As long as you've got it in (rant)

[otis24]

I really can't believe some people. Actually, I guess I can. Nothing really amazes me any more with the selfishness and ignorance of some people.

I work at a small dealership in the middle of nowhere in South Dakota. We stay fairly well booked for the most part. Some people just don't get the idea of scheduling.

We are constantly getting calls. Customer: "I need to get an oil change. We are going on a long trip tomorrow and it is due." This is probably a trip that has been planned for a long time. Really? Your going on a trip tomorrow and you wait till the last day to schedule an oil change? This is the only day you could think to call? The last day BEFORE you start your trip? Us: "Let me check the schedule to see what we have open."
Customer,replies quite tersley "Well forget it then" because they were expecting to hear "Yes, get here right now!WE will drop everything for you."


Another typical exchange that happens goes like this: "I need to see if I can get an oil change". Us: "Gee, we are pretty short handed today. We have a couple of technicians gone. Let's see, I think I can squeeze you an for an oil change at 3 oclock. Will that work for you?"

Customer: Yeah, I can be there at three. As long as you got it in can you ________?(Fill in the blank, "rebuild my transmission, slap in an new alternator, check all the brakes, repack the bearings, etc etc.


Like, dude. Really? What part of short handed or squeeze you in did you NOT catch during our conversation? I didn't talk fast, my english is good, and you seem reasonably intelligent."No! We can't! We scheduled you for an oil change. That's it!. That's what we have time for, that's what we can do, period. The fact that you have to be in Seattle or San Diego or whereever by Monday does not change OUR
schedule or OUR circumstances. Perhaps you should not have waited till the last moment to schedule your maintenance.


Rant over!

 

[The_Jeff]

This happens all over. I used to cart luggage to these summer cottages, think richy rich one-percenters. Deliver some suitcases, two minute job, she wanted my partner and me to move all this furniture around because she had some redecoration plan in her head. Better chi or something.

Just had a friend in for brakes, he has two clunker saturns; one has 300k and burns oil so bad going down hills his CEL comes on, and it's OBD-I so you know it's something good.

Other has had bad brake lines since Thanksgiving and his brakes were "warped". Actually it was a seized (then snapped) caliper pin which miraculously I had another of, and all he was talking about was his upcoming trip to the mountains and how he had to have one car working well enough for the hills.

BTW, he's a one percenter too. Sorry to get off all ranty but they're used to snapping their fingers and getting stuff.

I worked in a tire store briefly and for heavens sake when you get your car serviced, drop it off and forget about it and let the writer know he has it all day. You'll get much better quality of service.

 

[hattaresguy]

Welcome to the world of customer service.

What are you a service adviser? That's a brutal job, high turn over.

 

[otis24]

Parts manager, but it is a small store so the service advisor and I work hand in hand. The good thing is that he is the main guy and I CAN pass the buck. Oh, and its not just the one percenters, its everybody that thinks you will drop everything for them.

We have one diesel tech. A lot of people driving diesel pickups west (its Sturgis week!). Our diesel tech stays booked taking care of locals for the most part, farmers and ranchers who are loyal customers and need their trucks back.

In many cases, the customer is looking at a week if not TWO before our technician can even look at their vehicles. We explain this politely but always get some story " But i'm heading to such and such place and I work for so and so and I need to be there by such and such time". Yep, that's great. We can get to you in two weeks. Fly home, take a bus, or call someone to come get you. If you plan on driving your vehicle and want us to look at it, you're looking at two weeks.

 

[01rangerxl]

Must not be many shops in Chamberlain? Making an appointment for a minor service would be unusual around here. There is a local dealer and a local indy shop I use for state inspections and things I don't care to do myself. I can't even remember ever setting an appointment with either one for anything.

 

[Rick in PA]

That's people. I worked at a service station decades ago. The last couple of days of every month got a little crazy with folks who forgot that their car needed a state inspection ("the sticker is right on the window sir / madam, about 18" from your eyes..."). Of course, when repairs were needed, that was a problem. That usually spilled over into the first couple of days of the new month.

I figure things haven't changed, so I always avoid scheduling any car work at the end / beginning of the month for that reason.

