HAve A heart, People!
 

A Doctor, a lawyer, and a Mechanic , walk into a restauraunt. The waiter approaches and exclaims, "Doctor Miller, Its Nice to see you. "Come with me, we have reserved the table overlooking the Bay for you".

A few Moments Later, The waiter returns , and exclaims, "Counselor Green", Its wonderful to see you". Come right this way, we have reserved the Table by the fireplace for you"...

After approximately an Hour, The waiter returns, with the manager, Who exclaims,"I'm sorry Sir, But the Dishwashers position has already been Filled"

HAve A heart.....Mechanics are just trying to make a living like everyone else.

hehe U pay for the quality of work u get and then again even some of the tech we work with are crap. Just like a waiter U pay for the same meal just some people are better at getting it to you in a timely manner and quality service.

Well then...2 more TRUE stories for your amusement.....

The past Three days here in "Sunny" Pennsylvania..:):) Have been Trashed by a 3 inch thick Ice storm...... The roads are horrible, and I was the oonly tech who Stayed at the shop in the hopes of making ANY money.

Woman walks in with a K04 Recall notice ( Replacement of a potentially leaking AIR CONDITIONING Hose). She proceeds to ask the service writer if he can put a Rush on it, so that she can "Get -Off" the roads before the storm gets any worse.....????? (By the way...Her air conditioning was working FLAWLESSLY). So...let me get this straight...She Braved 3 inches of Ice, in Sub zero cold, to get her FREE A/C hose???? And she wants a rush Job because she doesnt want to be out on the roads in their present Condition???? DUH....??

Chrysler Corp has Mailed out "Special Coupons" to random customers in the local dealerships Data base. LOF, Tire rotation, and replacement wiper blades, for 22.95. They have set Tech time on this "Package" to 4/10ths....Cash customers, Tech Time would have been 1.3 hrs. So we are all a bit annoyed.

A woman Knocks on my Bay door, and asks if I was the Tech who Serviced her car. She pointed to a 2007 dodge Caliber. I responded "Yes Ma'm" That would be me" , "Is there a Problem??"...."Yes",There is a Problem!!! A Big One!!! She explained.....

She Informed me That I FORGOT TO VACUUM HER CARPETS..!!!!

some people u should be shamed of yourself =)

It gets worse every year. It seems that people have lost their minds.

In the latest Installment of the Djinns' escapades.

Its winter time here in sunny Pennsylvania, the Snow is on the ground, and the frozen rain is still falling.

So aside from the obvious complaint of my brakes arent right, because the brake pedal shakes violently when I try to stop, It seems to happen only when I'm on ICE :o.....or the work order that I recieved yesterday morning

08 SEBRING ....Customer states vehicle will not accelerate properly. Customer also states that this concern seems to Co-incide with a Flashing "SWERVY CAR LAMP" on the dash. Chk and advise.

Customer walks in , and is greeted by our Service writer. Which is when Hell breaks loose. He informs the writer that the wipers on his 08 Jeep Wrangler have STOPPED WORKING, and are standing straight up the middle of the windshield. He then proceeds to inform the writer that after spending some 30 grand on a vehicle (It was purchased at a competitors dealership by the way) He expected more than to not be able to see out his windshield.

Ok, Simple enough so far. The vehicle only has 24K on it, and 3/36 warranty still has 8 months, and Truthfully, yes he should expect to be able to see out his windshield......Until................

I took the repair ticket and Brought the car into the shop, to find that the arms were so badly BENT, that with the wipers parked, the blades were VERTICAL on the glass. I expected to see them run off the side of the truck when I turned them on...BUT THEY DIDNT MOVE. Opening the Hood revealed A CHUNK of Ice in the wiper linkage well that had forced the cowl up and bent it as the linkage went around, and Jammed on the Ice.

I snapped a digital Photo of the vehicle, (As I Usually do with a potentially PROBLEM customer) And Told the service writer That in my opinion, The ice was not cleared from the windshield prior to attempting wiper operation, causing Irreparable damage to wiper components. NOT A WARRANTABLE ISSUE.

