January 30, 2022 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

Newsletter Issue 1167

Is this your first issue? You're in fine fine company! Guess who else joined the party this week? Here's a partial list: Audra, Benjamin, Maggie (May?), Don, Charis, and so so many more. It appears more than 150 new subscribers are here today. Wow! I'm humbled by your trust!

It's all about friends and family at the end of the trail and I hope you and I become great friends.

With that said, your first issue may have been #179. That issue was published just before I was invited to land on the deck of the USS George Washington. I did a sleepover aboard the enormous ship as it was doing night qualification landings for new pilots. I think you might enjoy reading about my adventure and tour on that aircraft carrier.

This is a very unusual newsletter. It's light on home improvement and heavy on life lessons. I hope you like it.

My Friend Marty

Speaking of friends, a few days ago I had the good fortune to talk with a very dear friend from Cincinnati, Ohio - Marty Hovey.

Marty and his sweet wife Denise live in a wonderful neighborhood called Pleasant Ridge (PR). My second house was in PR and I lived there from 1976 to 1987. The Carter casa was about one mile from Marty and Denise and even closer to other friends I have there.

BTW, for the record, I'm also friends with Denise!

I can't recall how we met as their kids and mine were not the same age. Our friendship stretches back over forty years! Marty is a very talented graphic artist and helped me right out of the gate when I launched AsktheBuilder.com in September of 1995. I'm super grateful for his help and guidance.

That's Marty being weighted down by two heavy medals. The giant one with the gold seahorses signifies his recent finish of the Hawaii Maui Oceanfront marathon just two weeks ago!

Denise is hanging the one medal that impressed me the most - the one with the red, white, and blue lanyard.

That one signifies Marty finished 50 marathons - one in each USA state! HOLY TOMATO!

I've known for decades that running was Marty's hobby and recall conversations of him training in the dark decades ago on icy mornings in Cincinnati.

Denise has run a few marathons as well and worked for years, I believe, in the front office of Cincinnati's Flying Pig marathon.

Marty, you're an inspiration! I can't think of a better example of the three Ds:

• diligence
• discipline
• determination

How many thousands of hours do you think Marty invested to achieve this rare goal? How many pairs of worn-out running shoes did he consign to the landfill? Wow!

You can see a list of all of Marty's marathons and his times right here.

Look at the powder-blue background of Marty's home page. That tells you all you need to know about his passion. Be sure to watch the short video from a local news station that features Marty and Denise on the home page.

I know two famous people!

Tim Messages Tim

Late yesterday I received a very nice email from another Tim who's been a subscriber for many years:

"Hi Tim,

I took you up on the opportunity to purchase the full ATB Digital Library for the insane low price of just $49.99.

First, let me say, wow! That’s a lot of really good stuff. It’s a lot more than I anticipated. I’m not sure that I got a sense of the quantity of quality material from the advertising emails. In the future, you might want to literally list out what a consumer receives when purchasing that package."

I haven't done what Tim suggested in the past month because I was AFRAID I'd get too many unsubscribes. It's a HUGE LIST of over 100 items!!! I was hoping you'd just go to the page in the shopping cart to see all you get.

Please go to my ATB Digital Library page, and SCROLL DOWN - KEEP SCROLLING - to see ALL YOU GET!

Tim's correct - "WOW!"

Ask the Builder Academy

I was in a video call late Friday with some friends. After the call ended, a crazy idea - some call these random thoughts butterflies - floated around in my head. I thought you might want to participate in a similar video call with me about different home improvement topics.

Each video call would be about one topic. Think back to your high school days.

The goal would be a fun and interactive environment where I'd share my experiences and what I know about different topics. I could share photos, drawings, etc. during the call. It wouldn't just be me blathering on and on.

You could submit questions BEFORE the video call. You can raise your hand just like in class. You could CHAT to me during the call.

You'd have the ability to recommend or request topics for future video calls. I'm trying to tailor-fit this to your needs and desires.

My thoughts are:

• you don't need any fancy software - just a regular browser lets you into the video call
• if you're shy, you don't have to appear on video or even be heard - you can just attend anonymously
• the call is RECORDED - you can watch it unlimited times in the future
• if you weren't part of the call, you could also watch it in the future

Think of it as Ask the Builder Summer School held all year long. The good news is no Latin or Algebra would ever be discussed on a call! That said, I often include a little easy physics in my one-on-one consult phone calls.

The attendance during the call would be LIMITED. You'd be in a very select group of individuals that want to expand their home improvement knowledge.

Keep in mind, it's a rough idea at this point and I need your input to make it happen. I'm trying to design something that would be attractive to you.

Please take this FAST survey to help me decide if I should go forward. I don't ask for your name or email address.

Let's see if you have interest in this nutty idea. The last question is a magic wand one. You'll love it.

Get FREE and FAST Bids for ANY work on your home.

Going to the Top

My lovely wife Kathy gave a rifle case to our son for Christmas. It was made by Plano. They've got a pretty good reputation and my son asked for this specific case.

It arrived weeks before Christmas and we never took it out of the shipping box. The shipping box looked perfect exhibiting no exterior damage. On Christmas Day when our son opened it, one corner of the case was shattered.

The next week, Kathy reached out to Plano using email, the phone, and a Contact Us form on their website. She got no response. Not good!

I then said I'd try. I filled out the Contact Us form and heard crickets for a week. It was time for me to roll out the heavy artillery.

I reached out to my friend John who's a power user of LinkedIn asking, "John, can you share with me who is the CEO and President of Plano?"

John got back with this:

"Looks like Plano Molding is part of Plano Synergy which was bought by Pure Fishing in 2021. Pure Fishing is owned by the Private Equity firm Sycamore Partners.

Harlan Kent - CEO at Pure Fishing
Dave Bulthuis - President at Pure Fishing
Corporate Headquarters

Pure Fishing, Inc.
7 Science Court
Columbia, SC 29203"

I then proceeded to write a traditional short letter on paper and signed it with my wonderful Pilot fountain pen.

I sent the letter to Harlan and a copy to Dave sharing the saga. It was not an angry letter. Just a matter-of-fact presentation of the facts using as few words as possible. Harlan and Dave just want facts, not opinions. I just asked for a new case or a refund.

Here are the two letters just before handing them off to my trusty rural mail carrier. Do you like those cool sun stamps?

Harlan and Dave got right on it, and had the VP of Customer Service reach out to me.

The bottom line is a new rifle case showed up yesterday in perfect condition.

In this day and age of electrons, I'm suggesting that a polite letter created with atoms carries far more weight. The recipient at the top of the food chain knows you put lots of effort into the communication as it's so easy to send an email.

What's more, your issue is seen by the top people in the company, not some low-level employee that might not be as heavily invested in the company's future as the leaders.

Try this next time you have a problem. Let me know how it works for you.

That's quite enough for a Sunday.

Did I help you today with anything? If so, consider a small donation to keep the boiler lit at Ask the Builder!

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Hilton Hotels Uses - www.StainSolver.com
Morse Muff WX - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

P.S. What do you think is the BEST insulation to use in a crawlspace? My guess is you might be wrong. Look what I think is the best crawlspace insulation.