I agree with this. Why should a customer be put into a role of having to be a pain, just to get his equipment fixed? It's not like the customer is getting something done for free --- at the tech's convenience.
Am I Being Ureasonable?
- Thread starter mymonkey
- Start date
I agree with this. Why should a customer be put into a role of having to be a pain, just to get his equipment fixed? It's not like the customer is getting something done for free --- at the tech's convenience.
Last part I had took more than 12 months. But, during that process the tech kept me informed by email. He let me know when he started work, he let me know what parts were being replaced and he let me know at each phase of the rebuild (power supply, amp section, preamp, etc.). Communication is a key factor for any small business and always a weak spot for the lone wolf tech.
Lots of really good replies- it’s a similar issue we all face on some level when we want something done and then things don’t go as we’d hoped. Being polite, empathetic, and reasonable usually is the best course then make your decision.
btw you wrote ,”I asked him to call when he completes the diagnosis”.
What does that mean? Did you authorize him to complete the repair or did you ask him to figure out what it’s gonna take and then call you? If he’s anything like me the majority of the time I can’t tell you what it’s gonna take to fix it until it’s fixed. I might have a decent idea but sometimes you just don’t know until you know. Maybe I read too much into the word diagnosis…
btw you wrote ,”I asked him to call when he completes the diagnosis”.
What does that mean? Did you authorize him to complete the repair or did you ask him to figure out what it’s gonna take and then call you? If he’s anything like me the majority of the time I can’t tell you what it’s gonna take to fix it until it’s fixed. I might have a decent idea but sometimes you just don’t know until you know. Maybe I read too much into the word diagnosis…
DB-7
Super Member
One of my power amps took 5 months. The tech would update periodically via text message.
Another trick I accidently learned to get a response is to text or call him. Not to ask about the Amp he was already working on but about another Amp that I had just picked up that needed his expertise. That started more of a friendship bond. We text back and forth regularly now.
His wait times are extremely long, in part due to parts shortage, plus he is a one man operation, and extremely busy because of his reputation for doing it right.
I would never trust my gear to anyone else but him, and I'm more than willing to wait my turn on his first come first serve basis.
Although I think I get some preference lately for being a no haggle repeat costumer.
Another trick I accidently learned to get a response is to text or call him. Not to ask about the Amp he was already working on but about another Amp that I had just picked up that needed his expertise. That started more of a friendship bond. We text back and forth regularly now.
His wait times are extremely long, in part due to parts shortage, plus he is a one man operation, and extremely busy because of his reputation for doing it right.
I would never trust my gear to anyone else but him, and I'm more than willing to wait my turn on his first come first serve basis.
Although I think I get some preference lately for being a no haggle repeat costumer.
dr*audio
Fish fingers and custard!
He's had it for a year and can't figure it out? Get that back immediately, it's an amp, not the USS Enterprise. He is incompetent.
Nakamichi cassette decks are like owning a 1960s Ferrari. There are few that can correctly fix anything beyond the simple things --- things that most owners can do.
All of mine are sitting in storage, now.
All of mine are sitting in storage, now.
Yep. Almost 2 yrs w no contact & I just walked in. Nothing broken, ran it for a day, its fine.
OK, I get it home set it up its fine for 1/2 hour then starts to distort. Thats why I brought it in!!!!
Its in the basement, I should do something w it.
Yeah. You need a Ferrari mechanic in the backyard, next to the red sports car. And a Japanese electronic wizard, in the attic.
mymonkey
Active Member
Thanks.. Crazy. a year and a half. Glad you got everything back.
mymonkey
Active Member
You are. He told me he would call with what it would need / cost. He most likely has not looked at it yet. I'm seeing mixed responses from AK'ers. Some say this is normal, others have horror stories. So far I like, "give him a call and check in, get the gear back if you don't like what you hear". I'm kinda blown away by some of the stories. Waiting years for service!!. To me that is ridiculous in the highest degree. I'm no tech, but I know service. Anyone who takes more work than he can handle is being irresponsible with MY time. Not a fan of that. Maybe try to under-promise and over deliver for a change. Anyway. Thanks for responding. .
Either learn to fix it yourself or get used to waiting. The average vintage audio tech is in their 70s and is either close to retiring or close to death. There are infinite numbers of people wanting infinite amounts of gear fixed, and the number of techs is shrinking fast. New parts are frequently out of stock, and as techs age they get slower. All these stories in this thread about "talking about JBL for hours" or "doing shots with the repairman" are cute, but that just means they have less time to work on gear. There are so many other things to do, and everyone always wants to chat, wants to tell you the story of every piece of equipment they've ever owned, and wants to hear all about what you're working on. If equipment is mailed in then there's unpacking, repacking, and shipping to take up time as well.
I get that you don't want to be part of some infinite queue, but the alternative is every tech telling you "no, I'm not taking any more work." Either learn to fix it yourself or get used to waiting. Almost no one is getting into this field, and there are not a lot of decent techs left. Ultimately more people will have to learn how to fix this stuff, or it won't get fixed.
I get that you don't want to be part of some infinite queue, but the alternative is every tech telling you "no, I'm not taking any more work." Either learn to fix it yourself or get used to waiting. Almost no one is getting into this field, and there are not a lot of decent techs left. Ultimately more people will have to learn how to fix this stuff, or it won't get fixed.
"Ultimately more people will have to learn how to fix this stuff, or it won't get fixed."
This is the answer. It's becoming this way in a lot of things. It's good that there are boards like this, where ppl can share their ideas on how to fix things. Where newbies can come to learn.
