I Bring You The Pipe Turds
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I know who Todd Johnson is. My last post was my attempt at offbeat comedy with a twist of truth....and opinion.
I dunno...I always thought pipesmokers were a different breed of folks...good folks...but I now see I was very wrong. I really dislike seeing people who enjoy pipes, whether it be pipemakers or just smokers to bicker and dicker around. But hey it's like any other profession, I guess. Todd put his thoughts out there for all to see and I give him credit for his honesty as I'd rather have the hard truth and reality then live in a fantasy land. So hell man, I guess people are people, some good, some bad and some ugly...even in the pipe world.
I better buy me some pipes before the Guilded Pipe Monopoly sets in. Maybe I can score a few turds or two.
I dunno...I always thought pipesmokers were a different breed of folks...good folks...but I now see I was very wrong. I really dislike seeing people who enjoy pipes, whether it be pipemakers or just smokers to bicker and dicker around. But hey it's like any other profession, I guess. Todd put his thoughts out there for all to see and I give him credit for his honesty as I'd rather have the hard truth and reality then live in a fantasy land. So hell man, I guess people are people, some good, some bad and some ugly...even in the pipe world.
I better buy me some pipes before the Guilded Pipe Monopoly sets in. Maybe I can score a few turds or two.
Omg!!!! I just read through this entire stupid post. Leave Todd alone. Consumers - you know what crap looks like so don't buy it and overpay for it. All you have to do is go to smokingpipes.com to see what a nice pipe looks like, mostly. "Pipemakers" - you know what looks good and what looks like complete crap garbage. Stop it. Stop selling your crap until it looks good and is well engineered. And when you do start selling your pipes your not even gonna make minimum wage right now it takes time. I'd say about 2-3 bucks an hour. Stop being babies. If you can't make a nice pipe after time then move on to something else.
It's a global economy get over it. I'm sure he was trying to make it affordable for the guys that say I can't spend over a hundred dollars that took someone twenty hours to make that will last me a lifetime. Are you talking about banning me for giving my opinion? Is this net neutrality kicking in? Are you one of the people complaining about your Netflix buffering too?
foah, when you jump in, don't bother to introduce yourself, and give advice .....what response do you expect?
As I predicted here the come "the new members" with their herd/pack mentality.
Gee, I wonder what the "new members" say in their private-super-secret-double-handshake forum over at PMF.
Signed,
Kola, a proud supporter and advocate for turd pipes and turd-makers.
Gee, I wonder what the "new members" say in their private-super-secret-double-handshake forum over at PMF.
Signed,
Kola, a proud supporter and advocate for turd pipes and turd-makers.
I truly hate it when I walk into a shop with some idea tinkling at the back of my head about what it is I want to buy only for the sales person to totally change that and mould it into what it is I was supposed to be wanting instead. Whenever this happens to me, I just walk straight out of the shop taking my custom somewhere else where they actually listen to your customer's demands. I know that for the discerning individual it is hard to sell stuff you don't really passionate about, but one thing is to be passionate about your hobby, and another thing is to be able to satisfy the customer's demands. Being an entrepreneur is not about pushing your own ideas or opinions down somebody else's throat, whether they like it or not, but about being able to listen carefully to your customer's needs. It is not the latter who needs to adapt to you as an entrepreneur, but the other way around. And the more you gonna insist on bringing your own ideas onto the market with total disregard of this, the more likely you'll be to fail in your attempt to do so.
Will the sheer entertainment this thread is providing ever stop?
I, too, am an ardent supporter of a well-made vanilla milkshake. I do wish there was a milkshake guild, however, but that is a subject for another forum.
Look, let me be completely candid here. I really don't give a rat's chubby ass about all the folks who are buying all the crappy pipes being turned out by the fly-by-night instagram crowd. If it makes them happy, then it just tickles the shit out of me. All we can try to do on here is educate new enthusiasts who are taking up the hobby about the key aspects to look for in choosing a well-made pipe. Now, that would be a useful thread -- a thread that seeks to articulate the features to look for and the issues to be wary of when selecting a pipe.
