
GENERAL SERVICE
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General service means repairing a broken piece of gear so that it performs as it is supposed to, and so that it is reasonably safe to operate. I perform repairs of all kinds, both electronic and mechanical, based on my decades of experience in this field. If your gear is not working correctly, I will be happy to diagnose and repair it for you. If parts are replaced, I will return the old parts to you, except in the case of speaker re-foaming. When your gear is returned to you, you will receive a ticket that explains exactly what was found and what repairs were done.
I charge a $100 bench fee up front to cover my time to diagnose your gear. This bench fee is not refundable. Once I have diagnosed your gear, I will contact you and explain what I found, what needs to be done, what it will cost, and about how long it will take to do it. If you choose to have the gear repaired, the bench fee goes towards the repair. If you do not choose to have it repaired, or if it cannot be repaired, you owe nothing else. Minor repairs can sometimes be covered entirely by the bench fee alone. In such a case, I will just go ahead and perform the repairs, and then I will contact you when your unit is ready.
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Due to a lack of space for storage, I prefer (but I don't insist) that clients simply pay their bench fees and get on the queue without bringing in their unit. Then, when it comes time for me to work on your unit, I'll call or text you and you can bring the unit in. This works especially well for clients whose units are still usable, and who don't want to be without the unit for months. You can pay the bench fee remotely via Zelle, Paypal, or Venmo, and I will create and email you a ticket, or you can drop by the shop and pay and get your ticket in person. In either case, I will need the following information:
1. Your name.
2. Your phone number.
3. Your email address.
4. The brand and model number of the unit you want fixed.
5. A description of what's wrong with it or what you want done to it.
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Once I receive the bench fee and this information, I will create and email a ticket to you within one day, usually within one hour, if you're doing this remotely. If you'd like to proceed like this, let me know which method you would prefer to use to pay your bench fee and I'll give you the appropriate info to do that.
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It's always best to call or text me at (423) 362-1866 before coming by the shop, as my schedule changes due to health issues. Normally, I'm at the shop Tuesday - Saturday, 9-6.
Please note that although I do perform modifications and upgrades, I will not perform these services on gear that needs repair. The repair(s) must be performed first, and then any desired modifications and upgrades can be considered.
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I prefer to repair a given piece of gear as a whole; that is, I want it to leave my shop in good working order in all respects. If you bring me a receiver, for instance, I like to have every function and every control work correctly when you pick it up. However, on request, I will repair only those parts of a unit that you desire to have repaired, leaving the rest in whatever condition it is in. So if the phono preamp does not work, but you don't want to have it fixed, I will leave it as is. The fact that you chose not to have it repaired will be noted on your ticket when you pick the unit up. This, however, does not apply to safety-related repairs. If I feel that there may be a safety issue with leaving something un-repaired, I will not do any repairs on your gear unless you also allow me to fix the safety-related issue. This is for your protection, and mine.
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Sometimes I will refuse to repair a particular piece of gear, either up front or after diagnosis. If a unit does not meet my criteria for units I work on (too new, too poorly made, wrong kind of gear, etc.,) I will tell you up front, and of course you will owe nothing. If, however, I accept your unit and you pay the bench fee, and subsequently I discover a reason to not repair it (safety concerns, improper previous repairs/modifications, or concerns about reliability, for instance) I will reassemble your unit and return it to you un-repaired, and I will explain to you why I did not proceed with the repair, and note this same information on your ticket.
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I guarantee my work for 30 days from the day you pick up your equipment. This guarantee applies to parts and labor, but only for the parts of the gear that I repaired. If you chose not to have something fixed, that is obviously not covered under warranty. If I repaired the speaker switches, and three weeks later an input jack breaks, that is an unrelated failure, and it is not covered under my guarantee. In certain cases, such as restorations or complete "give it the works" repairs, my guarantee will cover the entire unit. In these cases, this will be spelled out on the ticket you receive upon completion. Please note that in cases where I repair only part of a unit but check all the functions before returning it to you, my guarantee still only covers what I repaired, not the parts that I merely checked and found to be in working order, without repairing them.
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My guarantee does not cover damage caused by abuse, misuse, improper connections or operation, acts of God (such as lightning strikes), failure of connected equipment (for instance, a blown speaker or shorted speaker cable can cause your amplifier to fail) or repairs/mods/upgrades performed by anyone else. So if I fix your amplifier rated for eight-ohm speakers, and you connect your two-ohm electrostatic speakers and blow it up, that's on you, not me. Also, I will not cover under my guarantee any piece of gear connected to a piece of gear I repaired, regardless of circumstances.
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In rare cases, if there is some reasonable doubt on my part about whether a subsequent failure is related to my work, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and cover it under my guarantee.
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