 

[brelandt]

Dude! I feel you.

 

[morris]

SOOOOOO " We have a couple of technicians gone." that is NOT something the manager can see coming, it is no ones fault. i dont do my own truck work any more, but i NEVER put heavy demands on my shop, i get top notch work out of them. i had two special projects. today. when i was ask when i need it i said, "when you get it done". and guess what, life goes on .

 

[Spazdog]

People are stupid with appointments.

Stupid, stupid people.

What happens if you are late for your appointment to the doctor? You get to sit in the waiting room with bubonic plague victims for hours and hours waiting to get fit back in.

What happens if you are late to the movies. You get a terrible seat next to the person on her cel-phone because she "paid the same amount for this movie as you did..." and miss the beginning of the movie.

What happens when you are late to court? You are in contempt of court and if you are lucky, you get a stern lecture. If you are not so lucky, you might pay a fine.

But I hear all the time: Keeping an appointment is inconvenient to me, I didn't know I had to actually keep my appointment, Making me show up at a set time is bad customer service....etc..."

Like I can just throw a breathalyzer at a car and it will land installed and programmed

 

[otis24]

I really like the customers who want you to get their vehicle in and repair it right away, but they have no money to pay for it.

A couple of days ago, we picked up a van downtown. The dealer plates (good for 30 days) are still in the window from March. It is obvious that the owner has no money for tags and taxes. In addition to the alternator being out, there is a recall on the torque converter. We tell the owner she will have to have it towed to us. "Well, I don't have money for that. I was hoping you guys could come get it". No problem. We zip down to get it, hoping we can just stick a jump pack on it, start it, and bring it up the hill. Could have done that, but we had to wait an hour because the owner "forgot to bring the keys". She was charged a $75 pickup fee for our hour of time.
I stopped for breakfast at McDonalds. The "owner" of the van works there. Last night, I told her that her portion of the bill would be about $350. This morning she tells me, "There's no hurry on that van, unless you guys have a loaner for me". Translation: "If you will provide me with a free vehicle to drive for a couple of months, I should be able to save up enough money to eventually pay for mine and get it off your lot".
She has a warranty through where she purchased the vehicle that is supposed to pay part of the bill. Not sure if she has even kept up with payments. How itworks is, we sit on the vehicle for so long. If you don't pick it up, we file for a title. Or, if your lender comes to get the vehicle, they have to pay the bill before it is released.

 

[dwcopple]

The dealership I worked at had college kids do the quick LOF's. There is NO point in paying a qualified tech to do oil changes. We had 2-3 LOF kids and could put through tons of cars in a day. They made $8/hr if I remember correctly.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: dwcopple
The dealership I worked at had college kids do the quick LOF's. There is NO point in paying a qualified tech to do oil changes. We had 2-3 LOF kids and could put through tons of cars in a day. They made $8/hr if I remember correctly.


Not all dealers have room or money for that. Ideally someone like that would have 2 lifts, one for the larger maintainence to put up in the morning and the other for the LOFs that come in during the day to do while waiting for upsells/parts on the major service.

Totally understand the OPs concern. I was the dispatcher at my dealer for a while, and it was horrible. The person that scheduled our appointments has literally no automotive knowledge whatsoever and would just bring people in anytime they wanted. It really was fun when he would bring in cars for recalls where there are no parts present, although usually the owners don't read the letter past "recall on your vehicle".

 

[ryster]

It goes both ways. I always call 2-3 weeks in advance and schedule an appointment for whatever I need done. I also let them know if I am leaving it for the day or will need to wait in the waiting room for it. I would never dream of just stopping in and asking for my car to be done right then and there.

One time I showed up at 8:00AM to drop off my car for an appointment I had scheduled 3 weeks prior.

Service Manager said "we will try to get it done today".

I said, "What do you mean? I scheduled this service 3 weeks ago. It will not be done by 5PM today?"

He responded "If you had arrived 15 minutes ago, maybe. But there are people ahead of you now."

I responded "What was the purpose of setting up an appointment if it means nothing?"

He replied "We always over book because some people cancel, and others have urgent services that need to be fit in same-day. Usually it all works out, but we have several walk-ins today."

