Am I Being Ureasonable?

[mymonkey]

I have an "Etiquette" question for anyone who has ever had vintage gear serviced by a local tech. In this case, the tech is a recommendation / referral from a respected high end audio dealer. Let's call the tech, BOB. I called BOB with a dead Yamaha CA-810 Integrated Amp and a working matching tuner that I wanted some bulbs changed in. These sweet sounding, great looking pieces of Yamahammer History just so happens to be the same ones shown in my profile pic. One of my favorite rigs. I think I blew a power supply or something and I wanted a pro to take a look and make it PERFECT, as it should be. When i talk to BOB, he claims to be a Yamaha expert of sorts. Worked for the company or a company that supported that company or whatever. He tells me he works on equipment based on a first come first serve basis and it can be a long process if he has a lot of work lined up. BOB does not give me an exact time frame for a the work to be completed, and he throws in "I'm not cheap, but I'm good". I figure, let's see if this guy is as good as he talks, so I give him my name and number and ask him to call when he completes the diagnosis. He agrees. To be clear, like most of you, i have a number of fully developed systems to choose from when the mood strikes, so I'm not going without as a result of the CA-810 being down. I have no real expectations of BOB and I have been content to wait to hear from BOB, giving him whatever time it takes and hoping to get the Yamaha's back looking and sounding better than ever.

That was just shy of FOUR MONTHS AGO!!. I know I made a conscious decision to give BOB a try, fully knowing that if might take a while, but, DUDE, SERIOUSLY?? Part of me says, "Hang in there, BOB might call any day. It hasn't bee that long. He's not cheap, but he's good. Don't be that guy." However another part of me says, "WTF!!! BOB!!!, if I haven't heard from you in four months! have you even looked at my gear yet? Did you loose my number or do you really line up so much work that you can't get to it........AT ALL, and you are cool with customers waiting for your magical call for 1/3 of a calendar year, AND COUNTING???".

Now, I can only judge based on my frame of reference but I have been around a little bit. I'm not Magellan but I have lived in a few cities and I have bought, sold and had equipment serviced by some great people. Vintage Electronic Techs are a rare breed and most that I have known are slightly off in their own very cool way. I have done shots in listening rooms, talked speakers while watching mine get dissected down to voice coils, and once I sold two receivers for the tech while picking up my repair. Gotta love newbies in a vintage shop . I try to be a gracious customer, thankful that there is someone out there who can work electronic magic and bring works of art back to life so that I can enjoy them. Nothing but respect for those with the skill and patience it takes to do the job and deal with the obsessed freaks who collect this stuff.... like me.

Please help me. Am I being unreasonable in thinking a four month wait, without even a call, is unreasonable? Does anyone have similar experiences? What is the longest you have waited for a Tech to call you and / or complete a job for you. I know some that read this will say, "Learn how to work on your own gear and shut up". To those AK'ers I say, "Yea Yea, I'm just not that good with a solder gun, never gonna happen". I am tempted to pay a visit to BOB, demand my Yamaha's, and proceed with a harsh tongue lashing that would leave him speechless. At lease then I could regroup and maybe get my beloved CA-810 in working order sometime before the rapture. Or, should I be a good boy and take my self imposed medicine like a man. For now, I wait. ??

 

[dcmfan]

I am tempted to pay a visit to BOB, demand my Yamaha's, and proceed with a harsh tongue lashing that would leave him speechless.

Or, should I be a good boy and take my self imposed medicine like a man. For now, I wait. ??

Or split the difference between these two extremes and give BOB a polite call and see what the status is.

 

[mymonkey]

Or split the difference between these two extremes and give BOB a polite call and see what the status is.

two months in I did. He sounded perturbed and said that he would get to get to all jobs in the order they arrived. in other words - "Wait Your Turn".
Happy to do that but four months?

 

[slow_jazz]

Four months is way too long imho.

 

[Kent Dance]

Reasonable first reply, have taken the same approach, this or that reason, working on it yada yada and after 13 months got my 2250 back. I listen to FM a lot, but a month and 500 bucks later: no stereo FM. Going to try to fix it with myself (with some help from here I hope). So I can relate, hope your experience goes a little better.

 

[dcmfan]

two months in I did. He sounded perturbed and said that he would get to get to all jobs in the order they arrived. in other words - "Wait Your Turn".
Happy to do that but four months?

Well that's not very neighborly. I think I'd be inclined to go collect my gear if there's another tech in your area.

FWIW I waited a year to have an old Marantz redone but the tech told me in advance that was the time frame and he was nice enough to reach out every now and then to let me know he hadn't forgotten about it.

Sounds frustrating. Hope it gets sorted out for you soon.

 

[OldJBL]

I would call him and ask him the status of the repair. If he won't give you a schedule then I would start searching for another repair shop or a guy that has a good reputation and works a side hustle. I would leave it where it is until either he finally gets it repaired, or you find and option to replace him. Getting testy with him doesn't serve any purpose, IMO.

 

[mymonkey]

Well that's not very neighborly. I think I'd be inclined to go collect my gear if there's another tech in your area.

FWIW I waited a year to have an old Marantz redone but the tech told me in advance that was the time frame and he was nice enough to reach out every now and then to let me know he hadn't forgotten about it.

Sounds frustrating. Hope it gets sorted out for you soon.

that sounds reasonable. thanks for the feedback.

 

[Kent Dance]

But to answer your question, it depends, in my area there's not many options so I waited patiently. Supply and demand I suppose.

 

[mymonkey]

I would call him and ask him the status of the repair. If he won't give you a schedule then I would start searching for another repair shop or a guy that has a good reputation and works a side hustle. I would leave it where it is until either he finally gets it repaired, or you find and option to replace him. Getting testy with him doesn't serve any purpose, IMO.

