On Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at 6:44:07 PM UTC-4, Trevor Wilson wrote:


FWIW: I have retained repairs for as long as 2 years, waiting for
customers to collect their jobs.

--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au


I've done the same. If I call a customer and they either answer or return my call promptly, and tell me they want the item but don't have the money, I'll hold it for them. I'm not a pawn shop.

I've been in business for over 40 years and I can come up with some stories, but I'm going to switch gears from scamming customers and relay one of my favorites:

Back in the early 1980s, I did a house call for a Zenith System 3 console (for you old timers, this had the old 9-160 power/sweep/HV module in it). This module usually had a blown LOT/Flyback, horizontal/line output transistor, and other associate stuff. You knew this when you saw how the fuse vaporized it's wire and deposited it on the glass. A quick resistance check from hot ground to the TO-3 metal case collector showed zero ohms.

Anyway, the guy was over my shoulder and under my armpit insisting the TV must only need a new fuse. I knew it was no use explaining that there was no sense in even trying it if it was blown because he was sure that's all it needed.

So I installed a 7 amp fuse to replace the 4 amp and told the customer to get down real close and tell me if the fuse opened when I went around the front of the TV and pushed the power button.

I heard a soft pop like a flash bulb going off and I could see the customer's silhouette against the wall for a split second. He stood up from behind the TV blinking his eyes while I asked him if the fuse blew. He gave me trouble when I went out to the truck to get a new module.