Much Much Better than New

One of my favorite TV commercials of all time was an Aamco ad that ran back in the '70s. It featured a shady clerk from the "other" repair shop that said, as he handed the keys to the owner, "better than new". Then, as the owner drove away, parts could be seen falling out of the bottom of the car. Next we see the same clerk handing the owner the keys again: "much better than new"...again the car drives away with parts falling off. Again, we see the clerk handing over the keys, he says "much much better than new". And then they make the pitch that Aamco gets it right the first time. That ad just stuck with me. I still say that line to this day "much much better than new"...always tongue in cheek to denote getting it right on about the third try. And so goes my valve: "much much better than new". What started out as a few minor tweaks from the manufacturer consumed my entire weekend (yes, we're talking about 20+ hours of redesign) and ultimately required a change to EVERY PART! So it's 11 PM on Sunday night and besides a few errands and the required eating and sleeping, I have been pretty much chained to my computer. The good news is, its already Monday in China and we're rolling again.

Oh, I almost forgot. On Friday I spent ~2 hours with an old neighbor of mine. He is retired. He spent many years working in sales...medical...big money. I knew this from casual neighborly meetings. I called him to ask if he knew anyone who could help me sell my valve. I found out that not only was he in sales, he spent over a decade as a headhunter for high end sales reps. Jackpot! He has tons of contacts and is going to try to hook me up with the right guy. Oh, and he said he would consult on sales and marketing (his degree was actually marketing) for free. Luck is definitely smiling upon me :-)