Worst assembly job ever...

[kd4e]

I worked for a Heathkit retail store after college
and we had a usually-strict policy that required
some evidence that the buyer could actually build
the kit they wanted to buy.

A first-time kit buyer had to purchase and construct
a cheap code practice oscillator and bring it back
for our inspection before we'd sell him that clock
or AM-BC receiver he wanted, and had to do the same
with those before we'd sell him the Ham rig or TV
he wanted.

Well, someone sold this lady a color TV for her son
for Christmas and failed to assure he was up to it.

After Christmas she showed up complaining that he
was heartbroken because after hours spent assembling
it he could not get it to work and "he had followed
all of the directions carefully".

We asked her to bring in one of the boards and we'd
have a look - it was bad - not one but almost every
single solder joint was cold-soldered.  We explained
that there was not much we could do - unless she
wanted to pay our on-site service department to fix
it board by board.

Well, enabling-mother that she was, she agreed to pay
to have her boy's TV kit rebuilt for him - and we had
one unsanctified service guy muttering his way through
that TV for weeks - he had other repairs scheduled so
he could only spend an hour or so per day on that boring
project.

I forget what that TV ended up costing them to own - I
seem to recall it was 2x or 3x the original purchase
price, at least.

-- 

Thanks! & 73, doc, KD4E
FS/Swap/Wanted: http://kd4e.com/swapn.html
Free OS : http://www.PuppyLinux.com
Personal: http://kd4e.com
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