Small shop, plus or minus

[DonaldSmith]

I took my starter to a small auto electric shop, you know the type, the greasy hole in the wall, that can fix anything.  Several years ago, they put together a 6-volt, positive ground alternator for me.  The free check showed that the starter was OK externally, but I decided to pay for an internal look-see, just to be sure, and I left the starter there.

 

I called the shop this morning after opening hour, but got the off-hours recording.  A few hours later, same thing.  Later this morning I drove by the shop and the door and yard gate were closed.  Starter in limbo!  

 

What could be wrong?  Owner drunk, sick, or dead!?  What happens to all the stuff in a shop like that?  Whom would I contact and when, to get my starter back?  Where can I get another starter for a 47 DeSoto?  E-bay?  Starter without solenoid, $50.  Shipping $70.  Check with Bernbaum and the boys?  How much could this set me back, in time and money?

 

I called the shop early this afternoon.  Not to worry, my starter will be checked out today.  Irony of ironies, the owner didn't open his shop until 11:30, because the starter on his truck wouldn't work.

 

[Brent B3B]

LOL. that is what i have always heard and have come to believe... the painters house needs paint, the mechanics car doesn't run and the plumbers pipes leak.....

all in all, i still would rather give business to small "mom and pop" shop. most of the time they are reasonable priced, knowledgeable and offer the lost art of customer service.....  

 

i say a plus.

[Bobacuda]

I had my starter rebuilt years ago by an old Mopar mechanic.  Yep, he passed away while mine (and a bunch of others) were still apart.  His son (NOT a mechanic), put everything back together and called us all to come get our stuff that weekend or it was going to the recycler.

 

My starter drive still needed replacing, the contact for the stomp starter was for a car and not a truck, etc.  I was really just happy to get it back.

[Dan Hiebert]

I prefer the small "family owned" shops, too.  I had a Ford 6v generator converted to 12v at one in Brownsville, TX (can't remember the name, but it had been in business since the '50's and looked like it), and had the generator in the D24 rebuilt at A1 Auto Electric in El Paso, TX, which had also been in business since the '50's.  Customer service, understood that you're not in a rush to get it back unless you actually need it quickly, tell you what is needed without having to look it up, and gobs of neat stuff lying around the shop that they're more than happy to tell stories about.  Besides the generators, I've had other parts made, refurbished, repaired, etc. at those kind of shops, I always get a kick out of it when the proprietor knows what the part is from at first glance.

[ggdad1951]

LOL. that is what i have always heard and have come to believe... the painters house needs paint, the mechanics car doesn't run and the plumbers pipes leak.....

all in all, i still would rather give business to small "mom and pop" shop. most of the time they are reasonable priced, knowledgeable and offer the lost art of customer service.....  

 

i say a plus.

 

or the woodworker finally finishes his house just to sell it....don't ask me how I know!  

[BobT-47P15]

We have a family operated, long time shop here in Joplin. 

The original owner's grandson in running it now.

 

I have taken them starter or generators in the past.......they always did good

work in a timely fashion. 

Edited August 5, 2015 by BobT-47P15

[Plymouthy Adams]

unfortunately in my area it would be the last place I would carry a component for repair...never know if and when you may get it back let alone repaired properly...I learned some 20 years ago when I moved here that family shops handed down have not carried forth the ethics of the founder.  Today if they make enough money by Tuesday to meet their overhead they are out hunting and fishing for the rest of the week..don't even think you going to contact them by phone till their money runs out and they need to again open the doors for the paying customer..

[Conroe Powdercoating]

I support small shops, kinda biased, I have one :-)

[Plymouthy Adams]

_{5 out of the last 5 people that has called to discuss a problem they were having has expressed major problems with the small shops...not a good record in anyone's book...this is spread over a number of states.} 

[Dan Hiebert]

_{5 out of the last 5 people that has called to discuss a problem they were having has expressed major problems with the small shops...not a good record in anyone's book...this is spread over a number of states.} 

I guess I've been fortunate over the years.  We've been in places where the small family shops were where you went to get it done right, even in Detroit and Buffalo.  May have something to do with the prevailing industries, but I also research them as much as possible first.  Now I've gotten myself into a place where small family shops are all there is.  They roll up the sidewalks around here at 5, close early if nothing's going on, work 1/2 day on Saturday, and definitely closed on Sunday and any semblance of a holiday, but knowing all that ahead of time is "managing expectations".  And I kinda like it that way anyhow....."Maine, the way life is supposed to be." and "Aroostook County, the way Maine used to be."