Reflections on GTM over the years

Kyle@STILLEN · 09-16-2014, 01:10 PM

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.

dmhenderson · 09-16-2014, 01:22 PM

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 Raul? 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.

You know, when I first saw your post I automatically assumed that you were just here to plug your product (seeing as you sell the only other Z34 SC kit out there) and I was all ready to start yelling but never mind. Mike is a good dude. He was/is(?) generally sympathetic and helped make things right when I bought a kit from them.

Glad you're using this opportunity to "do good" rather than treating it like a sales opportunity. For what it's worth, I would have gone with the Stillen kit if it put up the numbers the GTM kit does in a heartbeat. You can throw a lot of tune shops into the "risky" category but a company founded by Steve Millen is probably a safe bet.

Mike@GTM · 09-16-2014, 06:10 PM

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

Chuck33079 · 09-16-2014, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike@GTM

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

Wow. It was even worse on the inside than it looked on the outside. Getting laid off may turn out to be a huge blessing by the time all of Sams fallout settles.

dmhenderson · 09-16-2014, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike@GTM

Kyle,

A whole bunch of words.

-Mike

Wow so do I have some questions for you! You don't have to answer if you don't want to but I'm going to ask anyway so feel free to ignore me. I was the super annoying guy with the 1.5 SC kit last summer in Maryland who you accidentally shipped a twin SC kit to.

1) Were you guys screening your calls? After a while, none of my calls were answered or if they were, they were answered by you and Sam was never around. Sam was always available to talk prior to taking my money so I thought that was a little odd. Most of the time, it would just ring to voicemail. I had a little luck calling from different numbers but then I suspect the area code gave me away.

2) Why did you/Sam try to blame my shop for a poorly machined bracket? I mean, that's not something a shop would screw up. They showed me the bracket and it had clearly been drilled improperly. It took them weeks to get a replacement. Sam told them to "F off" more or less and you were the one who eventually caved and sent us a new bracket. Why bother being so awful over one small part? We wouldn't have even been so uptight about it except that it was proprietary to your kit.

3) What would have happened if we had kept Sam's twin SC G37 kit that was supposed to go to Canada? At that point, you were several months overdue in shipping my kit and neither me nor the shop were very happy. We did the honorable thing and let UPS re-route it but I gotta tell you, I was really considering holding it hostage until I got my kit.

4) I really raked my shop over the coals because GTM (at that time) had a pretty solid reputation and I assumed they were the ones screwing up. I know they'll never get it, but GTM owes Moore Auto in Fairfax a serious apology after what you guys put them through (not blaming you - but the business really put a hurting on a small, enthusiast-owned shop). Thing is, they wouldn't throw you under the bus either. They just let me think it was their fault right up until the very end. I found out later that they were being given the same runaround I was.

As I said in a previous post, you were always decent to me and I much preferred talking to you over Sam's dumb *** so thanks for that. I was so mad at the two of you by the end of the ordeal that I asked the shop to deal with you - something they should not have had to do. I was afraid I was going to lose my temper and then Sam was never going to ship my kit.

Mike@GTM · 09-16-2014, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmhenderson

Wow so do I have some questions for you! You don't have to answer if you don't want to but I'm going to ask anyway so feel free to ignore me. I was the super annoying guy with the 1.5 SC kit last summer in Maryland who you accidentally shipped a twin SC kit to.

1) Were you guys screening your calls? After a while, none of my calls were answered or if they were, they were answered by you and Sam was never around. Sam was always available to talk prior to taking my money so I thought that was a little odd. Most of the time, it would just ring to voicemail. I had a little luck calling from different numbers but then I suspect the area code gave me away.

2) Why did you/Sam try to blame my shop for a poorly machined bracket? I mean, that's not something a shop would screw up. They showed me the bracket and it had clearly been drilled improperly. It took them weeks to get a replacement. Sam told them to "F off" more or less and you were the one who eventually caved and send us a new bracket. Why bother being so awful over one small part? We wouldn't have even been so uptight about it except that it was proprietary to your kit.

