M Class
The ML320 and 430 will be released in late September and the ML55 AMG in January 2000.
The interiors of the ML320 and ML430 have been extensively enhanced, adding to the prestige and value of the vehicles. New materials appoint the seats, dashboard, door panels, and other trim to impart an enhanced feeling of luxury. Safety was also prioritized when designing the new second seat row. The outboard occupants are now protected by rear side airbags, as well as emergency tensioning retractors (ETR's) in the seatbelts. The center occupant will be secured by a three-point seatbelt.
The ML320 also adds body-color painted bumpers, rocker panels, rub strips, and rearview mirror housings for MY 00, dramatically changing its exterior appearance. Burl walnut trim, leather steering wheel, and leather shift knob have become standard equipment to add value to the interior. The Modular control System with its 5" LCD display replaces the current audio system. The 2000 Model Year price for ML320 is $35,300, only a 1% price increase, and a 5.9% equipment adjusted price decrease from the outgoing model.
The ML430's base of $43,750 is unchanged.
The exciting all-new ML55 AMG, to be introduced in January 2000, will feature a .5 liter AMG-modified engine capable of producing 342 hp and 376 lb-ft of torque. Its luxurious and sporty interior features exclusive leather, 8-way power front seats with three position memory, standard GPS Navigation System, and Bose® Premium Audio System, not to mention a glass sunroof. As a Model Year 2000 vehicle the ML55 AMG will be priced at $64,900.
Options:
Package M1-Power seats, leather seats, privacy glass, $1500 on ML320.
Package M2-Power Seats with memory, Auto-dimming mirror, Power Folding Side Mirrors, Safe Box, Digital Trip Computer, requires M1, $995 on ML320.
Package M3, ML430 only-Power front seats with Memory, Power Folding Side Mirrors, $495.
Package M4-Off Road Package (REVISED!)-Front Brush Guard, Skid Plate, Mud Flaps, Side Runner Bars, $1,595 on ML320 and 430.
Package M7-Third Row Seat Package-Third Row Seats, Power Rear Quarter Windows, cloth, ML320 only, $1,150. With Leather seats, $1,350 on ML320 and 430.
Metallic Paint-$475
Bose Premium Audio System w/ 6-disc CD Changer $1,050.
Sunroof, Power Tilt/Sliding Glass $1,095.
Skyview Top $2,395.
Heated Seats $605 on ML320 only.
Note the ML55 AMG has no extra cost factory options.
Transportation remains $595 on all models.
Mercedes Maintenance Program for 4 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first, is standard on all models.
All Cars
In addition to the Mercedes-Benz Maintenance Program standard on all models, ESP and Tele-Aid are standard on all models except the SLK.
Sedans
The MY 2000 C-Class continues its class leading value with only nominal price changes (less than 1% on the C280), despite additional standard equipment, including Tele-Aid, ESP, telescopic steering column, and Touch Shift Transmission. On an equipment-adjusted basis, this represents an average price decrease of approximately 3.5%.
C230 Kompressor-$31,750.
C280-$35,950
C43-$53,000
The new E-Class boasts a redesigned exterior and interior, and adds significant standard equipment enhancements for M Y 2000 with only modest price changes. The average price increase for the E-Class model range is less than 2%. Adjusted for the equipment changes, the E320 sedan. Like all E-Class models, has an effective price decrease of 3.9%!
E320W (Sedan)-$47,100
E320W/4 (4Matic Sedan)-$49,900
E320S (Station Wagon)-$47,950
E320 S/4 (4Matic Station Wagon)-$50,750
E430W (Sedan)-$52,450
E430W/4 (4Matic Sedan)-$55,250
E55 AMG (Sedan)-$69,800
Coupes/Convertibles
The SL models increased less than 2% for MY 2000, while the popular SLK and CLK have increased 3%-3.5%, depending on the model. The CLK model line includes significant exterior and interior enhancements for MY 2000, including multifunction steering wheel and Touch Shift feature for automatic transmission as standard. In addition, the brand new CLK430 Cabriolet is added to the line up. On an equipment adjusted basis, CLK models decreased from MY 1999 (for example, the CLK320 decreased 2% from MY 1999 to MY 2000 on an equipment adjusted basis).
