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Re: Repair tech in Fairfax, Va, area?

Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2006-02-28 23:11

Scotti wrote:

> Mark wrote:
>
> "What I said is business 101, no matter what business, when
> there's property involved or cash up front (essentially the
> same thing)."
>
> If you weren't given an estimate on how long a job would take,
> how long would you wait before calling and asking what the deal
> is? Years??? That's ridiculous.

If I weren't given or demanded an estimate for how long an expensive item would be left in someone's care then I would be stupid to leave it in the shop.

> Furthermore, to bring this back to the specific case, you
> define "anything else" as bad business practice? What
> definition are we working off of? Tony is overloaded with work
> as it is, so it's not a matter of him keeping customers happy
> and needing their business. And "at worst may be illegal?"

If someone gives you an estimate of a year and you're happy, that's great. Taking an instrument when you're overloaded and have no intent on working on it unless "bugged" about it is bad business, period. The shopkeeper needs to be upfront about how long it will take and that they need constant reminding. If you accept those terms, everything is fine.

I am NOT and HAVE NOT referred to Tony per se; if a shopkeeper in general gives you up-front warning that your instrument will not be seen for a long time, and you accept that and the fact that this shopkeeper can't be bothered to give you a call when the instrument is overdue (however, leaving an instrument with someone who won't give you an estimate on when it can be seen leaves the issue of "overdue" in the air ...), then go for it.

Why a shopkeeper can't advise you a week or two before they're ready to work on your instrument so they don't have to keep it for months languishing in a corner is beyond me ...

But m y statement about "Business 101" stands ...

> In this business model, the rules and assumptions are
> different. Dealing with an instrument is a personal thing, no
> matter who is doing the work. To think that "business 101"
> applies to all transactions is naive. One meeting with Tony
> lets you the customer know what you're dealing with. That's
> all you need for this situation.

I am decades away from being naive in business. The business model you describe is just plain bad business ...

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