hi, Dave.. yeah, that is a great hypothetical question.. and I have used it many times. Sometimes I am hired as a consultant on a job .. so I'm talking to dealerships or fancy car shops or whatever.. and I might indeed ask 'is that what you'd do to this car if it was your mother's car ?" .. or daughter etc. that can help all right. to get objectivity sometimes I just ask myself what I would do if this was my van ? .. that can help make the picture more clear. and no, we wouldn't normally be talking to dealership service departments. or Stealership as they are sometimes known.
----- Original Message ----- From: <mcneely4@cox.net> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>; "Scott Daniel - Turbovans" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM> Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2010 2:19 PM Subject: Re: [VANAGON] legitimate beef - water under the bridge - or just plain wrong
> ---- Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM> wrote: > >> I don't think service departments at car dealers are very skilled at that >> sort of thing, in general. >> It's one of my business sayings even .. >> people just want to know what their choices are. They are often not given >> options .. >> or not even fully informed about what work was done, and what was not >> done. >> >> Customers can throw a wrench in things too . > > After many years of dealing with mechanics and shops, I've learned to ask > a shop to tell me what is wrong, and what my options on repair are -- what > can we do to get where we need to be. I expect a parts list and labor > costs, with alternatives if there are any -- at least good estimates -- > going in. Finally, I will say something like, if this was your daughter's > car, and she drove in traffic and on the highway, which of these options > would you use? For me, that's a sobering thought. Put a family member in > the vehicle. Sometimes it is not the most expensive repair that get's the > nod, either. Fix it how you'd fix it for a family member seems a > reasonable approach, to me. Of course, I know the proverb about the > cobbler's son's shoes, and the physician's family's poor health, too. > > BTW, I don't use dealerships in general, except for warranty work. > > David McNeely |
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