by "Dave the car guy , still here" (a3dave)
Published 03/09/2017 at 09:13
by "Dave the car guy , still here" (a3dave)
Published 03/09/2017 at 09:13
No Tags
STARS: 4
Two weeks ago we had a customer need keys cut from VIN info for her old GM car. It had a VATS system ignition cylinder of the poor design where the wires would break after a decade of twisting and need a new cylinder. The cylinder likely had been changed once or maybe twice before. The key we made didn’t work because the key codes GM has on file are for the original cylinder only. It was cut with an automated key machine not some old grinder, the key was flawless. The door key we made from the records worked perfect. She insisted the ignition cylinder had never been changed despite not being the original owner and the car having very high miles. We refunded her money when she made a scene in service the next day. Somehow it was my fault and I was called into the office for interrogation when management saw she gave us a one star on social media this past week..
A mechanic I know ended up putting another new VATS cylinder in it with a new chipped key. He knew when she first bought the car that she needed to get a spare before it was lost because there would be an issue when she lost it. He had explained to her that this was a common occurrence.
He predicted the future fairly well. Now once again she has only one key for the car. . She had still made the media post despite knowing that her mechanic even told her the ignition had been changed before. Why do I always get these type customers?
An old Olds for your viewing.
"LeftOfTheDial" (leftofthedial)
03/09/2017 at 10:04, STARS: 0
Someone’s else’s shitstorm now. Life goes on, enjoy!
I’m sure it would be nice if she back in for that spare though.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/09/2017 at 10:08, STARS: 2
I am in the throes of buying a 2000 RAV4 from a body shop that repaired some minor damage to the rear of the car. 76,000 original miles. Salvage title. The car is for my 19-YO daughter. $3,700 seems a little high, but without the salvage title, the closest comp is $1,000 away and twice the mileage. Those Toyotas hold their value very well and driving this one shows why. I also own an ‘89 Camry and a ‘91 Corolla. Toyota from the Golden Age.
Anyhow, the guy is Middle Eastern, perhaps Egyptian (I’ll ask him today). He’s a body man, not a mechanic. We were up against a situation where he’d reset the EEPROM (correct terminology?) by disconnecting the battery and the 8 parameters were not all on line to allow a smog test, so I drove it around a bit and the car promptly threw a code. I plugged in my Bluetooth OBD reader, pulled the code myself, and with a friend’s help, determined that the upstream fuel mixture/O2 sensor was bad. I reset the codes and it threw a pending , then the CEL came back on later.
My point in sharing this story with you is that the guy had never seen, was completely unaware of, the Bluetooth OBD reader and its immense possibilities. He was delighted. You should have seen him smile. So he’s getting the sensor and I’m going back over there today to install it with him and show him how to use DashCommand. It’s fun to do a good turn because carma.
As for your story, it’s a shame that people are morons. I hope your management isn’t mad at you. In my work, I like to send people email messages to document my bad premonitions so that I can refer to them when they come up for discussion after they blow up.
You’re a good man, Dave. We don’t always finish first, but we finish well.
"Dave the car guy , still here" (a3dave)
03/09/2017 at 10:17, STARS: 0
Good luck with the Toyota. Nice work with the Bluetooth scanner, my newest handheld does pending codes too.
On the key situation, its one of those deals where you can do all you can think of to help the person but they are so wacky that its futile.
"Dave the car guy , still here" (a3dave)
03/09/2017 at 10:27, STARS: 2
If she comes in for the spare we are sending her away empty handed. We have the managements okay to refuse service. It just happened yesterday where our service manager told a girl not to return because of issues she causes with every visit. She goes into long rants , cries, freaks out, calls her Mom, etc. She got tires elsewhere and that shop doesn’t have a road force balancing machine. She thinks her car vibrated from drive train issues and we have checked that its the tires. The other shop keeps sending her back to us. She was told never to return until she can be civil. Plus she really isn’t a young girl she is nearly 30 now and needs to grow up.
