| Shop Owners, Techs, what percentage of customers really annoy you? |
| <10% |
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57% |
[ 8 ] |
| 11% - 33% |
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14% |
[ 2 ] |
| 34% - 66% |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| Nearly every single one. The cheapest part on a Vanagon is the nut behind the wheel. |
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28% |
[ 4 ] |
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| Total Votes : 14 |
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Abscate
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22641
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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 Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2020 4:29 am Post subject: Re: What do customers do that annoy mechanics/techs/shops? |
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In my young buck days I had more money than time so I worked with two great independents in my town. I always brought my own parts but always bought OEN, and offered 30% markup to them, neither ever took me up on it.
I think I got a wrong part once, and he just ordered the right one and traded the other back to the VW dealer for me.
Early in the relationship one of the techs pinched an ABS wire on a brake job in a manner obviously done by him, next time I was in I mentioned it and showed picture. I fixed it , never asked him for anything. That paid back in spades over and over. I would bring my struts down to the shop, he would let me use his wall mount compressor and in 5 minutes I would be done. I would put the labor money into a tab at the local diner where we both ate.
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Abscate
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22641
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2020 3:28 am Post subject: Re: What do customers do that annoy mechanics/techs/shops? |
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| Glenn wrote: |
How about they miscalculated their budget, can't pay the full amount and want their vehicle back. They promise to come back next month and pay the balance.
Or buy a engine from some online vendor and want you to install it... oh and warranty it. |
How much of your budget do you have, in quartilesm and how many wheels do you want back. Come get your car. Bring your cash.
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Merian
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Joined: January 04, 2014
Posts: 5212
Location: Orygun
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2020 6:28 pm Post subject: Re: What do customers do that annoy mechanics/techs/shops? |
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Since BMW was mentioned...
How many of you service both VW and Porsche? And what are the differences in "customer profile"?
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1988M5
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Joined: January 23, 2016
Posts: 674
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2020 7:14 pm Post subject: Re: What do customers do that annoy mechanics/techs/shops? |
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| Merian wrote: |
Since BMW was mentioned...
How many of you service both VW and Porsche? And what are the differences in "customer profile"? |
Differences are huge depending on things that I’m not allowed to mention, but vaguely the owner.
Story I need to share on this topic was from the late 80’s early 90’s era. I worked as a tech at an “Autohaus” (German only car repair/service) in Silicon Valley, most folks had money. We had a policy that if a recommended repair was refused that was severely safety related (say brakes metal to metal), they had to sign a document acknowledging that their vehicle was unsafe to drive. Once a woman refused and threatened to call the cops because we wouldn’t let her have the car back until we were legally off the hook without her signature. We offered to call the cops for her, she agreed to this. So cop shows up, we put the cards on the the table as to who what why when and he ponders. The cop offers the woman the option of taking her car from our building but the moment it hits the public street he will pull her over and impound it for unsafe to operate on pubic roads with knowledge of the fact and site her. She spent a few frustrated minutes then yielded to the brake job on that smart way the cop put it.
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tencentlife
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Joined: May 02, 2006
Posts: 10077
Location: Abiquiu, NM, USA
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2020 7:34 pm Post subject: Re: What do customers do that annoy mechanics/techs/shops? |
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I used to service all of them. BMW owners were not that likely to display more than a pretty casual brand awareness or loyalty, to them they chose a quality car and wanted quality service, but no song and dance routine.
Porsche almost without exception, and VW in most cases expressed brand awareness if not intense loyalty. The difference was the Porsche owners would bitch about the bill, debate the charges with you, then pay it with evident pride, while the Volksies just bitched about the bill.
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Shop for unique Vanagon accessories at the Vanistan shop:
https://intrepidoverland.com/vanistan/
Please don't PM here, I will not reply.
Experience is kryptonite to doctrine. |
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Zeitgeist 13
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Joined: March 05, 2009
Posts: 12115
Location: Port Manteau
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2020 8:36 pm Post subject: Re: What do customers do that annoy mechanics/techs/shops? |
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As much as I'd like to bitch about clients, most are folks I can relate with and I feel for their plight. Back when I did this "professionally", many of them were single mothers or poor college students, and as I listened to their stories, I realized that I was intersecting with a major impactor in their lives. I gather that for lots of folks here these are toys to be played with as time or interest allow, but the interactions I mostly dealt with were dire and consequential to the well being of my clients. That's a heavy burden to carry on a daily basis. I guess that's the annoyance I want to highlight. I wish I didn't have to care about other people enough to concern myself with their well being, or my impact on it or any other unrelated interest group. I really really want to disassociate myself with all of you, but you make it so damned hard. You annoy me endlessly. Stop being relatable.
