for a trucking company. The company Joe was working for hauled gravel, slag, stone, dirt, etc. for road construction. Joe was traveling slow and a car ran into the back of his dump trailer killing the driver of the car. Ultimately, Joe lost his drivers license for two years which will be up in April, 2010. A truck driver without a license means no work.

Joe went through an extremely difficult financial time with no income. He sold his truck and what ever he could to just survive. He tried to sell his bus but that never happened. As I said, Joe was having an extremely difficult time.

Joe has always been very mechanical and maintained his own truck and equipment. Trucks and buses have a lot of the same components so out of necessity Joe started doing work on buses to survive. He did it to put food on his table and to keep bill collectors away from his door. I have the most respect for Joe and what he did. The survival instinct kicked in and he provided for his family.

To compare Joe's bus business with other bus businesses and converters is not fair. Yes, he should have insurance to protect himself but do you pay the insurance premium or buy food for your family? Do you buy insurance or make your house payment?

As a business owner, I have disability income insurance, liability insurance, malpractice insurance, umbrella policies to cover umbrella policies and a host of other insurances. Did I have all of this when I bought my funeral home 20 years ago? No. I was concerned with keeping my head above water not winning any races. Joe was in survival mode and food was more important than many of the common business practices we use today.

And now you have some of "the rest of the story"

[MangoMike]

I get a lot of feedback from my customers and staff on how run my restaurants. All input is appreciated and digested.

But at the end of the day one person has to decided what's best for Mango Mike's based on a global view. And I always ask myself: "What's best for the business?"

I'm sure Jim has asked himself that question and is responding accordingly as he wants nothing more than to have this organization be as strong and lasting as possible.

[dalej]

And...

We pay $100/year to belong to what I thought was a private forum, not so I find out.

Are the sponsors allowed to view comments and use it to improve there position in the marketplace? A quote from Joe " we are in a fishbowl, they are reading our every statement and....and skiffer is reading our Private messages".

I just think we need to have published disclaimers i.e. who is getting free memberships and why. Is there a hidden board of directors? who are they?

Jim Skiff said to me, "this is your board" meaning the members. Why doesn't it feel like it.

Lew gets the boot..
Joe gets the boot..
who's next? and we pay for this!

Maybe this forum needs to end and just use the free site.