AROC's "Alfa Service Directory" published in "Alfa Owner"

[JHertzman@domain.elided]

In AD7-510 and again in AD7-511 Colin Verrilli, responding to a particular
parts query, writes "Try one of the many authorized parts suppliers in listed
in the Alfa Owner."

There is an element of ambiguity about this list. There were some complaints a
few years ago that it seemed to be something it wasn't, i.e. something more
than simply a listing of paid advertisements of businesses, some of which were
authorized dealers and some of which were independents. The response at that
time was that it was a list of companies which had demonstrated the
seriousness of their devotion to serving owners of Alfa Romeos by paying a fee
to be listed, (which suggested that anyone who didn't pay the publisher wasn't
interested in providing service to owners), and that there was nothing
literally deceptive about it.

The complaints at that time were resolved by coding each listing with either a
cross indicating that it is a factory authorized provider, or a cross and
asterisk indicating that it is the ONLY factory authorized provider in that
state, or a pair of asterisks indicating that it is an independent facility.
Just twenty-three states are represented.

If you reverse-engineer the listing you can recognize that something is
missing. North Carolina, for instance, has just one firm listed; it is
indicated as a factory authorized provider, but NOT as the only factory
authorized provider in the state, so there evidently is (or are) factory
authorized provider(s) there, as well as independent facilities, which are not
listed. Florida also has factory authorized providers which are not listed.
Illinois also has just one source indicated as a factory authorized provider,
but not as the only factory authorized provider in the state, so there is (or
are) factory authorized provider(s) there, as well as independent facilities,
which are not listed. Ditto Maryland, Washington DC, Michigan, New Jersey, and
New York. Poor old Massachusetts, (and Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire) home
to Paul Glynn, Dennis Black, Accel, and at least a couple of other shops which
advertise in the local chapter newsletter, doesn't have anybody, authorized or
unauthorized, listed in AROC's "Alfa Service Directory", because evidently
nobody paid to be included. Missouri is similarly bereft of any listed service
source, as are a great swath of other states down through the center of the
country- Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska,
Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana.
Virginia, too.

In a previous incarnation "Alfa Owner" published, without any implied club
endorsement, member recommendations of shops individual members had found
highly satisfactory; members serving fellow members, which is one of the
things a club can be about. Dave Hammond of the Detroit chapter has published
extensive lists of resources, without listee payments, as a service to members
of that chapter. What "Alfa Owner" is doing with the "Alfa Service Directory"
is selling advertising space, which is proper enough, but which should not be
construed as something more than that, such as a service to the membership.
This is simply a listing, by state, of of businesses which paid a fee to be
listed.

There are just twenty-seven factory authorized providers listed, in nineteen
states. There are at the very least eight other factory authorized providers,
if the list's coding is correct, and probably more. If someone with good
contact with the company in Orlando (Yo, Bill?) could spring a complete list
of factory authorized providers and publish it on the digest it could be a
useful service to those of us who sometimes need to venture out of familiar
territory. And while I support and recommend membership in the club, this
would be doing something for alfa-digest readers which the AROC does not chose
to do for its members.

Sincerely, 

John H. 
Raleigh, N.C.

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