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Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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markswagen
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Joined: January 28, 2018
Posts: 1030
Location: san diego
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2020 9:12 pm Post subject: Re: What do customers do that annoy mechanics/techs/shops? |
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having several customers who live in their vans, full time, they can be messy.
the worst i've had was a guy who's been living in his 87 weekender for several years, i had to get to his ECU, my being mobile and not having a shop, he had to empty his van outside, i gave him new taps to put everything on, he got it emptied, and i got in there to do my thing, and i found a pair of white used Y fronts, complete with skid marks, the inside of the van was disgusting, that was the last job i did for him.
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markswagen {mobile mechanic} san diego area all early VW's cared for.
619 201 0310 |
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0to60in6min
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Joined: November 27, 2006
Posts: 3416
Location: OR & CA (Oregon/California)
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2020 10:03 pm Post subject: Re: What do customers do that annoy mechanics/techs/shops? |
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now I understand why some shops have this sign... 
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Abscate
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Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22641
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Fri May 01, 2020 4:12 am Post subject: Re: What do customers do that annoy mechanics/techs/shops? |
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Porsche owners , the worst.
Car covers and bras, and they don’t even pronounce the ,e, on the end
Oldest daughteR...Never date a guy with a car cover, he’s just hiding small things.
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jlrftype7
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Joined: July 24, 2018
Posts: 3577
Location: Chicago
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| Posted: Fri May 01, 2020 7:24 am Post subject: Re: What do customers do that annoy mechanics/techs/shops? |
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| Merian wrote: |
Since BMW was mentioned...
How many of you service both VW and Porsche? And what are the differences in "customer profile"? |
Well, since I started out in a Porsche Speciality shop, I can answer this a bit.
Due to the wide difference in price between the two, back then Porsche owners often, but not always, felt their poo didn’t stink. 
This is nothing new in the Automotive world, I’ve run into it again and again within a brand, seeing a distinct attitude between a lower priced model and the top of the line buyers where the price difference could be $100k . A wide Gulf, but no guarantee of attitudes either.
I’ve seen owners with broken down, barely maintained cars be more demanding than someone who made loads more money.
You just never know what is going to come out of a customers mouth.....
_________________
'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle-gone
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto |
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Jake de Villiers
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Joined: October 24, 2007
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jlrftype7
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Joined: July 24, 2018
Posts: 3577
Location: Chicago
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| Posted: Fri May 01, 2020 7:34 am Post subject: Re: What do customers do that annoy mechanics/techs/shops? |
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| tencentlife wrote: |
I used to service all of them. BMW owners were not that likely to display more than a pretty casual brand awareness or loyalty, to them they chose a quality car and wanted quality service, but no song and dance routine.
Porsche almost without exception, and VW in most cases expressed brand awareness if not intense loyalty. The difference was the Porsche owners would bitch about the bill, debate the charges with you, then pay it with evident pride, while the Volksies just bitched about the bill. |
. What I saw with BMW was this.
The ‘Old Guard’, the ones that were true enthusiasts early in getting BMW a foothold in the US market were pushed aside by the later ‘80s and ‘90s owners who, as you noted, didn’t know the Brand’s history, how fragile the company was after WW2, etc.
That was hard to watch as so many early adopters had laboriously paved the way for the later customers to now have a strong company with so many vehicles offered compared to the old days.
I saw a repeat of this with Land Rover, since they had been here, then left, and came back strictly in the high end of the market in the late 80s with ONE model for a number of years.... 
The company was different too back then here in the US. Very small, few personnel, scrappy as all get out too.
They had to be, we were a one trick pony back then, Would you like the Base Model Range Rover Sir, or the Deluxe Model?.... 
Money changes everything as the expression goes.
