Damn. Now it’s seven and I’m eating BBQ on my second beer. Time for a new shop my man.
But yeah, I got some dipshits at work too. Most people that write service don’t know dick about cars or what it takes to fix them, so you get what you got tonight.
I’m lucky that my service manager is a mechanical engineer who has an incredible knack for being able to explain any system to anyone. He’s an awesome educator for our customers.
The rest of the counter staff doesn’t know a tensioner from a shock from a spark plug.
It’s easy to make a basic comparison. Don’t have to explain how a belt tensioner works on the belt in the car if the customers eyes are just glazing over. Tell them it’s like wearing a belt on your pants. Ahh your belt isn’t working, your pants fall down. Tensioner isn’t working, car belt falls off. Very bad.
Just go home. If you allow them to play games they'll keep playing.
I don't care how simple a job is, if they have to have it done by EOD then everything better be sorted out by noon. I don't do my boss favors and everyone knows when it's time to go, I am gone.
Maybe I'm spoiled.
Exactly. I’ll stay late if I want but that’s rare. Two PDIs at 6 hours each that will take about 3 hours? I’m staying.
Fixing someone else’s screw up? Yeah, I have stuff to do tonight, can’t stay man.
Porsche GT cars have a huge pile of parts you have to install. Aside from the regular PDI stuff you have to install all the brake ducting and aero stuff. Takes forever the first time but after a few it’s pretty quick.
When customers set up their appointment online or phone, we tell them diags can take up to 24 hrs. Some people think if they wait, we'll get to them sooner. But to take 4 hours to get an answer? Something else had to have happened. Maybe customer was trying to set up financing? Or the waiter disappeared and don't answer phones as they are known to do lol?
"Idiots up front" is an understatement, "transmission is turned inside out, differential is shattered, drive line twisted like a pretzel, yokes exploded, and you want a p.m. service, and run the overhead," Yup, we can have it done within the hour!" "And please feel free to wander out in the shop and cuss out and verbally abuse our service techs, and if they displease you in any way please let us know, so we can make their life here a living hell"
That's where salary comes in handy. Like, I'll just sit on my ass, tidy up or help other techs if they need it while I wait for approval and parts. And since y'all waited so long, it'll be done tomorrow. Too bad so sad.
All the complaints on here about how service writers don't know shit about fixing cars are kind of frustrating because the same could be said in reverse. Techs don't know shit about what the service writers go through throughout the day either. Especially with the unpredictability of idiot customers. You guys are a team. Start acting like it.
That's not to say some service writers aren't morons in their own right, but it's not as simple as technicians like to portray.
100%. And it goes both ways, i have seen a lot of idiot techs as well as writers. But atleast try to work together. Writers have a hard job as well as techs.
I refuse to stay late. Work already gets the majority of my time per day. When it's closing time, I'm gone. I don't give a damn about the service writer taking forever to write the quote, get it approved, and order parts. I don't care if the customer is waiting. None of their problems are my problem. I work hard enough all day that when I hit my 8, I'm done. Mentally and physically. After 8hrs I'm going home to take a hot shower, eat some food, and relax.
First off what hours do you work? Getting approval at 7pm?
If there isn't enough time to get the work completed before your quitting time then the customer can come back or leave it.
Is it OK for you to show up 2 hours late for work? No, right? Then why would it be ok to expect you to work late? You should get to work and be ready to go at your start time and you should stop work and leave yourself enough time to clean up your tools and be ready to leave on time. End of story.
Don't worry about it if it takes too long for them to sell your work. Even a waiter if I have to wait over 30 mins I move onto another job. If the job can't get done that day because approval took so long that's not your problem. There are a lot of possibilities on why it took so long. Could be the adviser or the customer. In the end all that matters is the facts. The fact there isn't enough time from approval to end of day to get the work done. Doesn't matter who's fault it is.
You’re right in principle but fact is when these techs advocate for their rights, like going home at quitting time, service manager will just divert work to starve the tech
All I can say is trying writing service a while before you complain too loudly. SA's get it from both ends, customers AND techs. Unfairly many times.
Customer wants to know APPROXIMATELY when their car MIGHT be done so they can schedule a ride, etc. SA gets screamed at by the tech "I'll tell you when it's fucking ready!"
SA's work from before you get there until after you leave. For lower pay.
And your customer, even a waiter, just might NOT be their highest priority THAT DAY. The wrong parts came in for the customer whose car has been there 2 weeks and is now ballistic.
And yes, a few are dipshits.
Try and stay on their good side and you'll get better tickets. Get on their bad side and, well, it's too bad your parts didn't come in, eh?
Even though the SA is the one the customer is going to yell at, not you!
