Gonzo

I think I know what your problem is Joe. YOU are To MUCH LIKE ME.!!! (I don't think that's a bad thing) LOL You know in the years that I've been leaving comments and stories here at ASO I don't think even once you and I have ever disagreed on anything. You mentioned how sometimes some of my stories get your bloodpressure up, well, how do ya think I write them. Usually ticked off at something. LOL It's a fact that writing these stories brings up a lot of issues in the repair business that are never mentioned in any text book or conference I've ever been to. BUT, there are important situations that ever shop owner, tech, service writer, parts delivery person...etc... needs to know about because... you will experience them. Sooner or later. The part about the new tech and the starter is a classic. (I've got one of those unfinished stories in my files related to that very same thing) It's all experience that makes it all work. You can't learn it all in one night, and you'll always learn something new everyday. Don't give away your service.. Don't be the cheapest.. Don't be afraid to stand up and get paid for your time. Ok time for a couple of cold ones... ya got me riled up Joe.. LOL Oh, here's one for you too.

The customer may not know what they are talking about... but they know when your not listening...... so true

Thanx, I thought this would be a good one. Glad ya liked it.

Trade Secrets I'm often asked by a customer or another mechanic if I have some sort of trade secret for finding a short in a car. The answer is No, I really don't have a trade secret or some trick to finding them faster than most. In fact, I can only explain it in one simple word, "Practice". Years of practice. The automotive trade is unlike most other forms of labor intensive jobs. You can't use the same methods of repair from year to year. No offense to the other professional "blue-collar-trades" trades such as brick layers, plumbers, heavy equipment operators, steel workers, etc. I know full well these trades go through many changes from year to year, but in the auto industry change is a constant thing, and there is no "one" method I know of to learn how to do it all. Technicians have to continually update their education to be able to keep up with the constant change. This can be from the good old school of hard knocks to advanced classes. If you're a dealer technician chances are you'll learn the new systems for that particular manufacturer, and learn certain tricks of the trade or methods that will aide in diagnosing problems on that brand. But, if you're an independent shop that works on several different models you'll have to learn the differences between each of them in order to be able to repair them properly without the aid of the manufacturer. For instance, back in the 70's and 80's I could tell you flat out why the headlights would blink on a Ford or Chevy. It was nothing to trip the voltage regulator to full field on the old internal regulated Chevy through the little hole in the back of the alternator. If I needed to bleed the air out of a power steering system I had a little trick for that too. All of which was learned from sharing tricks of the trade from one tech to another. Each vehicle had its quirks, and for each there was a trick or a short cut to solve the problem quicker and faster. None of which is very useful today. Those systems have changed so much that the knowledge and tricks of those days are all but useless. Calling them "tricks" is probably the incorrect way of describing them. They are part of the daily diagnostics that technicians develop by studying those systems. Today is no different, we still have to find time to study and find those tricks just as we did back then. Some people want to know the "secret" to fixing the problem on their car. Why? What secret? I think they just want bragging rights around the office cooler, so they can show off to the office crew they know how to fix their own car. If it's a paying customer… I'll be glad to explain the test procedures. But, just try to walk into my shop and ask me how to repair your car or point you in the right direction on how to fix your car with no intention of paying me for my time… Oh, I'll point alright… right in the direction of the front door. I've spent a better part of my life just trying to keep up with the changes, learning the tricks of the trade, and being able to provide a service that is worthy enough to earn me a living. I can't imagine why I would want to freely give out my "tricks of the trade" (if I even had any) to people who are only going to use the information for their own good and not support my shop or techs. So, are there tricks of the trade that we conveniently keep to ourselves as technicians? Sure, not like they are only mentioned after the secret handshake and the correct password is given, no, not hardly. They are shared in different groups across the internet as well as between techs at conferences, meetings and social events. But, there are still a few things a tech might want to keep to himself. (Even the manufacturer has a few trade secrets they don't like to share.) Think about it for a second. Why do you pay a professional? Knowledge, skill, and background are what you're paying for. I call it "Time and Talent". It's the same in any profession. Just the other day a guy dropped a car off that had a problem with the door locks. I diagnosed it, had the repair authorized, and had it done that same day. Later that afternoon I called the owner and told him it was done, and he said he would be over before I closed to pick it up. When he got to the shop he told me he called another place, and they told him they could have done the same job for half as much. So I asked him, "Why didn't you have them do it in the first place?" He said, "Because they already looked at it last week, but didn't know how to figure it out. But I won't be bringing any work here again… you're too expensive." Even though I had a method of finding out what was wrong with the door locks, and spent the time to confirm the diagnosis, and had the repair price authorized by the customer before I started the work and made the repair, I still had to deal with an upset customer in the end, because somebody else told him they could do it cheaper. (Gee, and only after they knew what was wrong with it.) That's a poor trick of the trade, and it's no trade secret how some shop operators influence customers. Quite honestly, that's not even professional. When it comes to automotive repair, find a good shop. I'm sure they'll have a few tricks they can use to solve your car problems. A good independent shop with the right tools and the right attitude is not going to be the cheapest shop in town. I'll guarantee you that. But I'll bet they're pretty darn good at what they do. It's no magic act, it's training and talent, and that's "NO" trade secret! Someone asked me where do I get my inspirations for articles? Where? Right here at ASO, at trade shows, or just going to work everyday. Sometimes it's just a story I think everyone can relate to. Working on cars is hard enough, dealing with the ever changing industry is hard too, but the one constant that we can somewhat perdict is the customers reactions and other shops reputations. In some small part I think some of my stories help us all learn how to cope with those parts of our daily jobs. Leave a comment, tell me what ya think.. good or bad. It does help and it does make a difference of which story goes into print. Thanx ASO memebers... you guys and gals are the Greatest! View full article

