I really dislike some peoples request advice requested.

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Sonnydaze said:
Bufford's post seems to be a decent compromise. No rudeness necessary; the customer is always right. And you are making a living doing what you do best.
sonnydaze
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You ever work in retail? Sometimes the customer is a loud mouth prick who's wrong about everything. There ARE some people who are just not worth the time or profit to do business with.


To the OP: If someone approached me like that, I'd tell them to get lost. I wouldn't do someone like that a favor.
 
Well I had the longest day this year for sure. A "get home and take 4 Advil day." I've never taken more than three in my life, so that should tell you how my day went.

I saw the guy but we were both so swamped we never even spoke.
If tomorrow is a better day, I will talk to him about it with some education. Maybe letting him know about different steels and how my DMT's are made for much harder steels. Ect...

I don't want to burn bridges with the guy, and I'm starting to get over his rude demanding attitude, (unless he responds with an absurd/rude reply for not sharpening them) then I will express my feelings tactfully, and he won't be asking for anymore knife sharpening. :) let ya know how he responds.

I feel a little juvenile even posting this, but it's worth others opinions, and cheaper than therapy. :)
 
Sorry about your long, 4 advil day.
I understand about not wanting to burn bridges with someone you still have to work with. You have to find a way to get along, but set limits.
 
Yeah, best to get past the spur of the moment reactions to people if it is possible. No use causing an upset unless it is necessary.

I'll take the time to teach someone how to sharpen a knife, but I won't sharpen their knife for them.

This policy of mine applies to a lot of things-

I will teach a person how to change the oil in their motorcycle, but I won't do it for them.

I will teach a person how to clean a firearm, but I won't clean their guns for them.

I will teach a person how to use a power-washer to wash their house, but I won't wash their house for them.

I believe that people should learn to do things for themselves. And if they aren't willing to learn, I'm not going to reward their laziness by doing their chores for them. That's the way I am.
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I tend to do the same thing. However, my brother in law loves to sharpen knives and get a hair popping edge. I always take him knives to look at when I visit and it never fails that he gets out his sharpening equipment. So, maybe this person believes that you really enjoy this activity.
 
The 'big picture' in this is basically about setting boundaries for people, it holds true in both business and social situations. Quite simply, you have to tell them what you are willing to do, and what you aren't.

Usually, I just figure out if they would be willing to do something similar for me - 'trades' are OK, 'one-way streets' are not.
 
Are you a professional sharpener who gets paid for your services? If so you can: A: be the ahole who tells him the knives that he loves are garbage and then risk sounding like a knife snob who's too good to touch 'his' stuff. If so, prepare for a nice size backlash from him and all the folks he tells about his experience. or B: Provide him with the best service you can, make money, and get his, as well as all the folks he tells about the great service he had, people's money, and further your business.

You don't know why he owns the knives. One might have been a hand me down from a father who passed on, a gift from his kids, or a sentimental trinket. So go ahead and rip on his collection that he prizes. It'll go over well. Yeah.
 
I saw him this morning at 4:45 and he asked if I had gotten those knives done yet.

I just told him the stones I have are for harder steel, and it would take off a lot of metal.
He just said, "oh OK, they are just cheap knives anyway."

I then told him I can fix the one that has the blade hitting the liner. He said not to worry about it. I said, "OK." And that was the end of it. Simple.
 
jimh0220 said:
Are you a professional sharpener who gets paid for your services? If so you can: A: be the ahole who tells him the knives that he loves are garbage and then risk sounding like a knife snob who's too good to touch 'his' stuff. If so, prepare for a nice size backlash from him and all the folks he tells about his experience. or B: Provide him with the best service you can, make money, and get his, as well as all the folks he tells about the great service he had, people's money, and further your business.

You don't know why he owns the knives. One might have been a hand me down from a father who passed on, a gift from his kids, or a sentimental trinket. So go ahead and rip on his collection that he prizes. It'll go over well. Yeah.
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You should have read the whole thread. No I'm not a professional sharpener.
Also, before ripping on me, what do left handed people see in your signature line? :) Just sayin.'
 
jimh0220 said:
Are you a professional sharpener who gets paid for your services? If so you can: A: be the ahole who tells him the knives that he loves are garbage and then risk sounding like a knife snob who's too good to touch 'his' stuff. If so, prepare for a nice size backlash from him and all the folks he tells about his experience. or B: Provide him with the best service you can, make money, and get his, as well as all the folks he tells about the great service he had, people's money, and further your business.

You don't know why he owns the knives. One might have been a hand me down from a father who passed on, a gift from his kids, or a sentimental trinket. So go ahead and rip on his collection that he prizes. It'll go over well. Yeah.
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In case you missed it, southernknives indicated in the OP that he does not run a professional sharpening business.
 
southernknives said:
You should have read the whole thread. No I'm not a professional sharpener.
Also, before ripping on me, what do left handed people see in your signature line? :) Just sayin.'
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I'm sorry for missing the part about the professional sharpener, but your attitude in the post came off as a great way to offend a customer. Had I known it was a friend or acquaintance, I would say go ahead and insult and offend them like you want. You should sharpen what you want for who you want if you don't make money doing it. And, by all means, go ahead and demean them and their knives all you want. Your friends will love you for it.

The sig line was a post by another forum member in a post about lefty knives. I'm a lefty, and also have a sense of humor, and find it frigging hilarious. Just sayin'.
 
You sound just like the kind of guy who comes up to people and tells them to do favors for you, then gets pissed when they don't do them up to your standards. Just sayin'.
 
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