Ready to run or ready to wreck ?

[HumboldtBlazer]

Kwong that has to be the best idea/post I have ever seen you make! Kudos, great idea!:smart:

 

[nitrohead]

Ready to run

I agree that rtr has helped the business but pissed of customers can put you out of business thru word of mouth. I tell my friends about a bad experiece with your product then my friends tell all of their friends then your product developes a bad reputation. I think the way the industry can combat this is with first rate instruction manuals and high quality control standards in the factories. And the hobby shops need to have people in there who know about the product and treat the customer with some respect after all they pay your salary.

Kwong 2001 - Excellent idea!! I hope the hobby shops pick up on it.

 

[nitromaniac]

I have heard that Hobbytown USA is working on some thing like that, I know a couple of guys who work at one and they are willing to start it up on thursday nights them selves, this would really keep em coming back dont ya think! its a great concept that works for other stores like home cheepo,, why not!
but I like RCNT for the comfort of your own home theory, its been a great workshop for me anyway!

 

[nitrohead]

Kwong 2001 - Excellent idea !! I hope the hobby shops pick up on this suggestion.

 

[nitromaniac]

Re: Ready to run

And the hobby shops need to have people in there who know about the product and treat the customer with some respect after all they pay your salary.





nitrohead
true that! , they were kissin my ass when I bought my first rtr, then acted like I was troubling them when I need a $4 part for it

 

[kwong2001]

Re: Re: Ready to run

Originally posted by nitromaniac
true that! , they were kissin my ass when I bought my first rtr, then acted like I was troubling them when I need a $4 part for it

At one of our hobby shops, hobby town usa, they kiss your ass like crazy if you're gonna buy something expensive like a rtr. But if you want a $2 part, they ignore you.

I get a little pissed when some newbie is gonna buy a rtr, and just need one part that's behind the counter, and they just talk to the newbie when my part takes to two seconds to get...even when the newbie is obviously thinking about the decision he's about to make, they still wait on him.





About my workshop idea, I would like to put on something like that in my area. I have fantasized about doing that. It'd be mass fun too. I could use my hyper 8 savage which is easy to tune, and that could give them the basics, then towards the end, I could use my ntc3, but have the o.s. 12 cv-r in it for a tiny bit harder tuning..or just use the novarossi...but none of this would ever happen in real life since i'm shy (lol)

 

[nitromaniac]

Re: Re: Re: Ready to run

Originally posted by kwong2001


.

I get a little pissed when some newbie is gonna buy a rtr, and just need one part that's behind the counter, and they just talk to the newbie when my part takes to two seconds to get...even when the newbie is obviously thinking about the decision he's about to make, they still wait on him.

yeah, that happend to me last week, I was looking right at the clutch springs I needed behind the counter, so I just walked through and got them, the guy never said a word to me and if he did, I probibly would have said something like, oh,, not kissin my ass now are ya!lol

 

[nitrohead]

What gets me is when the newbie brings in his rtr and wants someone to tune it or fix it on a Sunday in the car deptment and there is only one guy there and 100 customers waiting to get checked out and the car guy is yanking on the rtr pullstart.:whistle: :whistle:

 

[SkyMaxx]

This is an excellent thread. A ton of valid points being made.

I started with a kit as my first RC. It was a hydroplane. That thing was a pain to build and ran great for one run...then it exploded into splinters on the shore when it caught a little too much air. Perhaps one of the coolest things I have seen.

I was hooked. Now, I have purchased both RTR and kits. The key in anything involved in this hobby is taking the time to learn about it. If you break it, take the time to learn about fixing it. My T-Maxx was an RTR, and through the breaking and upgrading I have pretty much torn it down and rebuilt it several times.

You learn alot from making mistakes and then correcting them.

Paying a hobbyshop to fix, tune, build your RC is the lazy-man's way of doing this hobby. In a capitalist world, they are well within their right to charge whatever they feel their time is worth. You would do the same if it was paying your bills.

Kwong, you continue to surprise me. A great idea and one that many hobbyshops could benefit from.

And the money talks business is so very true. I have spent thousands of dollars in hobbyshops and am always amazed at the piss poor customer service that you get if you are looking for small parts or are spending little money. Any good hobby shop is going to recognize that every customer, no matter how much they are spending, is important. You take care of the guy spending five bucks and some day he will come back and spend five hundred bucks.

Anyway...great thread. Keep the thoughts coming.

 

[nitromaniac]

Originally posted by SkyMaxx
This is an excellent thread. A ton of valid points being made.

Any good hobby shop is going to recognize that every customer, no matter how much they are spending, is important. You take care of the guy spending five bucks and some day he will come back and spend five hundred bucks.

yet another great point!

I started with an rtr, those of you who know my threads know which one, I hate to even say the name anymore! then I once again got an rtr (ntc3) but by the time I got this one , I was pretty good at wrenching , I have done so much to this car that its no longer a rtr , then still a bit intimidated I got my arr(almost ready to run) GS Storm, I didnt feel ready for a kit but this was perfect because I was able to learn even more about electronics,mills,servos,radios and so on! I had some very forefrustrating nights but felt confident enough that I could do it myself, help was just a phone call away but i pressed on and finished it, now this is where the fun starts, I know every single builder on this site has done this, and if you havnt your lying, you finish your build and just sit there and look at it for hours! it becomes a personel work of art, you know your gonna flip it and get it dirty, but for that time, you just want to look at it, its an amazing thing and thats what makes it all worth it! So please go ahead and buy all the rtr's you want! this hobby is so addicting that I can assure you, after you sit and stare at your first build for hours, youll know, your hooked! and you will only appreciate the hobby more and more! go on,, you know you want it, hehehe!!!

just a tip! Never, and I mean never work on a build if you are tired, you will wake up three hours later with parts stuck to your forehead and you will spend the next 3 hours looking for them

 

[kwong2001]

Originally posted by nitromaniac
now this is where the fun starts, I know every single builder on this site has done this, and if you havnt your lying, you finish your build and just sit there and look at it for hours! it becomes a personel work of art, you know your gonna flip it and get it dirty, but for that time, you just want to look at it, its an amazing thing and thats what makes it all worth it!

Lol, I remember when I built my OFNA Nitro Ob4. I looked at that thing for probably a good hour enjoying seeing all the carbon fiber. It was beautiful.

When I built my ntc3, when I had everything done except for the radio tray and the engine installed, I viewed it for a long time. This was only on the first day.

You know how most people, when they take a dump, they bring in a magazine to read?, if I have a new r/c, i'll take in the r/c look at...lol, ain't that some poop?

 

[FastEddy]

Originally posted by pyromaniac

you finish your build and just sit there and look at it for hours! it becomes a personel work of art, you know your gonna flip it and get it dirty, but for that time, you just want to look at it, its an amazing thing and thats what makes it all worth it!

LMAO,
Just hours? Try Days!
You also forgot to mention 40-50 digital photos from every conceivable angle.

By the way, nitromaniac in my spell checker is Pyromaniac :flamer:

 

[nitromaniac]

Yeah Eddy! I noticed that in mine too, although I have never been one to play with matches, I have been burned several times!lol
and your right ! this is a great thread, makes you think and wonder about what to build next dosnt it?
Kwong, I just leave the door open and look at it from there, it makes me poop faster!

 

[GilBeQuick]

I work at the HobbyTown here in Charlotte. I know many of you out there have had bad experiences with the name, but the one I work at isn't what you all talk about. We actually talk people out of buing vehicles beyond their skill level. Brandspankin newbies who have never touched an RC entirely much less a nitro RC, want to jump right into a 60+mph RTR 4-Tec. A big parking lot runs out DAMN fast going 60mph. And since it's RTR, they don't know how to fix it. All any newbie asks is "how fast will it go?" Crap, I did it when I started out, but really there aren't too many people who didn't. It's what got a lot of us into this hobby. You want a Radio Shack car that is measured in FPM (feet per minute) or a real RC car that will do 60mph? The 60 jumps out at you big time.
There have been 4 or 5 times where the owners refused to sell a nitro car to a 7, 8, or 9 year old kid who is just not ready for a nitro car. Every parent says the same thing "he's a bright kid, he can handle it."
Some hobby stores have workshops. The Hobbytown I work at doesn't, but only by the owner's preference. They feel that they don't sell "toys", but rather "hobbies." Meaning, it's your hobby, not ours. We'll help you through all we can, giving advice and guidance on everything under the sun that deals with RC, but since it's your hobby not ours, we don't work on them. (although if it's slow one night, we'll go out in the parking lot and help tune people engines and show them how the mixtures work)
If I have time, I'll ask someone that needs extra help to come to the store after hours to help get their rigs running good...the only thing I require is that they do all the tuning and wrenching, I just try to guide the best I can.
Point in all this being is that you're right, in some cases, about being Ready to Wreck. Some new people just don't realize what they are getting themselves into with the nitro cars and trucks. (mainly maintainance and tuning issues) But hey, we've all got to start somewhere right?