Being in the electrical side of the business I see the situation your talking about more than I care to mention. Most of the time I get into an argument with the customer, "I've already changed that part!" you know the rest of that situation. Anymore, I try to have the argument before I get it the car in the shop. If it's one of those parts changers that think they are the know it all and I'm just some dumb idiot with a tool box I'll pass them up and tell them to take it somewhere else. What's more surprising to me, is the look on their face. They look as if I can't do that... that I can't throw them out of my shop... THE HELL I CAN'T!!! and I have several times over the years. You want professional results... pay for it buddy... IF you want crap from autozone... your choice, not mine. Seen it, been there, wrote the book actually... LOL I hope in some small way I can show the attitudes of some of these people in my stories. Treat me as a professional and I'll treat you like a customer. Act like a jerk and I'll show you a side of smart ass you've never experienced. LOL Takes years to know how to handle them. Hopefully reading a few of my stories will help the younger techs be more prepared for it than I ever was. Thanx for the comments Frank... U da Best!

I've probably lost more jobs at the front desk because I charge to "look" at a car. I mainly do electronics and not motor related repairs. All my equipment dollars are in scanners, meters, scopes..etc... they ain't cheap. I feel if I lose a job because they don't want to pay for diagnostics well... to friggin bad. Some people believe that the diagnostic time is an open ticket to spend their money to look for the problem. I don't know where that idea comes from, maybe because they couldn't figure it out that must mean that it's going to take me "hours" to figure it out. Not true... and it's hard to convince them otherwise. Here's a perfect example of a diagnostic routine I get into. Customer comes in and wants it diagnosed. I tell them it's 65 bucks to do that. 25 bucks if all they want is codes read and a description of the possible related areas of the code solution. Most of the time they'll want it diagnosed. I diagnose it. Let's say it turns out to be a blown fuse. I'll charge them 10 bucks to change the fuse. On their work order it will say: Diagnsotics 65.00 Repair cost 10.00 Total owed 75.00 Seems to work in most cases. But I still get the occasional... "It was only a fuse, well I'm not paying for the diagnostics then." Too bad, I've got the car... and when these type of people act that way I already know... they're never coming back. I'm with you Joe, I don't give it away free. It's part of my service... it's my x-ray, it's my consulation fee. Ya don't like it... hit the road. I've tried lower the diagnostics on slower times of the year, and quite frankly it doesn't help. If they are willing to have it diagnosed they'll pay for it... IF they don't think it's worthy to pay for diagnostics it doesn't matter how much it costs... they'll walk right back out the door. Never to been seen again.

