• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

All I ask is to be kept informed.

I'm guessing that most of us will relate to this.
You take your car to the shop for some repair that you can't or don't want to do. They write an estimate and say they will call. You get a ride home and go about your day.
Hours pass. No call from the shop. MORE hours pass, still no call so you call them.
Did they give you an estimated time the car would be ready for pickup? If they couldn't complete in the estimated time I would expect a call, otherwise no.

Did you expect the shop to call and give you a blow-by-blow of the job?

-Hello, we just opened the hood.
-Hello, we just unbolted the....
-Hello, we just drained the....
 
We have 5 advisors. 100+ cars a day. Phones ringing. Emails coming in. Text2drive messages coming in. Appointments. Walk-ins. It's non-stop.

If your advisor makes you feel like you're their only customer...kudos to them, but rest assured you are not. Shops are BURIED right now because cars are in short supply, prices are up, interest rates are up, and it's easier/cheaper to fix than replace.

I tell my customers what's up a) when they schedule, b) when they drop off, and c) once we diagnose. Many...don't listen. "you can drop it off tomorrow but we won't be able to look at it until next week". Two days later, "have you looked at my car yet? I haven't heard from anyone..."

Parts are a crap shoot. Backorders, manufacturing delays, shipping delays...its anyone's guess. If your advisor gives you a date..much as it sucks...its an estimate. That's all we can do right now.

Recalls anymore are multi-step, and require inspect/test, then MAYBE replace. And then, is it replace some pieces? All? And, being a recall, parts have to be vin-ordered, we can't simply have them on a shelf. Not all recalls...but I'd say 50-50. If you want to know...ASK.

Much as I'd love to talk to all my customers every day, it's just not possible. I'd be at work till midnight. When I get your approval for work I'll tell you "ok, parts should be here in 4 days and once they arrive we'll get it worked back into our schedule as fast as we can. Please let me know if you have any questions!" And then...I have to move to the next one.

All day long.

Hang out in the lane for 10 minutes if you can, and you'll get a feel for the workload.
 
I never leave it to the service provider to call me. I call them in my time frame. They will always disappoint you. When I was an electrical contractor, my customers were always suprised that I called and showed up when I said I would.
 
DO YOU want some one watching your everymove ALL day? I certainty dont. You all dont like the service the shop you go to provides find another, there is literally an endless amount of places to go to get your **** fixed. Or pick up a wrench and do it your self.
I won’t hit you with a red X - However much I do disagree with you. I dont think most expect their job to be monitored and reported on everyday. If they do - that’s their problem. It‘s basic professional courtesy to provide some form of update and likely ETA. As things materialize some form of update is simply good business. And I would also say there is not a “**** ton” of good places to bring your job. By bringing the job to whomever I expect a call back when they say they’re going to call back - at least w/I a day or so. Getting blown off doesn't work for me. Too busy to “ever return your call” or saying you’ll call me tomorrow or the end of the day and never getting anything at all doesn’t work for me. I dont have the skills to do that much myself - mechanically or certainly body work. Treat me at least half way decent and I’ll be back - treat me like I’m just a guy with sign on the street corner begging for coin is bullshit - and not only will I not be back - no one else I know will ever go there in the first place. I came from a professional world where I was going a 1000 miles and hour at all times - never did I ever blow off anyone for anything. So bottom line I don’t buy that load of crap.
 
We have 5 advisors. 100+ cars a day. Phones ringing. Emails coming in. Text2drive messages coming in. Appointments. Walk-ins. It's non-stop.

If your advisor makes you feel like you're their only customer...kudos to them, but rest assured you are not. Shops are BURIED right now because cars are in short supply, prices are up, interest rates are up, and it's easier/cheaper to fix than replace.

I tell my customers what's up a) when they schedule, b) when they drop off, and c) once we diagnose. Many...don't listen. "you can drop it off tomorrow but we won't be able to look at it until next week". Two days later, "have you looked at my car yet? I haven't heard from anyone..."

Parts are a crap shoot. Backorders, manufacturing delays, shipping delays...its anyone's guess. If your advisor gives you a date..much as it sucks...its an estimate. That's all we can do right now.

Recalls anymore are multi-step, and require inspect/test, then MAYBE replace. And then, is it replace some pieces? All? And, being a recall, parts have to be vin-ordered, we can't simply have them on a shelf. Not all recalls...but I'd say 50-50. If you want to know...ASK.

Much as I'd love to talk to all my customers every day, it's just not possible. I'd be at work till midnight. When I get your approval for work I'll tell you "ok, parts should be here in 4 days and once they arrive we'll get it worked back into our schedule as fast as we can. Please let me know if you have any questions!" And then...I have to move to the next one.

All day long.

Hang out in the lane for 10 minutes if you can, and you'll get a feel for the workload.
Everybody should be an advisor and they would have a different attitude over the phone or at the service desk. I was an advisor for 13 years back in the late 70's and 80's. I have been told lately that I am "a breath of fresh air" because I get how it works.
 
Just face it. We live in a broken I want it today because it broke yesterday world. Just a bunch of spoiled wieners that have lost touch with reality. Don't expect it to get better any time soon. Think the consumer world is bad just try getting a response from a government agency or even getting someone or something to answer a phone.
 
Just face it. We live in a broken I want it today because it broke yesterday world. Just a bunch of spoiled wieners that have lost touch with reality. Don't expect it to get better any time soon. Think the consumer world is bad just try getting a response from a government agency or even getting someone or something to answer a phone.
Yep, still waiting on my IRS refund, and still waiting on a call back, you’d think with all those new employees they’d be a little faster:lol:
 
Yep, still waiting on my IRS refund, and still waiting on a call back, you’d think with all those new employees they’d be a little faster:lol:
All those new agents are working on telling you No Refund!!! You owe us $!,000,000..
 
