TheTrustedMechanic

Ever since I started working (in customer service jobs especially) I have always subscribed to the notion that there were three factors to every consumer's choice, in order of importance 1) Customer Service 2) Quality 3) Price. Sadly that is not true any longer. I always thought that if a customer was treated really well they would accept slightly lower quality and a slightly higher price. The balance was very precarious but that was the order I believed was important to the consumer. But the more I do this as a shop owner the less I think quality and customer service are appreciated. They are expected, just not valued, and are disproportionately balanced with price. The average consumer expects 5 star service, Rolls-Royce quality at a Yugo price, and they think they are totally reasonable to expect it. And I think the average consumer is so wrapped up in themselves and their twit(ter) followers and farcebook "friends" that they think they are the only thing that matters in life so they are entitled to what they want and you are obligated to give it to them. And that is without regard to how they treat others. So great customer service is unappreciated and unrewarded, it is expected, even though it is often not delivered. And regardless of whether or not you discuss the quality and expected lifespan of a repair, in the customer's mind they paid for it once, and they should never have to have it fixed again. Even when they come in, "OH man I'm selling this thing, can you fix it any cheaper?" You lose your mind for the afternoon, put on that cheaper than El Cheapo part and 17 months later they are still driving the car they were going to sell and when the part fails all you hear is "But you just replaced that!" You can look at this from several different view points, you provided the customer service that was expected, you fixed the car they told you they were going to sell. You served their expressed need for a cheap fix, after all what you put on was better than what you took off, right? And all they wanted was to get it to where they could sell it. But they played you. They didn't care about you, about quality, or about their relationship with you. All they cared about was themselves and what they wanted, a cheap fix. So nothing really matters anymore to the average consumer except for themselves, and price.

Sadly Frogfinder is correct, and you are too, just to varying degrees. The average customer is the key here, all they know is the price. In order to elevate them from the average the key is to educate them and make sure they understand. But to many, too many actually in this economy and in general, the only thing that matters is what they know well, and that is price because they don't know anything else to ask. To the average customer all things are equal, except price. Isn't that what the retail giants have drilled into the consumer for decades? When we, the wise, know that to make the Walmart, Kmart, Target, Sam's, Costco price point the manufacturer may cut out a few thread count, extend the stitch length, remove a few pleats in the filter, lower the bag weight from 20#'s to 14#'s (Iams cat food for example), or change the model number slightly so it's not the same as the next guy so you can't compare. The manufacturer's got smart and in order to meet price points they made changes to accommodate the demands of lower prices. But the average consumer doesnot know, and does not care. In today's ever increasingly narcissistic society all the average customer wants is what they want, when they want it and at the CHEAPEST price they can get, in part because that is what the retail giants have told they want and have done a very good job at convincing them of such. And nothing you can do or say will change that. The people you succeed with are the ones who want your knowledge, skill and expertise. It's akin to the leading a horse to water. You can talk until you lose your voice, but if the consumer/customer/client does not care or want to hear what you have to say, it doesn't matter. I am not saying compete on price, absolutely not. But do not kid yourself, "If I'm speaking and the customer is hearing blah blah blah it means I failed that customer" used to be true, just like it used to be true that the quality of your work was the most important thing. Just like it used to be true that I was young, thin, good looking and had a full head of hair. But things change. Today's average customer/consumer/client is too self-absorbed to care what you have to say beyond what they want to hear. Remember the key was "The average customer." But I still like and follow your thinking while trying hard to evolve to accommodate the new reality of the average customer.

Hope ya charged him more than .4 to replace that ECU

Loved the story, thanks Gonzo. It's often amusing to think, not much of the new-fangled "high-tech" is really new. We simply have better technology and stronger processors with which to do what your shoe-box sized "Control module" did. I would have loved to have been in your position that day, well except for the shocking experience.

COOL!

After my last post I was reading the February issue of TechShop (techshopmag.com) and read a "Product Previews" of the Launch CReader 6. If you are still looking to buy a cheap handicapped tool this may be an option. I have the MAC Tools ET97 (a CReader IV?) and it is nice as quick code scanner with a limited datstream. I would NEVER pretend it was a scanner and try to diagnose a car with it but it is good for what it does. It is a CODE READER that just happens to have a datastream function. Good luck and happy wrenching.