All coupes and convertibles receive standard the Mercedes-Benz Maintenance Program, and ESP and TeleAid are standard on all models except the SLK.
Integrated digital StarTAC phones will be available as an option on all passenger car models, starting October 15, 1999.
CLK 320 Coupe-$41,600
CLK320 Cabriolet-$48,100
CLK430 Coupe-$49,100
CLK430 Cabriolet-$55,600
SLK230 Kompressor Coupe/Roadster (Manual)-$41,000
SL500 Coupe/Roadster-$82,600
SL600 Coupe/Roadster-$128,950
Technically we never went off road by National Parks definition. We went on "primitive trails".
First, from Marfa, instead of taking the highway to Presidio and then driving 170 to Study Butte ant then into Big Bend, which is a fantastically scenic route, we took FM2810 to Ruidoso, Texas, then went 170 to Presidio. There's nothing at Ruidoso except empty buildings, and the 54 mile road from Marfa has 26 miles of rough unpaved. The people who saw us there, Border Patrol personnel, looked shocked to see a Mercedes on the trail. But they probably figured we didn't have it filled with undocumented aliens (or whatever the PC term is this week).
At Big Bend at the Panther Junction ranger station we got a trail guide and picked the Old Ore Road as our first "primitive trail." It was 26.7 miles long and took from 0900 to 1300 to negotiate, offering spectacular vistas and a few rough spots.
For the afternoon run we picked the River Road. If one does it from one end to the other, it's an all day trip of 50 miles. We decided to just do it to the old Quicksilver Mine. But it was an uncomfortable road, not technically difficult, just bouncy because it was graded poorly, the blade angle being off leaving constant bumps. Thus we didn't want to go back. Going forward would add another 30 miles and probably take till after dark, not a pleasant thought. We noted a short cut to the Glen Springs Road, the Black Gap Road.
The guide recommended it highly, saying the road wasn't maintained any more and virtually disappeared in places. A good 4 wheel drive vehicle, much experience, and extreme caution was required.
It sounded good to me, so we took it. It was only 8.6 miles.
It made the Mercedes-Benz off road test track look like Interstate 10. It was narrow, with the local bushes reaching out to scratch the sides of the car. It was paved in rocks the size of basketballs, sometimes beachballs. It disappeared at every low water crossing, with a great gash across the road requiring steep approach and departure angles, excellent traction, high ground clearance, much wheel travel. In other words, for an ML430, it was a piece of cake.
In virtually any other 4WD, we'd still be there at one or two places.
Definition:
Skillethead-a person with nothing to say and all day to say it.
As we discussed a couple of weeks ago, my ML 320 was nearing its first birthday, had ~12,000 miles, and was due for its first service. When the truck was new, I brought it in to have a rattle corrected, but had not had it back in your shop since then. I must say I was very impressed with the service I received. Guy Vincent took care of every item on my lengthy list, and then some. Some of the items were of the type that only happen periodically, certainly not when being witnessed by a mechanic. To my surprise, each of the glitches I mentioned was identified by the service technician as being valid, and was repaired. For instance, the trip computer was found to be faulty; the sensors on the driver's door and the tail gate were faulty; etc. Guy even found a cracked water bottle for the windshield washer reservoir, which I was not aware of. Even the wash job was more thorough than I usually get at Sterling McCall Lexus.
All in all, the service visit last week was excellent. Please feel free to commend the service staff for me.
Best regards,
Dave Maxwell
I got a call from The Redhead. "The low fuel light is flashing."
"Did you just fill the tank?"
"Yes. How did you know."
"You left the gas cap loose."
"How tight should it be?"
"As tight as you can turn it with one hand."
"Well, also the check engine light is on."
