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I got a condescending *ss-chewing from my motorcycle mechanic/shop owner last week. No names because I don't aim to defame the guy. I'm just wondering about something that bugs me.
The bike was made in 1975 so most shops won't touch it. My options are limited, bringing me to this. The scolding I got was because I had the nerve to tell him that it ran better before an expensive and unnecessary solid state ignition "upgrade" he talked me into. The original parts lasted nearly 4 decades, and it ran like a top. So direct replacements would've been fine.
My offending accusation? "It backfires now, and it accelerated better when it still had points."
The lecture I got was about stale gasoline (which was fine a couple days earlier when I rode the bike there to get the implant). The implication in his rant? He's an expert mechanic, and I'm an idiot and a complainer.
Between that outburst and missing an obviously frayed clutch cable that broke 22 miles after he worked on my bars and controls (with carte blanch license to "fix anything you see"), he's not my mechanic anymore. 2 strikes is plenty on a 38 year-old scoot that'll still do over 100.
Here's my dilemma:
I can let him figure it out on his own... or I can tell him that his snappy mouth and lack of attention to detail in a fundamental safety inspection just cost him a repeat customer forever.
Sort of a fire-and-forget missile since I'm done with his attitude either way.
I've never operated my own business. But if I did, I think I'd want to know that I had completely alienated a loyal customer with deep pockets. Or maybe if I were an A-hole I just wouldn't care.
So what's the consensus here? "Officially" fire him, or just never go back?
The bike was made in 1975 so most shops won't touch it. My options are limited, bringing me to this. The scolding I got was because I had the nerve to tell him that it ran better before an expensive and unnecessary solid state ignition "upgrade" he talked me into. The original parts lasted nearly 4 decades, and it ran like a top. So direct replacements would've been fine.
My offending accusation? "It backfires now, and it accelerated better when it still had points."
The lecture I got was about stale gasoline (which was fine a couple days earlier when I rode the bike there to get the implant). The implication in his rant? He's an expert mechanic, and I'm an idiot and a complainer.
Between that outburst and missing an obviously frayed clutch cable that broke 22 miles after he worked on my bars and controls (with carte blanch license to "fix anything you see"), he's not my mechanic anymore. 2 strikes is plenty on a 38 year-old scoot that'll still do over 100.
Here's my dilemma:
I can let him figure it out on his own... or I can tell him that his snappy mouth and lack of attention to detail in a fundamental safety inspection just cost him a repeat customer forever.
Sort of a fire-and-forget missile since I'm done with his attitude either way.
I've never operated my own business. But if I did, I think I'd want to know that I had completely alienated a loyal customer with deep pockets. Or maybe if I were an A-hole I just wouldn't care.
So what's the consensus here? "Officially" fire him, or just never go back?