It's great subject for discussion. More and more I find people don't want to pay for diagnostic time, however, they'll pay somebody to swap a part... then... be all pissy because it didn't take care of the problem. With cars even more technical than the year before I can't see how places like Autozone are going to be able to maintain a profit level if all the parts they sell can't be just "swapped" because of programming or expensive tools. The day is coming... but, like ya said. They'll always be those parts changers no matter how sophisticated the car becomes.

Frank it seems to me your answer is my story... great comment... LOL... I couldn't agree more. ROFL Gonz

Parts Changers Never a day goes by that somebody doesn't email me, calls, or is standing in the lobby with the same type of ridiculous idea about automotive repair. For some reason, (Why, I don't know) certain people think the way to fix a car is simply to change a part. I guess that's how they think a repair shop does it. Or maybe that's the way they were taught to repair a car. Then there are a few of these screw driver twisting, bolt stripping, car jockeys who take parts changing to a whole new level. They generally start out something like this: "My car won't start, so I changed the fuel pump, the starter, injectors, battery, and ignition switch. When that didn't work I put in a new MAP sensor, crank sensor, coolant sensor, and a water pump… but it's still not working. What do you think the problem is?" Oh, I already know what the second problem is. You worked on it first! The first problem is now secondary to you working on the car. It's pretty typical, ask them what's wrong with the car, and instead of telling you "what's wrong" they'll tell you "what they've done". The first thing should have been to tell me about the car… the second thing should have been what you did to it first. Sometimes the real funny part is when they tell me the car won't start, but don't give any important information like: it won't crank, it only turns over, it spits and sputters but never runs…etc. Instead they'll tell me something like, "I know what it is, I just haven't found it yet." Seriously dude, I think your dipstick is leaking… I can tell … there's oil dripping off of it. It might do you some good to put your tool box out at the next garage sale. You could save a lot of money on your next car repair that way. Here's one phone call I'll never forget. An older gentleman called and said he has been working on cars for nearly 30 years, but this one car was getting the best of him. He has already changed every part he could think of, and it was absolutely no help. After asking around town at several other repair shops, my name kept coming up as the person to diagnose his car. He went on to tell me about some sort of connector under the hood with nothing connected to it. He was certain it must be for a sensor, and the missing sensor was the cause of his entire problem. Not only did he not know what sensor it was, but he couldn't tell where the sensor would go if he had the part to change. "Sir, there are lot of connectors on different cars that go nowhere under the hood. It's probably something that this car doesn't use. Bring it in, and I'll diagnose the problem for you," I told him, being as helpful as I could. "Yea, that's just what you want me to do. So you can charge me to read the codes like the rest of those moron mechanics out there," he answered. I took that as an insult. I said I'll diagnose the problem. I never said anything about reading codes. If there is a code stored I certainly would check into the diagnostic procedures pertaining to that code, and see if it has anything to do with his problem. But I'm not code chasing, I'm car fixing. "Sir, if all you want is a code read then why don't you go down to one of those parts stores that will read the code for free. Codes don't fix cars! I told you I would diagnose the problem!" I blasted back at him now that he's got me riled up. (I'll bet I didn't sound as friendly as I did when I first picked up the phone.) Apparently, after 30 years of fixing cars this guy never diagnosed a problem. His entire career was based on changing parts until it fixed the car. What was the problem with this car?? …… He ran out of parts to change! "I can fix it if you could tell me what part needs replaced, so don't give me any of that high tech answer stuff. Just tell me what part to change," he answers back. You can just about guess what happened next; he wasn't about to pay for any of my services. Ok fella, your time is up! Go ask another one of your friends where you should go. Since you were kind enough to classify me and my trade as a moron, I know where I'm going to tell you to go… hope ya like hot places. Then there was this naïve used car salesmen who thought he could buy a used scanner that would have the complete dictionary of auto parts by code stored in it. With that he could change parts and fix the cars, all without consulting a technician or pay a diagnostic fee. "You'll need to diagnose the code results not just change the parts pertaining to the code. A scanner is NOT a mechanic in a box, as you seem to think it is," I told him. Nope, no dice, his mind was made up. He knew there was a scanner that would do just what he thought it would, and I was only keeping it a big secret. As he put it, "I'm no dummy; I know how to fix cars." Hmmm, are ya sure about that? Why don't you just stick to selling them, because your "mechanically inclined" part is broke, and I'm not qualified to fix things like that… even with a scanner. Parts changers, ah yes… what would a day be like at the shop without one. So many places to buy parts, so many tools and so many backyard garages. I'd like to tell all the parts changers out there: "When you're all done playing mechanic come see the guys at your local repair shop. Pay them for taking care of your problem. It will be a change from buying parts, and when the tech is done with the repair the only thing you'll have to do is … "Part with your change." View full article

