Sorry for the long mesage. I am first posting Mr. Miller's e-mail to me, with his consent, then my reply. Please see above for my original e-mail to the Millers.
Glen
Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 15:53:50 EDT
Subject: Re: Ryan Meyering
Glen, Before you go putting your nose in someone's business maybe you should know the facts, Here they are:
1. We only have Mr. Meyering's word that the lamp was damaged in shipment.
2. He says he filed a claim with the PO but yet he can not supply us with a claim number. My wife offered to remake the shade, he didn't want that, he wanted his money back. He also wants to keep the shade and the brass base.
3. How do we know that he didn't break the shade himself? The glass was packed VERY well. The PO can tell if it was broke in shipping or by some other means. Could this be the reason he is so anxious to get his money?
4. She has told him that as soon as we get the money from the PO we will send it to him IF he returns the Shade and the base.
5. He paid $400.00 for the shade ( there is $ 175.00 in materials and 30 hours of labor) he was charged $60.00 for the base( actual cost). and $35.00 for shipping ( cost to ship and insurance was $36.90.
6. I am meeting with my attorney tomorrow to see if I can sue for slander, if I can it will be Mr. Meyering , The bladeforum, and anyone else that has put anything bad about Holly Knives on the internet. I am making a copy of all email I get about this in case I need it.
7. Mr. Meyering is not a big repeat customer, he had bought 2 knives from me and wanted a "special price" on them.
8. If I never sell another knife it would not change what is right and I KNOW we are right.
9. Ask Mr. Meyering to give you the PO's claim number and you can give it to me. Bet you don't get one. Now we will see just how fair you are, why not put this on the Bladeforum??
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Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 16:19:41 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: Ryan Meyering
Dear Mr. Miller,
Thank you for the prompt reply. In the interest of "fairness" and with your consent, as per #9 below, I will be posting your e-mail and this reply to the Bladeforum thread. As you have encouraged me to post this exchange publicly, in the interest of fairness, I encourage you equally to make any further replies to this thread, at:
www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum25/HTML/000687.html
When I wrote to you this morning, I did so presuming that the statements made by Ryan on the Bladeforum thread were honest and accurate. He has been a thoughtful participant on the Forum, and has acted responsibly in his exchanges with others. If you are truly in the right in this matter, you may well be able to hold Ryan Meyering legally accountable, and you can certainly clear your good name there. Here, I owe you some final responses:
-- RE your points 1-3, if Ryan did indeed break the lamp (or received it as such), intends to keep the parts, AND seeks a refund, then you really have nothing to worry about. If these allegations prove to be correct, then he has buried himself by misrepresenting the matter publicly, and your lawyer will have a field day.
-- RE point 5: I'm not much of a beancounter, but $400 +$60 +$36.90 = $496.90 out of pocket for Ryan, which is close enough to $500 total for me. Am I missing something here?
-- In points 2 and 9, you mention that Ryan cannot supply you with a claim number. This point is moot now, as your follow-up e-mail to me indicates that he has, indeed, forwarded it to you. Moreoever, your suggestion that he has been "withholding" this information appears disingenuous: You note to me that "This has been going on for a week." Moreover, in your reply to Ryan *dated today*, you state inexplicably, "We [Millers] WILL NOT open any mail from you [Ryan]." If you really want to resolve the matter, why refuse to open an e-mail attachment till today? Again, am I missing something?
Further, you simply could have noted that he supplied you with the number, without forwarding his attachment (i.e., e-copy of his official complaint). As it includes such personal information as his address and phone number, forwarding it to me without Ryan's consent may well be a violation of his right to privacy. Normally I would delete such mail, as it is inappropriate for me. However, I will be keeping it on-file, for possible future reference for your and Ryan's lawyers.
-- Finally, your point 7 will not win you many friends. This has no real bearing on your dispute with Ryan but does suggest the difference between your professional ethos and the one exhibited by the Bladeforums community (typically, at least, if not always). I see nothing wrong with Ryan asking for a "special price" on two knives, particularly since you post "specials" on your website. You equally have every right to refuse. Either way, he purchased two knives and you belittle him as "not a big repeat customer"? You have every right to regard your clientele in whatever light you please. But to reiterate a point from my first e-mail, I know many knifemakers who would be honored to count Ryan among their customers.
It strikes me as implausible (if not outright dimwitted) for Ryan to try to cheat you AND draw public attention to it. If so, I will apologize for swallowing his account without first fully considering yours. More importantly, Ryan will be out more than $500, and will have lost his credibility in our small but respectful community. Likewise for you, should his story bear out. I, for one, will follow keenly to see who will have the last laugh.
Regards,
Glen Mimura
PS Please post any further replies to the Bladeforum thread, as you have encouraged me to make this a public exchange.
