Prunes Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 (edited) Hello everyone! I was hoping for a more positive first post, but here it goes... I had a '94 Burton PJ 6.0 sitting in the basement in Garmisch collecting rust and dust (but otherwise in great shape). I brought the board to Calgary at the end of July, and left it with a reputable tech for a full tune-up. Long story short, the stone grind didn't go so well and they took down the entire base/edge in one spot, right at the front of the board. I'm trying to work out some sort of resolution with the tech. Is it repairable? Still rideable? Totally dead? Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated. Prunes (Will) Edited August 16, 2016 by Prunes Spelling skills! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordmetroland Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 36 minutes ago, Prunes said: Long story short, the stone grind didn't go so well Yikes! Brilliant understatement, though. That's like saying Marie Antoinette's haircut "didn't go so well." I have nothing else to offer but my condolences. That sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 The cost to repair this is greater than the value of the board, so it's totaled. That board is 23 years old. It doesn't owe you anything. We've come a long way since then. However this is definitely the fault of the shop, and they should replace the board with something comparable. You should look for a good used board here in the $200-400 range and tell them that's what the board is worth. I see a Volkl 163 in the classifieds here now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 Good call Jack. Though I bet there's a waiver involved with anything, but they may 'goodwill' you something for the hassle if you're polite but insistent. With that said, the board will still work for a while. I don't know your history, but if you're just learning you can certainly have some fun with that until the edge starts pulling out. Contact Steve R. (Riceball on this forum) if you're looking for a local board in Calgary. I bet he has a board or two that is comparable or better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prunes Posted August 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 Thanks for the input guys! I’m having to push through a little runaround, so yes, politeness and persistence are the keys. I’ll get in touch with Steve, perhaps he has something he’d like to get rid of. The takeaway (for me, at least) is that regardless of how old / new / cheap / expensive / good / bad your board is, it’s one shop visit away from becoming a bench or wall art… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 That's a sobering thought, and why I haven't taken any board of mine to a local shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 Yikes did someone just put a new stone on the grinder and not tell anyone ? Lot's of sides to this issue. Is the guy who handles your board a rookie and about to loose his job because of this (learning) experience ? Are they insured for this type of mishap ? You admit it was a dust collector so are you willing to give a guy a break or bust his balls over it . How did they handle it when they informed you of the issue and what was their initial offer of compensation. Repairs to this area of the board aren't usually very successful . If the guy is gracious in your dealings with him i'd cut him some slack. As far ride-ability i don't see it as a huge issue until the ptex starts to curl up. Everyone needs a rock board ! Since there is no edge left a patch isn't going to work to replace the ptex. I would clean the area of wax and paint on a few layers of epoxy it will always require touch ups. Sorry for your loss ! I agree with Corey and i'm supper cheap so only my hands hack away on my boards . You seem to have handled it well so far since you haven't come out screaming and naming the shop. Hope it works out ok for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prunes Posted August 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 (edited) They didn’t tell me about the damage, in fact they released the board to me just as though nothing was wrong. I figure the unusual shape of the nose (angled shovel) was just way too complex for them to deal with and got trashed. It really is a jungle out there folks! It’s a piss-off, but I like the idea of a rock board better than a bench. Edited August 16, 2016 by Prunes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 You should post the name of the shop so everyone knows to stay clear. You obviously won't be giving them any more business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 1 hour ago, Keenan said: You should post the name of the shop so everyone knows to stay clear. You obviously won't be giving them any more business. Oh whoops, didn't see the other post. Yeah, it's time for public shaming. I would also threaten the shop with calling the police or taking them to small claims court. This is wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 Small claims court. is in order. You should easily win the case and the owner will have to waste his valuable time going to the court, as there is no legal representation in the small claims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workshop7 Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 I agree with Jack and BlueB. Push harder for compensation. They ruined a working collectors item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prunes Posted August 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 I will push harder for some compensation. I agree, public shaming is in order should there be no resolution. However, I don't have the time, nor desire to take this sort of thing to court. Below is the explanation from the tech (via email): "As for your board I did the best that I could. On the first pass on the grinder the stone only touched about 3 inches of the board in the middle which meant that it was in the shape of a horseshoe and what we want is it to be flat. I tried to get it as close to flat as possible but made one pass too many and the tip got taken down too much and shows through. It is a cosmetic thing as it is not in an area where it effects the performance of the board. As always my main goal is to try to make the board perform the way it is designed to but sometimes I can only do so much due to the condition and construction of the board. Take it out and give it a try the performance of the board will be greatly enhanced." The above explanation fails to address how only one side of the nose was completely chewed away. It's as though it got stuck and then was lifted, pressing that one corner into the rotating stone. I should have saved myself the aggravation and just left it in the basement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allee Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 (edited) Please post the name of the shop. Occasionally we locals need to get boards ground, and it's good to know places to avoid. It's possible that the board was really bowed and the guy was just trying his best. I had something similar happened with an old board of mine,. It was centre high due to being stored in a bag for years, and the dude was only trying to make it flat again. But in doing so he took it down to basically nothing. Aggravating