Custom Coach

yes there are people who are not my customers either. BUT people walk into my shop everyday some turn out to be customers and some you just can not get through to no matter what analogy you use. I do however try to inform people about their vehicle and their troubles so they don't get the idea all mechanics are crooks and just out to take advantage of them like some of these commercials try to lead people to believe. I still believe their should be a one size fits all initial scan charge because dealers around here charge $100.00 and up to do an initial scan and a lot of people cant afford that So I charge $50.00 and that makes the customer happy because they are saving money and it more than covers my scanner updates every year and any trade in / upgrades it might need

This is a touchy subject. Most people believe that the GODS of the automotive stores have all the answers in THEIR scans and trying to convince most customers its a generic scanner and their could be more to it than what their scan shows This sometimes is like pulling teeth for the fact that they saw it on TV so it has to be true. I had a gentleman a couple years back brought me his car and over $500.00 in parts that the local AutoZone sold him because that's what was affiliated with his codes. I told him lets hook up mine and see what it really said. turned out his whole problem was a chewed wire leading to the MAF sensor grounding out to the block once in a while However with all these aftermarket gizmos you just plug in and you get a code on your smart phone because WE ARE ALL CROOKS according to the commercials its getting harder and harder to convince the younger drivers that our scanners and we ourselves just might know more than these cheap scanners. my favorite commercial around here show a couple in the middle of nowhere and the check engine light come on and he pulls over to stare under the hood BUT the next time with their new code scanner it sends a message to her phone telling her its a faulty sensor and she just tells him that and then says were good! well it all depends on which sensor it is if your good or not or you might be walking in the next 5 miles got to love infomercials (NOT)

we had one that the day the customer picked up the car he cried on social media about his so called mediocre paint job and how anyone with brains would never have work done here I simply replied with the truth ( " If you were not happy with your cars paint job then you should have brought your concerns to our attention when you were picking the car up then we could have addressed your concerns at that time ") I now have a woman who is suppose to bring her car back for a check engine light concern to see if its from work recently done by me but she has canceled or no showed twice so far so we will se if she shows up Tuesday morning this week or not if she is a no show again I will just write her off as a lost cause because I am offering to scan her car for free to see if its recent parts changed if so I will replace them at no cost to her if it turns out to be something else then I will try to explain to her what needs done and leave the ball in her court if she wants me to do the work or not. but she cant say I never tried to help her

We note the damages to every part of the car and these are backed up by date and time stamped photos once the pictures come up on the screen for them to see with the car sitting right where they parked it initially and the photos are time and day stamped there's never been a problem I don't think most of these people expect you to have pictures of their car before service

I have run across the massive colony of little black ants millions I believe turned the red carpet black in one large area. I also run across a compulsive buyer she once that left meat in her van right front floor stacked up to the seat all these bags were moving and the smell OMG I refused to even touch the van let alone get within 20 ft. of it after initial contact of opening the door on a hot day. But by far the most heart stopping thing was opening a car hood to find a LIVE 😲 opossum under there right beside the hood release handle how I missed getting bit is beyond me getting it out from there turned out to be a whole new ball game and much like the ants it left the car dead

The cars I really cannot stand to work on are people who work at a local donut shop these people work near the fryers and the smell and the cleanliness conditions in the car has turned me off locally made donuts completely

Not only do you have to worry about what's in someone's messy car that might poke or bite.(or just plain gross you out) But now there is the spreading epidemic of fentanil and CARFENTANIL to worry about. Just a little contact with this white powder that looks like baby powder can land you in either the hospital or the morgue if not caught in time. I have gone out and bought some cheap bed spreads to put in questionable cars that after use go into a bag to be washed on sterilize cycle and I am thinking of getting full body disposable painters suits to wear with the rubber gloves I already use. It doesn't matter rich or poor, color or nationality if they are using you are at risk to exposure So please be careful if your shop is near any size city with this pro

