Years ago, There was a customer with basically the same attitude, but extreme circumstances....When The Tech slid the seat back to Lower the glovebox door, The 9mm pistol under the seat went off. Luckily no one was hurt....But the guy had the brass ***** to ask "Who the hell is he to move my seat"..

As for the recall, I put EVERYTHING in a cardboard box, and Leave it on the back seat when I'm done... Ever Since I was accused of scratching a CD that was tossed into the center console and covered in Rotting Coffee and soda .
I'm sure you know by now.....But the center console does NOT NEED TO BE REMOVED On the AVENGER....But if you guys could give me some insight as to The SEBRING ..I'd appreciate it.

The LX cars now have a similar deal with a shift interlock. These consoles dont need to be removed Either...If youre carefull, it can be fished in and out with the console in place.

As for burned out, ...YEP....Between Aspen Fuel tanks, and Caravan rear heater lines....I just dont care anymoe...

In case anyone doesnt Know how this works, ...Most Technicians get paid on what is called the FLAT RATE SYSTEM. We get paid a predetermined amount of time to complete a task....If we finish it early, we made money...if It takes Longer than the predetermined Time...we lost money...

Now...WARRANTY. RECALL, "GOODWILL" or any other service that is paid for by the manufacturer, is considered "FACTORY TIME", Or WARRANTY TIME.
Warranty time is approximately 40% of the "CASH" "Predetermined Time.

So ...sticking with the original concept of this thread....The next time you go in to the dealership, consider This...

While you dont have to pay for it...., Someone else does. The Tech who works on your warranty concern, is LOSING 60% of his pay during the time he works on your car.....So have a Heart.....

 

We should make the whole world flat rate I bet there would be a massive increase in speed in our government as far as getting things done what ya think?
Driver license renew in 10 min how wonderful hehe

 

OH YEAH !!!!!

For those of you who Think Dealership Techs need Hand Trucks to carry their cash Home.....It Doesnt Happen...And it is actually kinda sad......

I can make more money by Changing Oil on 2 cars, than I can Doing a Warranty Fuel tank replacement. If The Customer wanted his tires rotated...Cut that down to 1 Oil change.

Believe it or not...The Old School "OIL BOY/GREASE MONKEY" is the guy who is raking in the bucks.

 

This has been a hilarious thread to read through! You guys should get your own radio show. You're better than those two that are on the radio now!

I'm sure that almost every profession can produce a similar list of complaints about customers who don't appreciate what it takes to do the actual, hands-on work.

I've worked at a petrochemical research company for almost forty years, building experimental oil refinery units for most of that time. We spend much of our time complaining about the 21 year old, PhD Chemical Engineers who come in and are convinced that since they have a college degree, and I don't, that they know everything. Usually what happens is that we have to save them from themselves by telling them that, "No..., I'm not going to pump pure oxygen into a reactor containing hydrogen and hydrocarbons at maybe 3000 psig!" They have this sure-fire idea that's going to revolutionize the industry if we can just make it work for him. Then we sit down and tell them the story of the young engineer who tried to do something similar, years ago, up in one of the laboratories, and how it took a couple of days of cleaning to get all the blood and brains off the walls after he blew off half his head! Then there are the ones who complain because it will take a couple of days for the reactor to cool off before we can pull it out of the furnace, and that, "No, I'm not going to open the furnace at over 1500 degrees and pull out the reactor using three pairs of 'hot gloves' that are only good to 500 degrees just so you can get a new run started because your last great idea didn't work!"

I started there in 1974 working in the Engine Lab, where we were working to develop long lasting catalysts for catalytic converters. Chrysler was one of our customers at that time. My company also sponsored a racing team that ran Can-Am cars and then Formula One cars for a while. Perhaps you may have heard of the UOP Shadow racing team. The idea was that we would convince people that you could get performance out of an engine that was running lead-free gasoline. The cars were all lettered as using 'Lead-Free Fuel'. It may have been lead-free, but it sure wasn't pump gasoline. I mixed the fuel for the team for a few races and although it contained many of the standard gasoline components, there were an awful lot of tri-methyl pentanes and tri-methyl hexanes that brought the octane rating up to about 115. We didn't own or work on the cars. We just sponsored the team and supplied them the fuel. We had Peter Revson and George Follmer as drivers for the team for a while. Some of the cars are still out there in private hands, doing nostalgia racing these days.

Anyway, thanks for a pleasant evening of humerous reading! Keep up the stories. They're great!

 

I have more, I just haven't really had the time to sit down and add to this. It's our busy time.

