ClumsyMonkey.net

a lawyer

Johnny wrote:Where do I get a certified/registered letter from?

I don't know what options you have with the Canadian postal system but the US postal service has an option where the postal carrier requires a signature from the recipient before delivery.

That signature is recorded online just like if you delivered a package to him via FedEx.

I finally heard back from him:


Dear Johnny

I can't even to begin to apologize enough for the situation with the guitar... I am actually not in Toronto and haven't been for a while, but in Port Hope at my parent's home - I will however be back on Thursday and can ship the guitar right away when I return.
I hadn't gotten any of your messages until now but my wife passed along hearing phone messages and then dug through email records and forwarded me your messages in the last couple of days. Neither of us have been able to stay on top of our communications for quite a while...

I have unfortunately gone through a completely rotten year thus far in terms of personal health which has resulted in me not being able to keep on top of work or pretty much any other areas of my life while I have been recovering. This began back in early January when I was in Germany with my wife, where I experienced an epileptic seizure (which isn't something I have ever had before) and ended up in a hospital there for a week. On returning I saw a neurologist in Toronto, and have had a bunch of tests including EEG and in the next couple weeks an MRI... a month or so after it happened again here in Toronto and I ended up having to go into a residential program at CAMH for 3 weeks and then have mostly been at my parent's in Port Hope since then while I recover and sort out getting back to work, art making etc..

I feel absolutely horrible in the first place that the guitar has waited this long and still hasn't been able to get done - last year became really crazy with big financial problems that had to take precedent and then this series of health problems this year have turned my life upside down. I am incredibly sorry that this has affected your situation with the guitar in such a substantial way.

At this point in order for you to have the guitar in time for when you need it there isn't any way I can see being able to finish it in time though I will as I say rush it back to you when I am back in Toronto on Thursday. I want to include some prints and a couple extra olp related gifts to apologize - though I know it won't make up for the disappointment.

I had every intention of doing the guitar for you from the start and really had no idea things would turn out at all like this... I am so sorry also to have kept you waiting all this time to hear back from me.

If there is a way I can make it up to you in the future once things have settled down in my life I would absolutely like to do that.

You can expect to get the guitar back by next week, I will send you the shipping info as soon as I have it.


Yours,

Oli Goldsmith




Thoughts?

wow, that...kinda sucks for him. if he's making excuses, it's a pretty big lie to tell. i don't know, he seems sincere enough

Here at the CM, we're no strangers to tall tales!

i think oli is really val/michelle. anyone want to look into this?

Actually, he could be telling the truth, I don't know why he'd have any reason to lie... you haven't threatened him with legal action yet.

well i got a huge sob story during his financial crisis...and after months of waiting he did eventually send me tracking info and pictures of my packages...so i guess it is possible that this guy has just had some terrible luck over the past couple of years...but dont believe it until you see the guitar

so is he telling you that he had financial issues and subsequent health issues because of drug addiction? Financial issues that allowed him to go to Germany, and then seizure issues that led him to rehab.

I know my initial thoughts were suspicious (maybe cos I happened upon a Val thread when looking through old threads a couple of days ago) but he went into so much detail which he didn't need to do given he doesn't really know you and in some ways that reminds me a friend of mine who does that (though let me point out that his problems are NOT drug related in any way). Even though what he said doesn't entirely make sense, I think Christine's pretty much got it covered. There's always the option that someone else paid for him to be in Germany for whatever reason.

The thing is that at least he did finally reply to you (which he didn't have to if he'd been deliberately ignoring you all this time) and he's given you a date that he's going to send it, so if you've not got it back in the timeframe he's given then you can take things further. Also his track record is that in spite of being very very slow he did (as far as I know) always send people their stuff in the end so that's a good precedent.

I'd say still give him an ultimatium.

"If I do not receive my guitar within 2 weeks from Thursday June 26th, I will not hesistate to pursue legal action"

Honestly, you all kind of suck.

well i agree that what i said kinda sucks but so far as i can see it is the reality of the situation. I agree with Susie that he has responded and apologized. I am sure he will send the guitar now (obviously not painted) so i dont think you need to pursue it any further. Of course if a month goes by and there is no word from him I would restate your initial intention to have your belongings returned to you.

Other than that I am not sure how i (we) suck.

yeah i got major a sob story with my stuff too, the only thing is he didn't take forever with my stuff.

Johnny,

I have been reading your story here and just now OLI's email.

