Today I received an email from someone I do not know and was not a regular reader of the site. Like all the emails I receive, I answer it the best I can. However, sometimes I do make mistakes (which is painfully obvious if you follow the site regularly). In this particular situation, things went sideways quickly . . .
The emailer has a low mileage, 100% stock jeep that he is excited to sell. He told me it was so nice that he would “defy anyone” to find a better example of it. Challenge accepted!!
He then asked for my opinion on it and about listing it on eWillys, so I downloaded the pics he sent into my CJ-5 folder to review them. **Spoiler Alert** It is important for our story to know that there are a couple thousand photos in that one folder.
I looked through the pictures he sent, noting there were five interior photos that showed the dash and engine in excellent shape. The interior was green (forest green perhaps), clean, and appeared brand new. However, when I dropped to the last two photos it showed a jeep with a rough orange exterior and a shoddy soft top. I thought it strange that the inside was so nice and clean, but the oustide was poor. However, I was in a hurry, as I was trying to make dinner and finish rewrites on a book chapter so I could head to a party with my wife.
Therefore, I responded to the seller with an email that noted I thought the interior nice, but the exterior poor and not 100%. I said it looked like the exterior had been repainted and the top was unoriginal. It was hardly a brutal assessment of his jeep by any means. He thought otherwise . . .
Almost immediately after sending the email my jeepsense (kind of like spiderman’s spideysense??) told me revisit the photos. I just knew something wasn’t right. That’s when I realized the orange exterior shots belonged to a different jeep. Oops, my bad!! So, I fired off a second email within minutes of the first offering my apologies for my mistake and informing the seller that I thought the outside was as good as the inside.
Well, the seller was not pleased by the short review in my first email. You’d think I’d questioned his manhood or thanked his mother for last night. Rather than address my incorrect comments about the jeep’s exterior (about which I was clearly wrong) or wonder if I’d looked at the wrong photos, he attacked me.
He began by questioning my knowledge, calling me an “amateur.” Okay, so this is almost true. I’m not sure I make enough money to be called a professional, thus I am an amateur by its very definition. But, he didn’t stop there.
He also told me he doesn’t need amatuers—there’s the word again … how did he know— like me “spreading misinformation on truly classic vehicles.” He added that I reminded him “of the idiot at the title agency who said the odometer wasn’t correct.” Did he just compare me with someone from the DMV? (I must come clean that Ann did work for the DMV for a short time, so I know they aren’t all ‘idiots)
Finally, he offered me some advice, telling me to “get an education before making false statements.” Well, I would have him know that I bought a fine education from the University of Utah, but that has never helped me identify a jeep!!
By the end of his email I was sure his keyboard’s keys were melting from the heat of his prose. If I was his dog, I’m sure he would have kicked me. Perhaps he was confusing me with his dog?
Unfortunately for him, it seems he never got around to looking at my second email (and probably not the third one I sent following his response). Had he bothered to tone down the verbal abuse, he might have seen me apologize for a simple error. Perhaps his fury made it impossible for him to read. Who knows?
So, I publish this as a reminder to all readers. Sometimes I make mistakes and I greatly appreciate those willing to tell me that. Email can be a tricky communication tool, especially when I’m working on a book deadline!!! So, if I say something that seems untrue, completely wacky, senseless, or without forethought, just send me a thoughtful message.
On the bright side, I believe that’s the nastiest email I’ve received all year. And, each year, there always seems to be someone pissed off at me for something. I guess it comes with job. Hopefully, nothing else tops it during the next two days!!!
So, to sooth the gentleman’s sensitive feelings, I’ve added this card:
