I'M SCREWED!!!!! Formerly How screwed am I?

[Shieldwolf]

I needed to rewire my cp and didn't have the time with my new son. So I contacted a local arcade repair shop. They offered to do the job and took my panel. They told me it would be about 3 days.  There was plenty of communication by phone and email. On day three I went by and the store was closed. They're not answering the phone or returning emails. It's been a month now.

 

[SirPeale]

Hrm...on a scale of one to ten, about a six.

They may have been out on a service call.

My bigger worry would be the arm and leg they're going to charge you for the wiring job.

[leapinlew]

my new son

Well theres your problem right there. Just return him and go get another one AFTER you wire your control panel. You need to get your priorities straight man. 

[Jack Burton]

Not screwed.  Just do it later yourself man.  Don't cheat yourself out of the satisfaction of doing the work yourself.  Plus, it's easy.  I would rank wiring a control panel about a 2/10 for difficulty as far as this hobby goes.

[Shieldwolf]

iOh I've done it before and while I will agree the wiring is probably the best part,  needed to get it done asap.

[RayB]

So I contacted a local arcade repair shop.

I didn't know there was such a thing.

[abzman2000]

the way I see it, he gave them his panel a month ago and when he went to get it, and until now, they are not there

[SirPeale]

So I contacted a local arcade repair shop.

I didn't know there was such a thing.

There aren't many.  A lot of distibutors do maintenance on site (Betson, for one).  There are the occasional mom and pop place.  I don't have a shop (yet) but I do repair stuff either @ home or on site.

[Shieldwolf]

The place is actually a very cool arcade shop that does restorations and sells machines.   Like I said I normally do it myself, but I was trying to get it done before family got into town. I'm only worried, because there has been no contact in 3 1/2 weeks.  I'm hoping they went on vacation or something.

[Jack Burton]

Oh wait.  I didn't read that right the first time.  It's been a month and they still have your panel?  Time to get started tracking down home phone numbers.

[Shieldwolf]

Yeah I'm going to go to the guy's house if I don't hear from him by the end of the week. I just hope my baby is still in one piece. I had just put in 4 ggg led wiz kits and led lights!

[Loafmeister]

Why wait until the end of the week? It's been a month, go NOW before it "disappears".  It's possible this is all on the up and up, maybe the owner became ill, but I still wouldn't wait any longer than you already have.

[wbassett]

I also agree, I'd check on it now too.  Especially with what just happened with the economy, maybe he went out of business...  worse case he went bankrupt or something and assets were froze.  Better to check on it now than later.

Hopefully he's just out on vacation (a bit rude though not to have told customers) or like said maybe he took ill or a family crisis came up.

[Necro]

Yeah I'm going to go to the guy's house if I don't hear from him by the end of the week. I just hope my baby is still in one piece. I had just put in 4 ggg led wiz kits and led lights!

You gave him the baby in addition to the CP? 

And how did you wire the kid up with the LED kits? 

 

[SavannahLion]

Yeah I'm going to go to the guy's house if I don't hear from him by the end of the week. I just hope my baby is still in one piece. I had just put in 4 ggg led wiz kits and led lights!

That right there would be the precise reason why I would never send something like that into a repair shop. Not knocking your judgement or reasoning, but there's a point where a it becomes less of a, "I don't have the ability to repair or fix this," and more of a, "this is a custom job only to be entrusted to people who understand how to work with this kind of modification."

[RandyT]

Wow, that doesn't sound good.  Maybe it's time to get the law involved.  If nothing else, provided they will even begin to help due to it probably being a "civil" issue at this point, they might be able to find a way to put you in touch with the owner.  If the guy took ill, or got hit by a bus, maybe whoever is left can help you get your panel back.

But I'd definitely drop by his home if you can come up with an address.

Best of luck!

RandyT

[blueznl]

... and bring an axe, or six guys with metal chains dangling from their leather jackets, riding Harleys...

[Stobe]

Let us know where you are located.  We can assemble the BYOAC posse.

-Stobe

(I said posse!)

[Shieldwolf]

Well the guy contacted me yesterday and I went to pick up my control panel. I went there expecting it to be bad but it was much, much, much worse.

When I dropped off my cp I gave him specific instructions and sent an email remider as well. My directions were very simple, replace and lube track ball barrings. Use the quick disconnects I supplied and if possible wire my 360 controls to a molex. If he couldn't or didn't know how to leave it and I would do it.
I told him not to solder. and not to touch the led wires....




1st off he soldered everything. In doing so he bent all the microswitche prongs insuring  I can't undo it and now my 360s have solder on the prongs!!!. He didn't lube or replace my track ball barrings  he added a light,powerstrip  strip and some black box witch can switch from 12 to 5. He drilled wood blocks into my in cp to hold wires in place and he unfortunately cut all my led cables from Randy's RGBs short, but the worst, the worst he added STICKERS!!!! STICKERS to the inside of my cp.  Donkey Kong, Pacman, THAT BABY FROM SOUTH PARK !!!!
I know you won't see them, but WTF!!  If I take my car in to get new tires, you don't add a golden buddha and neon racing stripes to the interior without asking the owner!!