 

[robriguez]

Since getting into this hobby again and noticing the piss poor LHS support in my area, I've toyed around with the idea of opening my own shop and track. I friend of mine is REALLY into it and I'm sure if he had the capital to start today he would.

Personally I belive this hobby (more so than many others) is not only about the rides but about the people too. The LHS I frequent is more of a local hangout than it is a shop. You can go in there any time day or night, they are open till 10PM, and youll see 4-5 guys standing around shootin the poop. Arguments break out, guys start bragging on their rides and little bashing session spring to life on weekends and every one gets along.

I think people who are into biulding only models, collecting things, or are into trains are sort of missing out on the comunity spirit of RC cars and trucks. While it may be kinda fun to go out on your own and test your limits and practice and break in new parts, there nothing like a BUNCH of people all running their cars doing the same thing, maybe even competing with each other in the name of fun. Its just a whole hell of alot more fun when others join in on the fun. (Eddy--no comment please-lol).

 

[GilBeQuick]

Cheers to that!

 

[nitromaniac]

Originally posted by robriguez
Personally I belive this hobby (more so than many others) is not only about the rides but about the people too.

Great point again!
some people isolate their hobbies to themselves, you now! the guy that comes home from work goes right to his work area and tinkers away! puts his stuff on the shelf and pretty much keeps it there, I wouldnt be able to do that with this hobby, I like to get out and shoot the poop with the other people with the same interest(adiction) as I have. Really looking forward to future bashes, although I wont be the greatest driver out there and I will most likely kill my car(s) early, it wont matter, I'm hoping to just meet some good people and just have a blast! my girlfriend likes to go fishing with me, but she just dosnt get the whole RC thing! If I said I was goin fishing with the guys, she would wanna go, but if I say I'm going to a bash, she 's like, oh ok honey, have a nice time! this is good for me!

 

[FastEddy]

Robriguez and GilBeQuick,
You have both brought to the table the exact reason I am into this hobby. Good job.

I believe that RCs are not toys and don't like them being sold as toys. If you look back at a thread from last X-Mass I have 6 neighbor kids that got RCs. My belief is that the fathers and kids saw mine all the time and just had to have their own to play with. (Or they got their spoiled ass brat fiddlesticks offspring RCs just to shut them the hell up)

On X-Mass day EVERY ONE of them came knocking on my door. Not to run but for me to help get them going. All but one had a rig that was out of their experience level. Being the neighborly guy I am (To keep my truck from getting egged) we got them all going. For the next 3-4 days I didn't get any rest due to the knocking on the door from a kid with a smashed up front end or a blown engine. I tried to guide them but they all just wanted to drop them off to be fixed, NO THANKS. I haven't seen one of them on the road or running their RC after the 1st of the year.

Back to the last kid, the youngest of them all. His parents talked to me before X-Mass and asked me to go with them to the LHS to choose 2 RCs, one for dad and one for son. Dad got an electric TC3 kit and kid got a pre built TC3. They got to run on X-Mass day and had the experience of father son building dads kit. They occasionally invited us over for dinner or refreshments a few times in the next week or so and I helped them with little issues on building the kit. They had one prebuilt so it wasn't difficult for them. To make a long story longer, I still see them as a family out running their cars.

This is what its all about.

 

[nitromaniac]

Ed,, I have had the same experience with the kid across the street, luckily every kid on the street dosnt have an rc, man am I glad for that!! I have got him up and running several times, but after awhile he actually started listening to me and is able to wrench much better now,, I dont usually run on my street but if I am breaking in I will do some short bursts, he always comes runnin out to see whats goin on! I am glad he picked up on it now, he enjoys the hobby as it should be enjoyed and I am glad to be a part of that, so, yes , thats what its all about! this xmas if you send your neighbors xmas cards you should slip a rcnt.com buisness card in there, I am sure some of your neighbors kids have grown into the hobby enough to enjoy a good learning experience, but if you want to remain annyomonus amongst the neighborhood, this would be a bad idea!

Originally posted by FastEddy
I believe that RCs are not toys and don't like them being sold as toys.

another fact well put, most newbies and their dads heve never seen a buggy jump a house before, I'm sure if they did they would realize that these are definitly NOT TOYS!!!

 

[FastEddy]

Most of the kids here are latch key kids and their 12 hour a day working parents just buy them what ever they want. Sad but true.