Dear Car Guy – Don’t be a Jerk, Let’s get to Work

Dear Car Guy,

Hoping this finds you well and enjoying the late night rides with your “baby”, feeling the power beneath you and in your hands as you find your favorite spot to drive. Nothing like a late night summer drive to clear the mind and invoke positive vibes.

I’ve been well and learning more and more about how to connect with those same positive vibes while working. As you may know, I work in the customer service department. It’s like choosing to work in the missing baggage claim area, or being the person who empties porta-potties, you’re bound to catch some crap and unhappiness each day.

What’s nice about my job is I am the decision maker; there is no “manager” above me. Anyone who has a warranty claim or complaint knows they’re dealing directly with the person who will be making the decisions and coming to a mutually reasonable resolution. It’s more often than not that we do come to a mutually beneficial resolution, because I’ve been given permission to take care of our customers.

Now, in dealing with car companies, I know there are a lot of Car Guy’s that have horrific experiences, where a company has zero desire to take care of them or work through issues, so when they come to me with guns blazing and fists raised, I realize this is just from their past experiences.

I just wanted to take the time to tell you, that we’re a reasonable company and we know we’re not perfect, BUT we’re always willing to help. We’re always willing to work towards a solution, and we’re always going to get back to you.

So when you call, Car Guy, know that if I don’t pick up, you’ll hear from me that day. When you email, know that you’ll get a reply within that same day. When I say I’ll call you back, you will be receiving a call back. When you ask a question, we are always willing to find the answer.

I hope you can understand our side of things a little better now, but just a heads up: As a standard, our company values its employees, and realizes that mental health and emotional well-being are more important than making a few bucks.

For whatever reason, I have experienced some people that just want to spread hate, and ill will. A burned out LED bulb is not worth being yelled at, cursed at, or being a personal punching bag for an angry Car Guy. This would make sense if we were a company that didn’t at least attempt and DESIRE to solve the problems as quickly as possible. We will always try out hardest to take care of those people, because we understand that sometimes it’s just a bad day, or you’ve been put through the ringer by other companies before, but if necessary, I have been giving permission to “fire you”.

What does it mean to be fired as a customer?

Ex: Angry Car Guy calls us and decides to yell, curse and/or throw a tantrum while I am trying to help. I reserve the right to hang up on you and 86 you as a customer. When you threaten us with personal insults and call us amazingly unoriginal names, and I am on the verge of tears, it just isn’t worth it anymore to try and be polite back. We will end the call, and move on with our days. We are here to help, not be the scape goats for your bad day.

Put your fists away, put the guns down, and come at me with a positive mindset, knowing that I’m going to do anything and everything I can to get you taken care of. I’ll be in contact with you consistently to let you know what we need, and what we’re doing. If at any point you have questions, call me up and I’ll let you know what I’m working on.

I am a customer service specialist. Yes, by nature this job isn’t going to be the most amazing all the time. Sometimes we have fallen short as a company and it’s my part to fix it and make your experience a more pleasant one. I am just hoping that, after reading this, you will know that we are here to help, and that we know that we’re not perfect. Give a chance to make it a better experience, refrain from yelling (because honestly it makes me cry sometimes), and know that we’re doing everything we can to get you taken care of as soon as possible.

Until next time, stay fast, stay safe, and stay happy!

– Kim@CorkSport

July 23, 2014

Dear Car Guy – Tell Me What You Want

Dear Car Guy,

It’s been a while my friend. I hope this finds you well and enjoying the midsummer heat, hot nights, car shows, and scantily clad women that July and August tends to provide.

Over on our end of things, it’s been hot and busy! Keeping up with your requests has kept a smile on my face though. From a simple request for a drawing on the box, to the silly requests like sending livestock, “surprise me”, or simply “make me smile when I open this up”, it’s been a lot of fun and a good break to my day.

It got me thinking though, some of you get surprised without a request, others of you send them in as notes on your order, and still yet others will shoot a quick email saying you’d love to see what we at CorkSport can come up with.

So here I am, writing to you, sharing a few of my past favorite requests:

Though we can’t honor all requests, we certainly try our best! Whether you want us to build you a sling shot, a lizard drawing on your box, or simply request us to send you the strangest thing we can find in our desk… we love the personal aspect that we get to attach to your orders!

Often our best requests come from the comment field in order notes. Feel free to list notes, jokes, or requests in this box here:

So remember to feel free to request some drawings, or silly things, it breaks up the monotony and gives you (and us) a smile! Hope all stays well Car Guy! Until next time, stay fast, stay safe, and stay happy!

