work

[Deleted]

Yeah I too have done the freebie thing to see if I can get some work out of it. Like I said a few things but not enough to help pay the rent.

[dnic]

I've done a lot of freebe set ups and fret levels to get the experience past building my own. Now that I feel competent enough to charge it's harder to find customers.

d

[irishrover]

dane,it is indeed getting tough to find repair/set up gigs. i used to make some decent money on the side and during the winters just doing repair ad setups.

[Deleted]

Yeah, I did a lot of freebie computer fixes for people to learn how to fix them but once I started to charge to fix them they have stopped coming in.
So many out there want free fixes. Buy yet people will take there computer to a computer store and spend more than it would cost to buy a new for to have them fix it. One of the computer stores here in town charge 100 dollars just to open it up and take a look. I don't charge anything to tell you what is wrong and what it will take to fix and to let them know if it's worth fixing or not.
Same with guitars I too started out fixing them for free but now that I charge to fix them no one brings them to me. But then again they will take them to the music store and spend all kinds of money to have them fixed.
So I now think that most people are just weird.
Don't get me wrong I like to help people out but like when I was fixing computers as long as I was doing them for free I had so many to fix I would be up all night and spend all weekend trying to keep up with the flow. I have had as many as 20 to 30 computer in the house at one time. But again as soon as I stared charging the only ones I fix is my own.

[hoz]

Your right about people going to bigger shops paying more ,getting less service and being happy with it! People like to see big neon signs I guess. They don't want to see the trailer I live in! Some of the setups that get done in the shops around here are ridiculous. The one shop here, the owner would raise the action till it quit buzzing. Never touched a truss rod bolt in his life. I've seen kids with action almost a 1/2 off the board! That guy didn't think twice about taking peoples money and everybody loved going there.

[dnic]

I think your right about the neon sign thing. People just feel safe with a store front but as we know that means nothing about getting it done right. They just assume these people know what they're doing. And as for having less clients we may have cut our own throats by telling everyone who comes on here and asks how to fix it them selves. Truss rods really are scary until you know how they work.

d

[Deleted]

Yeah I too have seen some awful stuff. One of the two shops here have these young chicks doing set up if that's what you want to call it.
I was at guitar center buying a Tele once and asked them to do a set up on the guitar and was told it had been set up at the factory! I almost didn't buy it. I did, took it home and did it my self. I have since had to sell that guitar.