3) What would have happened if we had kept Sam's twin SC G37 kit that was supposed to go to Canada? At that point, you were several months overdue in shipping my kit and neither me nor the shop were very happy. We did the honorable thing and let UPS re-route it but I gotta tell you, I was really considering holding it hostage until I got my kit.

4) I really raked my shop over the coals because GTM (at that time) had a pretty solid reputation and I assumed they were the ones screwing up. I know they'll never get it, but GTM owes Moore Auto in Fairfax a serious apology after what you guys put them through (not blaming you - but the business really put a hurting on a small, enthusiast-owned shop). Thing is, they wouldn't throw you under the bus either. They just let me think it was their fault right up until the very end. I found out later that they were being given the same runaround I was.

As I said in a previous post, you were always decent to me and I much preferred talking to you over Sam's dumb *** so thanks for that.

1) GTM doesn't have caller ID. So no, there was no screening of calls in that respect. However, Sam does screen his calls through whoever is answering the phone. I would spend more time running around trying to find Sam only for him to tell me to tell whoever was on the phone, to take a message or tell them he wasn't there. That said, because Sam is the keystone of the business and EVERYTHING must go through him, he is an extremely busy person and doesn't have enough time in a day to do everything or take every call.

2) Again, EVERYTHING must go through Sam. I barely had enough autonomy to answer e-mails or PM's without his blessing. There were no fixed policies and everything was whimsical. I could never second guess what Sam's decision was going to be because it was different every single time. So, I have no earthly idea why it was such a mess.

3) Well, regardless of how you felt about the situation, it would have been wrong. There is simply no justification for stealing. You did the right thing.

4) As far as I am concerned, Sam owes a lot (and I do mean a ton) of apologies for the things that he has done to just about everyone he comes into contact with in this industry. That's why there are so many haters of GTM, because he tends to make it abundantly clear that he just doesn't give a ****. The times that he does seem to care actually surprise me because it is quite rare.

He's kinda like Darth Vader, there's still good in him...somewhere.

dmhenderson · 09-16-2014, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike@GTM

1) GTM doesn't have caller ID. So no, there was no screening of calls in that respect. However, Sam does screen his calls through whoever is answering the phone. I would spend more time running around trying to find Sam only for him to tell me to tell whoever was on the phone, to take a message or tell them he wasn't there. That said, because Sam is the keystone of the business and EVERYTHING must go through him, he is an extremely busy person and doesn't have enough time in a day to do everything or take every call.

2) Again, EVERYTHING must go through Sam. I barely had enough autonomy to answer e-mails or PM's without his blessing. There were no fixed policies and everything was whimsical. I could never second guess what Sam's decision was going to be because it was different every single time. So, I have no earthly idea why it was such a mess.

3) Well, regardless of how you felt about the situation, it would have been wrong. There is simply no justification for stealing. You did the right thing.

4) As far as I am concerned, Sam owes a lot (and I do mean a ton) of apologies for the things that he has done to just about everyone he comes into contact with in this industry. That's why there are so many haters of GTM, because he tends to make it abundantly clear that he just doesn't give a ****. The times that he does seem to care actually surprise me because it is quite rare.

He's kinda like Darth Vader, there's still good in him...somewhere.

Thanks for the answers. I would never have kept the twin SC kit - I just wanted my kit and was thinking about holding onto it until Sam/GTM delivered what I was owed. I'm not a thief.

I'll tell you, the only reason I didn't was because I didn't want to screw someone else over who was in the same boat I was in.

Mike@GTM · 09-16-2014, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmhenderson

Thanks for the answers. I would never have kept the twin SC kit - I just wanted my kit and was thinking about holding onto it until Sam/GTM delivered what I was owed. I'm not a thief.

I'll tell you, the only reason I didn't was because I didn't want to screw someone else over who was in the same boat I was in.

No worries. I can certainly understand that it was tempting, but you are absolutely correct that someone else was in the exact same boat.

As for your question about the group buy. It looked like it was going to be a big hit. We were excited, the members were excited and it looked like it was going to be the veritable A-bomb in the Z world. But Sam kept giving me the runaround and lying to me about the cast manifolds. I learned that the tooling hadn't even been paid for and was still outstanding when I left back in December/January. Why? I have no clue. I suspect that the issues with the mandrel bender and the associated tooling played a role in that.