-K

February 4, 2014August 27, 2020

How to Keep Your Mazda Healthy

How to Keep Your Mazda Healthy…

As a car enthusiast, I always want to make sure that my car maintenance is up to date. In general Mazda’s are very reliable but, whether modified or stock, the life of your car depends on maintenance. Taking good care of your car today can help you avoid paying out more in the future on repairs. Here are the top tips I’ve collected over the years and have applied to keep my Mazda in tip-top shape. Hopefully, they’re as helpful to you as they’ve been to me.

Gasoline – Find What Works for You

To find out what octane your engine needs, first check your owner’s manual. The recommended level is often 87octane. Some models have high compression engines that are designed to utilize the octane levels of 89, 91 or higher. Ordinarily, your vehicle will not benefit from using a higher octane than is recommended in the owner’s manual. If your engine knocks or pings at the recommended octane level though, you may need higher octane gasoline.

Improve gas mileage with the Mazda 3 Short Ram Intake

Knocking may occur under certain conditions. A small percentage of vehicles may knock because of variations in engines of the same model due to manufacturing tolerances, or because of an unusual build-up of engine deposits. Other factors such as extremely hot weather, changes in altitude or hard driving conditions may also cause knocking.

Are you planning on running alternative fuel for your modified car? More often than not gas alternatives for modified vehicles require tuning. Every owner/tuner has its preference, but keep the following information in mind when choosing between E85 or race gas:

· E85 will generate significantly more power than your typical recommended octane gas, given the same amount of fuel. The burn rate with E85 is faster than standard 87 to 95 octane, plus you get lower temperatures and more power. The downside is that you will get worse fuel economy, and your Fuel Pump will need more regular cleaning.

· The best thing about any race fuel is its consistency. You can count on the performance of the fuel and then tune accordingly. It makes things like elevation changes, ambient temps, etc, easier to incorporate into different maps.

Oil – Change it Religiously

Change the oil in your Mazda every 3,000 – 5,000 miles depending on the type of (regular, synthetic) oil you use. If most of your miles come from highway driving (driving at a set speed for long intervals of time), you may be able to change the oil every 5,000 miles, but if you do most of you’re driving in a city or suburban area, check your oil every 2,500 miles just to be safe. If the oil appears completely black, this is a sign that you need to have your oil changed.

If you change the oil yourself, remember to change the oil filter as well. If you take the car to a mechanic to have the oil changed, he should change the filter when he changes the oil. I always recommend the OEM oil Filter and Full Synthetic oil of your preference.

Tire Maintenance – Keep ‘em Rotated

Rotate your tires every 10,000 miles to prevent uneven wear (this means the back tires should be moved to the front wheels and vice versa). Also, keep a very close eye on your tire pressure. Mazdas use tires with a very soft tread, which means your car grips the road better, but its tires are more prone to leaks and breakage.

Look in your manual to see what the tire pressure of your front and back tires should be, and check all four tires’ pressure once a month to make sure no leaks have appeared.

Air Filter – It May be Cleaner than You Think

Mechanics will often try to convince you to change your air filter every time you change your oil. However, you shouldn’t have to change your air filter more than once every 20,000 miles unless it’s excessively dirty.

To learn about high-performance air filter’s go to:

· The Best Power Mod for a Mazda – //corksport.com/blog/the-best-power-mod-for-a-mazda/

· High Flow Panel Filter – //corksport.com/blog/product-release-corksport-high-flow-panel-filter/

Transmission Fluid – Keep an Eye Out

To protect your transmission and keep your car running for as long as possible, have the transmission fluid checked every 40,000 miles. In general, you don’t need to replace it until you hit 100,000 miles, but if you don’t check it and the fluid does burn out, it can ruin your transmission, a job that can cost more than a couple thousand to repair on a Mazda.

To learn about a related transmission topic go to Transmission Inserts at: //corksport.com/blog/the-best-power-mod-for-a-mazda/

Battery – Inspect it When the Time is Right

As long as you are careful not to leave the light or any other battery-operated extras such as the stereo turned on when your engine is not running, your Mazda’s battery should last approximately three to four years. When approaching the five- to six-year mark, be sure to have it inspected. It is better to be prepared than to have your battery die unexpectedly when you need to be somewhere.

To learn about the ECU Relocation Battery Box, go to: //corksport.com/blog/increase-room-in-your-engine-bay-with-a-new-battery-box/

What If?

As a longtime Mazda enthusiast, I’ve seen the company evolve in many innovative ways. Most recently, Mazda has focused its attention on improving the current Skyactive Technology lineup, including the SKY-G 2.0-liter gas and SKY-D 2.2-liter diesel engines.

This technology is great for those looking for good fuel economy and better engine output. But what about the enthusiast who, instead of seeking MPG, is drawn to a fun, high-performance vehicle they can enjoy driving 24/7?

Here’s what I’m thinking.

