Maybe I'm getting cynical with age, but ....

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Mopar to ya

Mopar to ya

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People are idiots. I may need to find a new line of work, because every day it drives me more and more nuts. A lady had an oil change and had us diagnose a rough idle. No real issues, the fuel trims were off a bit. We cleaned the throttle body, reset the fuel trims and sent her on her way. Today she calls up screaming because her car died in Edina. She wants us to tow it for free and refund her money because we didn't fix the problem. Yelling, screaming, telling me it's the same problem and we are idiots because we didn't fix it. Wait just a minute. You had a rough idle. You never mentioned the car died! It never died until you worked on it! Great. I get it towed in and she has a bad fuel pump. She wants me to fix it for free and pay for the tow. I refused. It's a whole separate issue. Things break all the time. The car obviously ran for five days. I didn't put a time bomb in the fuel pump to make it break after five days so I could make more money off you. And maybe you didn't notice that all 78 parking spots in my lot are full. I don't need to make more work. I have more than I can handle already. You drive an 8 year old car with 120K on it. Things are going to break. Deal with it. Rant over. It was a crappy day.
 
That's one reason I got out of the repair business early on and learned a different occupation. I got tired of owning a customers car once I repaired it.
 
Kill her with a sledge hamm.......I mean kindness.
 
I repair anything my boss owns. He won't buy new parts unless he absolutely has to . He buys all this worn out junk . then when you can't fix it wiyh old parts he tells people it was fine before and you ruined it.
 
Mopar to ya said:
People are idiots. I may need to find a new line of work, because every day it drives me more and more nuts. A lady had an oil change and had us diagnose a rough idle. No real issues, the fuel trims were off a bit. We cleaned the throttle body, reset the fuel trims and sent her on her way. Today she calls up screaming because her car died in Edina. She wants us to tow it for free and refund her money because we didn't fix the problem. Yelling, screaming, telling me it's the same problem and we are idiots because we didn't fix it. Wait just a minute. You had a rough idle. You never mentioned the car died! It never died until you worked on it! Great. I get it towed in and she has a bad fuel pump. She wants me to fix it for free and pay for the tow. I refused. It's a whole separate issue. Things break all the time. The car obviously ran for five days. I didn't put a time bomb in the fuel pump to make it break after five days so I could make more money off you. And maybe you didn't notice that all 78 parking spots in my lot are full. I don't need to make more work. I have more than I can handle already. You drive an 8 year old car with 120K on it. Things are going to break. Deal with it. Rant over. It was a crappy day.
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Feel your pain.

After 20 years of this kind of crap I now build trains for a living.
 
I always love the call that starts with " I just ad it in there" Then when I pull up the file and see they did indeed "just had it in there" two years ago :banghead:
 
I don't miss it either, but now I own every computer I fix so it's not limited to autos.

I also get the "I forgot to ask him this when he was here, so could you have him call me when he gets home?"
"I don't know how to resize my pictures" or some other crap that they think they are going to get free help with.
 
I feel your pain. I'm SOOOO sick of working on cars. People have no clue. I'm hoping to get out of this lousy business.
 
Did wrenching for 8 years,too much drama for me.Also made me want to work on my own stuff,after I quit.
 
............Some days I feel like throwing in the towel also, but then there's those days when a grateful customer makes ur day..........kim....
 
TrailBeast said:
I don't miss it either, but now I own every computer I fix so it's not limited to autos.

I also get the "I forgot to ask him this when he was here, so could you have him call me when he gets home?"
"I don't know how to resize my pictures" or some other crap that they think they are going to get free help with.
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That's why I don't do side jobs anymore. Once you touch it, everything that happens from then on is "your fault".

I just tell people I work on servers and they're "different".

There's a LOT of the diagnostic end that's VERY similar between cars and computers.

A lot of what people are paying for (and don't realize) is the expertise for the diagnoses.
Actually changing the parts or making the fix is usually the easiest part.
 
wow.....maybe the auto industry is not as dreamy as it looks from the other side of the lake .....here im trying to get into the auto repair business and a lot of you guys are trying to get out. :shock::shaking:
 
RaniDart70 said:
wow.....maybe the auto industry is not as dreamy as it looks from the other side of the lake .....here im trying to get into the auto repair business and a lot of you guys are trying to get out. :shock::shaking:
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It's definitely not, Rani.

At my previous company, I used to build and program assembly line machines for the auto companies, and that side of things is an absolute nightmare as well.

I had to deal with "The machine is programmed wrong" calls every time something hiccuped, and 99% of the time it was something that either they did wrong, or a failed 10 year old sensor that they somehow think should last forever.

Now, I program aerospace equipment, and they're a million times more sensible than the automotive industry.
 
i'd fix it for the price of the fuel pump, just to get rid of her. if she will agree to pay for it or buy it herself at napa. tell her next time tell people exactly what is going on... not say it has a "rough idle" if it's been cutting out. also recommend a new shop...
 
Part of being a mechanic or, Auto Tech", as they are called now, is dealing with customers. Right, wrong, or indifferent, the customer has more control over your business than you can ever imagine. A customer who receives great work from an auto shop will usually tell two or three people IF asked. A customer who receives poor work, or what they consider to be poor customer service will tell everyone they meet that day WITHOUT being asked, and will bring it up again in any conversation that comes up regarding auto service. and they will do that whether you (the Shop) is right, or not.

Dealing with a customer who thinks you are responsible for something, even if you are not, is a SKILL. Having that customer leave with a smile on his/her face after such an encounter is an ART. It's tough, and you usually end up swallowing a lot of pride.
You don't have to lose money, or business on the deal, though, and that's the important part. You do have to invest some time, though, and that's always a difficult idea to accept, especially if your very busy.

It is a necessary thing to do, though. Taking time to calmly explain the the work you've done, and how it doesn't involve anything that is part of this new issue, in a manner in which they can understand, is key.
It IS possible to explain things logically and calmly to the customer's satisfaction, even if the customer insists that everything is your fault. It might take more time than you are comfortable with, but USUALLY in the end, the customer will leave satisfied, and you won't have to eat any repair work or towing charges, and more importantly, you won't screw up your company's good name or reputation.

Complaining customers what one thing, attention. They want to know that you are going to listen to their complaint, and what they think the cause and the remedy is. Usually, after they've gotten it off their chests, they are more likely to listen to reason, but not excuses. Be honest, logical, calm. Explain things and stop if they have questions or comments. Don't try to talk down to them, and don't try to throw a blanket over the situation and either ignore them or tell them flatly that they are wrong. Even when they are.

Usually when it comes to care repairs, people are spending a lot of money, that is worth a few uninterrupted minutes of your time. You'll find that you're interest in them, and your patience, will pay off in the long run.
 
Well said, Frankie!

I'm having some issues with getting a set of wheels from Centerline right now, and there has been yet another delay as of a few days ago. The person I talked to blamed the shop guys (indirectly) for the confusion and delay.

If he had just come out and said "Hey, Ron, I F-ed up when I told you the wheels were done 2 weeks ago, and I'm sorry." I would have accepted that, and then moved on.
 
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