About 12 years ago I tried to learn guitar. Due to a windfall from a project I worked on, I had more money than sense and bought a black Les Paul Studio for about a thousand bucks. That was my first guitar. I ended up not learning to play it and I gave it to my brother in law who was a guitarist. He apparently kept it in storage.
Through a strange series of events involving the guitar being pawned and the following re-acquisition of the same guitar I now have this guitar again. THIS IS AWESOME. Because now I know something about playing it and I'm really excited to get my hands on it again. My dad will be bringing it to me in a couple of weeks.
I don't know the state of the guitar. I don't know how it's been stored. I don't know if it has strings on it or not. I don't know if it's warped, if the bridge is intact, if it's playable.
What kind of work should I have done on the guitar when I receive it to bring it up to spec? What kind of things should I look for? Can I trust the guys at Guitar Center or should I find a more upscale outfit? What kind of questions should I ask the repair people?