I don't believe in being vindictive in reviews, but I do believe in being honest, and in assisting…read morefellow consumers.
I started an audio upgrade and installation in my 2011 Camaro convertible, after extensive research and prep. I was enjoying the learning experience. I successfully wired my component fronts, my coaxial rears, and subwoofer, had everything labeled and ready to go.
When it got to connecting the wiring harness and dash kit into the center console, I decided to let Exotic finish the project and check my work, just to make sure I didn't accidentally damage any of my expensive purchases. There were a few hours of work remaining to be done, especially for a professional, and I didn't mind paying for that in order to ensure my system would function correctly and optimally.
I called the shop close to closing, on a Thursday. After explaining my needs, I was told to come in the next morning. So, Friday morning, I came in, was told to come back in an hour, because Tucker was off giving a quote somewhere else. So I killed an hour, then came back. Tucker quoted me 4 hours and $674 to finish my project, said that should be plenty of time. He had an opening for Tuesday morning the next week. I scheduled to start work at 1:30pm that day to accommodate him, after he said the timeframe should be enough. I show up Tues morning, quite excited. I bring my duffel bag and computer bag inside their little office/showroom, and open my laptop. They have 2 little dogs, running around their shop and office. One of them comes inside and pees on my leg, my duffel, and the couch I'm sitting on, marking his scent or something, as soon as I sit down. Absolutely disgusting, but I shrug it off, shoo the dog away. An hour passes, and my car is still parked. Tucker hasn't even pulled it into the shop yet, despite knowing that I have to get to work. I brought it in at 9am. Around 10am, he finally pulls it in. Around 1pm, he isn't even close to finishing, so I get an Uber to work, and have him hide the keys somewhere so I can pick it up after I get off work, since he will be closed by then. I get off work, uber back over, and pick up my car. He left me a note in the car saying to check my voicemail. I listen to the voicemail, and he explains that he hooked everything up, gave power to the amp, and plugged in his phone, then proceeded to blow my rear speakers with too much power, because he failed to check the gain settings on the amplifier and verify they were all the way down before giving the system power. He also says something is up with my right front speaker. This is an ABSOLUTE ROOKIE MISTAKE, and even I knew not to do that. I brought the amplifier in the box unopened, because I'd read about people blowing their speakers by messing with it. The ONLY REASON I brought my project to him to have him finish it in the first place was so that I didn't damage any of my equipment by doing it myself. I call him the next morning, and he tells me to just warranty the speakers he blew, say they were damaged out the box, and get replacements, putting that responsibility on me. I say fine whatever, we can set this right when I come in again, after those replacements come in. He agrees. I replace the speakers myself when they come in, so that it's less work and so I can listen to music in the meantime. My right front speaker is still not working, so I check his wiring work on my amplifier, and he has it wired wrong. I re-wire it myself, and get all of my speakers and the sub to work effectively, and make sure to set the gain super low to not damage anything. By the time I come in again, I've fixed the damage he did, and only need him to tune the amplifier, that's it. He does that, and it takes him almost 2 hours. Ridiculous. I ask Tucker what his technique is, if he uses an oscilloscope (the industry standard for audio tuning and gain setting), and he says oh, no, that's a premium service that takes several hours and you have to pay extra, I just listen for clipping, do it by ear. (For reference, an oscilloscope is a small handheld tool, cheap, and not that hard to use, kind of similar to a multimeter). I figured the least he could do was tune my system properly, after messing it up and inconveniencing me for over a week. But no, he was not having it. Also, he would not hear anything about refunding me for the damage he did, and the inconvenience he caused. He argued with me for nearly 15 minutes, not budging an inch, not even refunding the $74 materials cost he charged, despite me bringing all my own materials. I left feeling angry and soured by the experience, and do not feel the price was warranted, even without the screwups and unprofessional demeanor. I had planned on returning for tint and a few other things, but I will never be back, and I do not recommend anyone ever goes here. Save time and money and look elsewhere for your audio needs.
