UGH!!! CLEAN the damned thing before you hand it to me!

[Wade]

Quick background: I repair guitars on the side for extra bling. However, I cut deals for friends, ranging from free for really quick jobs or a 6-pack if I actually have to delve in and do a full setup or other repair (of course they must provide all related supplies like strings, etc.).

So, my (so-called) friend Rob calls me last week and says he has a job for me. No problemo - you know my fee, I'll be there on Monday.

So, 7PM rolls around, I get off my dayjob, and text Rob that I'm on my way. His reply?

"You might want to grab beer on the way."

WTF!?!



Alright, whatever. I let it slide - we've known each other since high school. So, I get there, and out comes the guitar.....

Wait for it....

Wait for it....

The fucking thing had not been CLEANED or SETUP in four years, and was stored in his garage in PHOENIX the entire time (he has a little "man cave" in there).

God, it was awful. What should have taken me 30-45 minutes took TWO HOURS. The dead skin on the bridge required soaking in gasoline (and the bastard didn't even have an old toothbrush for me to use - gee, great, thanks for letting me use your Q-tips), the fretboard was near BLACK from all the sweat/grime buildup (this took me nearly a half hour on its own to restore the wood's luster), and I got string-stabbed in the process (for you non-musicians, the end of a guitar string is needle-sharp, and will inflict one HELL of a boo-boo).

And, what does my "friend" do while I'm literally pouring sweat over the Frankenstein's Resurrection that is his musical instrument?

Drinking MY beer, playing fucking Playstation, and making absolutely no effort whatsoever to get off his ass and help me.



Alright, I know what alot of you are going to say: that this is mis-categorized (I don't think it is, 'cause I was providing a service to a consumer), why did I finish it (believe me, I wouldn't have even started had I known what I was walking into), and why did I not end up charging the dude (because this is the first time I feel someone has taken advantage of my offer to help maintain their instruments).

I've said it before, I say again: customers are dicks. Customers are even bigger dicks when something is free.

Moral of the story: you can even learn to hate your friends when they become your customers.

[RootedPhoenix]

>.< Poor guitar. I thought mine were badly treated to have such an unskilled player as myself.

What on earth did he DO to the guitar to make it like that?! Mine don't look like that! Maybe it's because I don't allow the things to get grimy in the first place, because I know I've never spent loads of time cleaning them. But then, they always go back in the case, and I'm obnoxious about what happens to them while they're in use, so maybe that's why.

I hate how people will go and think it's okay to walk all over someone just because you're friends. Shouldn't a friendship mean that you don't do things like that? But it happens, far more than it should.

[bainsidhe]

Well the good news is that this is a (sort-of) buddy of yours. So rules of civility and customer service do not apply. Unless you're a shy little wallflower afraid of confrontation, did you happen to point out to him (in great detail) why he is a prick? Along with a "Dude, you SOOOO owe me".

[Wade]

RootedPhoenix - he spends alot of time in a garage that has no proper circulation. If you are familiar with an Arizona summer (usually starts in March and lasts until November), you know that kind of heat is BRUTAL on guitar wood (especially the cheaper varieties like basswood and agathis). Plus he smokes, which I don't have any particular issue with (I myself smoke), but in a room with no circulation, that smoke is gonna tarnish/stain. The guitar itself is black, so imagine that nice coffe-stain swirl underneath the polyurethane. Further, he doesn't keep it in a case or wipe it down after he plays, so all that garbage just sits there, festering, accumulating, and destroying what little quality remains.

Bainsidhe - yeah, we're still friends, but I told him next one is totally out of his pocket. I don't care if it's beer or cash, he can shell up or fuck off. I also lectured him extensively (as he sat there blankly staring at his video game) about what he was doing to screw up his guitar. This B.S. on this guitar from a guy who swears he's serious as a heart attack about being a rock star. Right.....

Sorry, as you can obviously tell, this one REALLY got under my skin.

[MadMike]

Moral of the story: you can even learn to hate your friends when they become your customers.

I've done computer work for my friends many times, and thankfully they always took care of me some way, whether it was beer, food, money, or whatever.

Hell, one time I was fixing a computer for this one couple I'm friends with, I ended up drinking all their beer. In my defense, I did ask first, and they did say I could have all I wanted. Still, I felt bad about it after the fact, but they reminded me that if they had to take it to a shop to get fixed, it would have probably cost them a lot more than what the beer cost.

[McGoddess09]

Dang. I feel lucky. I clean one of my friend's houses for $100 per day (so once or twice a week) and he's pretty cool about it. Doesn't give me lip about what I do or how I do it, as long as I get the job done. He even let me touch his room and he loved what I did with it.

I'm sorry your friend treated you that way. This is the point where you should refuse to help out until he pays you in some way, but that's totally up to you.

[PepperElf]

poor little baby guitar...

my second one was... hell that thing was breeding dust bunnies when I got it. and the bridge never did sit right. (got it for a $1 so i aint complaining lol) but... oy even little Rivendell wasn't THAT nasty looking. (yes i name my guitars)

sigh. some people don't deserve guitars.
or beer

[Synder]

That's just ... wow. Admittedly I know very little about guitars but I DO know they need to be taken care of if it's expected to work properly. I think I would have had to use rubber gloves or something.

[Bosch]

poor little baby guitar...

my second one was... hell that thing was breeding dust bunnies when I got it. and the bridge never did sit right. (got it for a $1 so i aint complaining lol) but... oy even little Rivendell wasn't THAT nasty looking. (yes i name my guitars)

sigh. some people don't deserve guitars.
or beer

I totally agree with that.. How hard is it to take 10 min every now and then and just give it a gentle bath with a damp rag then a soft dry one? Hell I used to polish and wax mine, since the paint is very similar on the bodies at least, neck was always just a damp rag then a dry one to make sure everything was wiped up and nice and dry.

And you are sooo right a string stab is brutally painful especially if its a cut string end, ouch!

[crazylegs]

I did some work for two friends last summer. Before I started I got an exact list of what they wanted done, what they didn't want doing and let them know before hand the price, that way there were no suprises for anyone at any point.

[Can I Help Your A$$?]

Wait--I don't get it. You give him this great service, and you actually bought beer for him too? Why'd you do that?

[Wade]

I know what you're thinking. Yeah, I'm a schmuck. Why did I buy the beer? Probably just to pour some back with a friend after a "fun" day in Insurance Land. Why did I go through with the repair? Probably for no other good reason except I was already there.

Yeah, I see how this could be classified more as a lame gripe than a sucky customer.

[pacman]

I know how you feel. I myself own a 12 year old bass (Yamaha 5-string) and I love it. Recently I changed the strings and almost stabbed myself with the cut end - I noticed its sharpness then.

My beloved one has been gone for almost three weeks now - it's getting its nut changed and the guy doesn't do the job for a living so I suppose he's not had time to do it so far... I hope I'll get it back this week.

[Wade]

Three weeks for a nut replacement? Christ, is he out shooting animals so he can hand-carve one from bone? I can knock those out in two hours, and so can you. Really easy: go to Sam Ash (or... <gag> Guitar Center) or any other mom-and-pop shop and buy a template nut. If they don't have pre-carved, just get one that will fit into the cavity and carve the slots yourself.

Check out a book by John Carruthers, "Teach Yourself Guitar Repair." Best twenty bucks I EVER spent.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

My beloved one has been gone for almost three weeks now - it's getting its nut changed

There's a great joke in there someplace, but I can't find it right now.