While it is sad and horrible what he went through that is no excuse to do what he did to you. I had a few friends go through much worse then what he did and still were on top of things.. If they couldn't keep on top-they had someone who did it for them..

I know being ill is never fun.. Being in the hospital is never fun... Yet I do not see/understand why he could not of contacted you and said 'I am sorry, have a lot going on in my life right now.. I will get to your guitar when I get a chance or something to that.
I give him a month-and if you do not get it by then, then look into some kind of legal action..

There's no excuse for not replying to a customer unless you're dead. Let alone for long long periods of time. If he was unable to do work he should have sent e-mails and refunds (I know yours was free, but sent your guitar back at least) and gracefully told everyone that he was unable to do his work right now and that he hopes they will return for his services when he's better. That is the responsible thing to do.

I really do feel bad for him though. I deal with so many people who never do what they say they're going to or don't feel that they need to keep you updated that I have only so much sympathy for the guy.

i think what we all have to appreciate is that Oli is obviously battling drug addiction and with that frame of reference his behaviour makes perfect sense.
Addictions control your life, getting the next fix, dealing with the expected health fall out and keeping the cash flowing, is all that matters. Everything else becomes secondary.
It sounds like he has sought or has been forced into rehab and is being monitored at his parents place (or maybe he has lost his home in toronto and is relying on his parents to keep him housed). Either way hopefully he is on the road to recovery and will find a light at the end of this personal battle.
i will say a prayer that he learns to lead a straighter existence and embrace the responsibility of living within the expected norms of society.

I think you're being harsh Cass. What you describe might be the responsible thing to do, but people who are under the grip of addictions or mental health problems just sometimes can't see anything outside those problems and are no longer capable or responsible or rational thought or actions. As Christine says, it looks like he's coming out of it now and let's all hope that he stays that way and that Johnny gets his guitar back again very soon.

The fact that you guys are totally willing to slander his name and assume that he has had a drug addiction problem, completly baffles me. I'm genuinely offended at your total lack of sympathy and and humanity your quick judgement of character. I really don't give a shit if it's true or not. I don't know this person. I doubt any of you, do. So what gives you the right to talk such shit about someone else? Those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. I could make a lot of judgements about some of the stuff you, Christine, have said here, but I don't. So really, grow the fuck up and stop spreading rumours.

Besides his personal life is none of our goddamn business. And when he opened up to the one person he was responsible for here, you guys attack him for his honesty. Does it sound like he could have been in rehab? Sure. But it also sounds to me like a traumatic brain injury. Does that matter? Fuck no, because whatever the hell happened to him IS NONE OF OUR BUSINESS.

So I'm done. You guys can go circle jerk to the sound of your bullshit theories as to why your art arrived late. I don't care. Does it suck for Johnny? Fuck yes. That's brutal, and I'm sorry that it isn't getting done. I would be pissed. But there is nothing else to be done, and calling him a drug addict or whatever other names you want, isn't going to change that.

whoa Sarah. I agree whole heartedly that Oli's issues are his to share with his families and friends. I posted to try to draw some compassion to his situation rather than vilify him.
I admitted that my first post was unnecessarily harsh. My second post came from a place of compassion to get others to recognize that the demons of addiction are powerful. Oli wrote that he was in a residential program for addictions and mental health. I didnt create that. You don't go to residential mental health programs for TBI, I know this first hand.

That being said you are perfectly right that I should have respected his privacy. I apologize to those whom I offended by discussing Oli's personal life.

As for the rest, I am baffled. I always felt that we had a good report and I have genuine compassion for you Sarah. I felt we connected on the quilt project yet it feels like this has changed for you. I respect that. Maybe in future if you have issues arising that ignite such anger towards me you could contact me to discuss it.

Narf.

Everyone is also entitled to their own opinion based on their personal interactions with the man. Johnny was probably in the wrong posting an e-mail containing some personal issues in his life. It really should have been omitted from the post. Should anyone at all concern themselves with his personal life? No. We can all agree upon that, I think.

Most all of us had a negative experience in purchasing items from Oli. He was completely unprepared for the amount of business he was getting. Rather than shutting down and regrouping and reorganizing, he continued to sell and generated a massive backlog. On top of that he generated another project, which also fell into place right as his personal turmoil began. I can tell you that first hand because he told me so.

The true bottom line to all of this is Oli conducted business very poorly, and very irrepsonsibly. He should have had someone, be it his wife, or another close party, contact those who were owed merchandise or services in a timely manner. Should we judge? No. Certainly, though, most of us are jaded against him because of how he handled business in the past.