How long is expected for repairs?

beaglesandbass

beaglesandbass

Think first, then post?
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#1
I don't want to give the name of the company out, so that my hinder responses.

I mailed a part last week to get repaired and it got to them Thursday. I don't really expect it to have been fixed yet, but I kind of expected some kind of correspondence letting me know that they either received the package and/or an estimate of repair cost.

I left a voicemail to their CS desk yesterday and sent an email today.

Wondering how long I should wait before starting to get annoyed.
 
#3
Gorn said:
It got to them almost a week ago and they haven't told you the cost or estimated time yet? I think you've already been more than patient enough.
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That was my thinking too, but I don't recall ever sending something in for repairs before so I'm not sure the *average* wait time.
 
#5
Gorn said:
I don't like waiting any less than most people but not telling you what it's gonna cost would be my main concern. Are they planning on telling you that before they start the work?
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That was my understanding. I'm somewhat ok with it if they're swamped and couldn't get to it, I mean it's not preferable, but I get it. My main concern is that it got damaged or something in shipping.
 
#6
Seems to me that you should have been informed of their repair process when you first contacted them.

They know what's going on in their shop.

Poor business practices have doomed many talented people.
 
#7
How busy is the shop when you dropped off _____ ?

When my Harley goes in for repair, it sits around for at least a couple of weeks before it goes on the lift table to figure out what broke because the place I take it to is real busy year round.
 
#8
Bob Clayton said:
I don't want to give the name of the company out, so that my hinder responses.

I mailed a part last week to get repaired and it got to them Thursday. I don't really expect it to have been fixed yet, but I kind of expected some kind of correspondence letting me know that they either received the package and/or an estimate of repair cost.

I left a voicemail to their CS desk yesterday and sent an email today.

Wondering how long I should wait before starting to get annoyed.
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When you sent the part, did they say how much time is usual to have it looked at and quoted? Even if standard time for them is 3-4 business days from receipt of said part, they're still within their timeline. Also, maybe the repair bench is running a bit behind; it happens.

But at least some sort of correspondence, even as simple as "We got it; we'll let you know" would be required at this point.
 
#11
i just got an amp repaired at a local 'certified by manufacurer' electronics shop: the whole deal took 6 months before the manufacturer provided a fix. the shop itself = slow to respond to phone calls and emails (but they did respond). i was told i'd get some word within two weeks of taking the amp in. they did that.

my last luthier shop work: guy did great work but had no communication skills/protocol. felt like i had to leave semi-threatening phone messages, which did get his attention. i was told the work would take two weeks. it took 4 months.

i think it's the way of the world, and if you do get great service, with a smile, and it's done on time = a rare, wonderful, almost life-changing event. :thumbsup:
 
#13
JRA said:
i just got an amp repaired at a local 'certified by manufacurer' electronics shop: the whole deal took 6 months before the manufacturer provided a fix. the shop itself = slow to respond to phone calls and emails (but they did respond). i was told i'd get some word within two weeks of taking the amp in. they did that.

my last luthier shop work: guy did great work but had no communication skills/protocol. felt like i had to leave semi-threatening phone messages, which did get his attention. i was told the work would take two weeks. it took 4 months.

i think it's the way of the world, and if you do get great service, with a smile, and it's done on time = a rare, wonderful, almost life-changing event. :thumbsup:
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"Two weeks."
 
#15
Bob Clayton said:
I don't want to give the name of the company out, so that my hinder responses.

I mailed a part last week to get repaired and it got to them Thursday. I don't really expect it to have been fixed yet, but I kind of expected some kind of correspondence letting me know that they either received the package and/or an estimate of repair cost.

I left a voicemail to their CS desk yesterday and sent an email today.

Wondering how long I should wait before starting to get annoyed.
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Just as an example, last year, I realized the bridge pickup of my Ripper had one dead coil. I saw good references for Tom Brantley, so I called up and talked to him. He gave me the precise cost for both the repair and return shipping cost and said he was working about ten days out. So, I sent it to him and he completed the repair for precisely that charge and in that time frame. That's how it should be done. Oh, by the way, he did an outstanding job and the pickup works great. I'd second the suggestion to ask about cost and turnaround time before sending the item.

Otto
 
#16
I took mine into a highly-recommended repair shop in the Seattle area. Owner was rebuilding a tweed Fender amp for Pearl Jam's upcoming tour when I showed up. Just two people doing all the work there. They said it would be 3-4 weeks before they could look at it but they could get to it within 3-days if I wanted to upgrade to their priority service. Then they would crack it and do the first hours work. Said if it needed to go beyond the hour, they'd call and I could choose to continue with the priority price or revert to their standard price.

Heard from them 3-days later and major problem was fixed, but needed to replace a pot and track down some other signal problems in the preamp EQ. Guess was it would take another hour and possibly two more to get it all done. It's a $45 per hour difference in price ($90/hr bench time vs $135/hr) plus sales tax in Seattle area tags on an additional 10% tax. Since my back-up amp is working fine and I pretty much shot-my-wad on the first hour priority price, I opted for the lower rate even though it may take 6-weeks to get it back.

As long as the shop is upfront with you on expected time, I wouldn't worry about it. But that is something you need to find out before you send or take your amp in. Normally the amp will just be sitting there waiting for its turn on the bench. Typically the better the repair shop is, the longer the wait times. If you need it back quickly, be prepared to pay a significant fee for "rush" service.
 
#17
The couple times I've had an instrument in a shop to be repaired was for something major, and one of those times a 6-8 week repair took almost 6 months. I was pretty upset with the absolute lack of communication but after the 3rd month I sorta wanted to see how bad it would get before I wrote my Yelp review (had other instruments so I didn't miss any gigs). The shop was very apologietic in the end and did a great job on the repair, but come to find out only one person did major repairs and he only worked three days a week...information that was conveniently withheld when I dropped off my instrument. Left my Yelp review and never went back there again.
 
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