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Knife sharpening for the masses

Discussion in 'Sharpening forum' started by nhaitz, Apr 25, 2014.

  1. There are numberous threads on this forum about knife sharpening. Some even address the quality, or lack thereof, of the average knife sharpening service. Thought I would share a phone coversation I just had with a potential knife sharpening customer.

    As basic background, my husband and I are the shop’s staff, along with a couple of part time people who work on Saturday and during the Thanksgiving/Christmas season. My husband is not coming to the shop because of medical reasons. So, I am the knife sharpener and do it during slow times throughout the day.

    Following is what I remember of the phone call:

    Woman - Someone told me you do knife sharpening.

    Me - Yes we do, but it depends on the knifes. There are some brands we do not sharpen. (meaning I won’t do really crappy cheap blades or Cutco knives)

    Woman - They are mostly Wusthof and a couple Shuns. I didn’t buy them from you.

    Me - We can sharpen those brands.

    Woman - I already had [un-named major retail cookware store] sharpen them but they did a terrible job.

    Me - What do you mean by terrible.

    Woman - They are sharper on one side than they are on the other.

    Me - Are they single bevel blades.

    Woman - No, I just told you they are Wusthofs and Shuns. They didn’t stay sharp very long. They don’t look very sharp. And now one of them has this bent over place on it that catches on my fingernails.

    Me - If you want to bring them in, I will take a look at them.

    Woman - How long does it take.

    Me - Depending on when you drop them off, they will be finished later that day or the next day.

    Woman - I want them done while I wait and I want to watch.

    Me - We don’t have that kind of sharpening service.

    Woman - How much does it cost for an 8 inch chef’s knife.

    Me - Five Dollars

    Woman - Wow, that’s a lot. At that price you should do them while I wait.

    Me - You can always take them back to un-named retailer. Or find someone else to sharpen them.

    Woman - How do you sharpen them.

    Me - We use Tru-Hone sharpeneners. They are hard to describe, but you can google for them and read about them if you want. Wusthof actually recommends them for their blades.

    Woman - How much does it cost to have you do them by hand.

    Me - (not wanting this woman as a sharpening customer) We don’t sharpen by hand.

    Woman - Can you tell me where I can take them to have somebody do them by hand. My friend, who is a chef used to sharpen them all the time by hand. But he won’t do them any more.

    Me - Sorry I don’t know anyone I can recommend. (We do have one other business in town that I could and do recommend to people. I refer the more complicated things to them. And, right now, if someone walked in with a hand crafted blade, I would send them to the other guys. Somehow, I just couldn't bring my self to give her their name.)

    Woman - When you sharpen them, can you do it without taking off any metal. The other store took off a lot of metal.

    Me - In order to sharpen them, you have to grind off some metal on the edge. Done properly, on a knife in good condition, you won’t even be able to tell. It really depends on the condition of the current edge.

    Woman - I want somebody to sharpen them and not take off ANY mental.

    Me - That is like asking someone to wash your car but not remove the dirt.

    By this time I had two people literally standing in front of me with things they wanted to buy and money in hand. One of them was nearly doubled over laughing because he heard most of the above conversation. I finally told her I had to end the conversation because I had other customers too. She just kept on babbling. I hung up on her.

    Nancy
     
  2. Lucretia

    Lucretia Founding Member

    Gee, I wonder why her chef friend won't do them any more!
     
  3. It is not worth the money to put up with that kind of crazy
     
  4. John Fout

    John Fout Founding Member

    They are out there... and they vote and reproduce!
     
  5. Toothpick

    Toothpick #2 since day #1 Founding Member

    I could write a book about all the crazy and not so bright people I've dealt with.
    That type of customer would be more of a problem than she's worth.

    I've actually made customers mad on purpose just so they wouldn't come back. Terrible but true.
     
  6. Jay

    Jay No soup for you Founding Member

    I see that Springs1 is now in the sharpening review business.
     
  7. Andrew

    Andrew Have Pen Will Travel Founding Member

    Only sometimes.

    [​IMG]
     
  8. MotoMike

    MotoMike Founding Member

    oh.. I had forgotten about Springs1
     
  9. cheflarge

    cheflarge Founding Member

    Holly crap!!! That is hilarious! I think I almost wet my pants. :)
     
  10. I didn't have a clue who Springs1 was... a little googling turned up the Badger and Blade forum.

    All I can say is you straight razor toting boys are a darn polite bunch.
     
  11. Andrew

    Andrew Have Pen Will Travel Founding Member

    Yeah. Springs1 has a massive axe to grind with wait staff and, it would seem, automobile drivers.
     
  12. John Fout

    John Fout Founding Member

    We try to be. :)
     
  13. Jeffery Hunter

    Jeffery Hunter Founding Member

    Ok that was interesting. Springs1 that is, As for the OP good call you don't need all the headaches that a customer like that would surely provide.
     

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