John reminds me of my self sometimes, hes a good person in general and very passionate about his work, i have to say that he is one of the most driven and honest shop owners i have met in NY and i would recommend some one to him anytime, hes very willing to learn and wont turn anyone down.
Stratton i don't know you personally and you are right about honesty with shops in ny and the tri state in general, but its very hard to run a profitable buisness while remaining completely honest with your customers in our area and we should reward people who have the ability to do so, but i disagree with your statement about Ed at forcefed. he may not be a complete people person and he is usually seems overwhelmed with work so his time management may be off but his fabrication skills is very good, he is very compulsive with his work and spends plenty of time perfecting his art. If you had work done by ed that you felt were unsatisfactory i suggest that you take that up with him.
i have recommended many people to many different shops in ny depending on the task needed, and i recommend them to the shop that suits that task the best, with that being said i have recommended many people to eds shop mostly in his growth period, even your friend Nick, and i would say maybe not all of them were happy with the customer service for w.e reason but they were ALL happy with the quality of the work.
i do everything on my car my self and i am completely unbiased with what shop to go to and what shop not to go to because they have all helped me in the past and i have helped many of them, and for this guys task your right about going to john.