After much yelling cursing and screaming, I was called up front to explain My findings to the customer......
I explained that Ice and Snow deposits MUST be REMOVED from the glass prior to attempting wiper operation. His Response.............

Are You Telling me that this vehicle cannot handle ICE AND SNOW, And I have To go outside at 4:30 in the morning and clean off my car before I can Drive it????You must be Joking!

enough people like this will bitch about having to do something like this enough the feds will make it a law that all new cars come with wiper deicers just like they did with TPM people are lazy now a days. I mean shoot who the heel checks there oil and tire pressure now a days??

I'm loving this thread.

Yesterday a guy comes in says he has some sort of light on I think ABS. Im standing there listening to the whole conversation with my back turned. He also states that his car is under warranty...ok..yeah..maybe let's just see what the issue is. Advisor tells him there is a diag fee up front. IF it's under warranty it will be waived of course. Long story short, he has taken it another shop that doesn't have the scan tools to look at his ABS and wants to get us to look at it for free so the other guys can fix it for him...lol. He apparently thought his POWERTRAIN warranty coverd his ABS light...yeah. Of course he refuses the diag fee and leaves. We''ll see him again soon enough.

A woman calls and buys a new PCM from parts. I see the transaction and ask the sales guy what's up. This person has a "guy" who can program it for 45 bucks. Ok, so out of sight out of mind 2 days later I get handed this PCM...yes the same person. Turns out this "guy" can't program it AT ALL because it's 2007 and WiTECH/CAN BUS. I look ay the DTC before I replace it. I install and program it. Didn't road test it because the customer didn't want to pay any diag fee to US. However they still ask if it is fixed. Well, how the hell should I know?!?!?! Let your "guy" tell you...lol

Yes, it did come back a day or two later. They still didn't want to pay US any diag fee. I hope their "guy" figured out what step of the test he screwed up and maybe they'll get a refund for the $800 PCM they didn't need.

yeah I had that kinda BS b4
04 SRT4 neon guy wanted the PCM programed humm ok 1 hour labor.
Went out look at it well a used pcm wont program to his vin which u guys know just saying for people out there that dont know this.
Told the service adviser that he needs a new PCM and the one that he has was not even the right one hard ware or software to run this SRT4.
Then the **** storm came down on me no less. The cust came by and wanted to get into it with me saying he had spoken to i dont know 4 or 5 people saying this PCM would work and bla bla bla just program the dam thing. I asked him where he got it a junk yard of course then I has said sir U have a SKIM key in your car the Skim pin numer needs to match what the skim module has it it wont work they wont talk to each other and the car wont start. That went over well then I said ok dont believe me on that how about this went to the car with him watching pulled the PCM part number up wrote it down and then looked at the codes there were like 15 all input and out once for items that the car did not even have. Went to the MDS pulled up dealer connect typed in the part number and it came up with a 2.4 PT none turbo.
He say it for his own eyes and asked me why then did they tell me it would work. I said because there job is to sell u parts not fix cars. Would u trust your local car washer to replace your heart if U have a heart issue? Looked at me all kinda stupid
I said its your call u do what U want I have a ride home and I know it works right.

The whole point it people can rig up what ever they want and when it does not work the same as it is suppose to or not how they want only one person has the blame and its not me.

.TEST??? WHAT TEST??? You Mean theres a TEST?? You Mean you dont just pick a part out of a Hat and hope for the Best?? You mean I wasted 25 Bucks on My Diagnostic Dice??? (Well , Not actually wasted. I saw them and laughed so hard that I just had to have them!!)

http://www.agcoauto.com/content/imag...ostic_dice.jpg

I have one for this coming week, From a Nissan dealer with a 2005 Neon coming thru trade channels. They bought a PCM from us, Bought an NGC Connector repair kit, put it all together, and sent it back to us to be programmed......

The Acrid scent of burnt electronics, along with the "No Bus" message in the Odometer window made me think twice.

Grabbed the first "Pin-out" box I could find, and check power and ground to PCM...Nothing....The pins arent even in the right holes....C1 Black ???? Looking a bit further, I noticed the C4 Green connector has been replaced....And sure enough......I found power and ground for C! black, all functioning and intact, but in the WRONG connector.

Now as I said..This is another dealership....I know mistakes happen...But you would THINK , that "One of our OWN" would understand this better than the average customer??? FAT CHANCE...The SVC manager at Nissan Swears its Impossible, and State that we sold him the wrong connector, and a BUM PCM.....

If "YOU" were fixing a black Connector, for the Bottom slot of a component, WHY WOULD YOU PUT A GREEN SHELL on it And install it in the TOP slot of a component???? ......But as always......ITS NOBODIES FAULT BUT OURS

Well, I've had some experiences dealing with dealership mechanics, too. My '01 convertible, when I bought it off a college student had some issues. One issue was the fact that the rear brakes didn't work. Both rear rotors were obviously rusty indicating nothing was going on back there. I took it to my local Chrysler dealership. They charged me $85 to look at it and diagnose the problem. Contaminated brake fluid, he said. Wanted $1400 to rebuild all calipers and the master cylinder.
I asked the guy if the car had a proportioning valve, which, to me, would explain why only the rear brakes were out. He said no, it doesn't have a proportioning valve, it's the master cylinder. I said, I doubt that because if the MC went bad, there should be a problem in diagonal brakes, because the system is split diagonally, not front/rear. So he starts with a song and dance about he's a certified mechanic and would stake his reputation on what he was saying, that I didn't know what I was talking about and that the system was split front-to-rear, blah, blah blah.
I said nuts and took the car to a local guy who replaced the proportioning valve (it does have one as it's a non ABS vehicle), and flushed the fluid for about $200. Brakes are fine, working at all four wheels now.
If I had paid the $1400 to rebuild the whole system (EXCEPT the proportioning valve) it would not have fixed the problem. The guy would have spent hours rebuilding parts that could be replaced for far less money. I still would have had to get the proportioning valve replaced.
Don't get me started on the guys at the Mercury dealership. I have never once been able to bring the car in there for a repair that didn't require a second trip to finish the job. My feeling is, now, keep your expectations low and double check everything afterwards.
Sorry, guys, but there's another side to every story.

oh I agree completely I can say for the most part I have been stuck with fixing other techs F ups.

Absolutely, Without a doubt....So theres no need to be sorry. There are good and bad at every profession.
When a car does something wrong, the first thing to come to mind, is that "I'm Going to be robbed". In many cases, sad to say, this is true. There is dishonesty and incompetence plaguing this, and every other industry.

Now, ....If youve read tthru the entire post, These guys as well as myself, have made references to specific issues. which are "Common" to a work day for a Tech.
I dont know it all, far from it. In fact with everything there is to know, in comparison, I know Nothing.....But to have someone who knows less than nothing, call me a thief, before I have even gotten the car in a service bay is un-acceptable to me.

I made references in my last post, about a Pulsing brake pedal on ice, I made references to a "Swervy Car " lamp and poor acceleration on Ice. I also made references to an Ice covered windshield, and broken wipers.......AND ALL of these customers REFUSED to pay a Diagnosis charge, Because the Vehicle should be covered by the terms of their warranty....!!!
Now , Most techs get paid on "FLAT RATE", which is based on work produced, NOT HOURLY CLOCK TIME.
If I were to spend a mere 15 minutes with each of these cars, between Driving it in, Checking the oil, checking the air pressures in the tires, topping off the winshield wiper fluid and all the other inconsequential stuff thatCustomers have come to EXPECT as part of vehicle maintenance, Road testing the vehicle and writing the ticket as "no problem found, advise customer of proper operating Charachteristics of the system" I just lost almost an hour of pay out of my pocket, because I did not "PRODUCE" any work. You as a customer would certainly NOT want , or be willing , to pay Diagnostic charges on a car that no trouble could be found with, would you???? And If I insisted to be paid for my time spent looking at your car to determine that it is indeed functioning correctly, I would be accused of being a thief.
I know this is going to sound harsh, and it isnt meant to.....But I dont go to work to service vehicles....I go to work to feed my family.....And if I have to spend my time reading and explaining the pages of your owners manual,Because you dont understand how it works, or you didnt read it yourself, My Family Starves...