_________________
'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle-gone
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto |
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Zeitgeist 13
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Joined: March 05, 2009
Posts: 12115
Location: Port Manteau
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| Posted: Fri May 01, 2020 9:05 am Post subject: Re: What do customers do that annoy mechanics/techs/shops? |
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Back when I was in high school my buddy got his dad first into vee dubs and then into a sleek new Audi 5000Q. But his ultimate midlife crisis mobile was a bright red 928S. He fell hard for the Porsche lifestyle; divorce, shades, leather jackets, fancy boots, etc. He had this rather cheeky coffee table Porsche enthusiast's book in which there were several references to plying your mechanic with copious amounts of blow and fine liquor if you wanted top shelf service. My teenage lizard brain found that quite compelling. Too bad being a mechanic blows, and the liquor is just there to numb the pain. Not really, but kinda...
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Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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tencentlife
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Joined: May 02, 2006
Posts: 10077
Location: Abiquiu, NM, USA
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| Posted: Fri May 01, 2020 9:55 am Post subject: Re: What do customers do that annoy mechanics/techs/shops? |
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No, not kinda, really. Really really.
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Shop for unique Vanagon accessories at the Vanistan shop:
https://intrepidoverland.com/vanistan/
Please don't PM here, I will not reply.
Experience is kryptonite to doctrine. |
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Zeitgeist 13
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Joined: March 05, 2009
Posts: 12115
Location: Port Manteau
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| Posted: Fri May 01, 2020 10:02 am Post subject: Re: What do customers do that annoy mechanics/techs/shops? |
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I teed that up for you. It's more believable coming from you, since I was more of a wannabe mechanic than the real deal. But, I've experienced enough to know the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.
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Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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jlrftype7
Samba Member
Joined: July 24, 2018
Posts: 3577
Location: Chicago
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| Posted: Fri May 01, 2020 11:27 am Post subject: Re: What do customers do that annoy mechanics/techs/shops? |
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| Zeitgeist 13 wrote: |
| Back when I was in high school my buddy got his dad first into vee dubs and then into a sleek new Audi 5000Q. But his ultimate midlife crisis mobile was a bright red 928S. He fell hard for the Porsche lifestyle; divorce, shades, leather jackets, fancy boots, etc. He had this rather cheeky coffee table Porsche enthusiast's book in which there were several references to plying your mechanic with copious amounts of blow and fine liquor if you wanted top shelf service. My teenage lizard brain found that quite compelling. Too bad being a mechanic blows, and the liquor is just there to numb the pain. Not really, but kinda... |
I loved driving the 928’s. Grand Touring Car for two.
The 911 crowd generally looked down on them along with the 924, but that V-8 sound was great, and I loved the styling. Access in the front fenders for simple things like the washer reservoir was murder, but once everything was back together , I ‘forgave’ the car for being such a pain to work on.
924, meh, it wasn’t a 944, I think the engine was a bit of a let down for some. It’s so rare now to see any of the 924,944, or 928s around here in Chicago.
I had fun reliving working on them when a former Porsche technician became our regional LR tech rep for the Midwest.
He had previously been in Southern California, where they were more plentiful, and saw them getting old in age with issues I never saw since they were far newer then or brand new when I was working on them.
_________________
'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle-gone
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto |
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tjet 
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Joined: June 10, 2014
Posts: 3533
Location: CA & NM
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| Posted: Fri May 01, 2020 3:36 pm Post subject: Re: What do customers do that annoy mechanics/techs/shops? |
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I'm not in the auto repair business anymore, but looking back, I had more of an issue with the shop foreman than any customer. They control who gets "what" job, which affects your paycheck. In a sense, the shop manager controls your life. Some advise for mechanics: Be nice to the people in the parts department. The dealership I worked at did not allow you to "borrow" any parts that they had in stock, but it's so much faster to troubleshoot a problem if you can try a new part to confirm a fix. That's when it pays to have friends in the parts dept.
Also, just because you find talk radio interesting, it doesn't mean the other techs around you will feel the same way. |
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Merian
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Joined: January 04, 2014
Posts: 5212
Location: Orygun
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| Posted: Sun May 03, 2020 1:27 pm Post subject: Re: What do customers do that annoy mechanics/techs/shops? |
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I asked about Pooschey owners because there is an old adage contrasting Porsches with porcupines...
I am one of the guy who had a BMW before the yuppies existed. I agree with the comment above: Once they got their hands on the marque... things went south pretty fast.
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