Joe I see your points and 99.9 percent is on the money. I have been commented to that I bring negativity with me when I post. NO its not negativity that you are reading its a very small shop owner speaking his mind over current concerns with multi million dollar marketing geared to crush the little guy just like Wal-Mart has done to mom and pop stores that were doing just fine or even great till they came to the local area. Most of the smaller places lost out and had to close because they could not compete with radically low prices and massive quantities on hand. My town has 35,000 plus residence we now have a booming motor sports college I was doing just fine never a worry about income but when you throw in your regular competition and now almost every kid going to this college opening un licensed back yard shops and throw on top of it all the parts houses now promoting DIY it (SOMETIMES) gets to be a struggle. I took over my dads shop in 2008 after working beside him since I was 2 I am not a novice at this I know what needs done to keep the lights on and I love what I do! But a little help from parts suppliers could go a long way to help the very small shops (4 people and less) and to get their discount many times requires you to spend 2,000 or more a month just to get a 5% discount sometimes that's hard to do month to month when your fighting competition, college kids, and parts suppliers. negative no but just concerns from small shop owners

glad to have you with us

That's just the thing there are more and more customers who think they can do it themselves because of places like AutoZone, AAP , Oreilly, ECT ECT and lets not forget the YouTube pros that make everything look so easy (if it only was that easy). So just saying move along and serve the next customer wont fly unless you have a never ending supply of new customers daily. Not to get off subject a little but I read on another thread where a man was told if he had a part for $ 100.00 his cost to tell the customer it was $ 200.00 and so on marking up the parts 100% how is this possible when people can go to these parts stores and get the exact same part and brand for a little more than what we are paying? its almost a daily struggle to convince some people anymore that you do know a hell of a lot more than Joe behind the counter poking buttons on a computer or reading them the generic code scan list of what's wrong with their car. It seems like everything Automotive anymore is geared to removing ( ALL MECHANICS ) from the equation of working on cars and everything can be DIY. Its like watching these shows on TV where they restore a house or a classic car in a week or less we all know this cant be done with the 2-6 people working on them but what they don't show you is the crew of 20-30 people who are really doing the job when the cameras are off. These parts stores can advertise a lot of easy DIY stuff but they should also inform the customer that not everything they sell can be done without a true mechanic. I myself have had people bring in their own parts 99% of the time they end up being the wrong parts or if they are the right ones I inform them I am not responsible if their part fails I stand behind my instillation but not behind these cheaply made parts that look like they wont last out of the box.

what gets me is it does not matter where you buy your parts from if the consumer/customer can buy from the same place nine times out of ten they can buy the part for the same price or a few dollars more. so where is the real savings to the shop buying from these suppliers ? oh if I buy 2,000.00 or more a week from AAP I get an extra percentage off but I have to maintain that 2,000.00 or more a week to get it . so I guess what we are suppose to do is sell the part at cost and jack up labor? I do not go for the cheap parts they never last I prefer to spend a little more and get the parts that will last or at least they can be greased. I think there should be a definite price gap between what we pay and what the customer at the same place walks in and pays. I agree with Joe

Our shop is a very small one body and paint man (my brother) and one mechanic (me). I charge for the initial scan and I do my best to get across to the customer just what it is that my equipment does that the cheap scanners at AutoZone, advance auto and Oreilly auto don't look for or cannot see as a generic scanner. I had one customer who stopped in and had several hundred dollars worth of parts with them from the free read auto parts store. They wanted me to change everything they had bought, I could have been greedy and taken their money but instead I said let me scan it and see what we are dealing with for certain. Instead of them spending a large amount of money to fix the problem they spent 200.00 to fix the problem and took back the parts that were not required to fix the problem. my scanner is wireless so I can let my customers watch the process I go through and they can see first hand that I can usually narrow down the trouble through the testing process. this way its better than just saying well it might be this lets throw a b & c at it and see what sticks.