I replied, "So I scheduled 3 weeks ahead, show up, and I potentially get bumped for someone else that shows up today with no appointment and wants their car done right away?"

He says, "Call us after lunch and we will let you know if your car will be done today."

Ultimately the car was done, but they were just pulling it out of the garage when I arrived to the dealer at 5:15.

I understand scheduling issues happen, but when people with scheduled appointments get bumped for walk-ins there is a serious problem.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: ryster
It goes both ways. I always call 2-3 weeks in advance and schedule an appointment for whatever I need done. I also let them know if I am leaving it for the day or will need to wait in the waiting room for it. I would never dream of just stopping in and asking for my car to be done right then and there.

One time I showed up at 8:00AM to drop off my car for an appointment I had scheduled 3 weeks prior.

Service Manager said "we will try to get it done today".

I said, "What do you mean? I scheduled this service 3 weeks ago. It will not be done by 5PM today?"

He responded "If you had arrived 15 minutes ago, maybe. But there are people ahead of you now."

I responded "What was the purpose of setting up an appointment if it means nothing?"

He replied "We always over book because some people cancel, and others have urgent services that need to be fit in same-day. Usually it all works out, but we have several walk-ins today."

I replied, "So I scheduled 3 weeks ahead, show up, and I potentially get bumped for someone else that shows up today with no appointment and wants their car done right away?"

He says, "Call us after lunch and we will let you know if your car will be done today."

Ultimately the car was done, but they were just pulling it out of the garage when I arrived to the dealer at 5:15.

I understand scheduling issues happen, but when people with scheduled appointments get bumped for walk-ins there is a serious problem.



That's pretty poor customer service. They might as well just do away with appointments.

I have actually been turned down on an appointment by a shop. For last year's inspection I knew I would need to bring my truck in late in the day, so I called the small indy shop to schedule an appointment. They said "nah, just bring it in." I brought the truck in around 4:15 and was out by 4:45. This is a busy shop too, I don't know how they do it. Of course for a major job they would want to make an appointment, but they are good at fitting small jobs in during the day.

 

[KrisZ]

Understandably you are frustrated, but at the same time you should be grateful that you guys have customers. Also, like someone mentioned already, if you constantly have to turn down jobs, that should be a clue to the management / owner to hire more help or make sure they have enough people covering the bays.

From my point of view the fault lies with the way the business is run, not the customer.
But it seems that this is the new management style, do nothing and let your subordinates deal with the problems until nothing gets done or the customers are screaming at the managers.

 

[gfh77665]

If some of you think "one percenters" are the ones who act bad, you need to observe the ones who have been on welfare for decades. They have the mentality that the world OWES THEM EVERYTHING. And they scream and accuse if they don't get it.

I'll take dealing with a "one percenter" any day over the welfare divas.

 

[javacontour]

Yep. Saw some new welfare recipients last night at the store. Apparently they were new at it because they walked up to me and asked what they could buy on their "Link Card."

Actually, they were not bad. At least they were asking. Usually I get behind these folks in the checkout and the ordeal ensues with what they can and can't buy, how much is still on the card, I forgot my PIN, etc.

The cards must be re-loaded on the 15th as there was another family of about 47 it seems where the oldest daughter was translating for the Link Card wielding mom as she didn't speak English.

It just goes to show that entitled is not limited to any particular pay grade.



Originally Posted By: gfh77665
If some of you think "one percenters" are the ones who act bad, you need to observe the ones who have been on welfare for decades. They have the mentality that the world OWES THEM EVERYTHING. And they scream and accuse if they don't get it.

I'll take dealing with a "one percenter" any day over the welfare divas.

 

[lovcom]

Lots of backwards thinking in this thread. The OP Otis24 is obviously in the wrong business.

The customer is SUPPOSED to ask and ask away, with little regard for the number of techs that show up at work, the amount of time a shop has available, and so on.

The customer pays your mortgage. I wonder if the owner of your sleelership knows you have such a terrible attitude.

Customers can be hard to deal with, but you should've known that before you signed up for your customer service job!

