http://qs321.pair.com?node_id=1094520


in reply to Selling swimsuits to a drowning man

So, is “the blind leading the blind” an accepted business-practice these days? Even though the person who runs the shop where I get my car serviced might not be holding an grease-gun when he introduces himself to me, I do want to know that he has held one in the fairly recent past.

I'd prefer that the guy who runs the place was good at scheduling, critical path analysis, and negotiating good prices with his suppliers. He can employ people to do greasy things, including foremen to provide him with the information he needs on what the greasy people do.

In other words I want the person managing the place to be a good manager. A garage with a good manager is more likely to get the job done quickly and to not keep me hanging around for my appointment. And in fact the place I use to get my truck serviced is exactly like that. It's not the cheapest, but it's higher quality than the cheapest, which usually makes things cheaper in the long run.