Dealerships should have a balcony to watch mechanics do work.

A video feed or a balcony would have put an end to the recent thread where someone could not find any evidence of a fluid change that took three days. As far as asking for the old parts doesn't guarantee that they were even your parts. A recent visit for my truck I got a call that the cabin air filter was extremely dirty. I had replaced it just before the truck went in. I refused the service. I pulled the filter after picking up the truck. The filter was still whiote, but did have 3 pine needles on it. Somehow my brake pads got thicker than what the shop said also. Anything to make the dealers numbers.

 

I'm fine with people watching me work. I mean, we have to take the cuffs off and book you in first, but doesn't bother me.

 

Screw sheetrock. I frame the walls... but not when people are watching over my shoulder...

 

Great idea! I'd even pay a small admission fee and purchase overpriced snacks to consume while I observe. I could see a tip option as being incentive for a good mechanic to keep up the good work

 

Here’s the #1 problem. EVERYONE is an expert. They could have never seen a wrench before in their life, but they see something you’re doing that seems odd to them and they will tell you about it.

I did insurance claims 20 plus years. I would tell people word for word insurance law and they would say I was wrong and then proceed to tell me how I was to handle their claim. I got to the point I was telling them after they got their license we could talk more and gave my supervisor phone number before I ended the call.

 

Not afraid one bit. But I have dealt with people watching over my shoulder as I worked on their vehicle and i find they tend to 1) never shut up and or 2) question everything I do. It’s makes for a very annoying day when you are paid by the job and are getting slowed down constantly. There are bad apples in every dealer, but from my experience of a customer can watch you work, they will question you through the whole job. I left the dealer about a year ago and now work at a diesel specific shop that is a better place to work in every way.

 

I was helping with plugs, oil change, and tire rotation. Owner of the car stared at us the whole time. Didn’t know why. We left a 10mm on his cowl and he came back the next day to return it. Also apologized for all the staring and explained he did it because he was at a shop down the street that didn’t do half the things he asked. He even witness marked the drain plug.

So I get it. There’s a lot of dirt bag mechanics out there. But I’m more likely to mess up with people staring.

 

I wasn’t there, but I tend to believe my dad. I have had my own experience with mechanics/ shops lying about work performed. The whole idea behind a balcony over a garage is more about keeping them honest than it is critiquing their work.

 

I've always done my own vehicle maintenance. I'm pretty capable and I like knowing that it's done to my standards.

 

Some of the lube techs used to worked the service drive (valet)are now doing the quick lube work. It's always been that for a long time... Cheap labor for the dealership

Try to get familiar or meet the tech that work on your car and try to request the same tech.

Some tech don't use torque wrench when torqueing cam caps.

 

Shit...that's nothing. Try working a gate call with the flight crew, gate agent, ramp and about a 140 passengers staring at ya right before pushback.

 

My dealership use to have a window; they blacked it out.

 

If most people walked through a plant they'd be shocked that a lot of stuff isn't torqued. It's just run in with a DeWalt electric impact. There are certain fasteners that get torqued, but it's not people in lab coats and clean rooms putting shit together. It's just average ordinary guys.

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

 

There's been a few times I've caught service writer shenanigans by asking to speak to the tech. They play it off as a "miscommunication".
But, yeah... I get not wanting to be bird dogged.

 

And...because I have had a learning experience or 2 or several over 35 years, if something goes wrong, no one to blame but myself. On my first gen Tacoma I let the dealer do the timing belts, figuring they're not putting the newbie oil change guy on that task.
Bummer the one local mechanic that I trusted just retired a couple of years ago.
He had his own business.

 

I did qualify assurance as my career for 40 years, watching other people work and then inspecting it will make you bat shit crazy! Just saying.

 

I don't think but I KNOW you've obviously never worked as a mechanic.

I think it's the worst idea ever.

 

I am with you on that one. Shit don't go as planned, like written in a book. Give space and let me figure it out. Is that too much to ask. You get a repaired machine and I can go home and see my family. Thank You...very much.

 

I wanted to play in a rock band I would have signed up.

 

The customer is not always right and in fact they should have been beaten with a rubber hose a long time ago.

So this balcony that needs to be built:

Will it need theatre seating?
Will the seating need built in massage and heat?
Will the tech's bay need to be wired for sound and different camera angles?
What's your limit of you wanting to watch? A basic oil change or an entire engine swap out?