"ImmoralMinority" (araimondo)
03/19/2018 at 21:29 • Filed to: None
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"ImmoralMinority" (araimondo)
03/19/2018 at 21:29 • Filed to: None | 0
| 6 |
I went to a small independent restoration shop that was dirty and busy. I talked to the owner, Mando, who seemed like a good guy, even though he admitted he had never worked on an old Celica like mine. He was confident that he could do the work, but had to research parts. A couple of times during this process I did not hear from him for a few days, and he did not call when he said he would. The third time I gave up.
So I looked around and found a more established, but family owned, shop. They had worked on Toyotas for many years, so I took the car in on Friday.
Mando called me today, and I have not returned his call. I never promised the guy the work, but I feel bad. I think the T Bird is right up his alley, and I would like him to work on it.
His Stigness
> ImmoralMinority
03/19/2018 at 21:39 |
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If you had already tried to contact him back and he never responded then I wouldn’t worry about it. He either is too busy with other stuff, in which case he won’t lament the loss of your job. Or, he wasn’t very interested in the job and found spare time to look for parts. If that’s the case then I still wouldn’t worry about it because you want someone who takes the job as seriously as you do.
SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
> ImmoralMinority
03/19/2018 at 21:41 |
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The internet is no place for empathy, guilt and compassion.
But the polite thing to do is say you gave the work to another shop and here’s why.
RPM esq.
> ImmoralMinority
03/19/2018 at 21:47 |
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I’d return the call and tell him that you were in a hurry on the Toyota and took it to another shop that could fit you in right away, and then start talking about the T-bird. Honesty: The Best Policy (TM).
ttyymmnn
> ImmoralMinority
03/19/2018 at 22:00 |
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Just be honest with him. You can do it. You’re a lawyer after all. ;)
crowmolly
> ImmoralMinority
03/19/2018 at 22:02 |
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A couple of times during this process I did not hear from him for a few days, and he did not call when he said he would. The third time I gave up.
Ehhhhhh...
EHHHHHHHHHHHH...
EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...
This is a huge, huge problem with resto shops. I don’t know Mando, but I do know that “paint jail”, “resto jail” etc is not always just a cheeky joke. Plenty of guys write checks, never see progress, and the have to hound the shop to get what they paid for. Shops will take one persons check and use it to pay for another persons resto since they are so far in the red.
I’d be super wary of a shop that’s non-communicative off the bat. Giant red flag in my opinion.
ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
> ImmoralMinority
03/19/2018 at 23:01 |
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I take that as a big red flag. It’s one thing to get busy, or to have a harder time researching parts than anticipated, but not doing what you said (or at least communicating a delay) at the outset is a not a good sign of things to come. The restoration game always take longer and costs more than one expects, but I’d read this as the guy didn’t even care enough to tell you he needs more time to get you answers.
I ran into this getting a new seat cover made for the racecar last fall. A shop said they’d do the work for a good price, and it would be done in two weeks after he got back from vacation. When the date comes, I step out of work for a long lunch to find they’re not even there that day. Phone calls go unanswered. A few days later I stop by again and finally the guy’s assistant is there. I get the owner on the phone and he says he needs another week. Despite my better judgement, I gave him another week. On that day, it still wasn’t done. He asked for more time and showed me the raw material he’d cut, but not otherwise done anything else with. I ended up walking out with my seat and taking it to a different shop that actually had it done for about the same money a few days later when they said it would be. I felt slightly bad about the first guy eating the material costs, but he never did what he what he said and wasted my time on three occasions.