Sorry, but there are NO customers in the world that I like THAT MUCH.
I didnt design the car with the 200 dollar ignition key, Nor the Car with 19 inch tires , available from only One Vendor, or the PCM that only accepts One Vin Number programmed into it. I didnt diagnose the car That came from "Your Guy" who said the Computer was bad. I did what was asked of me.
Truthfully, My biggest Beef with Clientel, Is the warranty Customers.....
PHYSICAL DAMAGE Is not Covered under warranty....If a RAT, Or a Squirrel were to get under your hood, and chew thru a Harness, Your car will not start....It is not a factory defect That caused the issue, But The customer is hell bent at us, because their brand new car doesnt start. Who pays the Tech to look at it, Who pays for the tow, who pays for the repair???? I didnt Chew the harness, so Certainly not me....I didnt accidentally hit the switch that disabled your power outlets, or the one that disabled the sliding doors, I didnt put the bubble gum wrapper on your floor, which made its way under the "Stow-N-Go" latches. But I did spend my time looking at it, and at the end of the day, I have to bring home "Cheese And Crackers " for dinner???? I know its a burden, and an Unexpected expense. But why am I paying for a customers Negligence.....

A Parting Thought.....If you walked into McDonalds with a Nickel in your pocket, what would you buy????? NOTHING...There is nothing on the board for 5 cents.....Now My question....WHY DID YOU BOTHER TO GO INTO McDonalds In The First Place?????

Okay, one more story. Years ago I worked at the Experimental Garage for Ford at the Dearborn proving ground. Mostly we worked on prototypes for upcoming models to try to get the kinks out before they went into production. One day somebody brought in a current model Lincoln because of brake problems. Apparently the owner knew a big high muckey-muck in engineering and couldn't get satisfaction from the dealer for his continuing brake problems. They pulled the brakes apart and found they were all blue and burned badly, but could find no problem whatsoever with operation of the system. So they put all new brakes on and, on a hunch, got the owner to agree to a "test ride", where our mechanic rode with the owner for a half-hour or so to see if he could learn anything. Sure enough, the customer was a "two-foot" driver, right foot on the gas, left foot on the brake. Only problem was the guy never let up on the gas once he pushed down on it. He would regulate his speed with the brakes, and was dragging the brakes all the time.
We always felt we should try to design cars to be fool proof, but we drew the line at trying to make them idiot-proof.

There is my point exactly!!!!

Now if you were the tech at that dealership, who lost your shirt , only to discover this scenario....Wouldnt you be upset????

I also have been doing this a long time, And Ive learned to accept that I cannot Fix STUPID...But Having to pay for "someone elses" stupid is something that I dont think I will ever be able to swallow.

The biggest problems with dealerships are the service writers, not the techs. Too many opportunities for illiterate service writers to ineffectively communicate. In a lot of peoples' eyes, they're fluff. If the writers are former service techs, that's an entirely, more customer-positive, story. It's the dealer's responsibility to make sure that their staff is trained. It doesn't take a secret shopper to know the diff.

If a client doesn't want to pay for diagnostics, he won't get them, because HE DIDN'T ORDER THEM!

And apparently You, myself and the three others who posted on this thread are the only human beings on the planet who believe this....

Its your Job.....Tell the guy UP FRONT, that THERE WILL BE A DIAGNOSTIC CHARGE IF YOUR CONCERN IS NOT WARRANTABLE......