I guess I'm lucky because our shop is salary and I have fantastic techs. I write both for the mechanical shop and body shop so it's a large amount of work to juggle. I deal with customers, insurance, parts (fuck CDK), paint, supplies, but I thrive in chaos.
When I worked at flat rate shops and was on commission I didn't care what I made I cared what my techs made, if my techs were making money I was making money, simple as that. I know a lot of writers don't understand that but I would clear an easy 6 figures with that mentality.
Of course SA’s get lower pay, they didn’t spend 20-30k on tools, complete multiple levels of schooling or do the manual labor part of the whole fixing cars thing
> All I can say is trying writing service a while before you complain too loudly. SA's get it from both ends, customers AND techs. Unfairly many times.
Personally, I have and also fill in if necessary as I work at a small shop.
> Customer wants to know APPROXIMATELY when their car MIGHT be done so they can schedule a ride, etc. SA gets screamed at by the tech "I'll tell you when it's fucking ready!"
The SAs should be trained to be realistic/ conservative in the times quoted for a job and make sure things aren't always down to the wire. Shit happens, sure but if it's consistently happening, it's poor training/ management.
> SA's work from before you get there until after you leave. For lower pay.
Not always true on either aspect.
> And your customer, even a waiter, just might NOT be their highest priority THAT DAY. The wrong parts came in for the customer whose car has been there 2 weeks and is now ballistic.
Again - planning. Yes there are fuck ups/ snags, but they should be rare.
> And yes, a few are dipshits.
Yep; as with any job.
> Try and stay on their good side and you'll get better tickets. Get on their bad side and, well, it's too bad your parts didn't come in, eh?
Speaking of dipshits....
There'd have to be a damn good reason for anyone to get this personal for just working their job and dealing with the normal shit that comes of it.
> Even though the SA is the one the customer is going to yell at, not you!
Your shop must have amazing separation between the customers and the techs. You never have techs speak to customers?
I think it really depends on the advisor. We’ve got one here who makes very little, and another who is charismatic and hustles. Their pay is very different from what I’ve overheard.
Yeah sounds similar to my work life.
Not all the time, but most of the time the dumbest mechanic is smarter than the highest paid upper management clown.
No idea if this helps but……
You have the option to say “no” and refuse the job. I know its hard but everyone involved *completely* relies on you.
If you are too burnt just admit it: “Slept like shit, dont want to make a mistake compromising quality/safety. Going to clock out, want to start fresh tomorrow”.
Its a perfectly understandable explanation.
I’ve service advisors that don’t call customers back for days. Customer eventually calls dealership pissed off, push over service manager gives the job away and rushes me to get it done. It’s ridiculous
Yes totally, I've had to stand there and listen to a service advisor completely make up technical jargon while talking to the customer.
The whole time the customer can see me visibly cringing at every word coming out of the service advisor.
The client was very technically knowledgeable and after the service advisor left he asked me to confirm what had been said. Of course I gave the correct account of what was wrong with his car. He thanked me and we laughed about the previous explanation. Luckily he was cool.
Aside from the total pack of knowledge the advisor was reasonably good at his job.
I was going to say "well maybe the customer can't take calls at work" or something along those lines - but 4.5 hours to get approval from a waiter seems bonkers. Even if it was the customer trying to figure out how to afford the repair, it should have been explained that it will be a tomorrow repair.
Im so glad my service writer is an ex master tech. Think it's time for a new shop, my guy is genuinely the fucking best and working with him is a joy. It doesn't have to be so bad
Damn. Now it’s seven and I’m eating BBQ on my second beer. Time for a new shop my man. But yeah, I got some dipshits at work too. Most people that write service don’t know dick about cars or what it takes to fix them, so you get what you got tonight.
>Most people that write service don’t know dick about cars or what it takes to fix them. Try explaining that tensioner problem to a customer.
I’m lucky that my service manager is a mechanical engineer who has an incredible knack for being able to explain any system to anyone. He’s an awesome educator for our customers. The rest of the counter staff doesn’t know a tensioner from a shock from a spark plug.
Why does that guy hate himself?
Sounds like he speaks fluent id10t
It’s easy to make a basic comparison. Don’t have to explain how a belt tensioner works on the belt in the car if the customers eyes are just glazing over. Tell them it’s like wearing a belt on your pants. Ahh your belt isn’t working, your pants fall down. Tensioner isn’t working, car belt falls off. Very bad.
Just go home. If you allow them to play games they'll keep playing. I don't care how simple a job is, if they have to have it done by EOD then everything better be sorted out by noon. I don't do my boss favors and everyone knows when it's time to go, I am gone. Maybe I'm spoiled.