That's pretty much the point of this story. Same type of car... but different wacky people. (trying to see if someone read between the lines and understood what I was getting at) I was trying to make the point that the cars ARE difficult at times to repair--but possible. It's the customer who makes the repair impossible. It's not the car... but there always seems to be a pattern with certian cars and their owners, the wacky ones tend to find the odd ball cars ... it's like a moth to a flame. LOL

My Nemesis Could there be an Achilles heel in the auto world that I would consider my nemesis? Is it possible there is a "kryptonite car" that brings chaos everywhere it goes? Should I run away at the first sign of these diabolical vermin of my undoing? If there was ever such a car, it would no doubt be … The PT CRUISER… I'm getting to the point I don't even want to see one come in for an oil change. Now, don't get me wrong… I like the little car. I just find more problems with the car vs. the owner than any other make and model these days. Perhaps, it's not the car … perhaps it's the owners of these cars… maybe they are the kryptonite, and the car is merely the portal of transportation bringing them to the shop faster than a speeding bullet. You know, it's been said for many years that a person takes on the traits of their cars. It's like trying to explain your eccentric Uncle Hugo to someone. Just mention he still drives an old Rambler everywhere, they'll get the picture. Funny, how these associations became reality. (Personally, I like the old Ramblers.) Even though it was never intended to be like this when the car was manufactured, those little quirks and style of the car become essentially an expression of the owner. Sometimes it's like Clark Kent and his alter ego -- Superman. You just never know what to expect out of some people. So far, these PT Cruiser's haven't let me down. Servicing them can be like leaping tall buildings with a single bound. (Easy for Superman, not so easy for me.) I'd like to know who thought of putting the A/C service valve way down in the engine bay. I can't even get my arm in there. Or the way the power steering pressure hose is corkscrewed around the engine. All that and more comes to mind when working on these cars, but it's still those odd ball problems that I encounter with the car and the owners that makes them unique. I've had everything from a PT Cruiser that came in for repair where a bodyshop used drywall screws to hold the front grill back on the car. AND, they used "Bondo" over their screws, so you couldn't tell what they had done until you tried to remove it. My problem wasn't why the body shop used drywall screws… no… my problem was the air conditioner. Could it be, because someone had put a drywall screw right through the wiring harness? Gee, now how did that get there? The odd part was the owner was more pissed at me for removing the grill to find the problem than the bodyshop using drywall screws to hold it on. And then there was the lady who had taken her car to several dealerships and transmission shops. It turned out to be a bad connection between the TCM and the transmission. Not a big deal to repair, you just had to be there at that particular moment to see the failure. It's probably why no one else had found it. But, as soon as I fixed the connection the fluid had a chance to move thru the transmission… and it began to leak. Not bad, but bad enough. I showed the owner the leak, and told her it wouldn't take long to repair. She then told me how mad she was and how much she spent at the other places. "I'm never going back to them ever again," she would say over and over. But, instead of having me fix the leaking valve body… she was going back to the guy she was ticked off at. Huh? I guess she needed to spread more of that PT Cruiser kryptonite to another shop. But the top of list was this little caper. A transmission shop I've worked with for many years dropped one off for me to check the electronics to the transmission. Normally, it's no big deal, except for the huge snow storm that evening. It was one of the worst storms to hit our area in years. It started snowing on the way home Wednesday night, by morning I was stuck at the house until the snow plows could clear the roads, which from the looks of things, wasn't going to be for several days. (My part of the country doesn't have the fleet of snow plows like the northern parts do… we pretty much wait until it melts. (They'll plow the main roads everything else is left untouched.) Around 11:30pm Friday evening with the snow still coming down my home phone rang. It was the owner of the PT Cruiser, who by all rights was pretty ticked off. She has been without her little car for quite some time. She demanded that I go to the shop, open it up, and get her son's basketball out of the car. (For real… no joke here… she was dead serious.) Any other day, sure…, except for the fact that you couldn't tell the road from the ditches and I have a 45 minute commute from my house to the shop even on days with good roads and light traffic. Let's see here…, it's dark, there's a couple of feet of drifting snow on the road, it's probably going to take me a couple of hours to navigate my way into town, providing I don't end up in a ditch myself. Ah, let me think about this a second… done… not happening! Now picture this, I'm standing in my kitchen looking out over the snow covered front lawn while I'm listening to her version of the repair right down to each and every penny she has spent, and mind you, she wasn't holding back any remarks about anyone involved. I don't know about you, but when I'm home…, I'm home. I'd rather not talk shop, and this lady was pushing the wrong buttons. I tried to calm her down and explain things in a logical way, the weather, the time of the day, and unless I was Clark Kent, I'm pretty sure it will have to wait till the storm passes. No dice, this lady was P.O.'d! Sorry lady, I'm sure your son will make it one more night without his precious basketball. Resourceful gal, I'll give her that, but there won't be any road trips to the Metropolis tonight. What gets into people sometimes? Then again, it's not the owners… it's the car…… it just gotta be the car…. Superman has his kryptonite…, and I've got my PT Cruisers…. I really appreciate all your thoughts and comments. These stories are here before final editing or publication. Some make it, some don't. I don't know which ones will until you tell me. I then send them onto my editors for final approval. You like this story, leave a comment... it will help me decide which ones go onto publication. Thanx again. Gonzo View full article

