Only working on name brand stuff ?

[aokpops]

By far no expert for the most part can make a saw run . The rumor is I can fix stuff . What I get people want me to work on junk. Not sure of all the names ?All I say I won't touch it . I get the stink look . I got about 2 hours of working on the neighbor weed wacker with parts out of my stash . The only question I have . Why put up with this stuff ? My weed eater is about 20 years old got a mantis tiller about the age got chainsaws for the 1980 shish that will run with little effort . All I was thinking was buy a echo or some new battery model . What I heard some one pulling on a weed eater not starting . Nope not going to help .

 

[benjo75]

Same here. People always calling and saying they need me to get something running. Carb probably just needs cleaned they say. Usually several hours of labor and parts and sometimes have to buy parts. Then they act like I'm ripping them off when I just hand them the part's ticket and nothing else. Started telling them I'm booked out 6 months. If they still need it fixed then to call me. By then they've called with 3 more pieces of crap they want me to get running. It's finally slowing down after a year or two of putting people off.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

16 years ive been in repair.

When someone asks if you work on handheld stuff the first thing i say us, Echo, Stihl, Husqvarna, Shindaiwa. They will inevitably say "well i got this (homelite/poulan/ryobi/McCulloch/offbrand) that won't crank and..."

You have to tell them you don't work on it, don't be rude unless the press..but don't let them guilt you into it and don't fall into the trap of "just have a look at it".

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[farmer steve]

Same here. People always calling and saying they need me to get something running. Carb probably just needs cleaned they say. Usually several hours of labor and parts and sometimes have to buy parts. Then they act like I'm ripping them off when I just hand them the part's ticket and nothing else. Started telling them I'm booked out 6 months. If they still need it fixed then to call me. By then they've called with 3 more pieces of crap they want me to get running. It's finally slowing down after a year or two of putting people off.

My mechanic stopped working on the throw away stuff last year for the sme reason. People pi$$ed when the bill was almost the cost of the the machine. Don' blame any of you guys for doing it.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

I busted my butt for years trying to fix garbage and at times spent a half day to end up with something i didnt trust and couldnt charge much for.

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[Gord404]

I just say I don't do weed eaters etc and the occasional junk saw that comes in just tell them what it will cost to fix, which is usually a fried top end and the saw is not really worth it which is the truth,- most of the saws I work on are pro saws 65cc and up husky or stihl and nothing that has a computer controlled carb.

 

[mountainlake]

I wont touch a newer Poulan, tune them good and the next day they wont run right. Steve

 

[cranman1951]

I won't work on customers stuff....I buy snowblowers, tractors, chainsaws, and fix them to sell....occasionally I'll get something going for a friend.....but not as a rule. I don't like to be under obligation to fix something in a timely manner, or explain why something isn't economically feasable to fix.

 

[Woodslasher]

I try to avoid working on anything for someone else that doesn't say "Stihl" or "Husqvarna" somewhere. Even then I try to avoid working on other people's stuff, unless it's my immediate family's. At a shop I worked for, unless it was Stihl, Echo, or Electrolux it was turned away, no exceptions. That rule worked for them and it works for me too.

 

[OM617YOTA]

I don't work on other people's stuff, period. Change a tail light for someone and three months later when the engine throws a rod, somehow it's your fault because you touched it last.

 

[sundance]

I don't work on other people's stuff, period. Change a tail light for someone and three months later when the engine throws a rod, somehow it's your fault because you touched it last.

Understand the concern, but sounds like you need a better choice in who you help out and what you do. Your approach seems a little extreme.

 

[OM617YOTA]

Understand the concern, but sounds like you need a better choice in who you help out and what you do. Your approach seems a little extreme.

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/hyperbole

 

[RED-85-Z51]

He's not outside the realm...

I put a carb on a guys ryobi trimmer and a few months later he twisted the drive cable in half...came to me saying it was my fault.

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[svk]

I do very little work on other people’s stuff and more or less only fix stuff for friends. When I do, I tell them it might be done in a week and might be done in a year. They need to accept that verbally before I’ll accept their stuff. I’ll often fix their first piece of equipment for free (no labor just cost of parts) and charge for subsequent pieces.

 

[pioneerguy600]

One thing you will have to accept is people coming back and blaming you for their maladies. If you repair stuff it is inevitable that what you repaired will fail again in the future. A recent one for me was a young fellow had a snowblower he used to make extra cash with in the winter, it was a smaller Craftsman and he pushed it hard. The coil failed and lost spark, it was 4 years old and brought it in, I ordered a new OEM coil, put it on and away he went with it. Used it the rest of the winter and it sat around until next one, after using it through two storms it threw a rod and destroyed the engine. His mother wanted me to replace the engine as I was the last one/only one to ever work on it and must have done something wrong to it. Threatened me with legal action even, well bring that on.

 

[Saw Fixr]

I get a mix of brands for repair where I’m at. Stihl or Husky, no problem, but I pick and choose what I repair on a Poulan or Craftsman. If it’s a fuel line or a pull rope, I’ll do it, and can usually convince them to sharpen the chain as well for a few $ more. But I’ve drawn the line on 4stoke stuff. Not worth the time, and the carb linkages are never the same between anything.
I’m at the point that some of the chains I get are so beat up, I can’t justify the time or the want, to fix them...

 

[OM617YOTA]

I do very little work on other people’s stuff and more or less only fix stuff for friends. When I do, I tell them it might be done in a week and might be done in a year. They need to accept that verbally before I’ll accept their stuff. I’ll often fix their first piece of equipment for free (no labor just cost of parts) and charge for subsequent pieces.

I couldn't let a friend work on stuff for free, unless I know you'll be bringing me something to do for you later. You may not accept cash, but you'd get dinner, a quart of your preferred two stroke oil, or a bottle of your preferred beverage out of the deal.

 

[svk]

I couldn't let a friend work on stuff for free, unless I know you'll be bringing me something to do for you later. You may not accept cash, but you'd get dinner, a quart of your preferred two stroke oil, or a bottle of your preferred beverage out of the deal.

Yeah most people take care of me. I got a $50 gift card in the mail for rebuilding my cousins 290.

 

[svk]

One thing you will have to accept is people coming back and blaming you for their maladies. If you repair stuff it is inevitable that what you repaired will fail again in the future. A recent one for me was a young fellow had a snowblower he used to make extra cash with in the winter, it was a smaller Craftsman and he pushed it hard. The coil failed and lost spark, it was 4 years old and brought it in, I ordered a new OEM coil, put it on and away he went with it. Used it the rest of the winter and it sat around until next one, after using it through two storms it threw a rod and destroyed the engine. His mother wanted me to replace the engine as I was the last one/only one to ever work on it and must have done something wrong to it. Threatened me with legal action even, well bring that on.

That’s insane!

Tell her what you did was akin to giving someone a pedicure and then them blaming you for their heart attack.

 

[stihl86]

It depends why you do it. If profit isn't the goal, and you need that pat on the back and be told your a nice guy (but a f**kin sap)
take in and work on anything. You pay for it out of your own pocket. The "Customer" really doesn't give a crap about it, as long as you're inexpensive and he gets what he wants. Help him, you're great. You don't, you're ****. I say f'em.
No charge for the lesson of "The realities of human nature".