Just the best Very well said. The ONLY reason we ever got hooked into the chamber was the top woman there was a very good customer. She promised great insurance rates through their membership and small business loans etc. etc. After four meetings I realized it was all BS and it was more or less an excuse to start drinking at breakfast (don't condemn those that do) but don't like being the odd man out either! I do know its very hard to get any kind of help when you really are a small business (under 10 total employees including the boss) most consider a small business to be from 50 to 100 employees. Hopefully the new government administration will not leave us slip through the cracks as he has promised

The ones I don't like are the customers who come back a year or more later complaining about a problem. They claim they have hardly driven the car since it left my shop but you pull their file and really there is almost 5 to 10 thousand miles more than what I wrote the day the car arrived how do you explain this ? I don't know but its still all your fault that it broke even though that's not what you fixed when it was here. These are my (EVER SINCE) people, enough to drive you to drink sometimes 😲

I was a member of ours for about 3 years. I felt let down and left out when I would attend their wake rattle and roll morning get together and I was the only body/service center there and was treated like the plague. ( probably because I didn't wear a suit and tie) but was cleanly dressed for work in a new shirt and clean pants. No other business approached me all My business cards we all still on the table when leaving and if I walked up to some while they were talking and laughing they stopped or got quiet till I passed by almost like the popular groups in high school. The worst part was they said they could help small businesses with insurance and other things sure they could if you had 50+ employees or were willing to pay top dollar to be on their top business list but a small shop of 10 or less was left out in the cold. The local BBB is the same way if I want to PAY THEM $ 300.00 a year I can be on their A+ rated list ? I was like (what are you serious pay money to be on the A+ list) I always thought the BBB was customer rated not another pay to be top dog listings?

I am good with all the drivers from the towing companies here offering cold water when its hot out or coffee when its cold . But I think its underhanded to pay a driver to steer a customer your way and if you do it once you will have to do it every time they bring you a new customer. what if word gets out between towers and they all want paid for referrals? which depending on the size of the town could get to be quite costly over time. What if most that get steered your way are one time shots? then you are out the extra you paid to get them turned to your shop in the first place. That's just my opinion but to each his own. Not trying to step on any toes here.

One big drawback to letting someone tow in customers or potential new customers is if they have a friend who runs a shop they might try to steer a customer/ new customer to the friend instead of you. I had this happen to me and was none the wiser till a customer called to inform me of this we have our own tow truck but its hard to do it all when there are only two of you here. But to lose a customer to a seedy tower is not acceptable so I take the time and do it myself that way I know I am going the extra mile to keep my customers and hopefully keep them happy.

There is a local kia dealer here in town. I have talked to a very nice woman there who will give you the entire story not just the basic answers However their service after the sale (SUCKS) in the opinion of multiple customers, who have gone back just to be told well that used car you bought last week well your troubles are not covered under the warranty or oops you bought that car as is . I cannot say for a fact that their used cars are patched up just for quick sales but as a car dealer with multiple dealerships through out the state you think you would treat your customers with just a little more care than (well we got your money now hit the road) This type of complaint can be found on all forms of social media about all his dealerships which is something I try not to let happen at my shop. I tell my customers if something is wrong with a repair I performed come back and I will make it right at no extra cost to you. However on the flip side of that coin I have had customers want me to fix cars from other shops for free or other troubles that crop up with their vehicle months or years down the road not related to my repair but just because I touched it last.

I think why most of the shops around here will not write their cost down is because some of the customers like to try and strong arm the better /more qualified shops into compromising their service and price because someone else claims on paper they can do it better and cheaper. I for one don't have a problem talking to another shop about a problem or concern but I will not cheapen myself to keep a customer from running to the cheaper deal which we all know is not always better. Because if I cheapen my standards to keep that customer once they will try it every time its almost like being prostituted for services rendered .

