I've had 2 IAC visits. I cannot describe the scope of the opportunity you provide with your service. The ability to have someone of your skill/knowledge/communication level come to MY house and not only work on my vehicle, but teach me what to do and how to drive it is something I still marvel at. I am not even sure what I will want to work on in 2014, but I know I will be scheduling a visit, despite the crush of other things that demand my time and money.
PRE-REQUISITES
( 1 ) ease of scheduling appointment. Can't get much easier in my mind, given you have to fit us all into one schedule.
( 1 ) clarity of deposits/details/requirements. Spelled out in nauseating (but polite) detail!
( 1 ) communication (any annoying misunderstandings?) . No misunderstandings yet. I sometimes worry that I pester you too much before visits, but you respond politely and patiently each time I contact you.
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VISIT
( 1 ) punctuality. He always comes on time to MY house on time
( 1 ) politeness. I am struck by the value and emphasis you place on politeness. It is a common theme in your writing and behavior.
( 1 ) professionalism
( 2 ) progression of your stated goals. Hard to put a number here. For example, my first visit we strayed from my stated goals, but for a very worthwhile reason. If Colin sees something as important, I will listen and more than likely take his suggestion on the priority of tasks for the day gladly.
( 1 ) progression of state of vehicle. Colin has been a big part of improving the overall driveability/safety of my bus.
( 1 ) follow-through after visit. Colin exudes an air of genuine care about him, Not only for our vehicles, but for us. This is clear in his posts on this and other forums, and even more clear when dealing with him in person. He followed up on issues after both of my visits.
( 1 ) price/value. Again, the ability to have someone of Colin's expertise available is a tremendous asset. I feel the cost does not approach the value of the opportunity for me.
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LEARNING
( 1 ) clarity of concepts introduced. Colin does a nice job of breaking concepts down into small, manageable pieces.
( 1 ) clarity of explanations. See above.
( 1 ) clarity of hands-on/field practicum. Many of the things I learn are shown by example. Others are more direct. Again, Colin does a good job of breaking difficult (or easy) processes down into accessible bits.
( 1 ) your degree of knowledge retention. I must do less drugs than the rest of you.... Seriously, the day is so long. A balance is struck for each of us between getting stuff done and learning things conceptually. The more pressing the list of physical things to be done, the more difficult it is to remember all the techniques discussed during the day. But on the other hand, you got a LOT of things done. My first visit was like that. LOTS to do, and rush rush rush until the end. My second visit had fewer things that HAD to get done, and even though we worked hard just about all day we were able to discuss some topics in more depth.
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APPOINTMENT IMPROVEMENTS YOU'D LIKE TO SEE
The improvements I can think of fall more on me than you. Anything you could do to help us do a good job prioritizing the day's tasks and being prepared would be useful.
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SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FUTURE
i do like Aircooledchirs's suggestion for a "Have you done this", at least for first time IAC folks. It would give folks an idea of the types of things they should be doing routinely, and also give you an idea of where the person is starting from.
My only suggestion is the selfish one that you do whatever you need to keep providing your service as long as you care to. As Runamuck Bus mentioned, I look forward to your visit like it was a vacation. Working on my bus(ses) with someone who knows as much as you, and loves the air-cooled VWs is a treat.