What's your problem man, they're my minutes. Cellphone use is not mandatory to survive. If an employee is on their cell-phone they aren't working for you, so I do not see any reason why cell-phone use or texting is necessary. Before it was cool, trendy or "normal" to have a cell-phone what did people do in an emergency? They called the business and asked for the employee. No employer worth any respect penalized an employee for the occasional urgent phone call so use of cell-phones at work is absolutely not necessary, for any reason and therefore will be minimally tolerated. The employee can text/talk to their hearts content, on their time I don't care, but not on my time. I am currently a one man shop so I don't have to worry about it. But when I hire a tech or a service writer there will still be NO smoking in the shop, the office or in customer's cars. If their habit is so bad that they can't wait and take a 5 minute break every couple hours and at lunch, then I don't need them in my shop. I've noticed at many, many jobs I've held both automotive and non-automotive that unless there was a specified break period, the smokers got to take "breaks" and the non-smokers were expected to keep working, not cool. And if the tech were paid any form that included hourly there would be an understanding that a break for smoking, cell-phone/texting etc. would not exceed 5 minutes, not to exceed once before and once after lunch, and then only if the work load permitted. And NEVER in a customer's car regardless if they're a smoker or not Those are my rules, if you don't like it, OPEN YOUR OWN SHOP!!!

I'm a one man shop right now and usually have the radio on. On occasion I'll turn it off just for the peace and quiet, or so I can inspect for a noise or something similar. When I worked at other shops some had NO RADIO policies, others had, "It's OK if nobody complains," policies. The no radio shops were strictly because the foreman didn't like that, "Junk you kids listen too." I guess since it wasn't a wax cylinder Victrola it was too new-fangled. One shop was no radio in the new shop, a fire destroyed the first building and everything in it including a '73 Jensen Intercerptor), although the owner's kid could have his radio. This guy was a joke, I called him "master mechanic" because he could do only brakes and then only on cars for a used car lot because he had no certifications. Enough of the rant though, I've only ever heard one good excuse for no radios, and that's when the techs in the shop get into "radio wars" where each one tries to outdo each other with volume. Then it's a destructive environment.

I understand you are looking for a limited capability generic/universal scanner not an OE level professional tool so I will refrain from that recommendation. I am sorry to burst your bubble or pee in your wheaties but for $300.00 you will get nothing but a toy. Sure you can get a generic tool that will pull codes, sometime meaningless codes, but codes just the same. And you can get a few that will read the datastream but all of this is GENERIC! Nothing manufacturer specific and typically ONLY engine related so you will be missing a ton of information. Example, 2000 Dodge Stratus (Any FWD Chrysler really), the customer came in and asked how much for a Transmission Control Module (TCM). He had a little code reader and it said P0700 Trans Controller Fault. So it need a TCM, right? Wrong If he had been able to access the TCM he would have gotten the codes for the Output Speed Sensor and Gear Ratio Error in First. But without the capability to access the TCM he didn't know what he didn't know. Do it right the first time, because it doesn't pay for beans the second time. If you want to tool up on the cheap try eBay or Craigslist and look for the newest used Snap-On scanner you can find. It isn't perfect, it really (in my opinion) isn't great but for the money for a good used scanner you can't do much better. I have a SoluPro (essentially the same coverage) for my shop and it works very well for what it does. It has a lot of holes in the coverage but for most Domestic and Japanese powertrain applications it is very good. The cheaper old red brick, (the MT/MTG2500) series is no longer supported and you can't get updates but if you find one make sure it has the BLACK cartridges. Also make sure it comes with all of the personality keys. If you want to play with the big boys, you need big toys, otherwise if you just want to be a pretender or a hack, go for the Autozoner toy scanner. Knowledge is power my friend, and without a professional grade scanner you won't know (bleep). So to really be capable to fix yoru 10-15 cars a month you will need to spend probably $800-$1500 on a scanner instead.

Like others have posted you are the business owner, you accept all responsibility of actions made on behalf of the business. Before you allow/force your employee to pay for anything, you may want to check with an employment attorney. Many states prohibit the employees from paying for any damage, cash shortages or losses, in some cases even due extreme negligence. Basically it comes down to you as the business owner take all the glory and reward, then you as the business owner take all the responsibility and loss. Like Gonzo so aptly posted, do not make yourself the problem, accept the problem as yours and make it right by the customer and the employee. And if your employee makes you think this was negligence then perhaps you have bigger problems in the making. If this employee is as good and loyal as it seems you are indicating he is, why would you treat this like anything but an accident? This dilemma arises from time to time on many forum boards and the answer is always the same. You own the business and you own the employee's actions, which means you own the damage to the car and the responsibility to fix it.

