So a customer calls me on the phone....

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I used to work in a small shop, 3 bays, the owner and myself were the only mechanics. He was a pretty good guy to work for, and a decent mechanic, but not always really good with people and had a short fuse.
One day we had done brakes and some front end work on a car that belonged to a real pain in the ***. He was one of those who would only come in when something was in dire need of repair, regular maintenance was a foreign concept to him. This one morning he had brought his car in, complaining that the brakes were making "funny noise". When we got the car on the hoist and pulled the front wheels, the rotor faces were completely ground off, only the vent structure remained, calipers were leaking, flex hoses were cracked, etc. His tie rods were ready to fall off, ball joints almost as bad, and leaking shock absorbers.
We put together a quote, and he gave the ok to do all the work. After 1/2 a day spent fixing his car, and at least a dozen phone calls from him asking if it's ready yet, we finally have it outside, alignment done, brakes relined and bled, good to go. He shows up, and starts demanding to see his old parts, no problem, we always kept everything until after the customer's picked up their vehicles, so we show him. Now he says he doesn't believe these are his old parts, they could be from any car, blah blah blah. Boss explains to him that we keep the parts from each vehicle until the owner picks it up, then we dispose of them, etc. Nope Mr. PITA keeps at it, bitching about the bill, even though it is what he agreed to before we started working on his car.
After a good 8 to 10 minutes of the guy beaking off, my boss finally says to him "the keys are in your car, get in it and **** OFF!!! You don't owe me anything, just don't EVER ******* COME BACK!"

Now Mr. PITA is apologizing, offering to pay cash, didn't mean to be offensive, etc. Boss looks him in the eye and tells him again to **** off and never come back. Dumbass finally gets the hint and leaves.
Love that , similar situation put a used rear end in a car customer, same was ok’d he came and bitched boss put it back on the hoist ,get the fork lift , boss cut the rear end out used the fork lift to pull it out to the curb dropped it and said there now get it towed outa here !
 
Love that , similar situation put a used rear end in a car customer, same was ok’d he came and bitched boss put it back on the hoist ,get the fork lift , boss cut the rear end out used the fork lift to pull it out to the curb dropped it and said there now get it towed outa here !
Now that's some big balls!
 
It seems there aren't many "parts" guys anymore, just folks who read questions off a computer.

several years ago my Dakota needed wiper blades, so when I was in town I stopped at Advance Auto. I told the kid I needed a set of wiper blades for a 93 Dakota. He types for a few seconds and asks "two wheel drive or four? I laughed and told him the wipers didn't know the difference.
 
Now that's some big balls!
Same owner grabbed a guy by the scruff of the collar, and the seat of the pants and marched the dude out of the shop, the owner was a well respected mechanic and businessman, great place to work never a dull moment .
 
Same owner grabbed a guy by the scruff of the collar, and the seat of the pants and marched the dude out of the shop, the owner was a well respected mechanic and businessman, great place to work never a dull moment .
My former boss was a bit of a boozehound, and known for giving an occasional "tune up" in the local Legion hall. Paid for a few renovations in the washroom.
 
You should have just sold him whatever you had laying around. Then when he called up to complain, you just say you'll be happy to issue a full refund, but he'll have to pay for return shipping.
 
Customer comes in for a price quote on replaceing a wheel bearing. Give the quote. Customer says "shop down the street will do it for XX less". I tell him "then take it there". Customer says "I wouldn't take my lawn mower to them". sheech
 
Rick I feel your pain.
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I have told customers to hit the bricks too. The price is the price.
Another one said no hurry, and it was in the lineup. Shows up 3 days in a row to see if it was fixed. Third day i flipped. It was his buddy,thinking if he pressured me it would get fixed sooner. Bounced them both off my property.

There is a local guy, has the habit of giving female staff a hard time. Service writers, parts people, restaurant staff , bank tellers and cashiers all get abuse from him. F’er doesent seem to do it when there are men present,i can imagine how he treats his wife. I keep an eye out for him, so i can catch him in the act. But hes pretty sly,one day i will get the oppurtunity to put him in his place.
 
Customer comes in for a price quote on replaceing a wheel bearing. Give the quote. Customer says "shop down the street will do it for XX less". I tell him "then take it there". Customer says "I wouldn't take my lawn mower to them". sheech

Reminds me of the old saying, "If you think good mechanics are expensive, try a cheap one..."
 
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