Reflections on GTM over the years

Originally Posted by Mike@GTM

1) GTM doesn't have caller ID. So no, there was no screening of calls in that respect. However, Sam does screen his calls through whoever is answering the phone. I would spend more time running around trying to find Sam only for him to tell me to tell whoever was on the phone, to take a message or tell them he wasn't there. That said, because Sam is the keystone of the business and EVERYTHING must go through him, he is an extremely busy person and doesn't have enough time in a day to do everything or take every call.

2) Again, EVERYTHING must go through Sam. I barely had enough autonomy to answer e-mails or PM's without his blessing. There were no fixed policies and everything was whimsical. I could never second guess what Sam's decision was going to be because it was different every single time. So, I have no earthly idea why it was such a mess.

3) Well, regardless of how you felt about the situation, it would have been wrong. There is simply no justification for stealing. You did the right thing.

4) As far as I am concerned, Sam owes a lot (and I do mean a ton) of apologies for the things that he has done to just about everyone he comes into contact with in this industry. That's why there are so many haters of GTM, because he tends to make it abundantly clear that he just doesn't give a ****. The times that he does seem to care actually surprise me because it is quite rare.

He's kinda like Darth Vader, there's still good in him...somewhere.

Originally Posted by dmhenderson

Also he used a personal sickness (brain surgery) and a death in his family as excuses for not shipping my kit. Was that true or just horseshit?

Originally Posted by dmhenderson

Thanks for the answers. I would never have kept the twin SC kit - I just wanted my kit and was thinking about holding onto it until Sam/GTM delivered what I was owed. I'm not a thief.

I'll tell you, the only reason I didn't was because I didn't want to screw someone else over who was in the same boat I was in.

Originally Posted by DEpointfive0

I completely understand, and I know that getting a compnay to GTM's "size" is incredible to do too.

Now I say "size" because their catalogue is massive... But what good is a massive catalogue when you can't deliver on a tenth of it?

I actually met you Mike, not sure if you rememeber.

In any case, it's kinda a shame that GTM's last days are among us. It was cool seeing these moronic one offs of parts that would never hit production.

Going back to what you said, what Sam's issue is, is that he's too power hungry/greedy with "his business" HE needed to be in control of everything, which is too difficult to do. And he made his catalogue too massive which isn't feasible... I am a cost analyst of a company that has 5000 SKUs... I think GTM has just as many... Difference is that we do $150,000,000 a year...
I've told people this 1000 times. If GTM could stock the stage 1, 1.5 and maybe 2 SC kit, they would FLY off the shelves. That's really all they need to make to survive.
Supposedly they didn't want to go through with the Mitubishi turbos because 20% would fail. I said what they should do is have 50 sitting in boxes, customer calls and says the turbo failed, next day air one out. Customer will still be happy with the amazing service... Better than not having a product to offer in the first place, and the kit was such a great deal that it didn't matter.


In any case... Let's see what happens... And maybe I'll meet you again Mike, beer on me

Originally Posted by Mike@GTM

Yes, I remember meeting you and I think it would have been awesome to have a cost analyst on board. The company really could have used your services something fierce.

As for the Mitsubishi failures, that would have been a huge problem and would've killed the company just as quick as not doing anything at all. It was a rock and hard place position, no doubt.

The conundrum is that there is no one single thing that destroyed GTM. There are a lot of factors and a lot of variables. However, the thing I always seem to come back to is that ethics has a lot to do with it. ******** will get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Originally Posted by DEpointfive0

I'll let Mike reply, but everything needs Sam's god blessing, so it's not surprising that if while he was out, the shít hit the fan and they just didn't ship anything

Originally Posted by Mike@GTM

Actually, while Sam was gone Pablo and I were able to get a little more organized and bust out some kits. I was actually able to give accurate lead times based on what we actually had in inventory, what was in the queue and prioritize accordingly. Don't get me wrong, once Pablo and I got things organized we realized what a colossal cluster fuch things were and not being able to order turbos or superchargers (due in part to Sam's unwillingness to let us handle business and partly due to the fact that our account was on hold due to the massive debt he had not paid) made it especially challenging. Nevertheless, we made some things happen.

Once Sam got back, everything went back to "business as usual", only worse because he hadn't really taken the time to recover from his surgery and was practically useless through no fault of his own. His short term memory was gone. I mean, he couldn't remember a conversation he had 30 seconds ago. I don't know if he has recovered from his short term memory loss or not, but someone that is mentally handicapped to that degree shouldn't be running a business and most definitely not be responsible for other people's money.

Originally Posted by DEpointfive0

I don't think it would've been this bad, lol
But they had other issues, manifolds, etc...

And I'm right there with you on the last statement.



I am actually really sad the ride is over... It's been over for a while... Just more amazing that it's actually for sure on it's last legs

Originally Posted by Mike@GTM

Let's just say that if a wastegate failed to open, bad things would happen, yes?

There are definitely memories I cherish and there were some good times, great parts, and awesome work. That's partly why I didn't leave sooner. There were things that really sucked, but there were things that were pretty damn awesome too. It certainly wasn't boring. lol

I wish the white dragon would have been finished...that would have been epic!

Originally Posted by Mike@GTM

I wish the white dragon would have been finished...that would have been epic!