As I told my Writer just this morning....If you dont think that he should have to pay diagnostics...Then he doesnt pay them....Fine...no problem there.....BUT YOU WILL BE OPENING YOUR WALLET.....AND HANDING YOUR HARD EARNED CASH TO ME....Reach into your pocket....not mine.....

And this seems to make absolutely no sense to anyone , because The writer, and the customer, as well as The SVC manger and Jr SVC Manager, all stood there with their mouths open in shock....

No , Maybe its bad for biz...But frankly, I dont care if the guy walks out or not...I'm not doing it for free......

This whole thread is one of the basis for me going into biz for myself. I own my own mobile repair for chrysler,dodge and jeep and in doing so cut out the middle man the service writer. There are good ones and bad one like techs like cashiers like any one in the service industry. I get to handle all teh info asked and coming in to make the correct call in what would need to be done and how to handle it. I also get to handle the money side of it when it comes down to what and how some one can pay. Do u tip a waiter that gave u his best service and did ever thing u asked of him? Your dam right you do the techs are the man behind the curtain U asked us to do something we did it to the best of our ability and either U cant afford it which is all fine and dandy or u dont want to have it fixed which is also your call your car but u haft to pay for what was due which is at least a one hour check out charge in most cases.


the service writer is not doing any one any good to just say its ok I dont want to hear u bitch so I wont charge you. They get paid off how much they do every month and most of them have the whole shop working for them or a team of tech working for them so they can loose 90 bucks no big deal but not to the one tech that's 25 bucks gone.

This is also how EVERY SINGLE SHOP WORKS ACROSS THE USA. not just dealers.
Dam we need education in our schools about service stuff and basic economics. This freeking word runs off it u would think that it should be something we should be learning in school. I had my parents and myself to teach me.

=)----

Y'know, I think people have no idea how the repair business works, just like they have no idea how their car works. You can see it on these forums. "Hey, my car is making a funny noise, what is wrong?" and they expect you will be able to know precisely what is wrong because you are the expert and they have described the problem to you with precision. They think of a car an an organic whole, not a collection of parts. They don't know, but if you asked them, they would figure you fixed the car by waving a magic wand over it.

:):)

And staying True to form....

My magic wand cost me money, and unless you have one of your own, I suggest you crack open your wallet before I wave it around at your car....:):)

Now that I have calmed down a bit in the last few days.....

We dont invite perfect strangers to our homes and give away all of our food, we (In most countries) do not give away our wives and children.We all have someting special, that BELONGS to Us, and wouldnt dream of giving it away......

As for a Tech...We worked hard learning our craft, and we were paid in Knowledge....That knowledge is ours to do with as we please. So most of us trade it for cash to pay the bills and buy food, and keep a roof over our heads.

Where I get confused is this...The customer must have had a Job at some point, and knowledge of his or her own CRAFT, that they traded for cash to Buy their Car.... All things being equal...if Knowledge was to be given away, He would be walking...and I wouldnt have to fix his car!!!!

A wise old man once told me..... If everything in Life were free....we would all be penniless.

A bad tech giving a quote to a bad writer is a DISASTER and a loss of a customer. In the present environment at Chrysler dealers (I would assume GM also) writers who don't perform get shown the door QUICKLY. It didn't used to be this way. Our staff now is a former tech, a woman who will ask what she doesn't understand and a long time champ in the lane.

One thing I have noticed more of in the last year is an increase of customers who want a detailed explanation of what is happening. I am mostly happy to provide it. It doesn't bother me, it just makes us look better..lol. Just yesterday I had a guy in front of the WiTech on my laptop showing him what was up. There was basically an intimitaded, deer in the headlaights type look on his face most of the time, but he did show some interest in seeing what kind of things that could be done anbd I do know he walked away with a new perspective.

I have NEVER had a problem with informing a Customer what they will be paying for.....