Let me just say that outsourcing manufacturing is a bitch and the only way to really pull it off is to have a rep there or within driving distance so that you don't just become another number. The double sided sword of that for Sam is that if his suppliers are within driving distance, they too could pop by the shop and say "where's my money?". A threatening e-mail carries very little weight, but a 6'5' guy looming over you is a bit more uncomfortable. While the law states that you cannot open a can of whoop *** on a deadbeat buyer, you never know how clearly that guy is thinking and whether or not he is willing to go to jail over $30k. I guess that's why Sam keeps his gun at work.

AK370Z · 09-16-2014, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike@GTM

Kyle,

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

Thanks Mike for being very straight forward and honest. My only regret is that I wish you personally pm'ed me and gave me hint earlier. I have sent angry pms to you and Sam in past (bc I wanted my members parts delivered or money refunded). Please accept my apology. You are absolutely right about genuine stand up vendors that we have in the Z scene. They are class acts. We are lucky to have them. GTM had potential. A lot of potential. They had resources and everything. I really hope a good investor/car enthusiast acquires GTM and turns the company around in a good way. But I also want to acknowledge there are plenty of other good honest tuner shops that will fill in the void GTM will create in Z FI world. There is one thing in your post I want to emphasize:

1. It's too bad he treats his most valuable assets (customers, employees, vendors, and dealers) like ****.
No company will EVER succeed by doing this. It's not possible. I don't care how big the company is, the above business practice will make that company eventually collapse (as you can see today with GTM).

That was a class act reply by Kyle from Stillen

. It's good to see good employees are recognized and given opportunity especially in such bad economy(even worse for motorsports) where jobs are hard to find. Also, nomodsjk, that was very generous of you and it made my day. Thank you.

[QUOTE=R/T Tuning;2966932]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AK370Z

Cosmo, huge misunderstanding. I do not own a gtr (and I'm telling you today there is no way in earth I will ever be able to own one). I have a 2009 370Z that's bone stock with HKS exhaust. It's got 89,000 miles and still on stock clutch.

AK

^^^Can confirm, AK has about the most stock 370z we have seen yet

Haha I know. My car should be modded more! Well looks like I'll be getting a little more serious in SCCA solo next year. You may see the smurf blue Z again soon

.

Boosted Performance · 09-17-2014, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike@GTM

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.

-Mike

Mike,

I appreciate that you took the time to acknowledge and apologize for the degrading comments towards me, and Boosted Performance. I just don't understand why people would work in that type of environment, and knowingly be a part of a VERY shady business that screws people over daily. On the flip side...we all need a job to put food on the table...and I get that. The things you have said in this thread are disturbing, and I knew about most of them....hence the lack of mutual respect I guess....shops do talk amongst themselves....I am sure you know that. Your name was unfortunately associated with the shady business practices, and that is hard to shake.

Maybe Sam felt threatened that he would eventually be out of this market as well due to the competition stepping up, and making (IMO) a better product (especially the TT kit from F.I) than he had to offer? I don't know, as I am just a drop on the bucket (if that) in this industry, and have very different way of doing business, on a much much smaller scale. I don't know how he thought this was going to happen with cheap turbos that would blow up on the first test drive. I guess it just takes that "special" kind of person which everybody knows Sam is. There is something to be said about treating your customers the way you would want to be treated....it goes such a long way.

I think you are a stand up guy, and would want to do thing right by delivering solid products to enthusiast/member. It is unfortunate that you were a part of GTM, who unfortunately has such a horrible reputation. I do wish you all the best in the future, and hope to see you around offering your honest expertise/opinions without the GTM drama that once kept an eye on every move you made.

All the best...water under the bridge, apology accepted.

Sasha

09-16-2014, 01:10 PM	#1 (permalink)
Kyle@STILLEN The370Z.com Sponsor Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Newport Beach Posts: 626 Drives: Toyota Tundra Rep Power: 308	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. Last edited by Kyle@STILLEN; 09-16-2014 at 02:17 PM.

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