It's actually way different than most other businesses due to the fact that people get sooooo emotional about their cars. It's almost a mental disorder at times. Some of the nutty @ss stuff these people do. Maybe the cost of cars these days contributes to that. Me, I never have spent nore than 10K on a vehicle. Some people are paying 1000 plus a month for theirs and are upside down, etc...you know what I mean.

 

Yep....Understand completely...Your kids are hungry, the rent is due, the phone is shut off, and there is no running water, But your day is a bit brighter because you drive an ASPEN...

What I dont understand, is which one of those options is The Technicians fault???? And why should we be ....ummm..."REQUIRED" to care????

Feed the kids, pay the rent , sell the truck and buy an F'ing bicycle moron..

 

Hmmmm! Let's see..., I've bought three new cars in the past two years..., and oh yeah...., there's that $2,500 bicycle in the garage I bought a few years ago...., ! That couldn't possibly be me!

Well...., my house is paid off, we have no kids, I've been at the same job since 1974 and have a pretty good 401K as well as a pension and then then there'll be Social Security, (if those morons in Washington don't stop fighting live two year olds and screw it all up), and then my wife has her 401K from when she worked for almost thirty years and she'll be getting Social Security too...., so I think I can splurge at least once in my life before I kick off. Once I retire...., we're going to buy a farm in the middle of Iowa, away from traffic and people and sit on the porch and toss the tennis ball for my dogs!

 

Exactly my point....You can Justify being able to afford something you want...Instead of something you need.... You sound comfortable , and there is NOTHING wrong with having something nice , provided it doesnt cut into your Primary responsibilities.

I do realize that this is the 21st century , and a vehicle is a necessity...But if you cant meet your expenses, your kids are always dirty and hungry, and the landlord is pounding on the door demanding his money......

THEN YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS PUTTING YOUR **** IN AN EXTRAVAGANT VEHICLE THAT YOU CANT AFFORD TO OWN.....

Im sure in the same situation , My children would rather eat and have clean clothes, than a DVD screen over the back seat of Dads brand new CAR....

People Just have NO PRIORITIES anymore....

 

I don't know whether it is the same on your side of the pond... but I remember when we were going through a recession in the seventies and early eighties (Thanks Maggie Thatcher), every corner of the local housing estate had some bloke living there that claimed to be a mechanic. Fair enough they could usually toss a spanner around but these guys claimed to be time served apprentices and you couldn't believe how many of these self proclaimed "experts" there were. Every one of them would say things like "You went to the dealer and his mechanic told you what? Naaah he knows nothing... all you need to do is..."

Twenty odd years later and we still have the same thing but in the computer industry. Every other household over here has someone who claims to know all there is to know about PCs. When you try to give them genuine advice the response is usually along the lines of..."my mate told me it's the....". Sure enough a coupl of days later they are back to have the job done properly.

Same thing goes for web design... every one's an expert all of a sudden...

Personally I think it is a shame that cars are not as simple as they used to be and it is more difficult for youngsters to learn by diving in and doing it... then then top off their education with a decent apprenticeship when the leave school at 16.

Say whatever you like... you can bluster a lot but you can't bluster experience

 

Well here goes......

Something Ive been needing to say for a long time.

As far as I know, the guys here on this forum dont get paid,and we dont get Discount coupons to any of the sponsor sites. We do this because it is what we love to do. Some of us come home from a day at work, and come here to check on the new threads. some of us have email notifications turned on so we can follow threads we have posted in. Its a Joy to help someone who is in a jam, and its gratifying to know that it worked out.

Now that said.....The title of this thread is HAVE A HEART. We come here on our own time, with our own computers , running on our own electric , after spending the day at a Job.......Which in many cases, involves The topic that we Represent here on this forum.....Professional Auto Repair. This is what we do to make the Living to pay our bills , and feed the kids, and even Buy CARS of our own. Just like you guys go to the office, or the job site, or wherever you go to make YOUR living.

If you sell insurance, you DONT want to here how Insurance companies are all a rip-off, and they only rob you every chance they get. If you Hang drywall, you DONT want to hear that you have some pair of ***** to charge a single mom 20 dollars a board to do your job. Its called BUSINESS...Thats how it works.... Supply and demand....You need one,....and I have one . You need your car fixed, and I have the ability..... So we trade.... I fix your car in exchange for something you have....MONEY.

When I am not at work.....The rules No longer apply.....I dont get paid to answer questions here...And I dont expect that to change anytime soon.....

SO....Have a Heart...... And dont come here and Bad mouth my profession, while I am here trying my damnedest to help..... Its rude.....

Truthfully, You people are just boxes on my computer screen...and It makes No differemce in my life if your car runs or not.....or whether you fix it yourself, you pay the dealership, or you pay a private mechanic....If I am offering assistance for free..., It seems kind of rude to make it About "THE MONEY".

Just my opinion......