The problem comes in when the customer Swears his engine makes a Knocking noise, and the Odometer reads 35,990, And hes pissed at me cause I dont hear anything.

The problem comes in when the customer swears her radio intermittently Blanks Out, And the odometer reads 35,990, and she's pissed at me cause I cant find anything wrong with her radio.

The problem comes in when the writer goes to the parts counter and blindly orders a radio for the customer, and voids off my comments on the ticket.

Then ...There are the Recall customers, Who dont give a rats arse what you did to their vehicle, As long as they Got their FREE $hit.. The majority of these people DIDNT EVEN LOOK AT THE LETTER that came in the mail.

Any recall that states INSPECT and IF NECESSARY replace, is a problem waiting to happen.
"Your fine Mr Jones" I inspected the part in question and Replacement is not required"........And at that point, Hell rises from the floorboards, Because he isnt getting his "Free $hit..." I'll bet he doesnt even know what I inspected...

This is great to read all this stuff. Being a dodge tech since 1989, And i agree with a lot that you guys are saying. Thats why i set myself up to start working in the parts department when i am thru turning the wench. My job has to deal with a lot of warranty transmission repairs. Which you lose as soon as you open the hood and ck the fluid level. I have a few more years left in the trade.

I have been questioned for years by Friends, relatives, and even a few of my customers, About why I dont start my own Business.

The answer in my head is simple......If MY customer do to me then, what they do to me now.....I'll end up in Jail.
I keep doing it, Because it is what I love to do......When I'm done, Ive considered Teaching it, If there are still any youngsters left who are foolish emough to want to do this:)

It boils down to this. I know how, and you do not , so you WILL pay for my Knowledge and skill. Geico got it right....A CAVEMAN CAN DO IT......

I need a HUT, and Jabbar over there Know how to build huts, and has all the necessary "HUT-BUILDING TOOLS". He wants two of my Bearskins , and he will build one for me...... You either give him the skins, or you SLEEP OUTSIDE :) Yes folks, it really is that simple....

Lets put some stuff in plane ole English for most people that will read this. People may or may not understand a lot of this but every one understands money.

My Chrysler education 2 year associate degree cost me about 10 grand back in 1996 I paid for it no loans no bs just hard earned cash. Second part Real tech are required to buy tools now this is where it racks up. Over the past 15 years I would say 80,000 in tools lost ones broken ones tool boxes and so on. We cant afford to buy cheap crap we need the stuff that is 100 bucks for a ratchet or 400 bucks for a set of sockets all of this stuff is meant for day to day mechanics and it costs. Dealers and other shops dont pay for stuff its up to you. They pay for the required special tools and scanner that Chrysler requires them to have to correctly work on certain parts of a car but after that its all US. SO when we ask for our just due and payment remember some of us have tool bills that are paid weekly to fix your car and do it in a timely fashion.


I did a brake job the other day pads and new rotors on a 04 Jeep Grand took me 25 min.
This was on the ground not a shop lift. When i got done the guy paid me and said how did u do it so fast and do i get a discount because u did it so fast? Of course i said no sir it does not work like that. If you would like to go to advanced auto part up the street and buy all the tools that would be needed to do this job and then the extra time it would be needed cussing because some of the stuff needed to do it U would spend about 100 bucks plus take you about an hour to do what I did. The stuff I used cost me 1725 in tools Snap on 1/2 electric impact 550 cornwell 1/2 sockets set 400 cornwell master torques set 150 dual piston caliper compressor 50.00 floor jack 250 ratchet set snapon 325. This is why i can do it so fast Like we keep saying on here U haft to pay to play plus the un toold of amount of days we go in for training. Hey TN I am sure u like to travel down here to the training center dont ya hehe I am 15 miles from it =)

We also have the same deal here in our dealership, We buy our tools and laptops and PC for work. The dealer only supplys the special tools and scanners. But at one time i had to buy my own special tools to repair the A604/41TE transmissions, Because the dealer had only one set of tools for 8 transmission techs. And a transmission wet bench too. Snapon.