"Proof you left the gas cap loose. Check it."
Long silence.
"No, it wasn't loose."
"It wasn't? Those are symptoms of a loose gas cap."
"It was off."
I said last month Mac was fearless. I don't know if he was or not, but he behaved as though he was. That's what counts. I've seen a lot of things which should cause fear, from the entrances to high speed corners while in a 1500 lb. race car to the view from the jump door to enemy troops trying to kill me. (They're not trying to kill you, Yossarian. They're trying to kill everybody.-They're trying to kill me!)
I've seen other men's reactions to fear. Some showed it but functioned anyway. Some didn't show it. Some fell to pieces. I admired the first, tried to emulate the second, and pitied the third but wouldn't allow them to stay in my unit.
Whether you are afraid is not important.
Carrying on despite your fear is important.
We've become a country of sheep, too afraid to function at the slightest threat.
We're afraid of scary looking guns, of "aggressive" drivers, of living till retirement without governmental supplied money to support us. We're afraid of the water, the sun, the weather, global warming, cold winters, seeing the doctor, not having the government pay for the doctor's visit, the new neighbor (is he on the registered sex offender's list?), of Y2K, radical politicians, etc., etc.
Franklin Roosevelt said one thing which was right, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."
Fear is not an excuse. "I was too afraid to fight back" sounds pathetic and is unacceptable.
"What would I do if I wasn't afraid?" Remember that statement. Use it when you're afraid.
You will have plenty of time to be afraid after the incident is over. It doesn't matter then.
"What would I do if I wasn't afraid?"
Houston based U. S. Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee, the lady who thinks Neil Armstrong walked on Mars, went to a Houston Gun Show, and her companion attempted to buy a silencer "under the table" so he could take it home "today."
The dealer involved, a licensed Class III dealer, ordered the gentleman and his companions, including Representative Jackson-Lee to immediately leave his table. Other attendees complained to the police at the show of the illegal activity of the gentleman.
Ms. Jackson-Lee held a press conference and stated the show proved to her that even more gun control laws are needed.
"Anyone can come off the street, and they can walk out of here with their gun," she said. She made no comment regarding the attempt of her companion to illegally purchase the silencer.
As part of the over 20,000 gun laws already on the books
in this country, it is a federal crime to even attempt to purchase items
such as silencers or fully automatic weapons without the necessary Class
III dealer documentation. Any accomplice of a person making or attempting
to make an illegal transaction can also be held for possible federal prosecution.
For some time I had been accused of leaving the closet doors open, thus allowing the cats to get into the closet. The only problem was Merlin, since cured, when he would misuse a certain corner. Now he's on kitty anti-anxiety pills (no joke), and he behaves like he should. But they still get in there.
I knew I wasn't leaving the door open. In fact, I'm virtually obsessive about it. But they were still getting in there.
Then this morning I was in the shower and saw a dark grey streak go across the bathroom at flank. The streak was Theodore Roosevelt Bear, the big cat. He ran to the door, stood on his hind legs, and hit the door at full speed, full leverage with his front paws, popping open the ball-detent door closing mechanism, and opening the door.
Merlin was right behind him.
I called Merlin loudly, and they both ran out, looking sheepish.
Loaners
I sit next to the Enterprise office. If we didn't get loaner car complaints, we wouldn't get many complaints. Some I can understand. Some border on the ridiculous. Every day I see:
Millionaires complaining about the $5.72 a day taxes, refusing to pay, threatening to take their business elsewhere.
People with expired driver's licenses blowing up when they're not allowed to take a car. It's a State law, folks, not us.
People upset they have to pay for fuel. We provide the car. You'd provide fuel in your car, wouldn't you?
We spend $30,000 a month on loaners. If we charged as much for parts and labor as our competitors we could have a nicer program. This way costs you less. Personally I don't want to pay $90-100 an hour for labor and 150% of list price on parts.
