Originally Posted By: artificialist
I worked in the business until medical issues sidelined me in 2012. I knew many people who were skilled at repair, but they called Quaker State "Quaker Sludge" and blamed that oil. Although I didn't hear the Pennzoil myth as often, there were certainly a large number of people who feared the stuff.
Every time they did that, I would always remind them that engine oil has standards it must meet. If the engine got sludged, either the car was not maintained correctly, the car manufacturer specified an OCI that was too long, or the car manufacturer made some kind of error.
I remember once, the boss was the one who believed such an urban legend. This was back in 2008. We had a Dodge CTD come in for an oil change, and I brought out the Pennzoil 15w40 CJ4. He stopped me, and I asked "What's wrong? It meets the manufacturer's specifications." He then said Pennzoil 15w40 is junk, and ordered Shell Rotella 15w40. I had to be quiet because my job was already at risk.
Sometimes customers come in believing oil myths too. One guy came in with a F350 7.3 PSD, and he said he worried that the zinc was taken out of oils. I explained how API CJ-4 means there is less zinc, but they made up for it with other additives.
The other challenge is people who come in with cars that only accept full synthetic. They get really angry when they discover that. I usually get ordered to put conventional oil in their car, and can't override the order. This is one reason I am half glad to be sidelined by medical issues.
my favorite is the customer that thinks they know better than the manufacturer... their truck specs 7 quarts they only wanted us to put in 5... (and i just know this guy was doing it to be cheap... didn't want to pay for the extra 2 quarts)
I worked in the business until medical issues sidelined me in 2012. I knew many people who were skilled at repair, but they called Quaker State "Quaker Sludge" and blamed that oil. Although I didn't hear the Pennzoil myth as often, there were certainly a large number of people who feared the stuff.
Every time they did that, I would always remind them that engine oil has standards it must meet. If the engine got sludged, either the car was not maintained correctly, the car manufacturer specified an OCI that was too long, or the car manufacturer made some kind of error.
I remember once, the boss was the one who believed such an urban legend. This was back in 2008. We had a Dodge CTD come in for an oil change, and I brought out the Pennzoil 15w40 CJ4. He stopped me, and I asked "What's wrong? It meets the manufacturer's specifications." He then said Pennzoil 15w40 is junk, and ordered Shell Rotella 15w40. I had to be quiet because my job was already at risk.
Sometimes customers come in believing oil myths too. One guy came in with a F350 7.3 PSD, and he said he worried that the zinc was taken out of oils. I explained how API CJ-4 means there is less zinc, but they made up for it with other additives.
The other challenge is people who come in with cars that only accept full synthetic. They get really angry when they discover that. I usually get ordered to put conventional oil in their car, and can't override the order. This is one reason I am half glad to be sidelined by medical issues.
my favorite is the customer that thinks they know better than the manufacturer... their truck specs 7 quarts they only wanted us to put in 5... (and i just know this guy was doing it to be cheap... didn't want to pay for the extra 2 quarts)