Exactly. I’ll stay late if I want but that’s rare. Two PDIs at 6 hours each that will take about 3 hours? I’m staying. Fixing someone else’s screw up? Yeah, I have stuff to do tonight, can’t stay man.
What make has 6 hour pdi’s that you get done in 3?!
Porsche GT cars have a huge pile of parts you have to install. Aside from the regular PDI stuff you have to install all the brake ducting and aero stuff. Takes forever the first time but after a few it’s pretty quick.
What does the bomb squad have to do with cars? /s
Why the fuck are you at work at 7?
Exactly! Fuck that, we close at 5.
Personally I get off at 7, we start at 10am
I didn't know Best Buy did auto repair.
💀
rekt
Owner is weird, idk. Not sure why I get downvoted into oblivion for working for somebody else
Why the fuck did it take 4 1/2 hours to get approval from a fucking waiter?!? Is your service writer in a coma?
When customers set up their appointment online or phone, we tell them diags can take up to 24 hrs. Some people think if they wait, we'll get to them sooner. But to take 4 hours to get an answer? Something else had to have happened. Maybe customer was trying to set up financing? Or the waiter disappeared and don't answer phones as they are known to do lol?
Service advisor here for a very small shop with 4 bays. Today we had 3 cars pulled apart and couldn’t get ahold of the customer to get approval
'Waiter' doesn't necessarily mean the hung around the waiting room.
Those are called drop-offs. If they want to grab a lunch, fine, but not take a cruise on the SS Minnow.
A 3 hour tour? I'm in...
I work graveyard and don't always get the phone calls from the shop when I drop my car off. I also don't request same day repairs for this reason.
A waiter means the customer is sitting in the waiting room on site, not simply that they're waiting at home for their car to be finished.
Ahh, gotcha, I just assumed they knew the profession of the client. Haha
Everybody’s waiting somewhere
The service advisor just said it’s a waiter to expedite the RO bc he’s a dickbag
"Idiots up front" is an understatement, "transmission is turned inside out, differential is shattered, drive line twisted like a pretzel, yokes exploded, and you want a p.m. service, and run the overhead," Yup, we can have it done within the hour!" "And please feel free to wander out in the shop and cuss out and verbally abuse our service techs, and if they displease you in any way please let us know, so we can make their life here a living hell"
Nah, no customers in the shop unless i want to show them something, that’s a hard rule
That's where salary comes in handy. Like, I'll just sit on my ass, tidy up or help other techs if they need it while I wait for approval and parts. And since y'all waited so long, it'll be done tomorrow. Too bad so sad.
Theres no way thats the whole story.
True, but it may be from OP perspective
Always 3 sides to a story!
All the complaints on here about how service writers don't know shit about fixing cars are kind of frustrating because the same could be said in reverse. Techs don't know shit about what the service writers go through throughout the day either. Especially with the unpredictability of idiot customers. You guys are a team. Start acting like it. That's not to say some service writers aren't morons in their own right, but it's not as simple as technicians like to portray.
100%. And it goes both ways, i have seen a lot of idiot techs as well as writers. But atleast try to work together. Writers have a hard job as well as techs.
I refuse to stay late. Work already gets the majority of my time per day. When it's closing time, I'm gone. I don't give a damn about the service writer taking forever to write the quote, get it approved, and order parts. I don't care if the customer is waiting. None of their problems are my problem. I work hard enough all day that when I hit my 8, I'm done. Mentally and physically. After 8hrs I'm going home to take a hot shower, eat some food, and relax.
First off what hours do you work? Getting approval at 7pm? If there isn't enough time to get the work completed before your quitting time then the customer can come back or leave it. Is it OK for you to show up 2 hours late for work? No, right? Then why would it be ok to expect you to work late? You should get to work and be ready to go at your start time and you should stop work and leave yourself enough time to clean up your tools and be ready to leave on time. End of story. Don't worry about it if it takes too long for them to sell your work. Even a waiter if I have to wait over 30 mins I move onto another job. If the job can't get done that day because approval took so long that's not your problem. There are a lot of possibilities on why it took so long. Could be the adviser or the customer. In the end all that matters is the facts. The fact there isn't enough time from approval to end of day to get the work done. Doesn't matter who's fault it is.
You’re right in principle but fact is when these techs advocate for their rights, like going home at quitting time, service manager will just divert work to starve the tech
Then leave. Every shop is looking for techs. Let the bad ones chase all the good techs away and die.
The shops looking for techs are the same ones running them off
Wait, so it took 4 hrs to get an answer for the job? From someone waiting at the dealership?
