All these "I didnt see it happen" shop owners.

Edited: 7/5/2008 1:11:42 PM by BioMax

I completely agree with jimbaca... If you can't deliver a quality product for the dollar figure that you agreed on... DON'T DO IT! It doesn't matter how much the customer begs or gives their sob story, in the end it's the shop's responsibility to finish the job safely. Even if your shop is starving and needs the money so you take it on cheaper than you wanted to, that just means that you have extra time to do it right. The bottom line is NO EXCUSES!

I can't tell you how glad I am to see this thread on here, I have been disgusted by some of the work that I see at shows or on the road and this really needed to be said.

I'll lose my ass on a job if I screwed up and quoted it too low and I feel that all shops should do the same. It is nice if you can get the customer to meet you half way or help out some how in those cases, but it doesn't always work out like that.

well in my case i was more than fair with them. i waited and waited then finally called and kept gettin oh there comin or oh were waitin on some part blah blah, not once did i get "huffy" with them and then i found out there were more people like me so now i wasted three months of time with a frame sitting here waitin on these things for nothin. haha. oh well live and learn.

Our shop gets all of our business through word of mouth. We aren't full time but we keep plenty busy based on the word of happy customers. The sad thing is alot of people fall victim to the guys with flashy advertising and the 'we do it all' bullshit when they really haven't done shit. It used to bug me but these days not as much. When I hear of someone going to some of the other shops around here, I know its only a matter of time before they're begging us to fix and finish their hacked up rides. We used to do work for dirt cheap just so guys wouldn't get fucked by other shops promising them the world for next to nothing. But working for minimum wage at what I consider a highly skilled trade is bullshit, so now we charge more and only deal with serious customers who are willing to pay real money for real quality. Everyone else will come crawling back eventually anyways.

Damn popular posts!

If a business wants to offer arms i think thats what they should do is build arms and other parts and not try and build trucks too. Just my opinion what are others opinions on this???
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I build spindles for Tacomas and Titans "on the side" but only in small quantities (maybe 2 a month) and I will admit that I have a tough time keeping up with it. I would be forced to hire another part-time employee to prep all of the parts for me if it were to pick up. I have currently picked up a job to build 20 pieces of chrome for '58 Chevys and have hired a part-time machinist to prep all of the parts for me. So, I can tell you from experience that it can get tough "expanding your business" into other avenues of revenue. If you can't keep quality under control... don't do it.

Wow , another shop thread ..
seems like you hear more negative stuff then positive things!
theres alot of good points in here...
and theres sides of the story on BOTH sides....
but agree... BAD SHOP work has no excuses ...
as a shop owner , we have had to re-do soooooo many other shop work (even big names shop work) and backyard work that its crazy .. granted Shit will happen to the best of us. but some stuff theres just no excuses for... its half assed....
alot of kids with no Business Experience , college or any type of training thinks just because they picked up a welder and shoot a bead or bagged bubba's truck they can run a shop now.... in which where most of these shops come alive ....
then they get way over there head.
again , no way am i justifying bad shop work .. i will have to agree with few post above about customers.... no all are like this .. but alot of customers will spend $20,000 on a truck buying it, then $3000 and up on stereo's and bolt ons and stuff... then want a shop to bag it for $1500 in less then a week. then after 4 days will be calling asking for there truck and saying they need it back asap. and if they dont get there truck back in a week , they go make a post on SSM how long it took to get there truck back. Even though they told the shop , they're in no hurry , take your time and do it right when they dropped off the truck ....

but again ... not saying thats an excuse for a shop to do half ass work .. but sometimes , some shops will half ass something cause the customer gets to annoying. which is sad , but true....

but it is getting old how all these bad shops are giving good shops bad names ...
and sometimes its YOUR fault for dropping off your truck at a shop without doing any research about the shop...
dont just go by what others say...
goto the shop , and ask to see some work done....
goto there old customers and look at what they had done...
ask questions.... how long you been in business? are you certified welder ?(sometimes experiences will outweigh certifications though) . what kind of guarantee's you have on your work ? and can i get this in writing?
whats the time frame of getting my ride in and out ?
and many other questions....
if a shop gets offended over those questions , then find another shop ...
and sometimes , cheaper is not always better....
and for GOD sake!!!! have another ride to drive in while your truck/car is being worked on...

but AGAIN , im not justifying bad shop work...
maybe try'n to help people avoid bad work... there are tons of good shops out there... just do your research.

Originally posted by Ice



are you certified welder ?(

I agree with everything you said except this. I weld better than 90% of the 'ticketed' guys at my work, and I'm self taught. I've seen some certified guys build some pretty sketchy stuff because all they can do is weld. Welding is one thing, engineering and actual fabrication skills are another.

Originally posted by iLLblazer



Originally posted by Ice



are you certified welder ?(

I agree with everything you said except this. I weld better than 90% of the 'ticketed' guys at my work, and I'm self taught. I've seen some certified guys build some pretty sketchy stuff because all they can do is weld. Welding is one thing, engineering and actual fabrication skills are another.

yeah i agree!!thats why i said this at the end.. " are you certified welder ?(sometimes experiences will outweigh certifications though)"

so maybe asking how long they been doing the work , or even welding...living down here in the gulf , theres alot of certified welders welding ships and pips and etc.... and you ask them to weld on a frame , and it looks like crap ... but the main key is , Experience and seeing there work..but even with all that , i agree , people can still get screwed .. sad to say....

Originally posted by iLLblazer



Originally posted by Ice



are you certified welder ?(

I agree with everything you said except this. I weld better than 90% of the 'ticketed' guys at my work, and I'm self taught. I've seen some certified guys build some pretty sketchy stuff because all they can do is weld. Welding is one thing, engineering and actual fabrication skills are another.

Under that same light, why not get certified then? You yourself know you can weld better than those who are, it should be easy to achieve, and if anything, just one more thing to add to the resume? To the laymen who doesn't know any better, who walks into your shop, is he going to know weather those certified guys are any better than you? But if you ask him who he wants to weld on his truck, chances are he'll choose them, just because that's the way people think.

i agree with all these statements made before. A shop should build the ride to the same exact quality they would build there own rides. Try checking out some of the rides of the owners and if they are hacked up then there is a 99.9% chance yours is gonna be hacked up. I know i am not a big time shop that is not nationally known, but i feel we put out quality work and that is how it should be. Just remember your name is on the line every time something leaves your shop whether its just rims and tires or a full blown show truck. Some shops are out there just to make a quick buck and are not in full for the love of mini-truckin, that is what sucks. I always get my homeboy in so and so town can do it for $500.00 cheaper. I tell them then take it to them, cause i have a consciense and like to sleep at night.
just my .02

Edited: 7/5/2008 3:44:56 PM by relaxedmitch

I hate to say this, but its true. There are not alot of truly talented, responsible, honest builders out there, especially in this arena of custom building. Not many guys would do what Max did, I take my hat off to you Max, you sound like a stand up guy who cares more about the work and your reputation than you do the almighty dollar. Too many Bubba's backyard bagshacks & not so good metal mods style of shops popping up pounding their chest and claiming to be the new sheriff in town! It takes more than bagging your truck and your cousin's truck to be the real deal. This hobby needs more people perfecting their craft and learning how to REALLY do business before opening up shop. Theres good shops and bad shops and they all have earned their reputations. Remember that when it comes time to hand over your hard earned cash.