Fabrication

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Cope

Fusing with fire
Joined
Oct 20, 2009
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Location
San Jose, Ca.
I'm building a really nice and fast car for a customer. He brought a expensive "pre bent cage kit" from a very high end race shop. I hate it. It dont fit and is to short to bend and make right.

At this point I dont even want to install it. I would rather thro the entire thing in the trash and build one that fits nice.

The customer dosen't want to buy two cages so I said I won't even charge you for the time just pay for the tube and I'll build you something I will be proud to put my name on.

I'm so unhappy about the entire thing I dont want this to roll out my door and have people associate this with our work or think this is our level of craftsmanship.

What do you folks think I should do?
 
I'm building a really nice and fast car for a customer. He brought a expensive "pre bent cage kit" from a very high end race shop. I hate it. It dont fit and is to short to bend and make right.

At this point I dont even want to install it. I would rather thro the entire thing in the trash and build one that fits nice.

The customer dosen't want to buy two cages so I said I won't even charge you for the time just pay for the tube and I'll build you something I will be proud to put my name on.

I'm so unhappy about the entire thing I dont want this to roll out my door and have people associate this with our work or think this is our level of craftsmanship.

What do you folks think I should do?
Stand your ground and tell him the kit he bought is a POS and you won’t use it. Explain that the only way you will do the work is to do it your way...no compromise.

If he walks, let him walk. You can’t compromise your quality for a customer, no matter what.

If he values your expertise, he will do it your way. If he doesn’t...bubbye.
 
I agree.

I'm trying to get our shop off the ground and make a name for ourselves and this car can do that BUT I dont want folks to see this cage and think I built it....

No matter what tomorrow is gonna suck. Me and him gonna have to come to some agreement that makes us both happy.
 
I agree.

I'm trying to get our shop off the ground and make a name for ourselves and this car can do that BUT I dont want folks to see this cage and think I built it....

No matter what tomorrow is gonna suck. Me and him gonna have to come to some agreement that makes us both happy.

Stand your ground. A car poorly done won’t get your shop off the ground...it will drive you deep into it. Make that crystal clear to your customer.
 
I swear a generic cage kit from summit would fit better. When he told me who was making the cage I was excited and all about it. After seeing what he paid for I can't believe this company is still in business.
 
Well, this isn't a matter of taste, this is a matter of safety, explain THAT to him
 
I swear a generic cage kit from summit would fit better. When he told me who was making the cage I was excited and all about it. After seeing what he paid for I can't believe this company is still in business.
Take your time and explain and show the customer why it wrong and you can’t use it. Get him to understand your perspective. The art in these kinds of things is to move the customer to your position without them ever fully realizing that they are being moved.

Show him things that are wrong and say things like “you wouldn’t want something as poorly done as this...and I wouldn’t want you to have it. Your build deserves better.”
 
I'm building a really nice and fast car for a customer. He brought a expensive "pre bent cage kit" from a very high end race shop. I hate it. It dont fit and is to short to bend and make right.

At this point I dont even want to install it. I would rather thro the entire thing in the trash and build one that fits nice.

The customer dosen't want to buy two cages so I said I won't even charge you for the time just pay for the tube and I'll build you something I will be proud to put my name on.

I'm so unhappy about the entire thing I dont want this to roll out my door and have people associate this with our work or think this is our level of craftsmanship.

What do you folks think I should do?
 
We have a smart azz saying at the shop. When customers ask if they can bring their own parts? We say do they go to a resturant and bring the Bacon and Eggs?

It just never seems to work out?

We speck out the parts that we install....period!
 
be nice, dont lose your cool, but stand your groud, if he squalks tell him he welcome to take his build to the high end shop he got kit from and let them install it!
 
Not to mention the customer drove to LA and back just to pick it up so we could finish the car in a hurry.

Now I gotta tell him its garbage and he gonna have to buy 3 or 4 hundred dollars of new tube.... and its gonna take 2 more weeks...
 
Just looking at their prices he still won't be out more that 1,500 bucks, I won't get paid but I will be happy.
 
Just got a text.

That garbage is going in the scrap bin!!

Looks like I'm working for free for a bit...

It's my bad for letting him bring that BS into our shop so I'll eat the labor as a learning experience in business...
 
Just got a text.
That garbage is going in the scrap bin!!
Looks like I'm working for free for a bit...
It's my bad for letting him bring that BS into our shop so I'll eat the labor as a learning experience in business...
so good and bad...i was going to suggest fabbing a couple nice, pretty very easy to read badges to weld on the other cage in an obvious location that said "CAGE BY..."

by the way, where's the pics?? :mob:
 
Just got a text.

That garbage is going in the scrap bin!!

Looks like I'm working for free for a bit...

It's my bad for letting him bring that BS into our shop so I'll eat the labor as a learning experience in business...


Yep, better to lose a bit and learn your lesson then do something you're not proud of and send it out. I don't let the customer bring his own parts. If he does, I had a form they had to read and sign before I did the work. Pissed some people off, but I got tired of working for free.

As I got older, I just told them to take their junk somewhere else and I had a little sheet of paper with all the other local machine shops phone numbers and addresses. Gave them the options.
 
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