Glad to have ya here! There's lots to do at ASO and always new articles and new things to read about. You'll find help from all aspects of running a repair shop to dealing with customers. Great site. keep in touch!

Good points Joe, and YES discounted prices brings discounted customers. Most of which are only shopping by bargain not by quality. I like your idea of rewarding faithful customers with an occasional discount... good thinking. Also, about the car count... I would have to agree my car count has been way... way...way down from previous years and I've weathered the storm. Still here...barely but still thriving and making a small profit. Keeping the quality up and loyal customers is what helped. Good article ...

Both good points guys. It is an up hill battle trying to keep the peace with the customer when they feel something is wrong with the repair. (Or so they believe) most of the time it is something else that's wrong, not the same thing again. To me the weakest link in the repair business isn't the fact I tell the customer there is a chance something may go wrong in the future, it isn't the fact that I try ever which way to avoid problems... it's the customer and the wallet. Where in the world did someone get the idea that you can purchase a car and it will never have a problem? Seriously, you buy a house and it never EVER is going to have a dripping faucet or a door knob come loose. Ah, dah??? That's the part that gets me. Manufacturers are so busy selling their car they forget to imform people about maintenance. AND, if we try to tell them, well.... we're just out to take their money... but what we are trying to do is avoid those come back calls with proper car care. Go figure. Well, some how I'll work everybody up with another story next week. Thanx for the comments. Love to read them. Gonz

Just to let ya know... he did charge me the second time... I'd wouldn't have expected anything else. To bad that's a real argument when it comes to car repair... people just don't understand.

