Yes, This is my first post here. Somebody asked about the Harbor Freight DA and I gave my opinion that I like it. It works plenty good for me. I'm not new to car detailing.
This is my Ferrari that I painted, color sanded and polished. Won first place for best paint job at a car show.
And the good news is we've relaxed our forum rules so we don't stop people from talking about products NOT sold on the Autogeek.com store. The Autogeek store does pay the bills for the forum and yours truly to type out in-depth answers for people asking how to maintain their paper thin paint jobs on $2,000.00 to $2,000,000.00 cars and so the bigger pictures is this forum is for discussing items sold on the AG store, not tools from Harbor Freight.
That's why I always make the
joke when I ask,
Where's the link to the Harbor Freight Car Detailing Discussion Forum
You see -
there isn't one. Harbor Freight doesn't have a forum nor do they pay their staff to answer their customer's questions on their tools. We however do answer questions
for them as a professional courtesy.
So no harm meant Steve and in fact, just last week I wrote a brand new article that shares all the HIGH QUALITY backing plates and buffing pads that Autogeek sells on the Autogeek.com website for all the people that buy their polisher at Harbor Freight but then come to Autogeek for the rest of the stuff they need and for
i-n-f-o-m-a-t-i-o-n on how to use the tool they bought somewhere else.
Here's the link to that article,
How to use the Harbor Freight Polisher to remove swirls and scratches
If you read the above article you'll see that the article came from someone that sent me an
e-mail with questions on how to use a polisher they bought somewhere else. I don't know why they didn't ask the staff at the store they bought their polisher from how to use it as wouldn't that be the right thing to do? You know, get support from the company you just gave your money to?
But the person sent me an e-mail instead.
I don't have the typing time to type out in-depth how-to information that includes the info, picutres, links to more info and videso inside an e-mail that only one set of eye balls will ever see. So when people send me an e-mail with questions, I take them here to the forum, answer them here on the forum and then send that person the link.
AFTER I answered all of this person's questions and provided all the information they would need to use a polisher they bought somewhere else, I then typed this comment out in post #5 - Note paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 (for those that might not know, when you're counting paragraphs, a paragraph can be a single sentence)
Mike Philips said:
And just a comment....
Since I'm being asked about a polisher we don't sell, that is the Harbor Freight knock-off of the Porter Cable, I figure I'll do the right thing and answer this guys question and also point out some real simple information.
First we, as in Autogeek and me specifically, have been answering questions for people on our discussion forum all my life about products not sold on the Autogeek Store. It's simply a
professional courtesy as I know most people have know idea that my time and the resources that are required, (resources means money), to make this forum exist today and into the future requires
money.
The money it costs the company to pay my salary plus everyone's paycheck here at Autogeek comes from sales at the Autogeek store, --->
Autogeek.com
So when I answer questions on how to use Adams products, or Zaino products or the Harbor Freight dual action polisher it's a professional courtesy because I understand the people that are asking these questions simply want to detail their car,
they don't put any thought into what it costs to get good helpful and accurate information.
That's what this forum does.... it is a resources for good, helpful and accurate information. Most of the time when I answer a question it's
- In detail
- Includes pictures that expound on the words I've written
- Sometimes includes videos that really complete the information by showing how-to do something with action that is better than just pictures
The hope of course, is that by providing customer support, (and that's what my replies on this forum are, a type of customer support just like if you call our 1-800 customer care hotline and get help), that down the road, when the person getting the help on this forum need tools, pads or products, they will remember where they received their help and give us a chance for their business.
Providing customer support for other companies
There is not a
Harbor Freight Car Detailing Discussion forum just like there's not an
eBay Car Detailing Discussion Forum or an
Amazon Car Detailing Discussion Forum yet when people make their purchases at these other places - here on this forum as a professional courtesy we will do our best to provide customer support for these other non-Autogeek businesses as both a professional courtesy, (because I know most people don't "think" about what they are doing as they simply want to buff out their car), and also in the hope that if we provide this educational service, that perhaps we will sometime in the future earn the person's business.
Even if these companies did have car detailing discussion forums they would have to
hire someone to be the
answer-man and that person will have had to obtained their "info" or head knowledge from somewhere and often times.... that's this forum.
At the end of the day or at the end of our lives.... everything works out for the right reasons....
So while I think it would be more appropriate to join the Harbor Freight Car Detailing Discussion Forum, (which doesn't exist), and recommend people to buy their tools on that forum if you want to come to this forum and in your first post recommend to people to go to Harbor Freight and buy their tools there then with relaxed forum rules no one is going to stop you.
And of course we'll be here to provide the accessory items like backing plates, buffing pads, chemicals and information.
Here's your cars by the way, very nice.
They are in your free gallery you get when you join the forum. Here's the link,
Steve454 Photo Gallery
And while we have relaxed on enforcing our forum rules here's the link for anyone that might want to know what they are as some of them are important to read and know.
Forum Rules
And here are the pertinent portions...
1. The AutogeekOnline discussion forum is exclusively sponsored by Autogeek.com. Product discussion should be limited to products that are available from Autogeek.com and PBMA's family of websites.
Links, videos or
recommendations to competing products and companies that are not available through Autogeek.com will be moved to the Moderators forum and offenders will be warned or simply placed into the SELF-BANNED category of member groups on this forum.
Repeated linking and recommendations of products not available through Autogeek.com may result in a permanent ban. Moderators have the right to edit any posts that contain links, recommendations or other information pertaining to competing companies that are not associated with Autogeek.com
2. No arguing with Moderators or Administrators.
3. You are welcome to disagree but you must be polite.
But yeah... no one here is going to enforce this first forum rule and move this thread to the Moderators forum or ban you for recommending to others to buy their products from competing companies in your first post.
:xyxthumbs:
