pauluptime

It is fun, but they can be a pest. A momma coon had a litter last week under my stairs where I also store my snow blower and mower.  We tried to give her some peace, but now she's moved on with the brood, so I cleaned it all out today.  Hopefully she'll return the favor and respect my boat, where another momma did a number on that a few years ago:

 
Fortunately I was in the middle of replacing the interior, so it was mostly old stuff she tore up.  How can you be pissed though when it's only nature and they're so damned cute?

 
I now store it at a whole lot better place, and keep all the new bolster seats etc. inside.
 

It is fun, but they can be a pest. A momma coon had a litter last week under my stairs where I also store my snow blower and mower.  We tried to give her some peace, but now she's moved on with the brood, so I cleaned it all out today.  Hopefully she'll return the favor and respect my boat, where another momma did a number on that a few years ago:

 
Fortunately I was in the middle of replacing the interior, so it was mostly old stuff she tore up.  How can you be pissed though when it's only nature and they're so damned cute?

 
I now store it at a whole lot better place, and keep all the new bolster seats etc. inside.
 

The whole story is in the copy / paste email that I sent to the upper echelon of Adams.
 
XXXXXX,
 
I want to take the time and tell you about one of your employees, Daniel Tyger.  I cannot say enough how impressed I am with the way he handled the logistics issue that I created.  Long story short – I had my order shipped to my old house in Arizona vs. my new house in North Carolina.  I called the 720 number at 0938 and explained the problem to Dan who was very engaged and told me he would handle the issue by calling FedEx and updating the shipping address and when he had taken care of everything that he would email me the updates - we were off the phone at 0941.  10 minutes later I received the reply (screenshot included) from him with every bit of info that related to the situation.  I worked in the logistics field and a 10 minute turnaround is IMPRESSIVE to say the least.  You make great products and with this being my first time dealing with the customer service side I can say you definitely have a customer for life.  Again, I cannot tell you how impressed I am - Daniel’s professionalism is second to none!
 
Thanks again,
Chris

I live on a lake where we have lots of critters.  One of the worst are the minks.  They've pulled ducks from the lake and into my tool room for dinner, and even climb up into my engine bay to store (cook?) their dinner for later.  I've found a large dead rat on my ABS pump and even this small fish below, so yes smells can lead to surprise finds of the nasty cause - if you're lucky!  I've live-trapped and relocated a few repeat hunters who would store their prey in my premises, but there's a lot of shoreline with a lot of minks so it's a process of eternal vigilance.  We all have to share the space, but put something inside one of my cars and you're going on a trip!

 

I live on a lake where we have lots of critters.  One of the worst are the minks.  They've pulled ducks from the lake and into my tool room for dinner, and even climb up into my engine bay to store (cook?) their dinner for later.  I've found a large dead rat on my ABS pump and even this small fish below, so yes smells can lead to surprise finds of the nasty cause - if you're lucky!  I've live-trapped and relocated a few repeat hunters who would store their prey in my premises, but there's a lot of shoreline with a lot of minks so it's a process of eternal vigilance.  We all have to share the space, but put something inside one of my cars and you're going on a trip!

 

Fantastic video.  I've known Adam for around 13 or 14 years now, and he's as down to earth and honest a man as I've ever known.  No fake B.S. from him.   He will bend over backward to satisfy his customers, and once you're his friend, it's for life.  It's been my honor to know him and my wife calls him her "adopted son".   It's great to see how much success he's had and continues to have, but it all is a result of his tireless hard work and dedication.  
And one of these days,  I'm going to make a trip to Colorado and bother the heck out of him.  
 
Thanks Adam. For everything. 
Rich

Hard to believe you're in shorts and T in Colorado.  Nice warming spell y'all got treated to last week!
QUESTION: What are RIDs?  Even after a quick search of the forums, couldn't find that reference.

Ain't it great when
COOL comes together.
Ev-er-y-time.
2015 hasn't even started yet and it going to be a fantastic year for us all.
Well done, gentlemen!  (fun vid too!)
 

Thanks for being loyal and caring enough to participate in this conversation, I'm grateful and very appreciative!
 
Friends, we are experiencing growing pains.  Plain and simple.  Our small business is growing, and it hurts a little, and sometimes it hurts a bunch!
 
The marketplace is changing, customer expectations are changing, and we are not able to ignore those changes.  We must also adapt to remain relevant, and as Tim said:  "People don't like change."
 
While we are improving our product line and dialing in our team, I promise we will always provide:
Excellent & friendly customer service. The best products in every category we compete. Talented, knowledgeable, and helpful team members. You have my word. 
 
Thanks again!
 
Adam

Quick and dirty:
 
I said it a while ago and maybe it's a bit more relvant now - bring back the "Detail Advisor" moniker?  That would at least help out with getting detailing & process questions turned around and answered more quickly by some authoritative source.  Tie that in maybe to an authorized detailer program for some of the pros on here who aren't dealers but do use Adam's products - so your advisors become sources of working knowledge in the forum and in real life.

Friends, thanks for your loyalty.  Without it, you wouldn't be concerned about the changes to our team.   Thanks for taking notice, and sharing concern!
 
Please, give me a chance to expand....
 