Auto-Nation buys Park Place Dealerships
The Auto Nation chain (Republic Industries) bought the two Houston Park Place dealerships. What long term effects this will have I don't know. The local Park Place dealerships had not been sufficiently profitable and had just instituted plans to make more per car deal. It's unlikely this will change. Other policies, who knows?
We're still the only family owned Mercedes-Benz dealership in town. We're not part of a chain. I've been here 18 years. When I say I'll be here to take care of something, I can expect to be here to take care of it. At a place with changing owners and policies, you can't tell. Park Place North already managed to lose all of their old time sales people recently. With a 4 year, 50,000 mile warranty, how can a sales person who has been there 2 months make promises that involve his being there even for the duration of the warranty.
No Haggle Pricing and Hagglers
For those upset with Mercedes for going to no-haggle pricing, you can still haggle at Lexus. They have 16-22% markup. If you don't get at least 9% discount, you still haven't reached the markup level of a Mercedes. If you get less than 9% discount, more on a loaded LS400, they're making more on the car than we are.
Thank God August is Over
August has little to recommend it for the car biz. In August people get their cars ready for trips to Grandma's house. They find that their 10 year old air conditioner which hasn't been serviced in the nineties is blowing 105°F air. The shop is full. The loaner car dept. is empty.
And it's all my fault.
Things start to get back to normal in September.
Additionally in August the toughest prospects walk in. They want '99 Volvos at '95 prices, and they want their choice of color and options despite a rapidly dwindling stock. And they'll go to Oklahoma or Guam for a $50 better deal.
It's also when the opportunists arrive looking for deals on Mercedes, usually wanting models sold out till 2001.
It's also when every prospect walking in on Saturday wants to drive a car which has been sitting in the hot sun for 3 days. The first one I can handle. By the eighth or ninth, I'm copying licenses and handing them the keys. "I'll be in here waiting. I'll be easy to find. I'm the one on life support."
I'll be glad when the new store is open. Virtually everything will be under cover then. I know you want to know how well the a/c cools down, but I don't have to go with you in eleven cars that've been in the sun for a week.
One guy brought a thermometer to stick in the a/c vents. But as I suspected, he wasn't buying. His pickup would only put out 60°F air, and he wanted to see what new cars put out. (47°F±).
And in August, sitting over here in the hot side of the showroom, with light which wouldn't be acceptable for someone with good vision, I'm stuck in this cross-lighted office. My neck has a permanent crick in if from trying to see the screen despite sunlight at 1 o'clock.
As I said, Thank God August is over.
Mac and Nuvolari's Comment
Last month I spent a lot of the issue writing about Mac Atteberry, the courageous paramedic killed in the July 17 Life Flight helicopter crash. Mac had no fear. He did things every day most people wouldn't do once, and probably didn't think of the danger. I'm reminded of an interview with the great racing driver Tazio Nuvolari in the fifties, when all racing cars were future coffins, and the state of the art on safety was near suicidal. The reporter asked him if he wasn't scared to climb in the car. Nuvolari stared at him and asked, "Do you expect to die in bed?"
"Why, yes, of course."
"Then how can you find the courage to go to bed at night?"
My own epiphany took place in 1969 when on a Firefly* mission our helicopter was forced to land because of fog at the nearest helicopter base. The pilot took us to the night shift's barracks so he could talk to his friends, and we could relax and get soft drinks. It was 0200 or so, and the bars were closed, of course.
At the end of the hall I saw a room which had been painted black. Over the door was a sign, "Everybody dies."
I remember staring at it for some time. It had spoken a basic truth. Everybody dies. Thus there's nothing to fear.
*Firefly-UH1H Huey helicopters were equipped with twin M-60 machine guns on the right side with a coaxial bay of 7 aircraft landing lights. They went out at night looking for trouble. Troops sat inside waiting for some situation which would be helped by their leaving the helicopter, such as gathering intelligence from hopefully recently deceased targets, checking out hooches, caves, etc., or just defending the recently shot down helicopter.
