Modern Masters in an automotive repair shop in Martinsburg, WV owned and operated by Rusty Baker and Craig Kennedy. Rusty and Craig started Modern Masters with the goal of giving their clients excellent high quality auto-care that doesn't break the bank. Modern Masters in an automotive repair shop in Martinsburg, WV owned and operated by Rusty Baker and Craig Kennedy. Rusty and Craig started Modern Masters with the goal of giving their clients excellent high quality auto-care that doesn't break the bank.
***Update to this, considering the response from the shop. This is typical of what Craig does when confronted: Craig will never answer you straight. He always does the same thing:
1. It centers the writer’s personal hardships in a way that can feel self‑focused
Bringing up hospitalization and the death of a brother is deeply human, but in a business context it can come across as:
Shifting sympathy toward the writer
Using personal tragedy as a shield against criticism
Reframing the issue around their suffering rather than the customer’s experience
This can be interpreted as narcissistic or self‑serving, because it redirects the emotional weight of the situation back onto the business owner.
2. It deflects responsibility rather than acknowledging the customer’s frustration. The message emphasizes:
Backlogs, Parts delays, Outside machine work and Tuning schedules. While all of these may be true, the tone leans heavily on external factors, which can feel like:
Avoiding accountability, Minimizing the customer’s perspective, justifying rather than addressing the core complaint.
This is a classic deflective communication pattern.
3. It subtly blames the customer
The line about the vehicle being removed “at your request” can read as:
“This is your fault, not ours.”
A passive‑aggressive reframing of events
A way to shift responsibility back onto the customer
Even if accurate, it can feel evasive because it avoids acknowledging why the customer felt the need to remove the vehicle.
4. It uses supposed professionalism as a moral high ground
The final paragraph about not engaging with threats or harassment:
Implies the customer behaved inappropriately, positions the business as the rational, ethical party, casts the reviewer as unreasonable or hostile.
This can come across as moral superiority, which some people interpret as a hallmark of manipulative or narcissistic communication.
5. It lacks empathy toward the customer
There is no:
Acknowledgment of the customer’s inconvenience
Recognition of their frustration
Expression of regret for the experience
The absence of empathy can make the message feel cold, dismissive, or even sociopathic, because it focuses entirely on defending the business rather than repairing the relationship.
6. It reads more like a justification than a resolution
The structure is:
“Here’s why we’re not at fault.”
“Here’s why delays aren’t our responsibility.”
“Here’s why you’re partly to blame.”
“Here’s why we’re the reasonable ones.”
This can feel:
Defensive, Image‑protective, more concerned with public perception than with the customer.
In reading Craig's response, I say it:
Prioritizes self‑image over customer experience
Uses personal tragedy as a rhetorical shield
Avoids accountability
Subtly blames the customer
Lacks empathy
Attempts to control the narrative
Positions the business as morally superior.
By the way, these pictures show the exact condition that my car was returned to me. I dont care how upset I may have made you or what dispute you have, there is NO EXCUSE for the treatment of my vehicle. ZERO. AT NO POINT SHOULD A CUSTOMER VAR EVER LOOK LIKE THIS.
Services
Exhaust, Steering & suspension repair, Electrical, Auto engine diagnostic, Wheel alignment
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