Dear Mrs Burns;

I will never be frustrated again while dealing with anyone on a phone tree. Okay, yes I will, We forget what doing business was like back in the day. Letters, and waiting for the mail. Not hitting refresh or waiting for the Ding, you’ve got mail thing. of course I get 400 emails a day, so I guess 400 mail men showing up all day would be a little much. Anyway, we are teasing today, so you can “FEEL” the agony of the wait. It’s kinda a conceptual thing.

Note all the dates, which is in a way a time stamp as to how long this all took.

So I am guessing the last letter was sent on the 4th, and got there on the 6th, and this was typed out PDQ and sent back. But thats 4 days for a simple error… Or was it? STAY TUNED.

18 replies
  1. Troy in ANE
    Troy in ANE says:

    Not endorsing a check is the oldest delay trick in the book!

    I gather Mrs. Burns was selling a used boat. Is there a back story? Did Mr. Burns die? Is this just more milk for those of us dyeing to get the Hacker story?

    So many questions !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  2. Stenz Lake Minnetonka
    Stenz Lake Minnetonka says:

    Just one of the things I love about Woody Boater…
    This is one of the few online sites where all the readers know what a “check” is (extra points for how to endorse one)

  3. Bilge Rat
    Bilge Rat says:

    When I was a kid, I would sometimes accompany my dad to his CPA accounting firm for a day. I would hear stories of similar client payment issues that he had to deal with and the old snail mail problems of wait and see. He would have some customers kite checks, a trick back in the day that relied on depositing money in an account, write a check against that account, then move the money to another account and keep this up due to the bank processing delays. Almost impossible with on line banking today.

    That one blue/purple letter is either a Ditto machine copy or a carbon copy of the original. Before my dad had his own firm, he worked for the big accounting houses and they had certified typists because you could not have an original with more than I think 4 carbon copies. The last carbon copies would not be legible enough. The typist was certified in accuracy so that all copies would be the exact same. She would always include her initials to verify who typed them. Before copiers were in the business offices!

  4. Greg on Indian Lake
    Greg on Indian Lake says:

    The blue printed ones are carbons. Endorsement issue not likely intended since certified checks are pre-paid and funds already debited. I got a kick out of the use of Telegram initially to seal the deal. Apparently nailing this boat down was more time sensitive than the follow through.

  5. briant
    briant says:

    No endorsement to buy some time. Neat trick.

    I have noticed that businesses are using trickery more and more, rather than just offering up a product at a good price….case in point….

    Yesterday, I received our internet bill, which has remained constant for at least a year. Same plan. Same price. Ah, but the new bill had a new charge of $25 for something called xFi. Naturally, I called to complain to find out what it was and why I was being charged. Was told that it was for unlimited service, which THEY said I already had, so they of course quickly deleted the charge.

    And then I was hit with, ” Well, since I have you on the line, can I ask which mobile phone carrier service you use? My computer has generated a special offer that I can offer you only at this time. Four lines, $120 month, $20 off of your internet, and a $200 gift card. So, since this is such a great deal, can I start with your phone number and we can get you signed up.”

    WTF. I just hung up.

  6. Chuck Crosby
    Chuck Crosby says:

    I, am really enjoying this nastalgic boat ride…I bet Matt can milk this baby for at least two more weeks….Then we will be on to the Mt Doral countdown

  7. Don Palmer
    Don Palmer says:

    What really caught my eye was the price of $8400 for a 23 foot boat in 1944! What? That had to be an error right? You could buy a nice house for that amount back then.
    Maybe I missed something…

    • Don Palmer
      Don Palmer says:

      OK, I did miss that it was $2400 not $8400.
      But that was a lot of money back then… It must have been a very nice boat!

  8. Art
    Art says:

    In 1938 my grandfather paid $2800 for Molly-O, a 1939 24 foot CC Deluxe Utility with a Sportsman front seat, which was a direct factory sale (no dealer involved).
    In 1977 we paid $ 2700 to get back in the family ——– had I known at the time how much my GF paid, I actually would have given him $2800.

  9. Matt from NY
    Matt from NY says:

    I’m surprised you could even buy a pleasure boat in 1944. Was the war effort still in full swing or was it starting to wind down in late ’44? I thought production of pleasure boats didn’t really start back up until late ’45 or early ’46. Maybe another part of the mystery?

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