Date:         Wed, 17 Jan 2007 13:09:59 -0800
Reply-To:     neil <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         neil <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Moral question--no Bob-related content
In-Reply-To:  <vanagon%2007011713123354@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Some interesting stuff in this thread. And although I haven't read all
of it and may be redundant.......

From my POV, having worked as a musical instrument tech, if I gave a
quote, I'd stick to it. BUT..... a trumpet is generally easier to
diagnose than an electrical mystery or ? on car.

IMHO, if a mechanic says he can fix it, and doesn't, then maybe it's
fair for him not to charge for all hours worked. My take on that is
that on a normal job, he knows the book time, and as long as the PO or
another tech hasn't messed things up (things one might not see at
first) and all things are equal, (new parts do fail. "gremlins" do
exsist) then all shoudl go as planned. But shit happens so.....

It's about trust and being reasonable. An extreme ex. of lack of trust:

Dealing with my local Honda dealership. I don't trust them. Suffice it
to say that since new my Accord has had too many factory flaws. Water
leaks into interior, clutch linkage noises, etc. It's like pulling f'
ing teeth to get them to do the job right, if at all. I am now the
disgruntled customer. They're totally in it for the $$. And they keep
trying to "shine me on". Telling me stuff like what ended up being a
factory flawed alignment problem was "tire pull" (yes I know that
exsists, but it ended up being an alignment problem). Took me three
visits and catching them in a lie before they sucked it up and did it
right. If I hadn't, they would have saved shop time $$ not doing the
work which is their only bottom line AFAIK. This has been consistent
behaviour on their part with almost all other flaws in this car.
Tomorrow I'll be back for the clicking (I can feel/hear 2-3 clicks
last 1/3 of pedal travel) in the clutch pedal. This will be at least
the third time dealing with this flaw. The first time they claimed
they had replaced the clutch master cylinder. Second time they claimed
they adjusted the pushrod.  I'm almost to the point of scribing a mark
on parts they intend to replace in an effort to make sure they do. And
hey maybe as an uneducated customer I am being too picky. (last WO
said that clicking is normal as it is the switches making noise as
pedal goes down) But the fact that the pedal doesn't make this noise
when interior cold, makes me suspect. And no other car I've owned
(except my Rabbit which had worn bushings and my Westy which needs the
pedal cluster looked at) has had this problem. And the Honda only has
39K km's. Sheesh! The only reason I keep going to the dealership, is
out of principle. They should make good on the BS they have sent my
way. But enough of this rant.......

Trust, knowledge, and being reasonable.

Both parties have to understand what's involved. The shop owner has to
make a living, the customer has to be happy with the service. The shop
owner should be up front with what's going on in vehicle. The customer
should have a basic understanding of what's going on in their car and
in cases where they might be prone to lying, not BS the tech.

Just my .02 and sorry again for rant!


Neil.


On 1/17/07, Benny boy <huotb@videotron.ca> wrote:
> Reticulation (if my English is right?)
>
> You know, i wanna be paid for every single hour i work on those van... EVEN
> if i don't find the solution... period.
>
> It's been 2.5 years now, i have no social life because i work all the time,
> i'm still in debt t -19K$ (slowly and finally climbing), i have invested in
> my shop EVERYTHING i had (time wise and moneywise), every single penny,
> starting that shop was the most dificult thing i did in my life, i work 7
> days week most of the time, my girfriend help me (1 or 2 days a week or on
> big restoration project) because it's the only way she can see me (she his
> quite good also and we hve fun!), it's so hard that i never imagine that i
> could in my life work as hard... i canno't pay an helper because i don't
> have enough money to pay him (anyway, young mechanic...pffff)... Every week
> something break (compresor - 1500$, furnace, 1000$...),or a need a new
> tools... i'm about right saying that i'm on my 80th day in a row. I have now
> a big enough clientele that i could now raise my price to $45hr, i have
> worked for 2 years at 35$, can you imagine!
>
> At night, i need to soak my hand in hot water because they ache and/or so
> dirty... i'm sure i'm not the only one in this position, many who have
> started a small business know what i'm talking about. I don't get me wrong,
> i'm happy, i just love it, i can't get enough... in the morning, i wake up
> happy, i can wait to be in the shop... but still, it's dificult. Would i
> have chosen otherwise, NO.
>
> But i'm proud! here is my shop today:
> http://www.benplace.com/bjp_local2.htm
>
> And when i have some free time, i still update my site for fun, and i still
> do it in 2 language, but i perfectly know that the English version won't
> bring me customers.
>
> Life is a question of attitude, being nice will open all doors, the opposite
> won't get you anything or bring you anywhere.
>
> Regards, Ben
> http://www.benplace.com/
>


--
Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia.

http://web.mac.com/tubaneil