.. for the life of me every time I've taken a vehicle in to be serviced I always leave feeling slightly screwed over.... it's always the same old story... you take your car in and you think it's a quick fix... for an example...I say to the serves guy. .my alternator is burnt out pretty sure of it..
He say yup sounds like it... leave it with us will call with a quote...it shouldn't be too expensive...2hrs later he calls and says all friendly like (hi .it turns out it was your alternator but also.....(ok.. now there it is. The also). Here it comes the bumbing up the bill part....you need this as well done to fix it.....always the same old song and dance...any one else feel like your always being racked over the coals?
Well, There's a difference between getting your car to run, and actually having it running properly. Also, not all shops are professional experts with ethics.
Now, assuming you take your car to an ethical expert, it's still gonna cost you more than you may expect or they may quote you higher and find other issues as well. An ethical expert will educate you and let you know what you can get away with to save some money now and what issues are critical and need immediate attention.
Pretty much the same with anything else in life.
My policy while I was dealing with customers (most of my career was in fleet garages) was to educate them about their own vehicle. I found that most people do want a job done right. I found the ones easiest to teach but hardest to persuade were the women. Men came into the shop thinking they knew more than someone who does this work for a living. Women were apprehensive about being taken advantage of by a mechanic.
Since I was truthful and offered them the option to decline recommended maintenance, most men agreed to do the work right now and the women tended to leave for a second opinion but seemed to find their way back to me to actually do the work.
Since I never realy belittle anyone for their ignorance, the information and the conditions I showed these people allowed them to understand what needed to be done without them feeling inferior.
Plus, when they did make the decision on what they wanted done, I accepted their decision, I covered my butt with a proper estimate but I didn't not give them grief for their informed decision.
What made me feel effective is when these people returned to me at a later date to go ahead and have the maintenance work done with me.
I realized it was their car and their money and I didn't really need to know their reasons for their decisions. I accepted the work they were willing to give me and my reputation kept me busy.
Edited by
Tom4Uhere
on Sun 03/10/19 09:22 PM