Sure, the 2.3 MZR engine had its ups and downs and can be improved by the enthusiasts who own them. But, I imagine something beyond what we have now. Consider this. What if the next lineup of Mazdaspeed 3’s had a 2.5L MZR engine with an upgraded turbo and a High-Performance Fuel Pump (HPFP) to help with the volume and pressure to produce an ideal 320 HP beast that will scare your competition away?

But let’s not stop there. Let’s address the torque steer under acceleration with an all-wheel-drive (AWD) system. An AWD Mazdaspeed3 was shelved years ago; the automaker said the high price point wouldn’t be saleable and the hatchback style wouldn’t be attractive to consumers. But now, hatchbacks are growing in popularity and perfectly positioned to rival any competitor. This creates a great opportunity for Mazda to introduce this next generation vehicle. With that in mind, I ask that today we raise our fists in solidarity for this type of Mazdaspeed innovation.

Mazda. “It Just Feels Right”

Jose Rivera – Mazda Community Blog

Check out the latest Mazdaspeed 3 performance parts

November 22, 2013

CorkSport Gets Down and Dirty… For the Community!!

A rainy afternoon playing in the mud, a sun-shiny day hanging out and making children smile, and another rainy morning, fighting a storm to pick up trash on a local beach. These are just a few of the ways that CorkSport gives back to its local community. Once every three months we put together a group of our employees to give back in some pretty unexpected and challenging ways.

In February 2013, we paired up with some local ‘pros’ through a program that rebuilds worn out trails in the local parks. We hiked 2 miles in with our tools and lunches in tow, dressed for what we were hoping was a fair weather day. Boy, were we wrong!

We repaired parts of an older trail, and put in a couple switch backs to help with draining in the future so the trail might have a chance of being a little less muddy. Tools in hand, we dug in some places a full foot of mulch and mud out in order to level out and give proper foundation to what will be a fully graveled trail in the future.

Off and on showers, some ankle deep mud trenches, and some ‘Seniors’ who made us feel as though we were slacking for taking a break or two made for a memorable team building experience. All in all it was a worth-while and enjoyable day, we felt accomplished and closer as a team after having completed some strenuous work with beautiful results.

Most Recently we took a Saturday morning and went to a local river-beach for some clean up.

Once again the weather laughed and laughed as we fought the wind, rain, and waves to find anything from cigarette butts and bed sheets to broken bottles and pieces discarded and forgotten clothing.

Wonderful to be outside, but we could have done without the temperatures and onslaught of the local weather system/left-overs from far away hurricanes.

We have volunteered for the community with some children’s outings, given back to the local work crews, and done some trash digging at the beach. We always make sure to do this on our own time so as not to interfere with business, but the rewards that come from volunteering are worth it any day!

-Cheers

Kim

August 29, 2013

The Best Friends of CorkSport

“Porter”

Porter is Kim’s favorite lap dog. He is a 7 year old English Mastiff that weighs only 175lbs!!! He loves hiking, cuddling and drooling wherever he wants.

“Mosby”

Spencer is very fond of his fish Mosby. He is a Betta, his favorite color is atomic tangerine, he enjoys playing rock’em sock’em robots and his favorite food is Jello-O.

“Duke”

Dustin has an amazing cat named Duke that never met a box or bag that he didn’t love. You will often find Dustin’s children carrying Duke around in a bag while he still sleeps soundly inside.

“Jemma”

Jemma is an 11 year old Springer Spaniel whose one goal in life is to get you to throw her a pine cone. Quite extraordinary Jen (her owner) once got Jemma to hold 11 pine cones in her mouth at the same time!!!

Cows and “Momma”

Roe’s pets are spoiled rotten… at least for a little while. They don’t have names except for Momma, otherwise they might be called “Dinner1”, “Dinner2”, etc. They do not get to come inside but they are still very well behaved.

Matt

Matt has 9 tarantulas spanning 8 difference species from 4 different continents around the world. He handles all but two of them (who can have very painful or paralyzing bites). Pictured are his Mexican red knee and his very dangerous Red Slate Ornamental.

“Duke”

Casey was very excited to bring Duke home. He’s only 3 months old but has already decided that rubbing you with a dirty soccer ball until you play with him is his favorite sport.

“Cheetah” and “Cheli”

Cheetah and Cheli are Kelly’s two favorite pals. They love everyone and Cheli even lets the kids ride him! As you can tell from the picture, they are always down to go for a ride themselves!

“Buster”, “Odie” and “Frankie”

Joel and his family are crazy enough to have 3 dogs! Buster is the old man who acts like a puppy, Odie is always in everyone’s business and Frankie won’t leave your side if you even brush up against them. Joel likes to joke that they would go home with the UPS man if he let them.

Tell us about your favorite family members on our Facebook!!!