Tyre kickers
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 12:36 amWe used to get folks call up Turtlerock and ask Rick whether he'll master a track for free, in a competitive scenario where other mastering engineers were doing the same, with the job (album) going to the mastering engineer that the band / label like the most. Rick never went for this, but assured them that all the work done at Turtlerock was 100% guaranteed, and if the client wasn't happy with the output, we'd work that out, usually in my experience at no cost until the client was happy. Some clients decided to book the session and some didn't. Some came back to us after having their record mastered by the winner of such a competition, unhappy with the results.
I'm wondering if tyre kickers are common in other audio fields.
Working as an acoustician, this type of character was common. Most common were the folks who emailed me asking a litany of questions regarding their room, essentially they were asking for me to share my knowledge and expertise, for nothing, over email, with zero intention of booking my services.
Then there's the type that wants to do 99% of the job they think I would do in advance, then send me the details and cut the whole time and cost into a quarter. You don't turn up to the Dr having already taken your blood pressure, biopsy in hand, and give it to the Dr with instructions that she analyse what you've collected now do you? I'm far from a Dr, but you get the point.
I understand that some people have been screwed over at some time by an ‘acoustician’ who charges them $800 to turn up, and does little else, I get it, but there's a fine line between providing helpful, professional advice to someone who is genuinely interested in what you do / can do (gauging your suitability for the project) and essentially performing the analysis and treatment of their room by proxy for the sum total of $0.
My approach to my services, like Rick's were and still are, is to do what is needed to make the client happy. I provide contact details of clients I've worked with in the past in the early tyre kicking stages (if requested), and specifically describe what I will be doing and what processes are involved and of course the cost of my services. I specifically state that this fee does not include the treatment itself or its installation.
It took me a long time to work out that many folks want me to provide them with specific advice on their space in order to confirm to them that they are doing the right thing. I have no issue with this, but this process isn't free.
Do folks who repair amps get people calling them up saying their amp is dead, but they’ve tried replacing (insert component name) but that didn’t work? “What (insert name of component) would you try?” they may ask. The tech may reply “well I’d really need to get it on the bench and have a look / test the (insert electronics terms).” The tyre kicker would then say “I’ve opened it up and here’s 8 photos of the amp. I’ve also put a multimeter on the (insert component name) and here’s the readings, what do you think?”. The tech might finally reply “Mate, I really need to get it in front of me to asses it and give you an idea of what the issue is and what it’ll cost to repair, can you bring it into the shop?” This is the point where the person usually stops writing emails.
Maybe tyre kicker is the wrong term here, not sure.
Has anyone else had such experiences in audio land?
I'm wondering if tyre kickers are common in other audio fields.
Working as an acoustician, this type of character was common. Most common were the folks who emailed me asking a litany of questions regarding their room, essentially they were asking for me to share my knowledge and expertise, for nothing, over email, with zero intention of booking my services.
Then there's the type that wants to do 99% of the job they think I would do in advance, then send me the details and cut the whole time and cost into a quarter. You don't turn up to the Dr having already taken your blood pressure, biopsy in hand, and give it to the Dr with instructions that she analyse what you've collected now do you? I'm far from a Dr, but you get the point.
I understand that some people have been screwed over at some time by an ‘acoustician’ who charges them $800 to turn up, and does little else, I get it, but there's a fine line between providing helpful, professional advice to someone who is genuinely interested in what you do / can do (gauging your suitability for the project) and essentially performing the analysis and treatment of their room by proxy for the sum total of $0.
My approach to my services, like Rick's were and still are, is to do what is needed to make the client happy. I provide contact details of clients I've worked with in the past in the early tyre kicking stages (if requested), and specifically describe what I will be doing and what processes are involved and of course the cost of my services. I specifically state that this fee does not include the treatment itself or its installation.
It took me a long time to work out that many folks want me to provide them with specific advice on their space in order to confirm to them that they are doing the right thing. I have no issue with this, but this process isn't free.
Do folks who repair amps get people calling them up saying their amp is dead, but they’ve tried replacing (insert component name) but that didn’t work? “What (insert name of component) would you try?” they may ask. The tech may reply “well I’d really need to get it on the bench and have a look / test the (insert electronics terms).” The tyre kicker would then say “I’ve opened it up and here’s 8 photos of the amp. I’ve also put a multimeter on the (insert component name) and here’s the readings, what do you think?”. The tech might finally reply “Mate, I really need to get it in front of me to asses it and give you an idea of what the issue is and what it’ll cost to repair, can you bring it into the shop?” This is the point where the person usually stops writing emails.
Maybe tyre kicker is the wrong term here, not sure.
Has anyone else had such experiences in audio land?