Today in "The Djinns " escapades...............

Customer comes in with a 2009 Aspen HEMI.....requests Synthetic oil Change, Tire rotation, and wiper blades.

The key to the locking lug nuts was no where to be found, So we called the customer to tell us where he Kept it.....A simple response...In the Glovebox, "Stuffed in the pouch with the owners manual..

OK..FINE......Back to work......

Upon opening the Pouch...I noticed ...NOT 1..NOT 2, BUT 3...yes THREE...Public assistance Benefit cards......All in the same name....from 3 different states.....

Now, far be it for me to judge someone.........But at the end, there was a 20 dollar tip for me......NOW

2009 ASPEN,loaded ,with a HEMI.. 50,000 dollars
Synthetic Oil change on a 7 quart motor....110 dollars.
wiper Blades, premium Snow 35 dollars
Tire rotation.....25 dollars
Tip for the TECH...20 dollars...

HAVING THE BRASS NUTS TO PULL A STUNT LIKE THIS....ABSOLUTELY FREEKIN PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was so sick to my stomach. that I could not even attemp to eat any of the Pizza that I bought for my Co-Workers.....That I paid for with HIS 20 dollar bill.........

Well...since this thread is all about frustration we go thru as professional Techs, I thought it only fair to add a point to the GOOD column...

I have always gotten a charge from being "ASKED FOR" by a customer..BAck in the day , I had a good deal of customers that were loyal to our shop, and it was more of a personal "Relationship" with these people... eventually after many years, the shop closed, The guys all went there separate ways, I moved out of the state, and I guess the customers all found someone they were comfortable with to work on their cars.
Just the other day, I got Paged to the office , to meet one of those" "BY NAME" requests. I saw a girl, standing there, I would estimate mid 20's, that looked a bit familiar, but I couldnt quite place her..She said her father had recommended she come and speak to me about her car...Ok, I didnt want to be rude, so I didnt ask who her father was, so I listened to what she had to say, and had the writer "Check her in". When i took the repair order from the writer , and saw the name...I nearly collapsed.
As it turns out , She is the daughter of A very good customer that I had some 20 years ago,in fact probably one of the first vehicles I worked on when I started in the business, and she was the little girl who I used to turn the TV on for so she could watch cartoons in the waiting room while I fixed her dads car.
She said she had just moved to the area, and she owned a Dodge, and her father had heard a rumor that I worked at the Chrysler dealer in the area. So she set out to find me..........It doesnt get any better than that...

YES! It just happens that I was there on the 17th for a one-day. :)
Going back for one in March I think.

if U do let me know I will come up there we can have lunch when u go at 1130 with ED hehe

that's the **** when u did a good deed like that and its nothing but second nature to u do do stuff like that people remember that sorta thing. I have several customers that have gotten other Chrysler cars just because I work on them and will come back and also turned on friends and family to do the same.

I have similar experiences but in another field. Computer, electronics and networking. There's not a lot of expensive tools involved but there's 18+ years of hands on knowledge that I have that kids don't, and who read a book and take a test to get some kind of technician degree, who then think they are master geeks and know every thing.

I get PC's that others have tried days to fix and charge the customer as much as a new PC. I can some times fix the problem in 30 minutes (not always of course). If the customer finds out, they want to pay a fraction of what is reasonable because they think it was an easy fix. So that's why I have a 48 hour turn around time on every PC I take in. Or they can pay extra for same day service. I'm always cheaper than any one else but again, they think if it's done quickly it should be almost free because they are used to others taking a week to fix their problems in the past.

Next time, you may need to take the parts in the back room and have a soft drink and wait a while 'till you finish the job :)

Well, they dang sure won't whine to the HVAC, Plumber OR eLECTRICAL GUY

****"My CEL is on and someone told me I have an EVAP leak"

Your CEL is NOT on because you (or your buddy or whoever) erased the memory 30 starts ago AND it passed LDP monitor test 2 times.