Letter
Just recently my wife and I booked a very last minute getaway to Germany. As part of our First Comfort tickets on LTU (under $1700 RT), we were guaranteed either a BMW 7 series or a Mercedes S class for the week ($450). As it turns out, we were handed a BMW 728. They just teased us with the S.
Having spent a week in that car, I can now say 100% without a doubt that buying yet another Mercedes (my 5th from you in as many years) was the best decision. I had contemplated a 740 or 750 prior to choosing the 2000 S 430 but ultimately made the right decision. In comparison, the BMW seemed small (well not in comparison to the minicars in Europe), cramped, and definitely underpowered. Overall the BMW was stable but my perception is that our 2000 S 430 is much more stable, the power curve is much smoother, and I just like that star on the hood not to mention that the seating and controls are vastly superior in the S 430.
I must say, however, that my first stop at a gas station was a little of a surprise. It was, in fact, a double whammy. Not only was gas in the order of <>$5 per gallon but it seems that there is a correlation between doing 240 km/hr and getting about 5 miles to the gallon!
When you return to Germany, I'd recommend the Schloss Hotel Lerbach (Bergisch Gladbach) just outside of Koln. The setting is a private 75 acre park with the hotel on the hill overlooking a lake. The manager, Curt Wagner, greeted us by name and like friends when we came back on our last night in Germany. The hotel is also home of Muellers, one of just 2 three star Michelin restaurants in Germany. It was absolutely fantastic.
One striking memory: Passing a green-n-white Poleizi car whilst doing about 230/240 km/hr. I nearly hit the brakes but came to my senses just before my foot hit the pedal. Also the fact that German drivers ALWAYS yielded the left lane when approached.
It's a nice place to visit but I certainly wouldn't want to live there.
Robert Marsh
Canadian Letter
I just ordered a 2000 ML320 after being involved in a serious accident (front offset collision) with a stolen F250 pickup truck. My ML430 was totaled, but I survived with only a few scratches on my arms and a bloody nose from the driver's and side airbags. One of the other vehicles that was involved in the collision was also an MB ('99 E320). The driver too walked away from the accident with minor injuries despite the fact that her vehicle was totaled as well. This accident has made me a life long MB customer.
Edmund Ling
Photos of Loved Ones
When The Redhead was looking for photos of Mac (on the '94 One Lap of America), she came downstairs cursing. "You've got all these pictures of CARS! You don't have enough pictures of Mac and John and you! I don't care about all those @#*$% cars!"
She's right. And of our vacations I have photos of places and landscape and few of her and of me. She wants her photo taken about as much as a Montagnard maid (Montagnards thought the camera would steal your soul, and Montagnard maiden went topless but covered up at the sight of cameras). I can't take good photos of myself, and she doesn't want to. And there's no one to take photos of both of us except the camera thief.
But I'm trying to change. On our last vacation I forced her to submit to photographs, all of the same pose, The Redhead standing next to the scenery du jour, me standing next to the scenery du jour. But at least it's photos of us. If ever you're reduced to having only memories of a loved one, photos will help.
The Dogs of War
In the Vietnam War 4,000 dogs were used, mostly German Shepherds. 500+ were killed in action, along with 250+ of their handlers. 600 died of diseases. 205 came home before a quarantine and return program was cut off. Of the rest there is a little known tragedy. These wonderful animals who saved an estimated 10,000 lives by sniffing out booby traps and enemy soldiers, by pulling wounded to safety, by throwing themselves between their handlers and bullets, were treated as "equipment" at the end of the war and disposed of, either put to sleep or given to the South Vietnamese Army. They ate them.
My life was saved by a mongrel dog who hated Vietnamese, knowing instinctively they ate dogs. He wasn't an Army dog, just a dog picked up by an advisory team. But he was a dog, and he saved my life. So hearing these statistics sickens me even more. At the end of WWII war dogs were returned to their owners with honorable discharges. After Vietnam the fear was these animals were trained to kill and were too dangerous to send home, plus tropical diseases were very dangerous.
