do mechanics hate customer pictures of the problem

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edwardh1

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a year or so ago when i took my car to my mechanic, (he is a owner of a 5 person independent shop), I took some pictures of what I thought the problem to be on my digtal camera - I can not even remember what it was -- maybe a rear valve cover gasket leak--

but he said dont do this again-
i asked what? he said "bring in pictures"- he said his people hated pictures- I thought at first he was joking, but I think he was serious.
is it a "I will cause trouble 4 you with these pictures" thing? ?
I am not a lawyer by the way, and still use and like this garage ,
and he was not mad, but seemed serious?
what up here?
 
I suspect mechanics don't like it when the customer tells them what's wrong. They prefer to do proper diagnosis of the problem so the real problem gets fixed, not what the customer thinks the problem is.
 
Nah, they don't want you to have pictures of a valve cover leak after they've billed you for a rear main.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
I don't get it, did this garage do some work that wasn't up to snuff and you took pictures of it instead of bringing the car in?

=======

no it was not a come back on any old problem, and it was not an issue with work done by another shop either, just a new problem on my 99 maxima, that they fixed fine , its stil lfixed
 
Maybe they didn`t like the fact that you knew exactly what was wrong with your car,therefore they couldn`t screw you out of some money by fixing extra stuff that didn`t need fixing. I think that was very smart of you going into that shop well informed of what your car needed.
 
Some techs/mechanics are just a pain in the butt. I ran and worked in shops 30 odd years. I got to where I didn't put up with that. Wasn't their vehicle or their hard earned money being spent. Most made better livings then the owners of the vehicles they were working on. They need to be appreciative to have to work and turn out a fair job for fair pay.
 
Some doctors act similarly. They think that you're questioning their authority.
 
I think maybe they are just afraid of quoting a price on information provided by the customer.
If it turned out to be leaky intake seal and they quoted for leaking cover there might be bad feelings or maybe they got burned before.

I wouldn't think to much about it.
 
I've never taken pictures, but I have written a few paragraphs explaining what needs to be done and what I've seen/done so far. Never had an issue, in fact, I think it is appreciated as it gives them some basis of where to start.
 
Might be interesting to just ask the guy (after you are satisfied with the current job!) to get his perspective.
 
A significant part of my occupation involves customer communications/service. I think some people avoid the appearance of being "confrontational" . As a customer if you get an answer that you simply dont understand ask for clarification. If they choose to be vague,and in this case a little threatening, I would definitely push to determine if they are serious. Ask for an explanation and if it does not satisfy you move on. As for it "not working out for you" he needs to manage his workers. and appreciate his customers more
 
If you still have the pics of it leaking, you can take some current pics, then print both out and take them so they can show other customers.

I'll bet they'll like those pics
smile.gif
 
Find another shop. No need to explain yourself in taking pictures of what you thought the problem was.

Had a Dakota a few years back that was doing some wacky electrical stuff with the gauge cluster. After three failed attempts to fix, I finally caught it with my camera video and it helped the techs pinpoint the issue and was fixed right that go around.

Things get lost in translation when trying to describe quirky issues and a visual reference makes all the difference. If a tech does not like that, then there something wrong with them and not you.
 
In the past I had printed huge multi-page document with lots and lots of pictures and taken it to the mechanic. The document listed every single step needed to fix the problem. The mechanic just laughed at me and told me he did not need them as he knew what he was doing! But there was never any bad feeling. He was just amused.

Just last weekend, I opened up my starter on his workbench and fixed it myself even though he would have preferred to put a rebuilt one. I understand that I am extremely lucky to find a place which lets me not only hang out in the shop but to actually work side by side with the mechanic.
 
Originally Posted By: ET16
Some doctors act similarly. They think that you're questioning their authority.


This.

I don't know why I tell doctors anything. They are just going to contradict me.
I've broken my right fibula 3X now. I got fouled hard in a high-school basketball game and came down on my foot sideways. Very nasty bad break. The doctors at Carswell AFB put it together okay but it's never been right since. I'm very familiar with what happens when I break it.

I roll my ankle coming down off a ladder and feel all the familiar pain of a fracture. Tell the doctor the history. He brings in the X-Rays and says, "It's just a mild sprain." Next day I get a call from the radiologist who tells me, "...no, you broke it. I don't know how he missed that. You need to come in and get that set and casted."

Seems like he just contradicted me for his own ego's sake. (To be fair, neither myself nor my insurance appeared to have ever been billed for the follow up set and cast)

But back on topic; I don't think I would have ever been upset by photos as a Service Writer. Other things bothered me. Like we had this customer with a Mercedes ML with 22"s. They were the wrong wheels entirely. Lug-centric and they had to weigh 100lbs ea. (or at least that's what they felt like they weighed when you were trying to center them to put them back on) He kept coming back with vibration problems. Wouldn't buy the hub-centric adapters. Would not accept our diagnosis.

Maybe he thought that my ego was preventing him from getting a good diagnosis.
21.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
I don't get it, did this garage do some work that wasn't up to snuff and you took pictures of it instead of bringing the car in?


+1 Mechanics fear people who understand cars. They prefer morons who they can take advantage of or people who don't question their work. Until they realize that you know what you are talking about they will give you the loop around. This has been my experience. Once I establish that I know what I am talking about they wont try to sell me a tune up for my flux capacitor
 
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