I'll try and make this short.I took my Strat to a small shop in a small town about 30 miles away.Real cool place,nice selection,same prices as GC,friendly knowledgable staff. (I thought that i had found the promised land). So i tell them that i had a strat and i wanted to get the trem blocked and get it set up.The guy say's no problem, bring it in and drop it off, give us about ten days.So 28 days later i go pick up my guitar, just like it was when i droped it off.This was after being told 3 times that mine was next.For crying out loud how long does it take to block a trem?
Sorry for the long post and rant.....I feel better now.

You do indeed have my sympathies.

I find it hard to believe that they are that busy to where they can't get to your guitar in 4 weeks and for as simple a task as your's. I can only presume that the "service personnel" therein do not know how to accomplish your task. I shudder to think what would become of your guitar if you asked for say, new frets.

As to having the same prices as GC, most independent "high-end" dealerships usually are cheaper so even here, they don't score any points.

If I were you, I'd take my guitar back and look elsewhere, not only for a more dependable service center but for a place with better prices than GC in general as based on your diatribe, I don't find them "cool" nor "knowledgeable".

As always, this is merely IMO where YMMV.

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You dig?

Exactly what i did Martian. When i picked it up the guy said that they only had one tech that could do the block.
Thing is, i was prepaired to spend some more money there. Not now

Many places have cut back on repair staff in these times. Business has been slow so what some do is use outside help on a as needed bases. I do work for a few as side work to help me since not doing rigging work right now. ( along with others things) I have been asked to do little as of late because of drop in outsource. (they don't want to pay) Most work seems to be amps when I get it.
Just glad theres a variety of other side work out there for now. Miss the daily grind though.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

That's pretty normal around here, I took my guitar in to get the nut replaced and 3 weeks later they still hadn't touched it. So I went and picked it up and did it myself.

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Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

To cut a 'regular' shaped block of wood, stick it in the back of a guitar and tighten up some screws, even if the guitar was to be set up too, that excuse is ridiculous.

For sure, you did the right thing.

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You dig?

Here too, I cannot fathom 21 days for such a routine task. Even if they've laid off staff due to our miserable economy, the drop in repair/customizing work would be a parallel. As a direct consequence, the current service should be at its best in terms of turn around time and if for nothing else, collecting the 'found' money your's or any other task would bring in.

Reinforcing CV's point, many stores farm out their more involved repair/customizing work. Oftentimes too, these stores simply don't take in certain types of work any more because they simply can't be bothered.

And then there's those who outright bid out their jobs to a handful of "techs" whose skills are never challenged as the store owners don't want to pay a fair fee for the service(s). So, these hacks who are willing to do it for pennies get the job but it takes them forever as they try to research how to do it or, they spend more time than what the task takes trying to salvage their botch jobs.

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You dig?

Things like that are why most guitarists need to learn to do their own repairs and setup....and is probably why the repair business is slow in the first place.
There's a music store 5 minutes from my home,I had spent lots of money there in the past,me any many other local musicians,but the woman who owns the store insulted my intelligence when she flew into a tirade about "capacitors",and "that it was just a word that people toss around when they don't know any better",that I should let her 20 year old "tech" repair my '66 BF DR.
That was about 12 years ago,I walked out and learned how to do my own repair work and if it get's too technical,I know a retired repairman who knows how and teaches me.
I have not spent a penny in her store since,and wouldn't even buy a pick there...I'll drive to Nashville,45 miles away.

Amen!

One of these days when I really feel like boring everyone here, I'll tell my whole story of how I got into this field of work. And yes, the root motivator was me being severely ripped off when I was 12 years old!

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You dig?

There's a studio nearby that offers "The Complete Guitar Setup Clinic". A 2-3 hour class for $55 that teaches you the basics of setup and minor repair. I see the ad on Craigs list every month or two. I really should sign up.

Only one tech who can do the block?? That's crazy. It really is simple. Seriously, you could take the guitar, or just measurements of what size the block should be, and visit a cabinet shop. They'll make you that block in 2 minutes.

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http://www.reverbnation.com/haleamano
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I have blocked two of my strats with excellent results. If you have any woodworking tools and a little skill it is a piece of cake.
Page 67 of How To Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great! by Dan Erlewine even shows you how to measure up the block.
Check it out. It should be required reading for all guitar slingers.

Go for it!

Blocking a tremolo takes less than an hour in most cases. At the shop I work at our turnaround time is 3-5 for routine things like that and setups, and maybe a little over a week for major repairs like regluing a neck or a refret. Not surprisingly, we haven't seen much of a drop in repairs because of the economy. Lessons are another story though, there are a lot of people who've quit or who aren't signing up.

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