Agreed, More bark than bite here but I just don't understand the mindset. I think I have a replacement but I'm in this far. Gonna decide before the end of the month.
thanks.

 

[petes'picks]

Get it back from him if he still has it. If a tech cant give you a estimated date he isnt worth his salt. Even a average hobbiest would be able to say something like "I have five ahead of you so give me another 10 days". If he is so busy its been 4 months then do him a favor and take it off his plate, he could use the break.

 

[z-adamson]

He told you up front first come first serve, it could take a while etc. He didn’t give a date.

You signed up for this.

Don’t like it, go somewhere else with your gear or fix it yourself. Sounds like a good diy job.

 

[Blue Shadow]

There have been techs here on ak that their websites say they are backed up 6 months or more. I expect this to be a typical number for a good tech in a population center where there is a lot of gear getting refreshed, repaired or restored.

Ask your referral how long he takes with their repairs.

 

[62vauxhall]

Some years ago, it the month of August, I long distanced shipped an open reel deck to a recommended tech. I was told I'd have it back by Christmas. That Christmas came and went as did the next Christmas. After 17 months I got the deck back, tweaked and calibrated as promised.

A few years later, I shipped a pre-amp about the same distance to an expert on that particular unit. I had it back in about 3 weeks.

If I were to do such a thing now, I would expect the worst and be surprised if repairs were done in a timely manner. If one shop has a fast turnaround time, it does not mean that they all will. As most will know, competent techs are plentiful no longer and popularity of old stereo components has grown immensely. People capable and willing to work on the stuff are few and far between so they have more work than they can handle. Unless they are profitable enough to hire and train others to assist.

Long wait times, even exceedingly long wait times are going to be normal and I'm sure that if pressed, a repair person will not disclose a realistic ETA because it will drive away business. And I doubt many customers who are waiting for repairs will bitch, complain and demand their unit be returned unfixed. Some will but they are just going to reset the clock and begin the cycle again which will take who knows how much time - again.

 

[mymonkey]

There have been techs here on ak that their websites say they are backed up 6 months or more. I expect this to be a typical number for a good tech in a population center where there is a lot of gear getting refreshed, repaired or restored.

Ask your referral how long he takes with their repairs.

Good idea asking the referral. I thought I might reach out to them.
Thanks.

 

[Mr Boochie]

Please help me. Am I being unreasonable in thinking a four month wait, without even a call, is unreasonable? Does anyone have similar experiences? What is the longest you have waited for a Tech to call you and / or complete a job for you.??

Okay, I've been down this road a couple of times. Both with high-end audio gear. A Nak Dragon and a Sony 777 ES SACD player. Both needed alignment. Two separate techs, two separate brick-&-mortar businesses. 20-years apart between fixes..

Month passed, no fix. My calls were always answered with "we need to order parts from Japan" --or-- "I'm just fine tuning the unit." Or some such nonsense.

After six months, I called --- no answer from both businesses. They both went out of business, and I never got the equipment back. With no forwarding or anything. Drive to the businesses, both are now new businesses. The new ppl have no idea what happened to the old business or owners. I'm left digging through business licenses and all that civic crap.

If I were you, I'd get my equipment back, while you can. Worry about fixing or selling once you get it out of this tech's hands.

Nowadays, I will try to fix the darn things myself. Tube equipment is no problems. I will try to tackle complex solid-state or just get rid of the offender and buy a new replacement.

I'll tell you --- sending my old JBL speakers out to have them reconed, or new surrounds, and tested made me sweat big time. I went down and talked to the owner/tech Bao (Speaker Repair Pros, in Orange County) and checked out his setup --- before handing over the speakers. There just isn't a whole lot of long-time reputable techs doing this kinda stuff anymore. I was very satisfied with his work and especially his level of expertise. Communication was the best part. We'd spend a couple of hours talking about JBLs in famous guitar amps, for famous studios.

Anyhow, good luck!

 

[Hajidub]

Just had a Nak deck down. Instead of sending it off, I notified the tech that I wasn't in a rush (had standby decks), I ask that he notify me when he's available. Took over 6 months, no biggie, but when he reached out I had the deck in the mail promptly. It was fixed and in my possession in a week after initial delivery. I'm surprised techs still accept units months prior to availability, storage space (and liability) would seem to be at a premium. You're at 4 months, he stated he was swamped, I wouldn't even think of pressuring.

 

[triple20]

No your not unreasonable.
If it were me,I would nicely get my gear back and go elsewhere.
The tech I deal with is in the Chicago market,so I would guess he gets plenty of jobs,especially with his great reputation. There is a thread currently in this section talking about him and his service.
Every time I have dealt with him,he tells me it could be about 6 weeks wait,he usually contacts me 3 weeks later saying gear is ready.

 

[Oerets]

You got the name from someone you trust from what I'm reading.
Then tells you that he is very busy.
He agrees to service your item.
Item is left.

Called once in four months. Told not done yet.

Asking the referring shop owner may help get a feel for the tech. Just remember the shop owner has a different relationship. More business history.

I would call the tech up again and calmly talk. More likely then not, he is busy and may have had a run of problem child's on the bench. A good tech will not get upset at a call from the owner if they are polite.

 

[triple20]

Been thinking about this and here's my opinion.
If a guy tells you he is expensive and good, He's probably overpriced and trying to prepare you for sticker shock.
Then there's the question of him being good, Is this a self proclamation from his own mind Or do his customers actually feel this way?
If his work backlog is 4 to 6 months out, This is not a fluke and it is his normal practice.
Not informing a customer of this timeline up front is not a good business practice.