GypsyDogs
Well-known member
I was looking around for a shop that could extend my roof rack for mounting solar above the old fiberglass top on Hank...
Friend of mine works for a "custom shop" about half an hour down the road. This shop is restoring her husband's truck and the HE of the shop is a military friend of the husband's.. Seems legit, right?
I drop off the rack and we discuss the design. C-channel, attached to the existing box rail points, extend to 15", and replicate the box for the rails. A couple triangles for reinforcement at perpendicular points. Simple and elegant. HE tells me "I'll have it done in a couple days, I'll give you a call."
I thank him, give him some money, and leave.
The next day, I realize he and I both neglected to get my phone number for him to call.
I message my friend (who works there, and works with the She of the shop at a 2nd job) and tell her what happened, and can she give HE my number? She says yes, will do.
...then.. radio silence..
A week passes.. I attempt to contact these people..
Apparently they have a string of excuses.. they were out of town, it was her birthday, they got sick...
yeah
I politely request, from my friend that works with She of the shop, a phone number to contact them... And get a number that goes to a voicemail that is full and hangs up.
I am then told to text her.
Which I do.
and still no response..
2 days later (on Thursday) I get a text that starts out "I'm not ignoring you honey, I'm sorry for not responding. I was out of town all weekend and didn't get home till almost 2 and I had just enough time to go to work."
She says all that is left is the holes for the bolts that hold it together.. but the charger for their drill is packed and they haven't found it yet.
(??!? hand held drill? Battery powered?? Why not a Drill Press? )
She says that they can just not drill the holes, and discount me some money. They will leave the rack parts outside the shop tomorrow for me to pick up whenever I want.
(OUTSIDE!!??? Really?)
I tell her that I live about half a mile from where she works her 2nd job. Could I pick them up there?
Sure- she says.
So I arrange to pick up the parts locally.
Now, remember the clean simple functional design we discussed?
I get to the Bar she slings beer at, and check in with her. "Oh, they are outside tied to the back of my bike."
(??!!!?)
..ok
Went out, and this is what I found.
You may note several things. Fundamentally they are UGLY. They are not designed at all the way we discussed. They used open box and extended it all the way down. Which makes for an excellent debris catcher and is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to paint. You may also note that many of the welds are burnt, the cuts are shoddy, and many of the welds are barely welds at all. There are Many points where there is gapping between metal surfaces, and places where they tried to patch over shoddy welds then grind off the evidence. The holes that they did drill are different sizes.. and one is Oval. Some parts are crooked, there is inconsistency in the structure. And half the rail boxes are both short, and constructed Backwards. The outward facing sides look horrible.
Did they delegate this job to a drunk 7yr old?
Needless to say, I am so pissed I can barely breathe.
Step one- get a receipt 'for the business expense.'
Step two- request either an immediate fix or an immediate refund.
Step three- if no fix, get quotes from several Trusted shops to repair and present these butchers with a bill.
I hate to be a bch, but damn people.. this is a total botch job.
Friend of mine works for a "custom shop" about half an hour down the road. This shop is restoring her husband's truck and the HE of the shop is a military friend of the husband's.. Seems legit, right?
I drop off the rack and we discuss the design. C-channel, attached to the existing box rail points, extend to 15", and replicate the box for the rails. A couple triangles for reinforcement at perpendicular points. Simple and elegant. HE tells me "I'll have it done in a couple days, I'll give you a call."
I thank him, give him some money, and leave.
The next day, I realize he and I both neglected to get my phone number for him to call.
I message my friend (who works there, and works with the She of the shop at a 2nd job) and tell her what happened, and can she give HE my number? She says yes, will do.
...then.. radio silence..
A week passes.. I attempt to contact these people..
Apparently they have a string of excuses.. they were out of town, it was her birthday, they got sick...
yeah
I politely request, from my friend that works with She of the shop, a phone number to contact them... And get a number that goes to a voicemail that is full and hangs up.
I am then told to text her.
Which I do.
and still no response..
2 days later (on Thursday) I get a text that starts out "I'm not ignoring you honey, I'm sorry for not responding. I was out of town all weekend and didn't get home till almost 2 and I had just enough time to go to work."
She says all that is left is the holes for the bolts that hold it together.. but the charger for their drill is packed and they haven't found it yet.
(??!? hand held drill? Battery powered?? Why not a Drill Press? )
She says that they can just not drill the holes, and discount me some money. They will leave the rack parts outside the shop tomorrow for me to pick up whenever I want.
(OUTSIDE!!??? Really?)
I tell her that I live about half a mile from where she works her 2nd job. Could I pick them up there?
Sure- she says.
So I arrange to pick up the parts locally.
Now, remember the clean simple functional design we discussed?
I get to the Bar she slings beer at, and check in with her. "Oh, they are outside tied to the back of my bike."
(??!!!?)
..ok
Went out, and this is what I found.
You may note several things. Fundamentally they are UGLY. They are not designed at all the way we discussed. They used open box and extended it all the way down. Which makes for an excellent debris catcher and is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to paint. You may also note that many of the welds are burnt, the cuts are shoddy, and many of the welds are barely welds at all. There are Many points where there is gapping between metal surfaces, and places where they tried to patch over shoddy welds then grind off the evidence. The holes that they did drill are different sizes.. and one is Oval. Some parts are crooked, there is inconsistency in the structure. And half the rail boxes are both short, and constructed Backwards. The outward facing sides look horrible.
Did they delegate this job to a drunk 7yr old?
Needless to say, I am so pissed I can barely breathe.
Step one- get a receipt 'for the business expense.'
Step two- request either an immediate fix or an immediate refund.
Step three- if no fix, get quotes from several Trusted shops to repair and present these butchers with a bill.
I hate to be a bch, but damn people.. this is a total botch job.