I like that. I don't sell tires but I get plenty of questions about them, and about used tires. So I will have to remember your pearl of wisdom.

The customer will only buy two tires and you are held responsible for their vehicle being involved in a crash, what's next? You're liable when they buy the cheapest round-and-black they can get and then crash because they didn't have good enough traction to make it up that hill in the winter and slid backwards into a crash? Well you were willing to sell them the cheapo tires weren't you? Might as well close up shop right now because you just can't fix stupid, no matter how hard you try. The customer is too cheap to listen to you and your experience, the ambulance chasers don't care about anything but their BMW payment, I mean contingency fee, and the courts are too stupid to see the real condition. After all you are a business so that means you're rich, right? You just can't fix stupid. And by the way, no I do not have that dismal an outlook as to close up shop, but the scenario is all too true.

How can this be exactly what you are talking about? You are talking about a blow out. The basis of the whole discussion is driving in general, a world of difference between the two. Watch the video they explain EXACTLY why you mount the worst tires on the front. If the worst tires are bald, cords showing, in bad enough condition to worry about a blow out, then they are UNSAFE and you should call it out because of that. Otherwise a blow out could happen on any tire at anytime, not just when the best tires are on the rear.

If your customer has two worn out tires after you replace two, why do you only replace two? And don't play the "They don't have the money card."

But they don't lose air dontcha know? They lose, you guessed it Nitrogen. Just had to rib ya a little.

Very good advice so far. I've heard of shops demanding a credit card on file in case the business does not pay. As mentioned, get a list of those who can make appointments, authorize work done and GWT IT IN WRITING. One thing I learned VERY quickly, thank God, is IF IT ISN'T IN WRITING, IT WAS NEVER SAID. And don't count on this fleet for your business' survival. Most fleets' loyalty extends only as long as you are there at their beck-and-call and as long as you are the lowest bidder. The minute your oil change, brake job, water pump or wiper blades are $1.00 more than the shop down the street, you're gone.

What we need to do is effectively educate the consumer that even though the $18.95 (yeah some shops in my area screw the public with this price point) oil change is a thing of the past. By using a far superior oil, their frequency, and therefore the effective cost over the life of the vehicle is similar or lower because they will have to change their oil less frequently. What we need really is to stop focusing on price and emphasize the higher quality. But don't think that GM didn't have profits in mind when they developed this standard.

Mixed emotions - Watching your mother-in-law drive off a cliff in your brand-new Cadillac For the record though, my MIL is awesome!

I like your conditions or differentiation on what is a shop supply. I too have never had a customer complain, but how many would and how many would just be quiet and mad? As for the list palinly displayed that can play many ways. Most people do not read signs regardless. Then there are those who woudl read it and go, "Well that seems reasonable, you didn'g use brake grease on my oil change but you did use chassis grease and shop towles, and half a jug of washer solvent." And then there are those who wouldn't have known, noticed or cared until they saw that you charge shop supplies. And then there are so-called gurus who would tell you that it's a sin to charge shop supplies. It just shows that you are a bad manager because that should be figured into yoru labor rate and parts mark-up. And then other so-called gurus say you should absolutely charge shop supplies with a 10% minimum and mo upper limit. So no one really knows what is right for yoru shop, except for you, based on the feedback from your customers. Regardless I either charge way too much by simply charging shop supplies or I don't charge enough, still can't figure out which.

The website, as far as it went worked fine for me. when I entered a zip code it entered a circular argument where it kept returning to the "Enter Zip Code" screen. I assume that is becaase there are no participating shops in those zip codes, but it owuld be nice to be told so instead of it looking like it doesn't work. And a few sample zip codes for ASO members to play with would be nice. I was put off by the discounts of 25-30% though. If I want to cut my own throat there are ways locally to do that.

