by "Svend" (svend)
Published 09/20/2017 at 13:33
by "Svend" (svend)
Published 09/20/2017 at 13:33
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STARS: 0
I’m watching an episode of Fantom Works, Series 2 Episode 7 on channel QUEST (I think it’s Series 2 Episode 10 on Velocity).
Dan has been asked by Brad to restore his fathers 1967 Mustang Coupe to new condition.
Dan asks him if he wants to do it like he’s mentioned (back to original) because it’s a not very desired car in coupe form and the money being put into it won’t be reflected in the value when he comes to sell it.
Now here’s my issue. Dan is a car restorer, he’s been asked to restore a car to the customers requirements. That is his job. Not to question why he wants it doing.
Dan even says the customer is doing it for sentimental reasons and not practical ones.
So? The customer has said he wants it done to how his dad bought it home, how he drove it for a first car, how it was when he took his now wife on their first date. But the reason is not for Dan, the job is for Dan. The only thing Dan has to concern himself with is, is it possible, can he do it, how much will it cost the customer.
These guys are a-holes. they have staff that say (in this and previous episodes), ‘it’s hard to get enthusiast about a car that has no real value’, etc... IT’S NOT FOR YOU TO BE ENTHUSIASTIC, IT’S YOUR JOB TO GET IT DONE, DONE THE WAY THE CUSTOMER WANTS IT OR TO THE BEST YOU CAN WITH THE CUSTOMERS CONSENT!
You don’t want to do it. Fine, tell the customer no.
"Frenchlicker" (frenchlicker)
09/20/2017 at 13:41, STARS: 1
I watched one episode of this show and he did the same thing. I refuse to watch the show. He’s not a car guy nor does he love cars. He is a businessman that only cares about the money.
Also, if you can’t get enthusiastic about restoring something for someone you shouldn’t pick up your tools in the morning.
"Svend" (svend)
09/20/2017 at 13:55, STARS: 0
Exactly. Even after being told why the owner wanted the car restored he kept referring towards the soft top and fastback.
"Pickup_man" (zekeh)
09/20/2017 at 15:18, STARS: 0
While I’m not really a fan of his I don’t think he’s in the wrong for asking that question. His shop seems to do some very high quality work, and the price usually reflects that. I don’t think it’s all that bad to ensure that the customer is committed to the build and has realistic expectations as to what the value of the car will be at the end.
"Svend" (svend)
09/20/2017 at 15:30, STARS: 0
The customer fully articulated what he wanted.
Then Dan asked the question and tried to put forward what he envisioned for the car even down to the colour, which he’d done a few times.
He even brought it up again a couple of times about .
If I go to a cafe and ask for a coffee, milk and two sugars. I don’t expect the server to say, it’ll taste nicer if you only have one sugar, have you thought about maybe no milk?
If however I said, ‘I’d like a coffee, which do you suggest?’.
"Pickup_man" (zekeh)
09/20/2017 at 15:51, STARS: 0
That’s a little weak of an analogy, a coffee is a few bucks and the server isn’t out anything if you suddenly regret your decision. Restoring a car on the other hand is thousands and thousands of dollars, and Dan is taking some risk himself because if the customer doesn’t pay up front, and decides to back out last minute, Dan either has to harass him to get the money, or take possession of the car, and if he sinks $40,000 into a $10,000 car, and the customer backs out, that’s a hell of a loss. So again, I don’t blame him for making sure that the customer is fully committed to the build. I think that’s a fair an reasonable thing to do when the shop is taking on risk of its own, and there’s a guaranteed loss if the customer can’t pay/decides to go in a different direction.
All that being said, I’ve seen the show several times and the way he goes about asking those questions is very poor and unprofessional. He treats the customer like their crazy for ever wanting to restore anything that isn’t an extremely high value car. He clearly only wants to do high value restorations, but takes on less valuable jobs and restorations very often, usually bitching and moaning all the way through when the customer doesn’t want the best of the best, or do exactly what he wants.
"Svend" (svend)
09/20/2017 at 16:02, STARS: 0
Granted it’s a poor analogy but you clearly see from the second paragraph what I mean.
"Pickup_man" (zekeh)
09/20/2017 at 16:08, STARS: 1
Yeah, I generally agree and get your point, I think the problem lies more with Dan and his attitude toward customers with “non-worthy” cars, not with a shop ensuring that the customer is fully committed, knowing that they won’t get back out what they put in.