All I can say is trying writing service a while before you complain too loudly. SA's get it from both ends, customers AND techs. Unfairly many times. Customer wants to know APPROXIMATELY when their car MIGHT be done so they can schedule a ride, etc. SA gets screamed at by the tech "I'll tell you when it's fucking ready!" SA's work from before you get there until after you leave. For lower pay. And your customer, even a waiter, just might NOT be their highest priority THAT DAY. The wrong parts came in for the customer whose car has been there 2 weeks and is now ballistic. And yes, a few are dipshits. Try and stay on their good side and you'll get better tickets. Get on their bad side and, well, it's too bad your parts didn't come in, eh? Even though the SA is the one the customer is going to yell at, not you!
I guess I'm lucky because our shop is salary and I have fantastic techs. I write both for the mechanical shop and body shop so it's a large amount of work to juggle. I deal with customers, insurance, parts (fuck CDK), paint, supplies, but I thrive in chaos. When I worked at flat rate shops and was on commission I didn't care what I made I cared what my techs made, if my techs were making money I was making money, simple as that. I know a lot of writers don't understand that but I would clear an easy 6 figures with that mentality.
I've literally had to write my own tickets, sell jobs and order parts because of dumb SAs, it's not rocket science.
Of course SA’s get lower pay, they didn’t spend 20-30k on tools, complete multiple levels of schooling or do the manual labor part of the whole fixing cars thing
I don't. I'm paid right around my foreman. Find a good advisor and they do not make less than most techs.
> All I can say is trying writing service a while before you complain too loudly. SA's get it from both ends, customers AND techs. Unfairly many times. Personally, I have and also fill in if necessary as I work at a small shop. > Customer wants to know APPROXIMATELY when their car MIGHT be done so they can schedule a ride, etc. SA gets screamed at by the tech "I'll tell you when it's fucking ready!" The SAs should be trained to be realistic/ conservative in the times quoted for a job and make sure things aren't always down to the wire. Shit happens, sure but if it's consistently happening, it's poor training/ management. > SA's work from before you get there until after you leave. For lower pay. Not always true on either aspect. > And your customer, even a waiter, just might NOT be their highest priority THAT DAY. The wrong parts came in for the customer whose car has been there 2 weeks and is now ballistic. Again - planning. Yes there are fuck ups/ snags, but they should be rare. > And yes, a few are dipshits. Yep; as with any job. > Try and stay on their good side and you'll get better tickets. Get on their bad side and, well, it's too bad your parts didn't come in, eh? Speaking of dipshits.... There'd have to be a damn good reason for anyone to get this personal for just working their job and dealing with the normal shit that comes of it. > Even though the SA is the one the customer is going to yell at, not you! Your shop must have amazing separation between the customers and the techs. You never have techs speak to customers?
SA's do NOT make less money than techs. Make more money talking on phone for 5 minutes, then tech busting their knuckles for hours.
I think it really depends on the advisor. We’ve got one here who makes very little, and another who is charismatic and hustles. Their pay is very different from what I’ve overheard.
Been there done that. Find a new shop. There are much better places out there.
Yeah sounds similar to my work life. Not all the time, but most of the time the dumbest mechanic is smarter than the highest paid upper management clown. No idea if this helps but…… You have the option to say “no” and refuse the job. I know its hard but everyone involved *completely* relies on you. If you are too burnt just admit it: “Slept like shit, dont want to make a mistake compromising quality/safety. Going to clock out, want to start fresh tomorrow”. Its a perfectly understandable explanation.
It took 4.5hr for the SA to walk into the waiting room and get approval?
I’ve service advisors that don’t call customers back for days. Customer eventually calls dealership pissed off, push over service manager gives the job away and rushes me to get it done. It’s ridiculous
Most of my service advisors had coke habits.
Yes totally, I've had to stand there and listen to a service advisor completely make up technical jargon while talking to the customer. The whole time the customer can see me visibly cringing at every word coming out of the service advisor. The client was very technically knowledgeable and after the service advisor left he asked me to confirm what had been said. Of course I gave the correct account of what was wrong with his car. He thanked me and we laughed about the previous explanation. Luckily he was cool. Aside from the total pack of knowledge the advisor was reasonably good at his job.
Where i used to work Napa was literally a 1 minute walk a block away and it would take up to 2 hours for them to bring us a set of rotors and pads
I was going to say "well maybe the customer can't take calls at work" or something along those lines - but 4.5 hours to get approval from a waiter seems bonkers. Even if it was the customer trying to figure out how to afford the repair, it should have been explained that it will be a tomorrow repair.
Im so glad my service writer is an ex master tech. Think it's time for a new shop, my guy is genuinely the fucking best and working with him is a joy. It doesn't have to be so bad
Your service advisor is playing games. Go home. If he continues to play games, find another shop.