John is an excellent marketer. He is leaps and bounds better at marketing than any other tuner in the Viper world - some of whom can date their passion for tuned Vipers back to John as he was one of the first and certainly was and is the most famous.
Integrity is something YOU want when you spend YOUR money, but most of us ASSUME it when we deal with a big name. Primarily, people in his market want to buy magic.
John sells them what they are looking for - presitige and magic, and a lot of power with his Venom TT's. They trust in his integrity but are buying the magic.
Now if they do not get the magic they hoped for, or have it dampened by a set of problems - well they will not spend $10k+ a month advertising in presitgious magazines about how they feel they got a bum wrap. They will form an opinion about their experience based on how they were treated and how it ended up, and tell all their friends perhaps.... a few may even go online, but really - in a big market - where people want to buy magic, a few bad experiences are not enough to put a great marketer down.
There are tuners with very good personal integrity and with the highest personal standards that put out a great product, stand by their work 100% - but whom will never reach beyond owning a job. They will remain a slave to their business until they either retire or bite the bullet to trying something different. It is not tuning skills they lack.
Does MacDonalds make the best burger in the world?
John is smart enough to recongnize the fact he does not need to be the best, he simply needs to be perceived by the market to be the best.
Before you lambast him for that - ask yourself - is this not free market Capitalism in action - let the buyer beware? The law provides remedies for those that feel ripped off - and none more so than in the litigatious USA. The fact the law allows him to keep trading says that he has to date satisfied the requirements of the law to continue doing so.
Am I saying "tough bickies" to those that had genuine issues that cost them thousands? Not at all - in fact I have not given my opinion at all on that - it is hardly relevant. I have simply stated what I see to be the secret to his success.
John is able to create and sell magic - and whatever others think about that - until someone steps up and does it better (and I mean selling it not just making it better) - he is in a class by himself.
Other tuners have had a lot of help from others to try and get them up to Johns level, some have stepped up a level or 3 from where they were - but none have what it takes yet to knock John off his pedastal... and if they want to they better start getting up early and stay late working not on their engine packges but on their business and marketing skills - or take on a business partner that has the fruit on the tree and money backing to go where none have been able to go yet.
It will require an even greater passion and vision than John has to move him into second place
that's the real challenge to other tuners
the challenge to potential customers is to sign and enforce a good contract with who-ever you use and make them want to honor it, do not assume you are so special it goes without saying.
Tuners do have a choice who they look after more than others - that is life, and all integrity does is determine the gap between the favoured and the less favoured.
these are my random thoughts while developing the need for a cold beer - all this typing has made me a bit parched
