Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 21:18:38 -0500
Reply-To: The Bus Depot <list@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender: Vanagon mailing list <Vanagon@Gerry.SDSC.EDU>
From: The Bus Depot <list@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject: LOTSA NEWS from The Bus Depot!! (long)
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A few big changes are happening at The Bus Depot and I wanted to let you
all know about them.
E-MAIL SOLUTIONS
As many of you know, one of my biggest sources of frustration has been
keeping up with the large volume of quote requests and other e-mail that I
received, much of it from list members. At times I'd been literally months
behind on my e-mail, which bothered me as much as it did you. For the last
couple of months, I'd been asking you to bear with me while I worked on a
solution, and many of you had taken to calling me in the meantime.
I now have a full-time salesperson (culled from the Type 2 List) whose sole
responsibility is to answer
your e-mail. Jerry De Baun is a Type 2 list member and long-time VW
enthusiast who currently drives a '78 Westy. You may recall my "help
wanted" note to the list a while back, when Jon Lukens, The Bus Depot's
mechanic, injured his back and couldn't complete his repair workload.
Jerry responded, and came down from New England to help Jon do Bus surgery
at our garage. He soon caught the "bug," and decided to leave the
"corperate fold" as I had, to devote full time to our mutual hobby.
Jerry's enthusiasm for VW's matches my own, and I think he'll be a great
asset to the Depot.
When you e-mail me for price quotes, it will often be Jerry who responds
(unless of course your e-mail is directed to me, or requires my personal
attention). I'm sure there will be a learning curve, but as a rule I
expect this to result in fast turnaround on emailed quote requests
(hopefully the same or next business day, unless you send a long list that
takes a little longer to get together). If you need to make the purchase
quickly, put "RUSH" in your e-mail subject header and we'll hurry up with
the quote. Of course, for really fast service there's always the phone
(610-754-VWVW), but as we all know, e-mail's cheaper.
A side benefit is that I will have a bit more time to work on orders, which
should result in faster turnaround on order processing (although this
usually has not been a problem anyway).
NEW RETAIL LOCATION
Rather than to replace Jon with a new mechanic, I opted to "trade in" the
garage for a larger retail parts counter/warehouse location next door.
This means that I can now stock more items, for faster
delivery, and am also better setup for local customer pickups. It will
also mean even lower prices in the long run, since I'll be able to buy in
larger quantity while incurring almost no additional overhead. (I'm
renting the place for a mere $150 a month; Perkiomenville Pa. isn't exactly
a high rent district :-) I'm even thinking toward a Bus/Vanagon/Eurovan
show & swap meet next spring/summer, since there's a huge parking lot right
next door. Address and phone number remain the same.
WEBSITE
Over the next few months, you'll see big changes on the Bus Depot website
(http://www.busdepot.com). I'm continuing to add more products & pricing,
so you'll have to email for quotes less often. (If you haven't been to the
site recently, you may be surprised how many items are on it already.)
With the addition of new software by year-end, you'll be able to look up a
part, and then simply click on it to order.
Also, I've added a new "secret" List Members Only page at
http://www.busdepot.com/members.htm . There is (purposely) no mention of
this page on the main index page (http://www.busdepot.com), so you'll have
to bookmark it. This is for close-outs and bargains that will be offered
exclusively to list members. (In many cases, there simply aren't enough to
go around, so if I have to pick a limited market to offer them to, the list
is the obvious choice.) Also, I'll list other items there that are
available at significant additional discounts to list members, and provide
a brief update on new products or other news. This page is a bit less
"polished" than the other pages on the Bus Depot site; the goal was to make
it quick & easy to update, so I can keep it current and keep you apprised
of the latest deals. It's up and running now.
----------------------------
I want to thank you all for your tremendous support during these first
eight months of The Bus Depot's existence. (Jeez, has it only been eight
months??!!??) You've been very patient with me through my growing pains,
and your loyalty has made The Bus Depot literally an instant success. When
I decided to take the "big plunge" and start The Bus Depot, I worried about
whether there would be enough interest in a deep-discount VW van specialist
to keep me going. I warned my wife that we were taking a big risk, and
that some serious belt-tightening might be in our future. While I still
have no delusions about getting rich off of bus parts, I don't have to
worry anymore about whether The Bus Depot will make it. It's exceeded my
highest expectations, and I owe much of that to you. I don't know if I
could have realized my dream if it hadn't been for the support of the
Vanagon and Type 2 List members and administrators. I really owe you all a
whole lot.
Thanks,
Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot
(610) 754-VWVW
http://www.busdepot.com
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