"AMGtech - now with more recalls!" (amgtech)
03/09/2017 at 10:40, STARS: 1
Because thanks to the wonders of modern technology people can bitch about the stupidest things for no reason and end up getting things for free from shops. Our reputations are worth more than any parts and labor we could ever sell, so we will often bend over backwards for the worst customers. And they know it, so they take advantage (the worst ones that is, most customers are perfectly fine).
"Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever" (rustanddust)
03/09/2017 at 10:51, STARS: 4
Had a situation a couple years ago with a customer and TPMS. Car had been picked up, driven for a week, and cust called in stating TPMS light illuminated that morning. We told her to stop by at her earliest convenience, it was probably a 1 or 2 pound pressure deviation (temps had about a 40 degree difference between daytime highs and evening lows).
She makes it into the shop that afternoon, I let her know I’ll check it out, shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes, and that I’ll be right back. Check pressure on all four corners, three are spot on 32lbs, and the (offending) fourth wheel is at 45lbs. I reduce the pressure to the manufacturer spec 32lbs, loop the car around the parking lot so the system re-reads and resets itself, and bring the car back around to the customer. I started explaining temperature impact on tire pressure (lol deflategate), and where the label on the car was to know what pressure the system is looking for. I’d assumed that someone just chucked an airhose on the valve stem for a few minutes, and didn’t bother to actually check pressure.
She proceeds to dive off the deep end into theatrics, complaining that I’m accusing her of being a liar. No air has been put into her tires since she’s picked it up, she says. I patiently tried to explain that we diligently check and record the tire pressure of every car that leaves our care prior to releasing it back to the customer, and that there’s no way the light waited a week to illuminate with 13lbs more air than the system expects. She storms off in a huff, and I’m called into the owners office.
Luckily, the shop owner heard every word of our conversations, both prior to my pressure fix, and my explanation to the customer. She (the shop owner) knew it was bullshit, but asked me to write a brief apology/explanation letter to the customer. I begrudgingly wrote the letter, but not after leaving a copy of this “first draft” on the shop owners desk for “approval”:
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
After composing herself from a fit of laughter, she told me to try again.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/09/2017 at 10:54, STARS: 0
So wacky that it’s futile. I am an educator. I can relate. It has also to do with empowerment. That’s why waitrons at restaurants are treated so badly sometimes.
"Dave the car guy , still here" (a3dave)
03/09/2017 at 10:59, STARS: 1
OMG. thats perfect. I hope you don’t mind that I’m going to use that sometime. I’ve so wanted to call a few people morons.
"Dave the car guy , still here" (a3dave)
03/09/2017 at 11:00, STARS: 0
True, we get taken advantage of all the time.
"ateamfan42" (ateamfan42)
03/09/2017 at 11:26, STARS: 0
She was told never to return until she can be civil.
That is fantastic. I’m so sick of businesses bending over backwards to cater to people that want to act like spoiled children. A good business should be able to attract enough quality customers that they can turn away the ones who won’t play nice.
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
03/09/2017 at 12:42, STARS: 0
FUCK! I hate these people. I deal with them too. They are always difficult. That and then not have the proper paperwork for when they have no keys (we require CURRENT registration and REGISTERED owner with their I.D so we can make sure they actually own the car) and they alway make a scene when they don’t. Then they say that isn’t what I was told on the phone, but the 3 of us here in parts say 100% the same exact thing every time.
"Dave the car guy , still here" (a3dave)
03/09/2017 at 12:57, STARS: 1
Exactly what we require too. So many kooks out there these days that just want to cause problems if they don’t get their way. I often wonder how they are in other places like restaurants, hardware stores, government offices, etc.
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
03/09/2017 at 12:59, STARS: 0
Yeah... They suck! I bet they are those people that don’t leave a tip or argue that there is a hair in their food, that they placed there. But then get mad when it is very easy to tell it is one of theirs because of the girlfriend’s weird hair cut.