First and foremost we have GREAT people, and I'm humbled to have such incredible team members.  We are a growing company, and as with most growing businesses, ours is evolving.  When I read the Wall St. Journal, and see how many top exec changes are made in these huge companies, it makes my head spin!  We make a few shifts, and our customers take notice!  That's cool, and shows loyalty.
 
We are not alone in experiencing a changing business.
 
As for key team members moving on, there are always several sides to a story.   Here's mine:  I like to see our team members doing exactly what they enjoy doing for us.  That means job descriptions and responsibilities  are fluid, ever evolving.  That lack of structure certainly resulted in us losing some people, and I take complete responsibility for it.  In the future, positions at Adam's will have more structure. 
 
Explaining Dylan is relevant, and current.  He did nearly everything for us, from forum moderation to website maintenance, product development, operations manager to social media, video editing to photography.   The guy literally wore every hat in our job roster, and is an excellent and qualified human.
 
He came to a point in his career where, 'what's next,' wasn't clear.  When he mentioned that he was unhappy several months ago, and that his resume was about to get some refreshing, I supported him.  We don't want unhappy people on our team!  Certainly, Dylan wasn't fired.  He wore every hat in our company but mine, and we parted ways on good terms.
 
In fact, I introduced him to several key players in our industry, and am excited to hear where he lands.   With such a vast experience throughout many of the segments of this industry, I wouldn't be surprised to see him become a consultant to the segment.  Whatever he does, I'm sure he will add value.  I support Dylan 100%, and hope his next position brings him satisfaction.
 
As for the other people, I'll run down the who went where:  After working as a shipper, then product demonstrator at events, Mook one day confessed that he just wanted to detail cars!  That was his passion. Traveling to shows was not good for his home-life, nor pets, and I understand that completely. 
We tried putting a detail shop in the Colorado warehouse. It was not a wildly successful side business, and we supported Mook moving into his own detailing business. We are simply not a service business!  We love and support Mook! 
 
Chase has his own detailing business, and God Bless Him, it's successful!  Spending time on our forum was not happening, and with additions to his family, he needed to focus on his core business.   Everyone loves Chase, what a great guy!  I have a very high respect for Chase, his people skills, product skills, etc. Chase, let's have a beer soon!
 
Lynn came to help us with a variety of things, and her job changed rapidly over the two years on our team.  We tried to find the right slot for her but eventually, we realized our events were killing us.   Wiping people out, not breaking even, and killing our already thin profit margins.  We cut our show expenditures to bring them into line with a company our size.  Lynn was our "show girl," and was released to explore new opportunities.  She was very organized, and left our small business better than she found it.  Thanks Lynn!
 
A few other additions, while we are updating: 
We added a star-spangled Customer Service/ Office Assistant, Bianca, last year.  We moved from a part-time Controller to a full-time CFO, Christian, a needed upgrade for a company our size.  We added a Supply Chain Manager, Scott, another standard move for an operation our size.  You will soon see a new Customer Service team member joining the team.  Look out for two new shipping locations, close to the coasts.  That will help get products into our customer's hands quicker, and with cheaper shipping. Those locations will come with new shipping team members as well. As for putting faces to the people, I'm going to do that next week.  Stay tuned for fresh photos...that's a great idea!
 
Our product line is getting better, more lean.  The Adam's Detailing System will be simpler and require fewer tools an chemicals.   Removing duplicate products will further reduce confusion, and create a more effective detailing process. Removing SKU's that are difficult to manufacture will mean less backorders....that's key!
 
As for our Forum needs, we have many, and need help!  How can we involve you, our friends and detailing experts, to spend more time here?  What's missing that you speak of, and can you help articulate what it might take to bring that back?
 
If you would rather contact me via email, than in this thread, please do.  Honest, hard feedback is welcome.  I can take it, trust me.
 
Thank You Friends.   I hope to continue to earn your business, friendship, and support.
 
Sincerely,
 
Adam Pitale
Chief Detailer, Adam's Polishes
Adam@AdamsPolishes.com
 
P.S:  Here is a recent photo of me with our three children....you asked!
 

Guys, I can understand where some of you are coming from.  Since we area small company (<10 employees,) I think everyone feels as though they get to know us the more interaction we all have.  There are changes in any business, especially small ones, that may see to be HUGE..and after the dust settles, things continue on.
 
Obviously, Dylan departing is a major change as he was the face of the forum, no question about it.  All of the other changes everyone is referring to in this thread have happened over the course of many months.  To assume that we suddenly, all at once, "trimmed low hanging fruit" since the last full-time employee roster thread was discussed/requested (which was a very long time ago) seems a bit presumptuous to me. 
 
All of us wear many different hats, so please allow me some slack if a question isn't answered instantly on here.  After all, your best option for an immediate answer is to email or call us...even though I do my best to keep on top of every single thread and post here.  My knowledge is nowhere near what Dylan's was, but I do know a thing or two about detailing.  My first order with Adam's was back in 2008, after all.  My wife would murder me if she knew how much I spent before I became a part of this team. 
 
Also, to say that there are literally 0 brand ambassadors now is a huge kick in the plums.  My interaction here (and every other team members) have been minimal since this was Dylan's baby, but my 1831 posts didn't appear out of thin air.