Dear Customer,
Thank you for bringing in your piece of crap 1988 CRX for me to work on. I really enjoyed getting filthy removing it's transmission to repair an incredibly minor oil leak, and then spending 3 hours replacing every goddamn coolant hose on it. Oh, I'm sorry I didn't also replace every vacuum hose as well- that's not something we normally do along with the coolant hoses I under quoted labor on. Also, I'm sorry your aftermarket oxygen sensor failed 2 weeks later and your car developed a misfire after you let it go long enough to completely foul the spark plugs. Basically I'm sorry you own a car that is 20 GODDAMN YEARS OLD!

Here is a news flash for you idiot, no car, not even a Honda, will last forever without maintenance or repairs. I'm sorry the repairs 2 weeks ago cost you $1300, but that is way less than buying a new car. There comes a time when YOU THE CUSTOMER have to decide if the cost of repairs exceeds either the actual value or your perceived value of the car. Then you make a choice, fix it, ignore it, or get rid of the car- either way IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOUR CAR IS OLD!

I will help you make an informed decision about the state of repair of your car- I am an expert, but Snap-On has not delivered my automotive crystal ball to see into the future and give you an itemized breakdown of everything that will go wrong with your car in the near or distant future. I'm not really interested in your financial situation either- it's really none of my business and I don't want it to be. You don't see me crying to you about how you should do that timing belt now, because we have been slow this month and I could really use the hours- I don't want to hear your fixed income sob stories, or whining about how the car is starting to cost a lot in repairs. Wow, an old car breaks down more than a brand new one? Also, water is one of the worlds wettest substances!

I am not here to judge your income level or how much you like your car, my job is to perform the maintenance and repairs you ask me to do, and during those repairs to look over the car and inform you of anything that seems on the verge of imminent failure or things to keep in mind down the road. I have no emotional investment either way if you choose to fix these items or not- it is YOUR car and YOUR decision. I will be happy to tell you the order I would repair things based on severity of consequence if you don't, and I'll even tell you what I would do if it were my own car, but I am not clairvoyant- I cannot tell you when an oxygen sensor is about to crap out, A headlight bulb will fail, or when a vacuum hose will develop enough of a crack to cause an intermittent idle surge. So don't get pissed at me if it happens- I didn't break your car, some things just wear out.

Oh, and one last thing- regardless of what you may think, no automobile built in 1988 is a "classic" regardless of manufacturer.  An '88 Honda CRX with a gutless automatic and 148k is not a highly sought out vehicle, and if you think anyone would pay you $4000+ for it, you need to back away from the crack pipe.

thanks for reading,
-J

Oh try this ... one moron wanted to get 1200 bucks for this POS 1998 daewoo lanos with a horrible misfire, a pretty bad loss in power and a head gasket leak (maybe the reason or not  for the other 2 ... ) a smoked in interior, 3 bad tires, like bald, and no working AC cos she "Had to put some money down on a new car" ...
WTF ... its sat for 2 years with the same problem and its leaking oil, water and rust out the exhaust pipe, and she's wanting to put something down ... offer to trade it in, the dealers will give you back this car and 2 grand just to get you off their lot crack head. BTW she was ugly and fat.
However she was less ugly than the mazda chick who tried to add oil via the dipstick hole when I said it was low on oil ... that chick was not even fat but she was yuck ... young, not fat and still yuck ...
Yea I am comming along and solving all your problems, that's my goal. That's what I am here for ...
BTW CRX's have got a sudden boost in popularity due to gas mileage these days. but 4G still is beyond a crack ho's wildest dream though. 148K is low mileage.
Cool.
Buddha.

Really I don't understand why you're ranting and all pissed.  People bring me 20~30 year old bikes all the time.  I do the work and they pay the bill.  I don't under-quote myself...that's your problem, not your customer's...and I charge for the needed (new cooling hoses) and the mundane (new vac hoses).  I don't provide an idea of how long the machine will last, I make no promises.  Really, what are you out?  You're out some time but you still get paid.  Who gives a shaZam! if the person was whiny about paying if they paid?  If they brought the car to you it's likely because you had the best rates and if you have the best rates and the work is good they'll come whining to you again.

