San Diego Antique Slots San Diego Slots John is extreamly rude and very deceptive. I brought this machine to get an estimate of what he thinks it would cost to fix. I came back an hour later to find he has already billed me for $125 plus $8 San Diego, California

John is a very honest and talented man. He has a very special love for slot machines and is a master in repairing and refurbishing these antique slots. He loves to talk to people about the intricacies of the various machines and help people gain a better understanding of antique slot machines.

He has masterpieces in the house which he sells and a small single car workshop in which he does repairs. He is friendly, knowledgeable and I would not hesitate to continue doing business with him.

There are fewer and fewer slot machine mechanics in this world who understand these antique slots. I only wish he had a showroom and a repair shop which was part of a business center. He needs to be able to better share his talents and be more accessible to the public.

I am a consuner and writing a second rebuttle letter. My name is Donald Martin, the letter I wrote a couple of years ago has been removed, while the original complaint letter remains!  

I bought a dime Mills Hi-Top from John Hays at San Diego Slot Machine. I had shopped for a machine on and off for over a year. I live in San Francisco and after many phone calls and visits to slot retailers, in the State, I decided John offered the best deal and the best after sale service and support. Since, I have bought a second and now a third machine from John. The person, called John, described in the complaint letter I do not recognise and is definitely not the John Hays I know.

Sincerly,

Donald Martin

I sincerely apologize if I came across as rude. I take my work very serious and I was not deceptive. A doctor does not give you a diagnosis or results until he gives you a thorough check up. A mechanic cant tell what is wrong with a car unless he examines it. Its the same with a slot machine.
 
The slot machine customer brought is, in fact, a reproduction. Again, I could not give him an estimate until I went through the slot machine and checked everything. It was completely frozen, which I tried to explain. I mentioned that nobody I know in the U.S. would completely rebuild a slot machine escalator, take the reel assembly apart and free up one for lack of maintenance for only $133 which included parts.
 
Customer told me to stop working on the machine after I had already worked on it for two hours. The work was done, and only the reassembly was left. He became angry after I explained we do not take personal checks. We have a sign posted that states that fact and we do not take credit cards. He did return with cash and proceeded to take pictures of my house.
 
I am a man of morals and good character. I take my work and reputation seriously, or I wouldnt be in this business for over 30 years. I have never experienced anything like this in all of these years. The customer clearly did not understand that he had a reproduction slot machine with Japanese mechanism.

John,

I dropped this machine off at 8:30AM reluctantly because of you sarcastic and deceptive attitude!! You told me you would call me when you had an estimate. I came back at 10am the same morning because I did not have a good feeling about your business practice and how rude you were to my Mom and I the first time we met you!. I asked you what was going on an you replied that I owed you $125 + $8.00 dollars in parts and the machine still need a lot of work!!!

What a joke!! I asked you what form of payment check, cash or credit card. You said only cash so I left and came back ten minutes later to get my machine!! I don't know where you get this ridiculous time frame!!! This machine was a brand new Mills reproduction and was given as a gift from Harrah's casino in Lake Tahoe. You are completely lying and you know it!!! Two day's John!!! WHAT are you talking about???? Try and hour and a half!!!!

You also left a major spring off my machine you jerk!!! What a nightmare experience this has been!!! I would highly recommend staying away from this ripoff!!!

This is my last response!!! What a joke!!!! If you need your machine fixed.... don't go to this guy!! He doesn't even have a price sheet to give you.... he just pulls numbers out of thin air!! NOT REPUTABLE AT ALL!!!!

In response to the complaint, the machine was NOT in fact working properly. First and foremost, the machine is a reproduction, not an original Mills. I explained to customer that an estimate cannot be given unless a complete diagnosis is made. So when the customer asked what the estimate would be, we could not provide an exact amount- and jokingly stated "$1-$1,000" because there is NO WAY to know what the extent of the damage is. An estimate requires that the machine is opened and examined thoroughly. We suggested that the customer get further estimates or take machine elsewhere, but he agreed to allow the estimate and left the machine for two days, at which time a complete examination was done.

We found that there were parts in the machine that did not belong, that the machine was completely frozen and that the escalator needed to be rebuilt. When the customer returned two days later, we explained the work that had been done in order to repair the machine and the cost at that point, which was $135. The machine was now in working order, but it was explained that there was additional work to be done. The customer asked to write a check, which we do not accept and complained about the cost. We explained that the repair work to be done was extensive. He returned with cash and left the machine in our posession a second time. He returned hours later with a camera, asking that we return the machine in the condition that he had left it originally, minus the work that had been done. It is our policy, just as in any other business- whether it is auto repair or equipment repair that once work has begun we cannot "undo" work or change what has already taken place.

We have been licensed and in business to do antique slot repairs for over thirty years and have never had a complaint. We are one of a handful of businesses around the country that does this type of work and value our reputation. It is unfortunate that the customer was not satisfied in this case.