I have had several (new) customers in the past months tell me that a couple local (so called shops) have told them to never take their car to us because we are rip off artists ?? One shop in particular has no name on their building and unless you stop on the busy street at the building in front of theirs you have no clue they work on cars back there. I don't know if I am to honest or what but if it doesn't need replaced I wont throw parts at a perfectly good vehicle just to make money (its a waste of my time) and I feel if the customer finds out that makes me look bad and very dishonest. Like I said in my own thread I have enough problems with the local tech school grinding out so called techs like so much ground hamburger a semester claiming to know it all and can do it cheaper. But like I have always said cheaper is not always better and bad mouthing someone's shop you never met or had a personal contact with is just asinine. I have tried contacting a couple shops where people have had their cars to explain the customers concerns as they were told to me and they have no interest in listening to you they just want it all to go away as if they don't care if the customer ever comes back or not. which in the long run only gets you a bad reputation and puts the other local shops in the they are all crooks category.

I just had a customer walk in yesterday telling me he has been to two other shops and they cannot figure out what his overheating problem is on his Benz. I asked him if the check engine light was on and he said it was. I told him that's the best place to start. He then proceeds to tell me that's where the others started but found nothing I took the customer home and told him I would call when I was sure I found the trouble. I scanned the 2006 C230 Benz and it was loaded with codes found most were low voltage codes noticed ALT had been changed cleared those codes and started car all checked out as no codes found but check engine was still on. I went back and brought up power train and read codes there it was a P0694 (engine and ac suction fan with integrated control ) output stage . Did the recommended tests a to make sure it was not the temp sensor and even with the ac compressor running no fan moving which means to even a novice that the fan is bad. The customer will not tell me where he had it and I will not push the subject either but to miss something this clear and simple leads me to believe they are either a novice with no clue on what to do or they have a cheap over the counter scanner which will not give them all the codes on some of these foreign cars. Either way I am leaning toward the previous two mechanics (using that word lightly) to be tech school kids with no clue on what they are looking for but hoping to score a fix like a gun fighter getting another notch for their gun belt. 😱 oh my.

papshop. That's the way it is here today. we hired one kid about 10-15 years ago as a favor to his dad (his dad and mine were friends) He became a certified air brake mechanic in 2 weeks and never laid a hand on any part of an air brake system. The teacher had the students form a semi circle behind him and watched him do all the work then they took a test and got to use the books with the answers in the lesson. and there was not a day that went by when my brother did not threaten to kill him for not listening to his instructions. I got my macs R12 license through them I took the book and test read the book left it at work went home took the test and missed one question. The instructor graded it and asked if I used the book I told him no and where the book was while I answered the test questions. He replied well if you would have used the book like we let our students do you would have gotten all the answers right because they are in the book. I looked at him like he had lobsters crawling out of his ears and I thought to myself how is that learning anything if you already have the correct answers. Today you can go on that side of town and tell what kids are in the auto or diesel classes there at school They are out in public day or night looking like they just used themselves to change the oil and tranny in a car or diesel (dirty bodies filthy clothes) steel toed shoes that don't fit (so they sound like a Clyde's dale walking through the store) and this facial hair that looks like they all shaved a dogs butt and glued it to their face in no uniformed manner. The only kids that I have had the pleasure of getting to know there ( are few and far between ) but they work for a local parts store as delivery drivers and they grew up on dad or grand dads farm or shop so they are there to learn and take that tech home to help out on the farm or rural community. The rest are there just to help this non profit college expand their fleet of 18 wheeled race car haulers at last count was 7 nascar style semi trucks (capable of hauling 2 cars in each) and a couple semi truck style motor homes.

yes I have been down that road many times. The worst two words I ever want to hear from a customers mouth is EVER SINCE. years ago we restored a gentleman's 1965 rambler this car looked better than show room new. Several months after we delivered it to the customer he called and threatened a law suit because we supposedly had stolen his steering wheel and replaced it with one from a semi truck LOL he was comparing the wheel size to his mid 80's small Chevrolet which of course did not have a wheel the size of the older car. took us months to finally get that monkey off our back. it has even been our fault in a customers eyes because their car ran out of gas a week after we did a tune up. I often wonder where they get their correlation between work done and their new troubles.