How to break bad news to customer? ’73 Les Paul Custom
Customer shipped ’73 or ’74 LP Custom to me and the headstock broke in transit. He claims there was no break prior to the shipping, there are photos proving this and insurance claim has been approved, that’s not the issue.
Upon deeper investigation I have suspect this is a break from a previous headstock repair. There is some orange peel at the very top of the headstock, and under high light i can see a color transition around the 9th fret or so.
Should i leave this issue alone by not telling customer about the old repair? Do i try to fix the bad transition area? I feel like this would be a can of worms if i dive into the repair without the customer being aware of where this is begining.
Any thought of how the best way to handle this would be great.
Also, i’d be curious on thoughts about the repair philosophy when old instruments are getting fixed and finished are re-sprayed in smaller areas and relic’d or blended to make the repair not stand out so much. Is this deceitful or dishonest?
It sucks, but even if its the second call back to a customer, I try to always provide them with the most accurate info as I possibly can. You send them the photos and you just inform them so if they have complaints about finish work or what-have -you after you fix and return the guitar, you can avoid that can of worms. It also provides the customer an opportunity to consent to possible work.