Being a mechanic, whether you think it is or not, is a "people" job.  That means you have to deal with people.  If you can't deal with people, you might not have chosen the wrong profession.

not exactly sure why this is in a motorcycle forum...

Quote from: makenzie71 on September 17, 2008, 07:41:09 PM
Really I don't understand why you're ranting and all pissed.  People bring me 20~30 year old bikes all the time.  I do the work and they pay the bill.  I don't under-quote myself...that's your problem, not your customer's...and I charge for the needed (new cooling hoses) and the mundane (new vac hoses).  I don't provide an idea of how long the machine will last, I make no promises.  Really, what are you out?  You're out some time but you still get paid.  Who gives a shaZam! if the person was whiny about paying if they paid?  If they brought the car to you it's likely because you had the best rates and if you have the best rates and the work is good they'll come whining to you again.

Being a mechanic, whether you think it is or not, is a "people" job.  That means you have to deal with people.  If you can't deal with people, you might not have chosen the wrong profession.

this is why you have a hot chick working the front desk. she won't give em nothing, and she doesn't pity people with whines.

she wants the money honey.

I can relate to a certian degree! I was the director of the social services department in a skilled nursing home and I had to field most of the cutomer service complaints, ranging from what was on T.V., to I don't like my neighbor because they are loud or stink, this nurse looked at me wronge, why doesn't my insurance pay for this or that, I want the gold plated wheel chair, I want to go home tomorrow, ect. Not to say that I didn't get valad concerns voiced to me by patients and family members about situations that met the criteria of abuse /negelect by the staff! I just let most of it if not all of it roll off my back, and did what i could do to make the wronges righted and be empathetic to the gripes that there was no solution to their concerns. This was nothing in comparrison to when I went knocking on someones door and said hello, my name is Jim and I am from child protective services (DCF)! Now that is a whole other story in its self! I am sorry that person got your goat that day, but think of it with out them then you might not be able to enjoy the life that you have outside of work! When I would get fustrated I would typically do opposite action by either laughing at the situation or by doing something nice for someone else. I hope the rest of your week is better! -- JIM

Quote from: makenzie71 on September 17, 2008, 07:41:09 PM
Really I don't understand why you're ranting and all pissed.  People bring me 20~30 year old bikes all the time.  I do the work and they pay the bill.  I don't under-quote myself...that's your problem, not your customer's...and I charge for the needed (new cooling hoses) and the mundane (new vac hoses).  I don't provide an idea of how long the machine will last, I make no promises.  Really, what are you out?  You're out some time but you still get paid.  Who gives a shaZam! if the person was whiny about paying if they paid?  If they brought the car to you it's likely because you had the best rates and if you have the best rates and the work is good they'll come whining to you again.

Being a mechanic, whether you think it is or not, is a "people" job.  That means you have to deal with people.  If you can't deal with people, you might not have chosen the wrong profession.

Good for you, and your sunny disposition. My job is to repair cars, not repair people- we have service advisers and a service manager to do that job. I did under quote the hoses, and that is my fault- and it must be nice to never get frustrated when you have a paticularly challenging job, do the absolute best you can, and then the customer whines and bitches about what it cost- after they agreed up front to what it would cost. I charge for what the car needs- the vacuum hoses looked okay and a spray around with carb cleaner didn't reveal a vacuum leak- so with my experience I figured the vacuum hoses were okay. My point is they can be whiney as hell to the service advisors, manager, cashier- but when she looks at me and whines like it is my fault her old ass car broke down it pisses me off. I felt like venting those feelings- glad you don't have to do that.

Quote from: tripleb on September 17, 2008, 07:45:46 PM
not exactly sure why this is in a motorcycle forum...

Because this forum is an outlet for the members to express feelings, opinions, and experiences- whether they be about motorcycles or not. If you solely want to read about motorcycles I suggest an encyclopedia.

Tell your whiners to go deal with your "people" people.  And, actually, my customers never complain...in fact they're usually happy to pay me and I've only had one in the last 12 months not give me a tip.  You must be doing something wrong.