Otis, I would suggest you change your attitude, or find another job that does not involve the general public (customers), because you currently have little understanding of how it all works.

 

[otis24]

Actually, I have a very good understanding of how it works. Lovcom, let me see if I can explain in terms you can understand, I'll go slow.

When a customer calls and asks for an oil change, and you specifically tell them your situation, and they still ask for additional service, this is sheer idocy. I'm not talking about customers who have work already scheduled. I'm referring to phone ins who ask for a particular service (i.e. an oil change). When you specifically say that you are short handed, but will accomodate their request, that is one thing. But to ask for additonal services "while you've got it in" after everything has been clearly explained to you borders on idiocy at the very least, stupidity at worst, and just plain selfishness. It is a reflection of today's society wanting instant gratification NOW, with no regard to others.
In addition, many customers could avoid a lot of headaches if they would use some common sense. It would be to their own benefit to do so. I have customers who are snowbirds. They leave for the south every winter. They have planned there departure months in advance and they have made the same sojourn for years. They, more than anyone else, know their schedule. Their failure to plan service in advance is inexcusable. If that's how they operate, so be it. But to blame others and demand services with the expectation of being pushed ahead of the line in front of those who were smart enough to schedule is inexcusable. I can only assume that you are one of these types, as birds of a feather seem to flock together.
Hopefully, those who might see their actions reflected in my statements (and perhaps you are one of them) can learn something about common courtesey and common sense!

 

[moving2]

1. OTIS24's APPROACH:
(Customer): "I need to see if I can get an oil change".

Mechanic: "Gee, we are pretty short handed today. We have a couple of technicians gone. Let's see, I think I can squeeze you an for an oil change at 3 oclock. Will that work for you?"

Customer: Yeah, I can be there at three. As long as you got it in can you ________?(Fill in the blank, "rebuild my transmission, slap in an new alternator, check all the brakes, repack the bearings, etc etc.

Otis24 (to himself, though doubtless present in his attitude with customers): "Like, dude. Really? What part of short handed or squeeze you in did you NOT catch during our conversation? I didn't talk fast, my english is good, and you seem reasonably intelligent."No! We can't! We scheduled you for an oil change. That's it!. That's what we have time for, that's what we can do, period. The fact that you have to be in Seattle or San Diego or whereever by Monday does not change OUR schedule or OUR circumstances. Perhaps you should not have waited till the last moment to schedule your maintenance.
[...]
When a customer calls and asks for an oil change, and you specifically tell them your situation, and they still ask for additional service, this is sheer idocy. I'm not talking about customers who have work already scheduled. I'm referring to phone ins who ask for a particular service (i.e. an oil change). When you specifically say that you are short handed, but will accomodate their request, that is one thing. But to ask for additonal services "while you've got it in" after everything has been clearly explained to you borders on idiocy at the very least, stupidity at worst, and just plain selfishness. It is a reflection of today's society wanting instant gratification NOW, with no regard to others."


2. MY MECHANIC'S APPROACH:
(Customer): "I need to see if I can get an oil change".

Mechanic: "Gee, we are pretty short handed today. We have a couple of technicians gone. Let's see, I think I can squeeze you an for an oil change at 3 oclock. Will that work for you?"

Customer: Yeah, I can be there at three. As long as you got it in can you ________?(Fill in the blank, "rebuild my transmission, slap in an new alternator, check all the brakes, repack the bearings, etc etc.

Mechanic (totally unfazed and friendly): I can get the oil change in for you and maybe check your brake pads/rotors, but anything more will take longer because I'm pretty booked up. I could probably get everything done by Wednesday, will that work for you?

Customer: Sounds good!


Guess which mechanic most people would choose?

I'd hope you'd know this, otis24, but the average Joe/Jill has NO IDEA what goes into auto repair, or worse they think they do when they haven't done more than change a battery. So when they ask if you can get to something else "while you're in there", it's not necessarily "idiocy/stupidity/selfishness/instant gratification/no regard for others", but just that they have no idea the time it would take to do the additional work, and how much other work you have.

I sincerely hope your bad attitude doesn't spill over into your interaction with customers. If it does, that's what Yelp and Google Reviews are for.