Originally Posted by -VELOCITY-
What's Tete?
Tete is a Lemond Tete de Course frame - their top of the line - that I purchased used well over 2 years ago in order to build my supposed "dream bike". Once I had it, I wanted a custom paint job, so I sought out the best (IMO) frame painter in the business. Fortunately, he's here in Portland. The problem is that the job has taken so long it has turned into a running joke...or living nightmare as the case may be.
Originally Posted by gurana
...have you learned about any progress on it since the last time you saw it? I seem to recall a pic where the bike was at least primed. It would be nice to know that the guy acknowleges its existence. At this point, I'd be expecting to see some sort of calendar where your bike is penciled in for some time... even if it's like 6 months down the road. Without a deadline of any sort, I'd think it's likely he just keep pushing it off and pushing it off.
I see the bike every couple of weeks if not more frequently. It is 90% complete and awaiting final detail. Calendars, schedules and deadlines are useless - no less than 10 promised completion deadlines have fallen by the wayside in the past 2 years.
Originally Posted by ImprezaDrvr
At what point does patience become completely and utterly irrational?
It did after the 6 month mark. But honestly, my options are very limited.
-I can demand my deposit back and take the frame. Maybe take him to small claims court. But getting the cash out of him would likely take a court action and then I would still need to get somebody else to start over with it. No reputable painter would want to touch this frame in it's unfinished state - it's a concept piece.
-I can threaten to not pay the balance. But we've already agreed that due to the delays, I'm not paying another cent beyond the deposit.
-I could tear him a new arsehole on the forums. While satisfying, I think I'll just continue to try to be fair and report the facts as best as possible. Besides, I've found that if I just tee up the story, a lot of you guys will do the ripping.
-I can continue to be patient and hope he gets it done. In the meantime, I'll work on other projects.
55/Rad