Interestingly, I've found that some spare parts maybe a little easier to buy online today, than in the 1980-early 2000s. Especially, tube parts. There was a big push to trash all parts related to tubes and go fulltime solid-state. I think parts like caps and resistors in the range that tube equipment uses is being manufactured more today, than then.
There are very good electrolytic and non-polar axial caps. Quality metal oxide and wire-wound resistors available. In a pretty wide range of voltages and wattage. New Switchcraft stuff may not be as good as yesterdays, but a fair range of products are available.
This is the answer. It's becoming this way in a lot of things. It's good that there are boards like this, where ppl can share their ideas on how to fix things. Where newbies can come to learn.
Interestingly, I've found that some spare parts maybe a little easier to buy online today, than in the 1980-early 2000s. Especially, tube parts. There was a big push to trash all parts related to tubes and go fulltime solid-state. I think parts like caps and resistors in the range that tube equipment uses is being manufactured more today, than then.
There are very good electrolytic and non-polar axial caps. Quality metal oxide and wire-wound resistors available. In a pretty wide range of voltages and wattage. New Switchcraft stuff may not be as good as yesterdays, but a fair range of products are available.
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Here is a somewhat related story...
My dishwasher died. I tore it apart (a life-long habit of mine) to look for the cause. I found a part on a circuit board fried. A new circuit board ordered on-line was nearly $400! I would buy a new dishwasher before I spent that much on 4" x 6" board. Anyway, I found a cryptic-looking number on the fried part (capacitor, maybe?) and found it on-line. $6.00. The shipping was another $6.00. I soldered the part in and replaced a circuit trace (burned up) with a piece of wire. Fixed! That was pre-Covid (maybe 2018) and it is still running today. Moral of the story- don't be afraid! Dive right in and learn as you go. If you fail, well, it wasn't running anyway!
DB-7
Super Member
Yup. Dive right in.
A very large portion of my Techs work stems from utube, and sad to say, forum reading weekend warriors, that mess thing up even more than the original problem
Price and wait time goes way up once he sees someone has messed with it and screwed things up.
Never mind the fact he will sometimes refuse the job once he see's a time consuming mess.
It's not just in audio or electronics. It happens in every profession. Un-experienced people don't think experience and skill is worth what it is worth.
Qualified experienced, and skilled techs are hard to find.
A very large portion of my Techs work stems from utube, and sad to say, forum reading weekend warriors, that mess thing up even more than the original problem
Price and wait time goes way up once he sees someone has messed with it and screwed things up.
Never mind the fact he will sometimes refuse the job once he see's a time consuming mess.
It's not just in audio or electronics. It happens in every profession. Un-experienced people don't think experience and skill is worth what it is worth.
Qualified experienced, and skilled techs are hard to find.
Jabase
New Member
Just came across your post . I am one of those guys that is caught up in the turnaround game. However, I cringe when I tell people 6-8 weeks ! Sure , there are some dogs that take longer and I try to keep up with my people. Sometimes I lose track of time and don't realize how long some items have been in here. I always tell my people to call me anytime or stop by . I don't get upset with the people wanting their equipment back. I get upset with myself for not being able to deliver ..Four months is a long time. I have been told that a another tech in my area is backed up 8 months and another stopped taking in new work until they catch up. So, I guess I could say that the potential to be that backed up is real.
I'm not sure that I could look someone in the eye and say that it I do good work , but I'm not cheap..only tongue-in-cheek with some of my regulars ..I know that I am fallible and there are very smart techs out there that know more that me . But we all have our pluses and minuses. I thank God that my customers are mostly cool and take things in stride ..I always warn them that no matter how much I do or how thorough I am, there is always a potential for something to pop up ... But don't fret ! I'll take care of it !
I'm not sure that I could look someone in the eye and say that it I do good work , but I'm not cheap..only tongue-in-cheek with some of my regulars ..I know that I am fallible and there are very smart techs out there that know more that me . But we all have our pluses and minuses. I thank God that my customers are mostly cool and take things in stride ..I always warn them that no matter how much I do or how thorough I am, there is always a potential for something to pop up ... But don't fret ! I'll take care of it !
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
We and I'm speaking for those with and without experience with long wait times, have said it can be normal but it does vary at each repair 'facility' and you should check to see what is normal at the place where your unit has been parked for these few months. That is why I said ask the referring party if the tech is that backed up before bothering him. I don't know if he is sensitive to being pestered by folks with gear in the queue.
Not good that you don't hear anything but some folks can't be bothered. It varies.
Looking forward to what you find out and how this works out. If the store is still referring repairs to him, it leads me to believe he isn't one of the scammers that got so backed up they just took off with the goods. If they have changed their minds on who to recommend, that warrants some further moves on your part.
Let us know what your doing on this.
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So- if he is buried and he has 2 units in front of him, one is your “estimate “ and the other is a “just fix it and bill me” which is he going to work on next? What if he works on yours for 2 hours and you decide the total cost is going to be too much? How much would you be comfortable paying him for his time? FYI- he may have been down this road before and he ends up with a headache dealing with customers who resist paying him for time spent when they don’t want it fixed. Plus he has to call you and wait to hear back before he moves ahead, in the meantime he begins working on something else.
I’m not making excuses for him but there can be 2 sides to this.
Somehow a mutual understanding must be established on the front end.
arts
Addicted Member
This is an unfortunate reality. My world is medical, telecom and industrial electronics, and you wouldn't believe some of the ridiculous (and bloody dangerous!) things I've seen. But I can't bitch; it paid my retirement (and my blood pressure meds)