I, too, am an ardent supporter of a well-made vanilla milkshake. I do wish there was a milkshake guild, however, but that is a subject for another forum.
Look, let me be completely candid here. I really don't give a rat's chubby ass about all the folks who are buying all the crappy pipes being turned out by the fly-by-night instagram crowd. If it makes them happy, then it just tickles the shit out of me. All we can try to do on here is educate new enthusiasts who are taking up the hobby about the key aspects to look for in choosing a well-made pipe. Now, that would be a useful thread -- a thread that seeks to articulate the features to look for and the issues to be wary of when selecting a pipe.
Now that I know better, I think the Dangers could put up a better apologetic post than what we got here in the guise of defending Tad. I like that moniker, Todd will forever be "Tad" in my mind thanks to kola.
I have no herd or pack mentality. I'm defending a man who has done more for the pipe community than most. How do you advocate crap and the people that sell it? I have two dogs I'm going to dry out their turd and drill some holes in them and sell them for $250 on this forum. I will be a wealthy man.
Effective communication skills, or marketing, is about being able to sell your products, or get a message across, without upsetting anyone in the process.
I see one single context where Tad could have said what he said and it would be funny and make sense. At age 70, he is interviewed, and looking back at his legacy of hard work and dedication, he reflects, and drops the T-bomb. That would be classic. But as it is, he would have been better served by putting his head down, working with dignity, and building his brand. He put the cart before the horse.
Who says you have a right not to be offended? I'm offended by Hollywood all the time. I go log into my capitalone account and I have to look at Samuel l Jackson who recently made a hands up don't shoot video. Todd was just saying what a lot of us have been thinking. The world would be a better place if there were more people like him willing to speak their minds instead of being so pc about everything. I hope his rant creates a wave of business for him. Not a lot of people have the balls to say what he said in a public forum and I give him credit for that. This is like the Christian baker not wanting to make a wedding cake for a gay couple and being run out of business for his religious beliefs. I think we should all focus our efforts on something that really effects us all. The anti tobacco nuts who in one fell swoop could completely destroy our hobby with one fell swoop if they want to.
Nobody has a right not to be offended (this is ridiculous), but I don´t see how he is going to be successful in selling his stuff he if does not improve in his marketing strategies. 
Away back on the first page I made an ill advised post not realizing I'm way too new to be posting here. I stated,in response to a question, that I had been spending most of my time in the beginners forum. Cosmicfolklore posted that he didn't know there was a beginners forum at this site and was I maybe referring to another site. On the chance that he really wasn't aware I should state that the forum is entitled "Pipe Smoking Basics and Beginners Questions". That is the site I was posting about.
For those who have not seen Todd's posting on PMF from 2 days ago I have copy and pasted it below. But as for me, maybe I am getting a little old and soft as I approach 60..but hell I dunno..I feel like maybe Todd regrets what he said...but not so much what he said but how he said it. I can easily see where he was coming from and where he was going to but he could have expressed his opinion in a more gentler,kinder way. Emotions are a funny thing and once your hit that post button there is no getting it back. I can only assume but my bet is that Todd possibly wishes that he had taken a different approach to his new ventures (and PR style) and that his past posting was nothing but a hard learned lesson. It's all part of being in any business and it donlt take much to rock the ship and send people overboard. Anyway, I ain't holding any grudges nor will I stand in line to stone him to death. I personally wish Todd Johnson the best and hope he stays on track and focuses on his true talents and avoids slipping down to the lower levels that will only cause him more headaches and sleepless nights. Remember Todd, you can't change people. And if you force things, it backfires back at ya. The old saying goes "when the students are ready the teacher appears." Maybe just make some nice pipes, stay focused and do not compete with anyone. Talking bad of others always has it's blow-back effects.