"Oh my! So there's nothing wrong with my car?"

Well, maybe there once was but you've just disabled me from doing anything about it or having any chance of a lead on the issue.

"So then why are you charging me diagnostic fee?"

......................... :rolleyes:


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*****Lady comes in says her AC doesn't blow cold. Tech spots a leak in a hose (2009 Minivan...there's a recall BTW) Tech fixes leak and sends her on her way. She comes back a few days later after a loong trip to the gulf coast. Bitches like CRAAAZY that we didn't fix her AC and she had to sweat and suffer for a 20 hour trip. "You messed up my car"!!! and other explatives she spews. Makes a complete ass out of herself all the while belittling everyone involved.

Ummm, ma'am? You have to push that button in that looks like a snowflake! That turns on the AC... "Why didn't someone tell me that?!?!

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******Ram truck PCM "No Response" PCM came from one of those internet sites that does rebuilds. Waited 2 weeks for a new one to be shipped. Install the new one....NO RESPONSE! OK, im not stupid I know I did the pinouts right...TWICE. Removed a PCM from a like vehicle...RESPONSE within 10 seconds... Put the old one back on....No RESPONSE. Guy at internet site huffs and puffs and explains how they would not send out a PCM with no response because they put it on a 5.9 "Dyno" whatever the hell that means.....LOL

Same scenario....But mine is a caravan with an EGR code..when...GUESS WHAT......TheRe was NEVER an EGR equipped on the vehicle....

"You just have to flash it".....

Now the General public wouldnt know any better...which is why I inherited this lump in the first place...But once you program a PCM for a specific configuration, you may only update the EXISTING configuration.....So the PCM IS JUNK...."But the guy on the NET TOLD ME..........."

Of course I'm the bad guy now...

K14 Sliding door recall...... Van comes in with 2 shopping bags full of wire and plastic links...and NOTHING in the hinge Channels . Order him 2 wire tracks, install them and send him on his way.....Because He wont pay the diag fee to find out why they still dont work.....The recall should have fixed the sliding doors to Brand new condition ...at least in his mind.....

Well ...after 48 hours , 3 police reports ,and at least 10 bags of ice......The swelling has gone down, he's in a cell, and I'm back to work....

AND MY BOSS DOESNT WANT ME TO PRESS CHARGES...................:):):)

a cust got in a fist fight with u over a car that he tore apart? man hes all mad a crap at the wrong person.

we all have stores like this well not the fighting one U should be ashamed of yourself U should have kicked his ass hehe

Agreed, But as it stands, he is 100% wrong, with absolutely NO WAY of justifying his actions.

My Svc manager is completely behind me, but the Owner has other ideas...

Man, we have the conversation at least once a week about how people in general have lost their minds. Flame-outs like we've never seen before...over STUPID $hit too. I know it's just not the auto biz, it's everywhere. People are especially nuts about their cars. They are under the impression that because it cost so much new it must be some indestructible entity when, in fact it's just a damn machine. Hey, I didn't hold a gun to your head and make you buy something that depreciates by 50% the first 2 years and only has a specified warranty....lol.

check this guy out on this post

https://www.chryslerforum.com/forum/...ad.php?t=14024

Nothing new guys? Burned out so soon? lol.

Tech did a shifter recall the other day. Unloaded the usual 10 pounds of crap people stuff in their center consoles. Just happened to leave some napkins from the console laying on the seat by accident. Customer accuses the guy of driving his car to lunch and eating in his car.

Good one this week from the land of ""Take it to another shop, get screwed, then bring it to us""

Customer has a CEL on. Takes it to a tune-up franchise that touts accuracy and Precision (wink) does a tune-up, wires, cap, rotor and oil change on a 2.5L Sebring. Total cost $700. OMG...what!!??!!??!!A crank sensor and 300 bucks later the car is fixed and on their way.

I wonder if they were Precise in determininghow much the customer's refund should be? Just sayin'...