I left there too angry to speak and didn't want to cause trouble. I will be contacting him today now that I have calmed a little. I still have to test it out and make sure it works.

ARRRRGGGHHH!!!!!

[shardian]

Here is the proper channel for recourse:

http://www.judgejudy.com/#/submityourcase

 

[Stobe]

Now I want to add a golden buddha and neon racing stripes to my CP!

[ChadTower]

Okay, I sorta get the "lost the instructions" bit... but why would they add weird stickers?

[shardian]

We totally need pics.

[ChadTower]

You also might want to relax a bit.  I mean, it's annoying, but you're acting like they trashed your car.  It's just a hobby and just a CP.  You can recover.

[Franco B]

Personally I would be seriously pissed if someone had done that to my CP, especially if I had put hours and hours into it which, by the sounds of it, Shieldwolf has.

Speaking of trashing cars, it reminds me of this [bodyshop trashed 350z] thread I read the other day.

Back on topic though, seriously, whats the deal with the stickers? That doesn't make sense.

[Shieldwolf]

You also might want to relax a bit.  I mean, it's annoying, but you're acting like they trashed your car.  It's just a hobby and just a CP.  You can recover.

Most hobbies I have don't cost the amount of money I have spent in parts and hours that I have on this machine. It sucks because all I really wanted was to clean my rats nest of wires. Pictures to follow.

[SirPeale]

Soldering the terminals makes a better connection, IMO.  Much less likely to break down.  All you have to do is unsolder it.

Since this guy runs an arcade outfit, he's thinking like an arcade tech.  Solder the connections for reliability.

Of course, since you did leave specific instructions, THAT would piss me off.

[ark_ader]

Lesson learned.

Next time do it yourself.  I would, like others who had mentioned it.

Most of these Modern Day Arcade guys are box shifters, and unlike Peale probably do not know a hoot about electronics.

I would say this was a good thing to happen to you, even though you lost out.

I mean that in the best possible way. 

[SavannahLion]

Based on the description, it sounds to me he was showcasing (or whatever you want to call it) your CP there. That would explain the stickers. I haven't seen anyone do it in about fifteen years, but it happens. When I was a tyke and my dad and I hung out at repair shops, it was really common for a shop to take ownership of unclaimed merchandise, do whatever they see fit. Decorate the shop with it, sell it, give it to the six year old to screw around with , whatever.

After three weeks, the guy probably forgot who owned the CP. I bet he didn't even tag or mark it like any reasonable repair shop would.

As for taking him to civil court. I guess you could (and should), but is the worth of the CP more than the court costs?

[fixedpigs]

We totally need pics.

absolutely...

[web.geek]

Speaking of trashing cars, it reminds me of this [bodyshop trashed 350z] thread I read the other day.

WOW! I'm not even a car guy, and that p*sses me off! That guy is in the wrong line of work.

[pinballwizard79]

Wow, just wow.

Man I am so sad to hear that.

He cut the LED's, soldered the 360's & how does someone end up with a sticker of the baby from South park to even give to a client?

Between your story & the car link I am getting that sick feeling in my stomach, like when I think about the real estate property values around me dropping.

Hang in there man

[Stinks]

Speaking of trashing cars, it reminds me of this [bodyshop trashed 350z] thread I read the other day.

WOW! I'm not even a car guy, and that p*sses me off! That guy is in the wrong line of work.

I can't add anything to make your statement any more true.


I think something like that could seriously push me over the edge... ..and I'm not a car guy either.

[Havok]

You'll need to re-do your cabinet theme, how about the Laughing Buddhacade?



Or, perhaps the I'm Stewied Cade?



Although, you could work with the gun thing...

[fjl]

I want pics! 

[Teebor]

Now you know why he was closed

I imagine if he did that to everyone's the lawsuits must have mounted up.

So sad for you   I'm curious to see pics of how bad it is, but at the same time do I really want to 

[Ummon]

You also might want to relax a bit.  I mean, it's annoying, but you're acting like they trashed your car.  It's just a hobby and just a CP.  You can recover.

Ahem. Quite the contrary, I could see a civil suit and then an accidental fire.

[ChadTower]

You also might want to relax a bit.  I mean, it's annoying, but you're acting like they trashed your car.  It's just a hobby and just a CP.  You can recover.

Ahem. Quite the contrary, I could see a civil suit and then an accidental fire.

This hobby shouldn't be a source of stress.  The whole point is to chill and be happy about it.  Who needs a hobby that makes life worse?  He learned a lesson, do the work yourself if you want it done right, which we all already know anyway.  I don't get why he handed over the cash after seeing the work but that's his own mistake.

[shmokes]

I think the guy was planning to steal it and that's why he put stickers on his control panel.  He was closing up shop and figured he'd never see the owner again.

Also, I think Chad's nuts.  If I came home and found that my arcade cabinet had been stolen or destroyed, I'd be a little distraught.  Of course I don't want my hobby to cause me stress, and generally it doesn't, but come on . . .

[ChadTower]

shmokes, that wasn't stolen or destroyed, and it wasn't even close to a whole game.  It's just the CP.