Dealerships should have a balcony to watch mechanics do work.

Early in my career, I was an electric motor mechanic/winder. Cummins engine plant had a line down, and they sent 2 people to watch me all day and make sure that I was working on their motor. Felt great. Highly recommend…..

 

My old Honda dealership in Pennsylvania has windows that customers can watch their car being worked on through.

 

There's a worker shortage right now, so now would be the best time.

I just find it funny that your typical bumble fuck on here is worked about the tech over tightening his oil filter by 1 ft pound and over filling it by 2 ounces.

I'd like to give Karen shit, but the reality is she would never dream of watching others work, she's got other shit to do. This is life and it's ticking by one minute at a time.

What's next can I watch the cook making my steak and can I select the steak to be cooked. Can I request a resume on the cook, oh he was a kitchen helper in Susanville State Prison. Fuck that.

This conversation of wanting to watch is driven by elitism and know it alls. At the end of the day it's just another car on the rack where the system driven by the consumer fucks the tech. If Kevin had to work on flat rate he'd be salty and looking to shave time too.

 

Then tell the service writer you don't want to pay flat rate, that you want to pay time and materials. I suggest one even better tell any tradesman you want to pay time and materials and no bid required.

 

Good ones and bad ones in every industry its just part of life. May as well ask mechanics to wear body cam

An honest mechanic is a broke/out of business mechanic. Gota keep "recommending" services.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwJqkorGam8

 

If people want to hear what comes out of my mouth when I'm working on something or how often I throw a wrench, by all means, enjoy the show. Popcorn and drinks are on your left. Only people I can't stand are those who have to literally be over your shoulder. Personal space is important

 

Pretty sure some dealerships don’t care if you walk back and watch. I know of one that I could have but didn’t

 

Its not the mechanics who are dishonest so much as it is your service advisors and service managers. The mechanics just do what they are being told to do.
They are there to make money for the owner and are under constant pressure to produce the numbers the stealership wants.
I worked at a Ford dealership where I saw parts pulled for a repair only to see them go in the trash because they were never needed in the first place. They were add ons that the service advisor added to the repair order to get his numbers. I hated seeing customers getting ripped so much that I quit before I was fired. I tried to warn some that I knew were being taken advantage of.
There are so many scams that go on in all phases of repairs and sales. I remember seeing salesmen high 5 each other when they burned a customer. To them its a game and to see how much they can rip you off. I really do not think there is a such thing as a honest car sales man with a conscious.
You only go to a dealership to buy a new car and have it serviced there while under warranty. If you take it in after the warranty expires you may as well write "take advantage of me" across your forehead because they will as long as you keep going back. Find a small shop or mechanic you can trust.
When you buy a new car play the dealerships against each other. I do that all the time. They wont hesitate to screw each other over if they think they can steal you away from the other dealership. Just know what you want and be prepared to shop at 3 or 4 dealerships. Just because the car you want is at one dealership that doesn't mean you cant buy it from another for less. Dealerships trade all the time. They are not your friend and don't give a rats ass about you or customer service. That's just another business tool. They also like to tack on extras so they can make extra money off you. Buy those extras on your own and chances are you will get what you really want for your truck. Be different and stay out of the TRD section.

 

Automotive jobs are flat rate where the tech only gets paid according the labor set by Mitchell. A perfect example is remove and replace radiator the book time will be as an example 1.5 hours. If anything goes wrong and it takes longer the tech eats it and is working for free pasted the 1.5 hours.

It one of the many reasons I quit being a tech, the average consumer is too fucking stupid to realize how bad the system can fuck you. If they want to pay time and materials i'll gladly join back in that labor force.

There's the other side of flat rate, if you get really good a certain jobs and can do it under time you're still getting paid for the total time.

 

On my last job i had frequent “management observations” when I was working in the field with the techs. Paid well so fine, it’s “show time” lol.

 

Devil’s advocate here; we live in a society where we have to literally baby sit everyone to do their jobs correctly to our expectations. There’s plenty of restaurants where you can watch them cook your meal too. Obviously it’s up to the business in how they conduct their operations. I’m all for transparency, especially at a dealer.

 

What's good for the goose, we can audit white collar people too. Since every economic shit show has started with them

 

From google.

 

That's just for the ladies to stare at what real men look like

 

Years ago I was (young... ) a factory mechanic. I was crouched down working on something when a conveyor line started to jam up. I quickly stood and turned to hit an emergency stop -- unknown to me my boss had bent over my shoulder to see what I was doing.

I was young and a big guy, about 260 pounds, he was tall and willowy weighing about 140. I hit him with my rising and turning shoulder in his solar plexus, I seriously couldn't have hit him any harder if I was trying to. His feet left the ground and he flew back about 4 feet before being stopped by an electrical cabinet.

I apologized and said "I need room to work here", he was never in my personal airspace again.

 

Film? Just ask to be conscious.

 

Day job. Night job I build things out of trees.

 

After a while you get use to people watching and second guessing every thing Ya do. Sometimes Ya do shit just to make them wonder WTF.