A Day at the Dentist Some time ago I had a root canal procedure at my buddy's dental office. If you've never had one, you're missing a whole lot of fun (I'm kidding… it ain't fun at all.) It's not cheap, that's for sure. But like a lot of my customers will tell me, "Well, it needed to be done." I thought I was through with dental problems for awhile. But, I was wrong, a few months later I had the same tooth ache in the same tooth that was just worked on. The crown he put on was so tight he couldn't get it off. So instead he drilled thru the cap and down into the nerve that was giving me a problem. Thankfully, I was completely numb and couldn't feel a thing, except when he actually hit the nerve… zowee!!! Yep, that's the spot alright. My dentist is an old friend of mine, and we're always kidding around with each other. I fix his family cars, and he takes care of the family teeth. He even comes up to my place to do a little fishing now and then. After the last needle was gouged into my gums and all the sharp instruments were safely put away, I thought I'd have a little fun with my buddy. I told him I really wanted to pull this little gag when I first walked into the waiting room. Something like this: Walk into the waiting room and start getting louder and louder. Demand my money back for such a botched repair job. Tell everyone within ear shot that I'm going to sue and call the Better Business Bureau. Start stomping my feet and tell him how lousy a dentist he is, and that I'm never, ever coming back again… because… "It's doing the same thing" I told him this is how some people will act when they come to a repair shop over similar situations. He didn't seem to like my little joke… I guess it didn't sound as funny as I thought it did, but he did have a great comeback for me though. "There are several hidden avenues of problems that can't be foreseen. Until you cross the original problem off the list of possibilities you just never know. Even using the best diagnostics available things can still go wrong, but we always hope for the best results no matter what the situation." Wow, I should write this down. Now old Doc, he's a pretty sharp guy. Doc has a way of understanding people from the mental side of things as well as diagnosing and repairing. Doc looks at things with a different outlook than I do. It's a bigger part of the job than people realize. His patients come in with a pain; he'll diagnose the problem and make the correct repair. I've got to admit I wouldn't want to stick my fingers in everybody's mouth all day long. It's not the job for me; I'll stick to fixing cars. You can ask a patient, "Does this hurt?" and they'll tell you. Cars on the other hand don't and can't really answer that question. The big difference is… my patient is the car. It does talk to me, in a way, just not like a patient at the dentist office does. I've got to figure out a way to make the car talk to me. Then I have to inform the customer of the cost of the repair and hope there isn't too much pain involved. (I could use a little Novocain for the customer right about now.) When the dentist says… "This is going to cost you a thousand dollars", and you're sitting there, holding your hand against the side of your cheek, I guarantee, you'll nod your head yes. It's just not that easy when it comes to car repair. Making a scene at the dentist office doesn't seem like the smart thing to do, or for that matter, having an all out tantrum at the repair shop isn't going to solve a thing either. It's a shame that some people feel the need to come "un-glued" over a car repair. It's a car … we can fix it. Honestly, a majority of the time I find the complaints about their cars are similar to my problem with my tooth ache. Related yes, but not due to the previous repairs in the way they feel it is. As a technician I have to assume the role of a doctor, and diagnose a problem quickly and accurately and do the best I can to avoid the "same thing" syndrome, but if it does happen just like it did with my root canal, work on how to repair it not make a scene. Hey, things happen… who knows why… I know I don't. Maybe using my dentist's words of wisdom could help the next time something like this happens again. I did learn something new about dealing with bad situations from my buddy … that's for sure. I got a little more than a root canal that day. I'm glad my dentist friend and I had our little talk. He's a great guy, a great dentist, and a good friend too. So the next time I have a tooth ache I'll make an appointment. I know it's going to cost me money, I know it's going to be painful, but I know I can't take care of it myself. Car repair should be the same way. I'm sure when I finally get to the dentist office and I'm sitting in that chair, he's going to pull out one of his sharp pointed instruments and start probing around and ask, "Does this hurt?" I know exactly what I'm going to do. I'm only going to nod my head… open wide… and pay the bill. I hope everyone enjoys the stories. It's not easy to come up with new material (good ones) But I keep trying. As these stories come together I work on sending the better ones out to my editors. Your input helps make the decision as to which stories go to print. Leave a comment, let me know. Always, always appreciated. Gonzo Don't forget to visit my website www.gonzostoolbox.com Also, if you haven't picked up a copy of my book "Hey Look, I Found the Loose Nut" get one. Pick a copy up at my website, I'll send it to you ... signed! (wow, what an incentive... LOL...) Thanx again. View full article