It could be one of several reasons, depending on the circumstances.

For example:

1. Did your budget allow for the repair?
2. Was the equipment viable to repair?
3. Did your equipment have an intermittent fault?
4. Did we say we repaired your equipment or that further work may be necessary?

Technical

We focus on complex and often ‘unrepairable’ hi-fi equipment, with challenging technical faults that various other repairers have often failed to repair, like this classic Technics SE-A100 power amplifier that had been to almost every repairer in Perth, before we fixed it.

We fix most equipment where it is viable to do so. This is significant, because much of it:

• Is older equipment, sometimes lacking service data
• Has visited others who could not effect repair
• Has been damaged by previous repair attempts
• Requires technical component-level fault-tracing and diagnosis
• Exhibits multiple faults and interacting symptoms

Complex electronic repair work is not like replacing brake pads or changing an air filter; it’s challenging and often difficult work. If these sorts of repairs were easy, there’d be no demand for our services, yet we are almost always fully booked, have a perfect 5-star review record and receive constant enquiries specifically about complex repair work.

Put all of that together, and you’ll understand that if we didn’t repair something, there will be a very good, and likely simple, explanation for it.

Viability

There will, of course, be circumstances where repairs aren’t viable, typically when repair costs are likely to exceed equipment value or customer budget. The combined parts and labour cost, and sometimes an element of uncertainty caused by a job’s complexity, can quickly drive costs beyond what a good, working example is worth. Intermittent faults can contribute to this by chewing up a lot of diagnostic time.

We consider the make and model, condition, faults, value and work needed to properly repair a piece of equipment and even the customer when making the non-viable call. Here are some examples of non-viable jobs:

• A customer does not want to have their equipment properly repaired
• A customer does not have the budget to have their equipment properly repaired
• Critical parts and/or substitutes are not/no longer available
• A repair is unlikely to be reliable
• Equipment is in very poor condition, excessively dirty or damaged
• A customer is too problematic to work with

To avoid disappointment, know in advance that we are not responsible for the condition, faults or repair viability of equipment presented to us.

Example

I was contacted by the owner of an old amplifier, in very poor condition, with various issues. The owner had emptied a can of WD-40 into it, it had been modified, tinkered with, and was damaged, filthy and not well cared for. It was brought to me too late, as a basket case, something I explained to him and which he initially seemed to understand. I should have rejected this job.

After working through issues with the unit, I concluded that further work was not viable due to its poor condition and problems beyond our control. Despite only charging our minimum, I was ‘blamed’ for not fixing the amplifier, as though all of its problems were now my responsibility! Whilst convenient for the owner, this is an unreasonable position to take, and I’d never touched his unit until it was brought to me.

In that instance, I was blamed and not thanked for my efforts, which was egregious. That customer is now blacklisted and serves as an example of why I screen equipment and customers. We’re here to help reasonable people, not all people!

Expectations

Again, we are not responsible for the condition and faults of the equipment presented to us. We will always do our best to assist people, but this does not mean we magically become responsible for the problems with customer equipment!