I guess we vets should just be happy that they didn't realize we'd been trained to kill, and we had tropical diseases. I guess if they'd had their way we'd have been put to sleep, too.
LOST KEYS
If you have a 1997 or later Mercedes-Benz, you have a smart key, meaning it is electronically coded, and ONLY THE KEYS YOU HAVE WILL START THE CAR. The key cannot be copied or duplicated. If you lose one, or if it is stolen, order a new key and BRING THE CAR IN TO A MERCEDES-BENZ CENTER. We will delete the code from the lost/stolen key and put in the code for the new key.
These keys are not cheap, ranging over $130 for some models per electronic key, not counting the cost of the technician's time. This is cheaper than recoding a car when your key is stolen, and much more theft resistant than standard keys.
Speaking of the Website
Because of space limitations on paper and the cost of printing photos, there are articles in the website that aren't here. Give it a try: www.curtrich.com.
The goal, of course, eventually, is to put the entire newsletter only on the web. That's not in danger of happening any time soon. Too many people still don't use the web. But it will keep costs of the newsletter down eventually. There are only so many of these things The Redhead can label without getting seriously Redhead Cranky. Trust me. You don't want to see Redhead Cranky.
1. "Does anybody want to sell me a car?" Usually said by a man to a group of sales personnel upon walking into a store. In the history of the automobile business no one has ever bought a car after saying this. Thus the sales reps will all run like rabbits.
2. "You just don't want to sell me a car." The latest variant was, "You Texas dealers just don't want to sell me a car." The caller then went on to tell how much better dealers were in New Yawk. My tongue needed two stitches after I bit it to keep from saying the obvious response, "No, I don't want to sell you a car. I would only make money if I sold you a car, where by arguing with you I can make zero and waste an afternoon. Of course I don't want to sell you a car." Taking out the Yankee influence, consider the statement on its face, how dumb it sounds. What it really means is, "You dealers just won't (a) sell me a car at a loss or (b) move me to the head of the line for the backordered car and sell it at a loss.
3. "The internet says my trade-in is worth"
Then sell it to the internet. The online Kelly Blue Book is pure fantasyland, and as such, those prices only apply in Disneyland's Magic Kingdom.
Subroutines of this statement are, "My banker (or credit union) says my trade in is worth" The response is similar to the above, then sell it to your banker or credit union. The other response is, "Tell your banker the car dealer says he should loan you 110% the retail price of the new car at zero percent, and by the way, he should be giving you 20% on your checking account."
4. "That's not the real invoice. I know you guys have two invoices and make __% that doesn't show." The response? Actually we get the cars free. It's all profit. But we're keeping it all. Alternate response? Ask to see the invoice at Sears.
5. "Yeah, my trade-in needs repairs, but you can get them done for nothing, so you should give me full value." There's no good response for this one. This individual is obviously in a fantasy land. Mechanics don't work on our cars for free, and parts don't come in free.
6. "I want you to move me to the head of the line for (insert the name of the unobtainable car the client is looking for), and I want my choice of colors and equipment, and I want 20% off the top."
And people in Hell want ice water. If there's a line, and you're not willing to get in it, you won't get that car from that dealer. If there's a line here, there'll be a line everywhere. Discounts won't exist. If you were in line, how would you like it if we jumped someone ahead of you?
7. "If I don't get a discount, I don't buy the car."
Then you'll spend your life buying cars which are failures. You can get the biggest discounts on cars that aren't selling, that are such a glut on the market that the manufacturer is throwing money at them to make them go away. Or you're buying overpriced cars. The Americans are keeping 10% of markup for rebates and incentives. That means they're overpriced by 10%. Yes, sir. I hope you're proud of your nice, shiny new Discount 500. Wait till you go to sell it.
8. "I came here to look at a ____, but you don't have any," said pointing to the 4 cars on the showroom floor."
Well, there are 14 of them upstairs.
