That one customer in Denver who taught me patience with old gear

I had this guy bring in a beat up Pentax K1000 from the 70s. It looked like it had been through a flood. He was real nervous, kept apologizing. Told me his dad used it to take photos of his mom before she passed. I spent 2 hours just cleaning the mirror box and rewiring the shutter. He offered me $50 extra after I fixed it. I told him no, just pass it down. Has anyone else had a customer that made you remember why you do this?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabeth4381mo agoTop Commenter

Taylor I used to think exactly like you until I had a job like this myself. It doesn't pay the bills but it changed how I look at the work.

taylor_fox1mo ago

Man that's a nice story and all but I gotta be honest I don't see it the same way. You spent 2 hours on a camera that realistically isn't worth more than 50 bucks working, and that's time you could have spent on something that actually pays the bills. I've turned down plenty of sob story repairs because I've got a mortgage and a kid to feed, not a museum of broken heirlooms.