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Right To Repair - A Hot Issue

575 messages,  Last post on Feb 04, 2013 at 8:06 PM

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What is this discussion about? Electrical

Messages Page 53 of 58

#519 of 575 Re: Someone who understands the details [thecardoc3] by steve_ HOST

May 11, 2012 (7:16 pm)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (May 11, 2012 7:12 pm)
Sorry about your wife - medical issues are tough.
 
Did you really read the discussion? The greed comments were mostly about the customers, not the techs.

#520 of 575 Re: Someone who understands the details [steve_] by thecardoc3

May 11, 2012 (7:36 pm)

Replying to: steve_ (May 11, 2012 7:16 pm)
I'll read it again, and see if my perception of what is there changes. However "Mostly" still means some are aimed at the techs, and since I tend to expect to see that......

#521 of 575 Re: Someone who understands the details [thecardoc3] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

May 12, 2012 (1:18 pm)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (May 11, 2012 7:36 pm)
the comments were actually in defense of those accusations, and to present that the mechanic's time is not to be squandered.
 
The conclusion I came to reading the comments was that a little "goodwill" generosity makes good business sense and that most of the reputation for greed comes from the habits of service writers. The line mechanic does not make these decisions.

#522 of 575 Re: Someone who understands the details [steve_] by thecardoc3

May 20, 2012 (7:36 am)

Replying to: steve_ (May 11, 2012 7:16 pm)
OK, I read through it again. While some of the comments were made to be in defense of technicians, (thank-you shift-right), the thought process started as I interpreted it. Trying to defend against the comments is like trying to address a comment like "Do you still beat your wife?"
 
The simple facts are there are any number of people who have had careers that make them believe they are prepared to comment on what it's like being a technician, and what it costs today to try and run a viable business but they don't actually have the first hand experience of doing so.
 
For every success we have, it only takes one person to try and tear the whole operation down. I don't know if I ever told you about the guy with the windstar turn signal problem who's bill was $170 to repair. Which by the way was a charge for half of the time that was actually invested, and easily could have been mis-diagnosed and cost him well over $700 for a GEM module replacement that he didn't need. We got it right, did the repair right, cut our own throats to make the price right, and to him and everyone he has ever talked to we are crooks. If I could have seen that coming, I would have handed him a twenty told him sorry about his luck and sent him down the road without fixing his car and been better off.
 
I could talk about the guy back when I was a dealership technician. I got called to the service desk, and as soon as I got there the business owner jumped all over me for smoking in that customers car and burning a hole in the carpet. There is no doubt in my mind I was about to lose my job when the service manager spoke up about one little detail that car owner didn't account for with his lie. I don't smoke, never have, and can't stand to be near someone that does smoke. heck even getting into some people's cars where they smoke makes me ill.
 
I had to cut Friday short, and struggled through yesterday after having a reaction to the odor from the mothballs one lady has inside her car. She was here because I can handle the keyless security system on her Lincoln. I lost a day's productivity (and my lunch) for fixing it for her.

#523 of 575 Re: Someone who understands the details [thecardoc3] by steve_ HOST

May 20, 2012 (8:40 am)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (May 20, 2012 7:36 am)
Well, it could be worse.
 
You could be a car salesman.

#524 of 575 Re: Someone who understands the details [thecardoc3] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

May 20, 2012 (9:12 am)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (May 20, 2012 7:36 am)
You could name any profession and point to similar public perceptions. Doctors? Lawyers? Postal employees?
 
I mean, really, what job title is universally loved and admired? Very few indeed.
 
RE: Dealing with customers: -- If you work on cars, you're gonna have good days, and you're gonna have very bad days.
 
My Dad was a field technician for Packard--he used to say "The automobile business eats people".
 
When Packard folded, he left the biz and worked for the Better Business Bureau----having a clear understanding of how difficult it was to fix cars, he had a very high success rate of resolving complaints from car owners, and was also not hesitant to tell a consumer that their claim had no basis.
 
Keep in mind that the BBB is funded solely by business--it was created to weed out the bad apples and protect the good ones.

#525 of 575 Enjoy this article by someone who wants to help the consumers by thecardoc3

May 23, 2012 (11:43 am)

http://www.ehow.com/info_8165935_tips-pass-california-smog-test.html
 
Click on the e-how authors link and you'll find that he wrote a book about auto repair scams and shams in 1990. What's really sad is much of the information in the ehow article couldn't be more incorrect.
 
Its troublesome to see him featured as an "expert" when his words prove that he isn't qualified to hold a position as a technician.

#526 of 575 Re: Enjoy this article by someone who wants to help the consumers [thecardoc3] by steve_ HOST

May 23, 2012 (12:02 pm)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (May 23, 2012 11:43 am)
That's what happens when an ad site pays for content just to generate hits. Not all eHow.com content is low quality but a lot sure is. I don't know about other search engines, but "Google is paying attention to complaints about “content farms and sites that consist primarily of spammy or low-quality content” clogging its search results."
 
You could write a blurb about how to select a good mechanic. Maybe they'll pay you $29.

#527 of 575 Re: Enjoy this article by someone who wants to help the consumers [thecardoc3] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

May 23, 2012 (3:33 pm)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (May 23, 2012 11:43 am)
That's really wrong info! However, I have learned long ago to never consult eHow for anything.
 
Of course, consider what you pay for eHow advice
 
I get $750 a day in court to be an expert on car values.

#528 of 575 not as easy as a simple bumper sticker slogan by steve_ HOST

May 27, 2012 (6:22 am)

"Should the question go to the ballot, Bradley predicted that supporters of improving access to repair information for independent auto body shops would have an easier time framing their argument for voters.
  
“The only holdout right now is General Motors so we’re hopeful there will be an agreement reached to bring to the House. This is a very complicated and difficult issue to bring to the ballot, but from our side it’s easy to frame if it goes to the ballot. Are you going to vote for the guy on the corner who fixes your car or the manufacturers in Detroit who needed a bailout. It will be a no-brainer for voters, so I can see how it’s going to play,” Bradley said.
 
Attention, and lobbying, shifts to House on auto repair issue (bostonherald.com)

Messages Page 53 of 58

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