Sabotage?

[maxkracht]

I have been repairing amps for a guy for a few months. He originally wanted me to work on one specific amp, but kept dropping off other things instead. I believe the first time he did this he said something to the effect of, “I want you to fix a few other things before I scare you away with this one.” He keeps hyping up how incredibly difficult this amp will be to fix and how complicated it looks. Also, he doesn’t understand how his previous tech screwed it up so badly. The one he presumably “scared away”. This guy has been incredibly rude on almost every interaction I have had with him, so I assumed the last guy just didn’t want to deal with him anymore. I have been trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, assuming he has just had a rough year or something, but I was planning to tell him to find someone else after I finish the work I had already promised.



I finally get the amp he originally wanted to be fixed. Open it up, and there is a plastic bag inside the chassis. Three resistors inside, carefully labeled with the resistance and wattage written on the outside of the bag. The resistors correspond to three blank spots on the PCB. I’m guessing the last tech didn’t want to make my job any harder than it needed to be. No Idea what I should tell the client. Kinda want to find his last tech and ask what this dude did to him.

(Trying to avoid giving too many details, I don't want to offend anyone or rat out the other tech if the grumpy man finds this post...)

[gktamps]

Trust your instincts.
What would you advise if you were reading your post, by another?

[dorrisant]

Former tech is setting you up.

[maxkracht]

Former tech is setting you up.

His parts fixed the problem without much thinking. So I don't think it was a bad setup unless I'm missing something. Just had a couple of output tubes disabled. He did add a series resistor between the tube rectifier and filter caps and I have no idea why. Sag resistor doesn't seem especially useful, little bit of voltage drop doesn't seem necessary. Just another thing that gets hot, tack soldered on some flimsy pdb traces. Played it a bit, doesn't seem to harm anything. Might return it to stock, might leave it be in case the guy had a reason I'm not thinking of. Will probably tell the owner there were some loose resistors and just charge him for the hour...

[dorrisant]

He set you up... Meaning that the "fix" will be easy for you. Customer will love the work... You have a new customer! You were set up.

[ChopSauce]

He set you up... Meaning that the "fix" will be easy for you. Customer will love the work... You have a new customer! You were set up.

Something like that - anything but sabotage - assuming there's no need to 100% trust your client when he said the tech did not wanted to finish fixing the amp, rather than the opposite ...

In the last case, what would you have done ...

[dorrisant]

I would continue on with the new customer as normal, but with an eye out for any weirdness. The clues would lead me to believe you may want to "get it in writing" before doing anything elaborate.

[maxkracht]

I would continue on with the new customer as normal, but with an eye out for any weirdness. The clues would lead me to believe you may want to "get it in writing" before doing anything elaborate.

He has been pretty strange and incredibly rude, but has paid for a few repairs, in full, without complaint. (not that it necessarily means anything) I get just about everything in writing regardless. My experience has been, most people who require phone calls and won't do text or email are most likely to cause problems...

He claims the last guy didn't understand how the amp worked and was trying random things to repair it. I guess incompetence is always possible, just seems very strange. I got the previous repair guys number from the client, but It was disconnected. Left the business a facebook message, but It doesn't look like the facebook account has been used for years and their website is a dead link. Might remain a mystery, but my assumption is still sabotage so the repair guy doesn't have to deal with this guy anymore.

[Mark]

I wouldn’t deal with a customer who is rude on every occasion. If you must deal with him charge him for his rudeness.

[dorrisant]

I wouldn’t deal with a customer who is rude on every occasion. If you must deal with him charge him for his rudeness.

Also known as asshole tax.

[maxkracht]

Guy ended up happy with that repair, but was otherwise still a pain so I stopped talking to him. Not worth the headache...

Mark wrote: ↑Tue May 23, 2023 11:46 pm
I wouldn’t deal with a customer who is rude on every occasion. If you must deal with him charge him for his rudeness.
Also known as asshole tax.

I usually do a poor musician discount if people are nice and it looks like they need a break, but asshole tax seems like it's excusing the behavior. I've just started recommending the assholes to a chain music store that I heard tends to overcharge and doesn't do very good work...

[Reeltarded]

This is going to shock everyone. One gig (jazz standards) for a soloist here is $700 per 3hr shift, another band gig (internet garbage band tunes) pays $1500, 3 hours, sound provided.

Yeah. The drinks cost $30.