Here's TJ's post:
I've had a couple of snowbound days to sit and think about all this. I'm sure everyone is aware of the beating I've taken as the fall guy for this thread, and hindsight being 20/20, I guess this is why the "private" section of this forum exists. Being as passionate and vocal as I am about pipes, I'm sort of used to having my turn in the barrel. That's nothing new. Clearly, if you actually read this thread, you'll notice I'm not the only one who feels a sense of loss over the current state of pipes and pipe making. Nor is it limited to pipe makers. It is a collective viewpoint, and we've all had dozens of conversations about it. I respect the measured viewpoint you've laid out, Tyler, but I don't agree that this is just "sour grapes" over someone else getting a piece of the pie. My question is what are we as pipe makers putting into the pie before we take our slice?
Speaking only for myself, and in a personal capacity, I consider pipe making a noble craft, one that has been honed, nurtured, and passed on from one skilled craftsman to another for more than a century. It's disheartening to see pipe making combined with social media in a way that preys on the consumer and dilutes the craft. Yes, everyone has their own tastes and can buy whatever they'd like, which is why my admonitions were addressed not to the consumer, but to guys making pipes on a pipe making forum. I admit, in retrospect, this was galactically stupid on my part, and now that it's gone viral, I hope the focus will eventually become less "who hates Todd Johnson for being an a-hole," and more "what are the standards of quality one should expect from any pipe in a given price range."
To close with an example of what I was hoping to get across, this is something that legendary Bakersfield country artist Buck Owens put out as a personal statement of his own individual commitment to country music. The goal was to inspire his colleagues to commit themselves to a similar set of ideals. Some did, and some didn't, but we now have an exhibit in the Country Music Hall of Fame entitled "Buck Owens, and the Bakersfield Sound," paying tribute to a group of folks that chose to ply their trade in a particular way and ignore the trends that were diluting it.
Here's TJ's post:
I've had a couple of snowbound days to sit and think about all this. I'm sure everyone is aware of the beating I've taken as the fall guy for this thread, and hindsight being 20/20, I guess this is why the "private" section of this forum exists. Being as passionate and vocal as I am about pipes, I'm sort of used to having my turn in the barrel. That's nothing new. Clearly, if you actually read this thread, you'll notice I'm not the only one who feels a sense of loss over the current state of pipes and pipe making. Nor is it limited to pipe makers. It is a collective viewpoint, and we've all had dozens of conversations about it. I respect the measured viewpoint you've laid out, Tyler, but I don't agree that this is just "sour grapes" over someone else getting a piece of the pie. My question is what are we as pipe makers putting into the pie before we take our slice?
Speaking only for myself, and in a personal capacity, I consider pipe making a noble craft, one that has been honed, nurtured, and passed on from one skilled craftsman to another for more than a century. It's disheartening to see pipe making combined with social media in a way that preys on the consumer and dilutes the craft. Yes, everyone has their own tastes and can buy whatever they'd like, which is why my admonitions were addressed not to the consumer, but to guys making pipes on a pipe making forum. I admit, in retrospect, this was galactically stupid on my part, and now that it's gone viral, I hope the focus will eventually become less "who hates Todd Johnson for being an a-hole," and more "what are the standards of quality one should expect from any pipe in a given price range."
To close with an example of what I was hoping to get across, this is something that legendary Bakersfield country artist Buck Owens put out as a personal statement of his own individual commitment to country music. The goal was to inspire his colleagues to commit themselves to a similar set of ideals. Some did, and some didn't, but we now have an exhibit in the Country Music Hall of Fame entitled "Buck Owens, and the Bakersfield Sound," paying tribute to a group of folks that chose to ply their trade in a particular way and ignore the trends that were diluting it.
In my personal opinion this is nonsense: the most effective way to speak against your competition is by presenting the costumer with a better product.
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