Variations: "Why don't you have all the models on the floor?"
The floor holds 4 cars. There are 43 different models.
9. "Well, if you're so short on cars, why don't you order more?"
Life in the Mercedes business is a constant fight for more cars. With lesser brands you fight for the ones selling (Corvettes) and have to take 30 non sellers (Malibus) to get one seller. Everything sells at Mercedes. The dealer said his biggest shock came when he became a dealer and discovered that just having a check for cars wouldn't get him more cars.
Variation 1: "If Mercedes is so short of cars, why don't they make more?"
Let's see. How many Billions with a B does it take to make a new plant? And how many years?
Variation 2: I know you can get all the cars you want. You're just hiding them to up the price.
Oh, yeah. We turn down paying clients with cash in fist so we can keep cars hidden.
10. I can just buy the car in Germany and import it.
A. They're more expensive there.
B. The backorder is longer.
C. You can't import a car unless you're certified as a
manufacturer/distributor by the federal government. (A recent change allows
you to bring in cars for show, but they're limited to 2,500 miles/year and
can't be sold for 25 years except to an individual under the same limitations.
And they have to meet all EPA regulations. Good luck.)
Well, another month, another "gun" tragedy. Within 12 hours the VP was proposing more stupid anti-gun laws. What law, pray tell, would have stopped Ft. Worth? No more gun sales at all? No, he'd bought the guns illegally in 1992. A background check, had they been in effect then, would not have shown his dishonorable discharge from the Navy. Confiscation? It hasn't worked anywhere else in the world. What makes anyone think it'll work here? But a true civil war would be the result, a long term horrible, bloody, tragic guerrilla war. And, as in England, criminals would still have guns. There are 240 MILLION guns in the country. No one could confiscate them all. A basic fact of life is CRIMINALS WILL ALWAYS GET GUNS.
I don't have solutions on a big scale, but I do on a small scale. Note that the goblins who make the headlines attack places where there are no guns allowed, schools, churches, hospitals, businesses with "no guns" signs. A "No guns allowed" sign says "Defenseless victims here. Goblins come right in."
A few years back some thugs robbed a restaurant. They began to herd the customers and employees into the locker to kill them all. A concealed carry licensee decided he had had enough and shot them all and prevented the killing.
Recently in California a goblin rented a weapon at a gun range and bought ammunition. Then he confronted the employees, saying he was going to kill them all. His suicide note was made out. A legally armed employee shot him.
In Israel, after a spate of such attacks, they quietly armed some teachers, and they allowed private ownership of firearms and concealed carry. You might not like the solution, but it worked. The schools have been safe since then..
If I were pastor of a church, Monday I would talk to the elders (deacons, etc.) and ask them for the names of regular attendees who are known gun owners. Then I would contact each of them individually and ask if they would mind telling me if they have concealed carry permits. Those who say yes would be invited to carry in church, and I would make a list of such people and try to make sure one of them was at each function. I would encourage them to get more training. I would not publicize this action.
Were I a CEO of a major corporation, I would see to it that the "No Guns" signs came down immediately to be replaced by "No Unlicensed Carry" signs as restaurants have done with great success. Employees with concealed carry licenses would be invited to a meeting. There I would offer to send them to Thunder Ranch or Lethal Force Institute for further training. This would be kept confidential. They would then be told that they may carry on premises within state and federal laws as they chose to do so. They would not be expected to be security guards, that nothing would be expected of them other than to defend themselves in case of a goblin attack.
An unspoken threat of defensive action makes Goblins GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.
Conversely if I worked where licensed concealed carry were forbidden, and something happened, I would sue that business next business day for failing to protect its employees and failing to allow them to protect themselves. The death of every victim in Atlanta is on the heads of the companies involved because THEY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER.
The Federal government can't protect you. The local police can't protect you. A security guard CERTAINLY can't protect you. You have no one to depend upon except yourself. If you can't protect yourself, then you have no one to blame but yourself.