Seriously, you should probably calm down.  If you're working in a shop where there are people above you that handle customers, let them do it.  Stay sight unseen.  And I'd suggest, from now on, that you over-quote your customers then charge the actual time.  That's one of my typical tactics for making people thrilled to give me their money.  For example, I charge two hours labor to change and balance a tire if they bring me the bike.  That's my advertised price and it's slightly higher than the local dealerships.  Most times, though, it only takes me 45 minutes.  If I charge some aches-n-pain cash (I do it by hand) I'm happy walking away with 1.5 hours labor, which is much less than the local dealerships.  When they get a bill for 1.5 hours instead of two they're downright jolly.  You may not have that option giving your environment but I really think, considering your disposition against people who like not spending their money, you may very well have chosen a bad environment.

Oh and no one here really cares what you think until you have at least 1000 posts or maintain a 10.0 posts per day average for more than fifteen days straight.  Swear to God.  State law.

I just wanted to relay a frustrating experience I had, not get into an e-argument. I know I'm in the right place to work- I've been here 9 years. Unfortunately our shop gives customers direct access to the techs so from time to time I have to deal with it. Usually it's no big deal but once in awhile you want to hit the customer with a ratchet. Generally all labor times are quoted straight out of the chilton manual with very little wiggle room. That is why flat rate can suck sometimes....and a tip? Yeah I have never gotten one of those, and neither has anyone else that I know of here- I guess our customers aren't accustomed to that behavior, I just settle for a large number being extremely loyal and taking their cars nowhere else.

Oh, my post count and average are what they are- I'm not big into post-whoring to inflate stats so I can be one of the "cool" kids on an internet forum. If people care they can respond to a post, if not that's fine by me.

Junkie It's all good you posted your off topic rant in the odds and ends which is for all things not GS related.

I thought it was a good read  Kinda funny and I could totally relate. Some MOST of the time, customers suck!

"shout it shout it out loud...u gotta have a party...shout it shout it out loud ohhhh yahhh ahahahahh"  kiss

if u can't Buddha Loves You here where can u Buddha Loves You?  go 4 it boyz.................................

Hahaha, I hate people sometimes.  The current fun phrase at work right now is "What do you mean?"   I work at costco as an optician and people will come by and ask if their glasses are ready or if tires are in stock, or if we still carry the same brand of cookies from 1988, and I'll say "no, we sure don't." 



"..................................Uh, what do you mean?"   



  I just repeat what I said the sentence before that and usually they'll feel stupid enough to just walk away, sometimes they repeat the question again though.  I hate people but they give me ammo, and reason to buy more ammo in most cases. 

BTW, you should read craigslist favorites rants and raves, they're hilarious!!   

I know what you mean. I work for a big used car dealer C@#m&X and I see it all the time. One time a girl came in and sed the trans. is bad in my new car. At 95 mph when I press the pedal to the floor it will not down shift.
Reply 1 Did you buy the car from us? Yes. Then it's a used car! 2 What car is it. 1999 Neon. Well then you are lucky. If it did down shift at that speed the motor would come thru the hood !!!!!

Nother girl.
I am going to return this car I just got it and the lighter will not work. This car is trash.
Reply    Well let me look at it......OH I FOUND YOUR PROB. IT IS A POWER OUTLET AND YOU CAN'T LIGHT A CIG. ON A PLASTIC PLUG ! 

And so on and so on.......
But hey what can you do. 

To bikejunkie's original post - its actually the problem with america.
There is a looooooong at this point nearing 8 years of taking fluff over substance all the way top to bottom.
They would rather have pretty sheite than anything that works ...
Take some shaZam!, arrange it with a nice heart shape on a plate, drizzle it with sprinkles, put a sprig of mint on it and people will trip over themselves to eat it.
Clean image and perfect record as a christian are more important than smart, hard working, honest and caring.
Cool.
Buddha.

Thanks guys- the last several posts are much more in line with what I expected. I just had to unload about that idiot to anyone, and my wife gets tired of hearing it.

Quote from: bikejunkie223 on September 18, 2008, 10:44:42 AM
my wife gets tired of hearing it.

Mine too.