for sure. The fact that it's an old board and not worth much isn't the point. I'd point out that he's basically ruined a collectable, and if he'd been having problems the right thing to do would have been to stop and call you, not carry on like "not my board, not my problem". You asked for it to be tuned, not ruined. I'd be holding out my hand for at least at $100 gift card for that little cockup. If nothing else, to make the guy think the next time he's grinding the hell out of something. Edited August 16, 2016 by Allee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prunes Posted August 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 13 minutes ago, Allee said: The fact that it's an old board and not worth much isn't the point. I'd point out that he's basically ruined a collectable, and if he'd been having problems the right thing to do would have been to stop and call you, not carry on like "not my board, not my problem". You asked for it to be tuned, not ruined. You hit the nail on the head - I would have been totally cool with picking it up untouched, had they called me and explained that this might not end well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
west carven Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 howdy it was a cambered board not a rockered board he probably didn't know how to deal with it... ha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruincounselor Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 (edited) Tech is clueless or full of shit. Either way I'd be plenty pissed and looking (very nice and patient) for the shop management to make me whole. I've ground enough boards to know that looks a lot like a feed problem. Edited August 16, 2016 by bruincounselor Reread explanation, started drinking beer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted August 17, 2016 Report Share Posted August 17, 2016 Tech was probably baked. A quick look with a true-bar would have told him if it was too edge-high to grind. He's incompetent and/or lazy and just trying to cover his ass. He owes you a board. But honestly, that board was frigging old and obsolete. Wall or bench material really. Still, it would have saved you from spending ~$200 this season just to try the sport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveo Posted August 17, 2016 Report Share Posted August 17, 2016 I'm sure he has signed something that said 'if we mess you're board up, too bad' and he's not entitled to anything, from a legal standpoint. I'd hold off calling the police. Let's be honest, the board isn't worth anything these days, perhaps a refund of the tuning cost could go toward you treating yourself to a new board. Naming and shaming can go terribly wrong unless you have hard evidence they did it. Otherwise, you could end up in legal trouble yourself. Tread lightly and consider it a lesson learnt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted August 17, 2016 Report Share Posted August 17, 2016 daveo, even if the board didn't have any resale value even before it went through the grinder, it had value to him. Now if he wants to ride alpine he's going to have to buy a board when he could have used this board for a season or so. The shop owes him for that. The fact that they tried to hand it back to him in hopes he didn't notice, and didn't take ownership of the issue, and didn't try to make things right by their customer is just wrong on many levels. As such, they deserve to be named, IMO. Obviously he has evidence, he has the board and an email from the tech saying what happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveo Posted August 18, 2016 Report Share Posted August 18, 2016 From experience (family lawyers) naming and shaming is something that can and will end you up in court. The hassle, time and cost involved is never worth it, I assure you. Not over an ancient snowboard, anyway. The board had value to him/her, unfortunately that doesn't mean much in court. In fact, if the tech says the performance of the board has been "greatly enhanced" and "It is a cosmetic thing as it is not in an area where it effects the performance of the board", then I think it is obvious that the shop tech is willing to defend his/her actions. It may be that even though the pass was 1 too many, as claimed, the shop tech still believes this was the best course of action. If Prunes decides to "name and shame" and if the shop decides to take Prunes to court over this, and the judge, or whatever the ruling party is, sides with the shop tech, Prunes will be in all sorts of trouble and will incur all sort of costs and depending on how savvy the shop tech is, this may be drawn out for years purposely. You just need to get some guy who had a bad day and is willing to go out of his way to make your life difficult. And trust me, there are plenty. It's never a win-lose situation, if the ruling party sides with Prunes, then all the time and hassle is still not worth it, but on the plus side, he'd/she'd probably be awarded the market value of the snowboard. Given it is 20-something years old and taking depreciation into effect with a floor value, he/she might get $50 and a refund of the actual grind. IMO and from experience, these roads are not ones you want to go down. Ever. If Prunes' goal is to get something from the shop for this then it is best to act the victim, be polite and suggest a resolution and perhaps he/she can find a compromise with the shop owner. Legal things aside and talking from a human standpoint now, I'd take it as a lesson learned- don't trust some dopey shop tech with your equipment, no matter how old and edge high the equipment is. Or a better idea may be to get a true bar and learn a bit about tuning yourself so you can make such decisions and protect your equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prunes Posted August 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2016 (edited) I agree, it's not worthwhile becoming entangled in a legal battle over a snowboard. I've asked the shop management again for some reasonable gesture of goodwill, and I'm hopeful they will come through. I won't be recommending them in the future though. The tech is supposed to be the tuning expert - what's the point if they aren't? This is a shop that i've used in the past with great results, and the tech has a reputation as one of the best in the area...which is why this incident completely blew me out of the water. Ultimately, it's not the end of the world, shit happens. I just expected them to deal with it in a more professional manner. Edited August 18, 2016 by Prunes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckmann AG Posted August 18, 2016 Report Share Posted August 18, 2016 (edited) 'Expert' status notwithstanding, bad things happen. Doesn't make it right, but it could have been worse. Meanwhile, ride it to the point of failure, and say 'good-bye' one turn at a time. Edited August 18, 2016 by Beckmann AG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveo Posted August 18, 2016 Report Share Posted August 18, 2016 Ew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prunes Posted August 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2016 (edited) Ouch! What happened?! Edited August 18, 2016 by Prunes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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