thelmuth

Like EkmanAutomotive, I passed my first round of ASE testing in the late 1980's. I passed as a Master Tech and had never worked on a transmission, still haven't. I was and still am good at taking tests. I recertified as a Master Tech twice over the years, with my last certification expiring in 2019. I feel that as a certification, it does little to prove competancy of a tech. There was a prerequisite of 2 years experience to be able to sit for the test, which is something, I guess. From a consumer perspective, very few have any idea what that blue seal is. It looks good hanging on the wall, but you could create your own logo and hang it on the wall and the consumer wouldn't know any diference. It really doesn't mean anything. I have found many people who think Techs have to have a certification like hairdressers and other professions do. While I don't like Gov't control, I think working on a vehicle, with so many critical systems, and the potential for causing great bodily harm if not maintained correctly should have more oversight than a hairdresser. Look at the difernece in liability ("My hair is ugly, I'm embaressed" vs "My brakes failed and I killed somebody"). ASE has not achieved the goals of promoting Automotive Service Excellence nor in educating the consumer.

I think less is definitely more. I know when I go in someplace and there are a ton of signs, etc. I just kind of ignore them all... unless I am sitting in a waiting area for a time, then I will look at them out of boredom. My wife commented to me yesterday about a 4 page ad for a local grocery store. It was laid out in a grid system with a lot of pictures. She said "I can't stand their ads. I go into information overload and don't even want to look at it."