I have an OTC AccuracyPlus Professional and never felt I could really trust it. If would fail a fully charged battery that my 500 amp carbon pile tester woudl pass and the APP would show 90% or better cca left vs the rated cca. I would not recommend that unit. I was lookign around to replace it and tried a Snap-On MicroVat, I gave it back the very next week. I used it to test a battery that my APP had passed the previous week. The car had come in after a jumpstart. The battery showed fully charged by voltage. But if the lights were turned on for about 2 minutes the battery was below 8 volts. It got replaced because the customer was from out of town and asked for a replacement since his alternator would support all the loads the car could give and still runn 13+ volts. I fully charged the battery and then retested it, the APP passed it the first tiem and failed the battery the second time. I fully charged the battery again and then tested it with the MicroVat (I got it the beginning of the week after replacing the subject battery.) The MicroVat passed the battery three times in a row, even once after the APP failed it. The battery was still floating around when I bought my carbon pile tester so I fully charged it and tested it - FAIL! I have no confidence in the Snap-On MicroVat. I recently (last 5 months or so) started being visited by a Mighty Autp Parts rep and he talked to me about their battery program and the tester they were marketing with it. He later told me I didn't want to get into the battery program unless I was selling 100+ batteries a year but the tester was still available. I had done some research and had pretty much settled on the Midtronics EXP1000AMPKT with the printer, amp clamp, etc. I wanted it because of all the bells and whistles. But while talkign with the Mighty Rep who could get all of the Mitronics but Mighty was pushing the 650P and the 800P he pointed out that to us, the technical guys the more detailed printouts of the 800/1000 would appeal to us, what would appeal to the customer? So I bought the MDX650P. It is reasonably accurate (I haven't had cause in 3 months to doubt it's results), has a printer with reasonably detailed printout and the complete battery, starter, alternator test is really quick. And the 10 foot cord is so much better than the short 3 footer on the OTC unit. But like all testers, if the battery is not fully charged the tester may have a problem returning accurate results. I had one where the battery was fully discharged, the customer had gottne a jump start and drove it to me about 6 miles. The MDX650P said "Good, Recharge," so I recharged the battery and retested it - "BAD BATTERY." But at least I had the printout to give the customer - It's amazing how they will trust you with a piece of paper in your hand but will question you without the hard results. I am completely satisfied with the Midtronics MDX650P since I've had it and would recommend it. The price from tooltopia is pretty good. I got mine for $675 from my Mighty rep. His talking me down to this unit instead of selling me what I thought I wanted for 3X the price really set a tone for me with him. And no he was not trying to push this unit, he was just giving me a different perspective,a nd after all, he was the one who told me the battery program wouldn't work for me.

Loved it Gonzo! My derivitive for FORD is: Frustrated Over Ridiculous Design Chryslers are the worst, almost like they're engineered to be difficult to work on, but FORDs are like they simply didn't care. Thanks for the laugh.

Just curious, but where were you armchair pundits during the failed eight years of the mistake that was the bush regime? I am none too happy with the minimal expansion of government under President Obama but I complained under baby bush. Where were you guys? Are you smart enough to acknowledge that government expanded greatly and the abuse of powers were extreme under bush? Oh, yeah that's right he was your party so the party was on. Leave the bill for the kids was OK then, but now that you're suffering the hang-over from the juvenile frat-party of the bush regime you're all mad because you're not getting your abuse-the-common-citizen-in-favor-of-corporate-welfare way.

You can believe what you want and do what you want, that's all your customers are willing to pay for. But your definition of a complete brake job and my definition of a complete properly performed brake job are clearly different. There is no way on God's green earth that you are thoroughly cleaning all associated parts (wheel hub, brake rotor and pad abutments), lubricating parts where appropriate, and machining the rotors and installing the brake pads in less than one hour, not one guy. I too work both wheels at a time. I too do not drink coffee, I drink soda but I do not stop what I'm doing to grab a drink. And I do not smoke. In short I am focused on my task until it is done. With an on-car brake lathe you don't have to measure the lateral runout as critically as I do and can resurface rotors faster that is true. But you will not be doing a complete brake job in less than one hour, not completely and properly, it is impossible and anyone who claims they can is a liar. I defy you do demonstrate that capability. But to do a pad slap and iron cut and grease job on a set of pads, sure you can goober it out in less than an hour. And if you are paying your techs 1 hour for a hang and turn that's all you're going to get, a pad slap and iron cut. You will not get a proper, thorough, conscientious brake job. As for the lower mark-up for higher volume, you have a point, if you have the volume available. But a lower price won't necessarily get you a higher volume of customers willing to pay for other legitimate repairs at regular price, like Joe alluded to. You will likely get a higher volume of lower priced customers. And there will be a higher volume of low quality brake jobs out there with premium brake pads. And since when did a critical safety system like brakes become a loss leader?