That's terrible Don, but I don't think it's just the service industry (terrible though it is). But I've starting to think more and more that a lot of things that used to literally last a lifetime, now seem to be deliberately designed to last for the duration of the warranty. You used to have to run over a refrigerator or a toaster with a Mack truck to get it to stop working . Remember Sears tools? They'd replace them after 20 years of use if they ever broke. That old saying, "they don't make 'em like they used to" may be truer than we think. And (to your point), remember when a local service person OR company told you something or made you a promise, you could actually believe it.

In all fairness (and to make this post relevant to this forum ), we have been very lucky with the general reliability of our musical equipment, at least by the 'big three' manufacturers.

Hang in there Don, you're due for a stretch of GOOD luck .

chas