Well I will be absent a few days, but I ain't quit'n!

[Busted Knuckle]

OK just a short note before I get some fast sleep!

I'm headed for Greensboro, NC around midnight tonight to sneak up on 'm while they have one of our S417's in for warranty / Factory recall stuff. They claim that ball=ancing the tires fixed a shimmy & shake it's had since new (according to the guy we bought it from! & I know it was doing it last October when I used it for a week!)

Anyway I'm gonna play a dad move on them and walk in unannounced in the AM and just see what's up!
Robert & I are taking the POS! loaner they sent that shakes and hops worse than ours did back and telling/asking them "if ya can't fix yers, what makes us think ya can fix ours?"

So if ya hear an explosion near there it'll just be me! If I don't get out of jail before the rally could ya ask Uncle Ned to stop by and sneak me some liquid refreshments and some of the left over vittles (if there are any!)
  BK 

[Dreamscape]

I lived there for nine years before moving to SoCal. What shop are you using there? It'll be muggy so take your snorkel and behave yourself.

Paul

[Busted Knuckle]

I lived there for nine years before moving to SoCal. What shop are you using there? It'll be muggy so take your snorkel and behave yourself.

Paul

Daimler Buses of North America / Setra Headquarters! They know my voice on the phone (the nice one and nasty one, and my pretty smiling face !
  BK 

[Dreamscape]

OK, Thomas Bus is there also, I know they are in a different market but a bus just the same. Have fun and keep your backside in the front!

I was trying to think of a good place for lunch, but it's been six years and I have CRS anyway!

Be safe,

Paul

[uncle ned]

  BK if you need me

I will come running and bring my bail bondsman.

good luck

uncle ned

[Sojourner]

Having my Nikon on the peak of a house in Elloree, SC to automatically snap a mushroom cloud whenever it happens. LOL.

You guys know how to carry on to make us smiling.

BTW...let us know what the latest news if you will.

Sojourn for Christ, Gerald

[wvanative]

BK, snap a picture as you walk in so we can see the expression on their faces, I'm sure it will be worth a thousand words.

WVaNative 

[JohnEd]

BK,

We found a Beaver had a problem with the steering box mounting.  It looked robust but after starting her and cranking on the wheel we saw that the entire box was moving a inch or more back and forth.  A couple pieces of angle iron solved the problem.  Three shops had given up and the owner was really bummed.  It was wandering badly and trucks passing affected it like it was a VW.  That coach had had every component pushed and pulled and aligned and greased and balanced .....TO DEATH.

Ever go under you Setra and watch stuff while a trusted employee cranked the wheel back and forth?

Good luck, Bro.

2 cents may be optimistic,

John

[Sojourner]

Uncle Ned! Let us know if they jail BK. LOL.

We be waiting for another great story to read of whatever.

Sojourn for Christ, Gerald

[Busted Knuckle]

All is OK!

I didn't go to Jail, and I am back home safely!

They weren't surprised to see me at all! (which surprised me) Seems they had called the office to talk to me about a 1/2 hr before I got there and dad not realizing it was them told them "He is out of the office for a couple days because he had to go to NC to pick up a bus from the factory service center! Is there something I can help you with?"
So they were expecting me and even had the bus over the pit so they could show me what they had called to tell me they had found!

It was all ok, they had corrected the major problems and we went for a ride with the shop foreman driving while I walked from front to back and sat in different areas @ different speeds. The ride was tremendously better, and will be perfect or near perfect when I get the new shocks I picked up, and the cupped tag tire replaced today!

By the way Paul Daimler owns Thomas too!   Same facility on High Point Rd!

  BK 

[DaveG]

Good news. Sounds like you got them whipped into shape! What did the have to say about the loaner of theirs?

[Busted Knuckle]

Good news. Sounds like you got them whipped into shape! What did the have to say about the loaner of theirs?

Funny you should ask!

While I was there I took the task on of amusing myself and asked the salesman to show me the "economical" S471's available and how show me just how economical they were!

Well he showed me a half a dozen units in the shop having this & that done to 'm before being placed in the mix with the others. Then we headed outside and he happened upon the loaner and said "oh I didn't realize this unit was due back already, we sent it out as a loaner earlier this month and I thought it would be over a month before it came back!" I looked him in the eye and told him "Well I'll be honest, it was supposed to be gone longer than that! And I'll be more honest with you, I'd trade you my '89 S215 PARTS BUS even up for it if YOU fill this one w/fuel and P/U the PARTS BUS @ yer cost!"

Wow you coulda heard rain drops falling (opps they were falling, but even they got quite fer a minute!)
He looked at me for at least a minute, maybe two studying my face to see if I were gonna smile or laugh or whatever. But once he figured out I was serious, he finally got his composure back and politely asked "why what is wrong with it?"
OH boy do I love it when someone sets themselves up for a ringer!
When I got done he was just shaking his head and wouldn't even look me in the eye after I told him "to be quite frank and honest with you I really can't believe SETRA sent a P.O.S.! LIKE that out as a loaner!"
He finally said "I know it's probably no concellation but I told them not to send that bus out yet as it had not been thru the shop yet!"

OH and he wasn't the only one who got an earful about that P.O.S.! either! He was just the only one caught off guard and hadn't already been informed of my official opinion on it!
The service writer had more or less nothing to say about it except "well that bus just came into us from a company that terminated their lease early" And was flabergasted to hear my response of "well I don't blame them I'd send a P.O.S. like that back early two !"
The shop foreman had his own words about how he didn't want it leaving before it was gone thru!"

As I was heading to the parts dept. the main guy who puts on the training classes all over (including the one Booger and I went to in SLC, UT in May) came up to me and shook my hand and told me "well I see yer still making heads roll !" As he nodded toward the salesman who'd just gone upstairs and came back with some "higher ups" I've had the pleasure of rattling in the past, and was gathering more guys like the service manager/writer, shop foreman, and a couple others and were headed toward the "loaner", just as they were getting on the loaner the salesman came over and asked the man I was talking to to join them.  He smiled and told him "be right there"
As we parted he shook my hand again and told me "when they asked me earlier about how I felt about how bad you said it was, I told them if you don't want the truth, don't ask him. Because he ain't gonna sugar coat it to save feelings!" And laughed as he was headed to join them!  

I wish I coulda been a fly in that bus when the door closed! When I came out of parts and left I was met by it coming back onto the lot. Only one was smiling!  BK                                              

[Hartley]

BK,
Don't be surprised if you find GPS tracker hidden somewhere so they know
that you are coming to spoil their day.

It seems that you smile way too much too?

Keeps everyone wondering what NEXT.....