CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

**Curt Palme**

Jaric00n · Joined: 27 Jan 2007 Posts: 137 Location: Nyack,NY

Why doesn't he send you the stuff to fix?

Do they think that stuff just drops in your lap?

I wonder sometimes....

must be all this consumer electronics industry....

o_O

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 7:28 pm Post subject:

Nah, we exchanged a bunch of emails, but the above quotes summed it up really.

He says he can do it himself. No problem if it's something simple, but some of the MOSFETS are upwards of $35 each, and a couple of the programmed chips, well good luck getting those out of VDC.. Smile

What got me is that WHY he had to email back insulting me? With 50 emails a day, I don't keep track of who emails or not. So if he'd have walked away after I gave him the repair price, I'd never have known. It's that he had to virtually bitchslap me by writing back is what got me.

Goof!

tony359 · Joined: 04 Aug 2006 Posts: 378

eheh!

I'm one of the guy that asked you many time prices for boards and never bought anything, but I really understand that this is a job for you!!

If that guy find not fair 250$ to find "a capacitor or a transitor" gone, tell him that he can find it by himself for free!

Ciao
Antonio

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 7:45 pm Post subject:

Hey, I'm never offended by anyone emailing me about advice or tech support. That's what I built my business on. Heck, I even have given discounts to college kids that found some old Sony 1020 for free, and I've walked them through problems hoping that they might be the next Bill Gates and will remember little old me when they strike it rich..LOL.. Smile

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 7:49 pm Post subject:

Hmm, funny, I just got 4 emails from you guys claiming to be poor college kids.. Wink

(just kidding!)

BradTheAggie · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 651 Location: Oak Point, Texas

Kinda reminds me of the old joke about the railroad engineer. He's worked for the railroad for 50 years, but is forceably retired because the railroad wants to cut costs. Then one of their big locomotives breaks down and no one knows how to fix it. They call the engineer out of retirement, he demands $1,000 an hour, 8 hour minimum. They REALLY need the locomotive fixed right now, so they grudgingly accept.
The engineer goes out to the rail yard, with everyone anxiously looking at how the old pro fixes this issue. He talks to everyone for ten minutes about what is wrong, takes about 15 minutes to examine the engine, etc.
Then he reaches into a toolbox, grabs a hammer, crawls up into the belly of the beast. After a minute, everyone hears a loud WHANG! as he belts something inside the locomotive once with the hammer. He crawls out, fires up the locomotive, and it runs like a swiss watch.
The railroad bigwigs are not impressed. "We paid you $8,000 for whacking a locomotive with a hammer?".
Nope, the engineer replied. You paid me $8,000 for the 50 years of experience it took to know WHERE to whack the locomotive with a hammer."

Kind of a dumb story, but I like it...

wendortb · Joined: 15 Nov 2006 Posts: 107 Location: Martinsville, IN

I can half way understand this guys situation. I mean, I've had a bad case of sticker shock several times throughout life. I just had one last week when I found out that the stock muffler on my car could cost anywhere from $150-$400 just for the muffler itself.

When I first got my first projector, I paid $25 for it (from a good friend). The power supply went out and I contacted Curt. He told me what it would cost to repair and what it would cost to send out a replacement. I had sticker shock at first, because I had no idea how much anything cost when it came to projectors so I can understand that part from this guy, what I can not understand is the rest of his reaction. He really doesn't have any right to start ripping on you like he did. I now understand how complex projectors are, and I definitly know that you have to pay for knowledge.

BTW, I am a cheap bastard who tried to do things myself first before hiring it out. Unless I have no idea what the hell I am doing.
Thanks for that power supply Curt. Smile

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:30 pm Post subject:

Along the same lines as Brad's post.

Shop Rates:
$69.00 an hour
You assist
$89.00 an hour
We fix after you fix
$189.00 an hour.

That's a sign in a local shop I go to. LOL

jask · Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 10187 Location: kamloops BC

I don't advise turning away business though. that is simply not good business.[/quote]

I could not agree less.your time is part of the service that you sell.time you are not earning money at work while dealing with these sort twits is lost productivity.
Only you decide what your time is worth and listening to someone explain why they want to pay you less -is time wasted.
I get people like this at work and after years of practice I can usually head them off at the rant...and wrap up with "good luck with your solution,and now you know where we are if we can help"

edit: oh yeah!! thanks for fixing my power supply Curt,hope to fire it up this weekend!

Jaric00n · Joined: 27 Jan 2007 Posts: 137 Location: Nyack,NY

People are just never happy with themselves nowadays....

I am though....=)))

Flying out of Orlando..80F to NY....8F

WHAT HAPPENED to 72 of those Farenheits????
BRING THEM BACK!
O_O

I'll be Hauling the 1209s home tomorrow....=))))))

wife will kill me...for the sheer size !

*GRIN*

BIGGER IS BETTER!

deronmoped · Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 1154 Location: San Diego

We are all just in the wrong business.

I remember it was about 10 years ago that I was getting to my dentist appt. and I just happened to see my dentist parking on the street, he was parking his Bentley, they have a parking lot, but I guess he did not want to scare away all his patients. The guy that my dentist refers me to for root canals says the profession is way over paid. He usually gives me a several hundred dollar discount, says he charges the people that rub him wrong the full amount.

Deron.

cbe317 · Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 214 Location: Thunderbolt, GA

drice1234 · Joined: 07 Oct 2006 Posts: 1309 Location: Allen, Texas

My boss says that instead of buying a boat he just goes to the lake every spring and throws money in the water.

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 4:13 pm Post subject:

Inscrutable · Joined: 29 Jan 2007 Posts: 5 Location: NC

Regarding owning a boat, the best analogy I can make to owning a big sailboat (at least in the northeast) is to sit in the bathtub on a block of ice, turn on the shower, and throw 20's in the toilet.

I'm happy I'm part of the 99%, and will again extend my appreciation to Curt, Tinman, Terry, and others who have graciously tried to help me at times - sometimes for fee and sometimes gratis. As a sometimes frustrated disabled NEC owner, I only wish Curt lived on the east coast, so it would be cheaper to ship the whole darn thing to him to go over.

Inscrutable · Joined: 29 Jan 2007 Posts: 5 Location: NC

Tony S · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 29 Location: S.W. Florida

cmjohnson · Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 5180 Location: Buried under G90s

Knowledge hoarding....pardon me while I choke on what I'm drinking at the moment.

To be perfectly honest about it, having the ability to troubleshoot and repair the majority of component level issues that can occur on a Marquee or ANY projector is something that really requires a skill level that's equal to learning the science of electronics and pursuing it for maybe FIVE YEARS.

Yeah, it IS rocket science.

If you don't have several years of electronics education, in DC, AC, transistor, filter, basic digital, and RF theory, you have NO business attempting to do any component level troubleshooting or repair in a projector. Swap boards all you want, and hope
that the problem on ONE board doesn't kill ANOTHER board in the process, but keep
your soldering iron away from the parts on those boards unless you TRULY know what you're doing. If you don't understand exactly what that part does in the context of the circuit, or understand what that circuit does, stay out and leave it to those who DO know.

Hourly bench rates are often in the 100 dollar class these days in MOST shops. And troubleshooting a projector's boards can take quite a while. 250 for some repairs on complex boards like a Marquee VIM is NOT out of line.

CJ

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 10:58 pm Post subject: