Quote:
Originally Posted by Kyle@STILLEN
STILLEN has been in the high performance automotive business for nearly 30 years and it is not new to us when these sorts of situations arise.
I am not going to make any comment on GTM or the struggles they may or may not be going through.
I would however like to reach out to the employees of GTM. I have seen a few employee names pop up over the years. One name in particular is Mike, and I believe there is or was also a Pablo? Each time I see these names come up I see comments about excellent Customer Service and great attitudes. This sounds like the type of person and/or people that would fit well here at STILLEN.
If the situation is not what it appears to be and GTM is doing well and will continue in business then we wish you all the best. However, if that is not the case, we all need jobs and I would like to extend the opportunity for us to sit down and discuss our futures. If any GTM employee is interested in speaking with us please send me an email with your resume at kmillen@stillen.com.
edited to update Pablo's name. My apologize for not getting it right. |
Kyle,
I appreciate that greatly and will be in touch. I'll let Pablo know as well if I can still get in touch with him.
To everyone else, I am sorry to see this happen and have actually been laid off from GTM since January after Sam bounced my paycheck at Christmas last year. He said that he just couldn't afford to pay me. I'm actually surprised my account here is still active.
The thing that really got my goat was that he had spent $12k on a remodel of his $750k house just the week prior to bouncing our checks. smh He was also trying to get me to take on more responsibility and after having worked for him for 5 years and never getting a raise, I basically said not without a raise. His comment was "everyone always wants more". Really? I was selling $100 - $120k per month in parts and labor for him on average. I also wrote some of the best damn instruction manuals in the industry for him, defended him for his shady business practices on the forum, worked on managing all the parts lists for all the turbo kits, supercharger kits etc. I did my absolute best to deliver outstanding customer service despite Sam's dogged determination to undermine that effort and in the 8 years I've worked in this industry, there are only 2 customers that I have ever worked with that disliked me.
What's worse, is that after leaving GTM, I found out that Sam screws everyone he possibly can. If you are in SoCal and talk to other business owners, suppliers, landlords, manufacturers etc. You will discover that he has burned so many bridges it would make you sick. Hell, I overheard how he treated the turbo supplier when he had $50k outstanding debt with them. Sam was trying to get more turbos from them and they said not without him at least making an effort to pay down some of that debt. Sam said: "should I take my business to your competitor then?". Wow. Just wow. Then, after the sales rep folded like a paper napkin, Sam wrote him a rubber check for the 4 turbos. Real class act that guy.
I gotta hand it to Sam though, it is absolutely astonishing that he can keep burning people. Steve Novak has it right on the money when his nickname for Sam is P.T. Barnum: "a sucker is born every minute" and Sam takes full advantage of that with his dog and pony show.
I really hope that Sam is unable to continue doing business in the automotive aftermarket. While he is certainly knowledgeable about cars, his shadiness just doesn't belong in this industry. There are way too many upstanding business people that bust their asses to make good product and deliver great service. Seb@Specialty Z, Tony@Fast Intentions, and Sasha@Boosted Performance, my hat is off to you guys for fighting the good fight. Keep up the good work gentlemen. I also want to apologize to Tony and Sasha for talking smack about your guys' products and if it had been up to me, I would have been giving you guys props instead. There is absolutely nothing wrong with recognizing your competition's accomplishments in my opinion. If anything, it encourages everyone to do their best and ultimately improves the platform for all enthusiasts.
In closing, I am sad in a way that GTM is practically finished. The company made some pretty kick *** products (there were a few things that could be improved, however) and it could have been awesome if someone with more business sense and integrity had been running the company. I know most of the guys there bust *** and have some real talent and despite Sam's apparent thought that machines are better than people, it was the people working for Sam that made GTM great. It's too bad he treats his most valuable assets (customers, employees, vendors, and dealers) like ****.
I wish everyone the best of luck in getting what is owed to you back from Sam. If someone could find a way to pierce the corporate veil and hold Sam personally accountable, that would be even better. At least that way, justice would be served.
-Mike