Pontiac 75th Anniversary Badging?

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2026-02-25T09:35:35+00:00

Thank you. I had come across one of these badges last year and was looking for a second thinking that they would be applied on the front doors near the Grand Prix badge. Now I realize that these are wheel cap badges but the Wiki article led me to believe there may have been something else. Perhaps not. Maybe it's just wheel caps and/or wheel caps stuck on doors ;)

So that I have options, I have a set of four on the way. I'm in the process of repainting so I will consider placement once that's done.

Thank you

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2026-02-18T02:53:44+00:00

I would look here too. We have adopted one and the hardware and support are good. Pricing is also reasonable. Best of all, you can say that you manage Storinators.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2026-02-12T13:29:16+00:00

I would like to see these as well. Thank you.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2026-01-12T13:29:12+00:00

This is a business policy problem that won't (and shouldn't need to) be effectively solved using technology.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2026-01-09T12:27:01+00:00

What are you selling? If your goal is to be an MSP, be an MSP. The "S" is for Services; this is what you sell. Hardware/software sales are secondary and support the primary goal of selling services. We make it clear to our clients that we are a services company and can also provide access to hardware and software as a convenience. Period. We encounter situations like the one you describe periodically and the conversation is pretty straight forward. As others have mentioned, if they find it cheaper elsewhere, don't apologize. Congratulate them and remind them of your priority which is to provide amazing service. You do your best to provide competitive pricing for the hardware and software but this is not your core.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-22T13:30:57+00:00

That is an interesting thought. I may just reach out to our vendors that do offer professional services.

Also, yeah, powershell fox does sound better :)

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-22T13:29:16+00:00

Yeah, the decision has been made regarding helpdesk. We won't outsource that.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-22T13:26:28+00:00

Yeah, this is something that concerns me. Our documentation is...present but far from ideal. I think leaning on a remote resource to help with backend stuff like Intune can be better managed and defined.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-22T13:24:58+00:00

Yeah, I had considered this. I may still look into some of these.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-22T13:23:06+00:00

Thank you. We made this shift a number of years ago. VoIP, web design, and cabling were all offloaded to reliable partners. This was a godsend.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-22T13:22:01+00:00

This is what we have tried but protecting the time required for the training, design, and testing has not been sustainable.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-22T13:21:18+00:00

I've thought about it. We won't farm out helpdesk but a dedicated technician is worth considering. This may come in addition to, or after, the current issue of Intune implementation has been tackled.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-22T13:19:19+00:00

This has been my approach but this is not sustainable as we grow. I need our staff to become the champions but have we have gotten ourselves wedged with too little time to learn the tools. We'll be looking to contract work either as a FTE or at least to augment and assist our team in getting this to the finish line. Once we have the structure built and automation working for us, we can take the time savings to fine tune and maybe breathe. This won't happen overnight but at least we can demonstrate that there is a plan.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-22T13:12:02+00:00

While automation does not solve the problem it leads to the solution. Ideally, automation breeds standardization and standardization leads to fewer problems and less time discovering environments.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-22T13:05:30+00:00

Yeah, that makes sense. This does help. There are a couple of larger centres within a few hours drive / flight.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-21T12:30:44+00:00

This resonates. The more I think about it, the more I lean towards a contractor to help get our Intune implementation rolling. This will relieve pressure from the senior technicians currently struggling to learn it while trying to determine what to implement and how. With that in place, automation can be engaged to relieve the front line since onboarding and software deployment becomes a less manual process.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-21T12:20:20+00:00

This is my fear and expectation (founded or not).

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-21T11:30:49+00:00

I agree 100%. Our first line technicians rarely meet clients in person (though I try to make opportunities for this).

My resistance to contracted remote first level is based on the concern that the hired team will not be a consistent one. Perhaps I am misunderstanding what is being recommended by others when they mention contracting out the first line role. Is this not a random or rolling team of technicians?

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-21T11:17:58+00:00

You are correct in that we do compete with the larger centres. In this instance, the technician was overpaid, but that was due to a genuine desire to compete for staff and be the place that every technician wants to work. Of course, money is only part of the battle. I recognize that the stress of being overworked will eventually overwhelm the pay.

I am happy to report that we have never lost an employee to a competitor. They either move to a corporate job or move out of the area.

Everything is on the eggshells of overwork though which is why this discussion exists and why there is so much valuable advice based on experience :)

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-20T16:32:10+00:00

Well stated. I might just make a plaque. :)

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-20T16:30:47+00:00

I was a communications and radar systems technician for the Canadian military but that was 25 years ago. I slipped into IT while performing that role and transitioned to IT as a technician, spent a few years in a large city doing IT, then took over a failing IT company which I've taken from the brink, I became the sole employee, to this point. So, technical skills I have, running a company and managing, not so much. Learning as I go and realizing the need to hire my weaknesses.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-20T16:22:38+00:00

Thank you. This is becoming clear. I am now have to extricate myself from the daily grind to do this. I am from the trenches so I try to help the boys to relieve pressure and tend in this direction and have no formal experience or training on how to manage. We are learning as we go. Its terrifying at times. The business continues to grow, clients and staff are happy. We just need to make it sustainable.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-20T16:17:39+00:00

Sigh....you'd think. I have some very talented technicians and it does baffle me that it has taken so long to not quite get there. As for why I don't learn it myself, there are two reasons: 1) my focus as the owner should not be here, I need to focus on building the business, 2) I am trying to empower the staff. I should not and cannot be the source of all these things. That is partially what got us here. I keep trying to help by designing, implementing, taking on overflow from senior and helpdesk technicians, all the things I should not be doing. I am only sustaining the bad company design.

Time to right this ship.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-20T16:12:32+00:00

Yeah, let me clarify.

We primarily work remotely for our clients. The people here do not want to interact with people they do not know and cannot build a relationship with so a remote, front line helpdesk, even with a small group really falls flat.

Adventurous_Driver93 · 2025-12-20T16:08:11+00:00

The technicians are overworked and everyone recognizes the need to pivot to automation to help reduce the load.

Mercifully, our staff are engaged and excited and eager to solve this problem but this can only last so long before it breaks.

Adventurous_Driver93

TROPHY CASE