I understand the conundrum

lets put it in perspective
I'll play devil's advocate,
as someone that actually had companies, retail, service/repairs & construction buss.
& had to deal with the public/customers regularly, multiple mngrs multiple owners etc.
(most are clueless, even if you were to call them, constantly)

I guess it really depends on what type of work/job we're talking about here

I'm not defending anyone's bad customer service
but;
could you imagine 'as a carpenter' having to be stopping what you're doing
several times a day, having to restart & get reset back up,
going up & down ladders working on trusses or the roof etc.
or under the house, 'even more' or using/taking your break time to make calls
having to be calling & informing your customers/homeowners or the developers'
whats' been done
or going to be done on a regular basis
several times a day
that most won't even understand what the hell you're talking about
(project managers/contractors or possibly the foreman's job, not the carpenters')
it'd be futile attempts 'to contact' or they don't answer or goes straight to voice mail
then they claim they never got it, then proceed to bitch/moan/whine
or you have/having to educate them, on what it is you did
most won't even understand it

just being a worker bee isn't like being a leader/foreman or owner/mngr
you can put your head down & just do the work
when you throw a bunch of peripheral BS on top of all of it
like customers' needs/insecurities, needing to know/educate them on
what's happening at all times
over & above 'the top', of the actual job at hand
let alone dealing with needy whiny or insecure customers, all damn day

Also times money,
think of it as the owner/gen./dept. mngr, put yourself in their shoes
many service writers are swamped already
& many don't do squat either, it runs the gambit
some are far better than others
size of the shop/business makes a huge difference too

I can understand 'the gripe'
if it's a smaller shop, only a few cars, only a few customers,
(like some here mentioned they do)
it's easier to have good customer contact & updates/relations
if you don't as a smaller shop/buss. you won't last long if you don't

but;
depending on what type of place, &/or how big or small
somewhere like a dealership, especially in a big suburb or in the big-shitty
or a big retail shop, some chain tire/muffler stores alignment shop
or Johnny's Hot-Rods local yokal shop
or body shops ('paint jail' in many) or machine shops ('machine jail' in many)
it would 'have to be' a real hassle, & it's also time-consuming too
they'd probably have to hire more people to just call people regularly
to update them all, on status of the projects...
(price goes up accordingly, then more will bitch about that)
Just to tell them about what's being or has been done...

You probably can't/couldn't just explain it to all,
1/2 or more you'd have to educate them 'for them to know what is happening'
it'd be futile, time-consuming in many cases too
many people would be difficult to explain stuff too
that slows down the process or the actual work too
especially in a lil' 1 or 2 man/person shop/buss.

do you want a good job ? or a rush job ?
can't have both, or rarely anyway
did they have trouble getting parts/supplies ?
there is a parts/supply chain problem of late
put yourself in their shoes

if you trust them to take your car to them, in the 1st place
don't rush them, unless warranted, like way beyond reason
let them do 'what needs to be done', if it's what you asked for
have them contact you if it's going to be more time
or more cost I can see
make that deal up front

I've gone thru it too
I understand it's 'a bitch' not being in the loop

patients grasshopper
or the flip side
Wall of text length to gander.png
 
Last edited:
I love this place! I can learn new things about old cars and how best to do my own job while enjoying open honesty and friends.
I might not tell you what you want to hear about the parts you send me ... but it will always be the truth good or bad.
Thanks to all of you for helping me be the best business owner I can be.
FB_IMG_1668455212072.jpg
 
I love this place! I can learn new things about old cars and how best to do my own job while enjoying open honesty and friends.
I might not tell you what you want to hear about the parts you send me ... but it will always be the truth good or bad.
Thanks to all of you for helping me be the best business owner I can be.
View attachment 1380079
KEEPING IT REAL LEANNA!! GOOD FOR YOU!!!
 
I stopped by the body shop to retrieve something from my truck, the gal at the desk said “why don’t you just take the truck? It’s been done for a week”. She claimed that she called and left a voicemail, but there was no voicemail or missed call in my call history. Poor communication is commonplace in the service industry…
 
I'm guessing that most of us will relate to this.
You take your car to the shop for some repair that you can't or don't want to do. They write an estimate and say they will call. You get a ride home and go about your day.
Hours pass. No call from the shop. MORE hours pass, still no call so you call them.
Oh, hello Sir...it has been done for a few hours/is waiting on parts/we still haven't looked at it/was stolen....
Why are these places so bad at keeping their customers informed?
The same complaint applies to other industries...You order parts and wait for the call that never comes. You have parts at the machine shop and the man never calls.
Don't these people ever face the same situation in their own lives? You'd think that if they did, that they would show more interest in customer service.
It really is a simple matter of a phone call. Call me and say what is going on. I can be a very patient and tolerant guy if I don't feel like I am being ignored. When I get stonewalled, I get pissed off. Pissed off customers are bad for business.
So just to be the devil's advocate here. My background, 25 years technician, including owning a shop, and 26 years teaching automotive technology to students. So, you don't mention how this shop is staffed or organized. Is it a one-person shop, 5-person shop? Do they have service writers, how many? Most shops still pay on a flat rate or at least a bonus structure, so time is money literally. As a previous shop owner and employee of small two and three person shops, sometimes when answering the phone, my state of mind was if you would quit calling, I might have more time to work on the vehicle. Many days I had three or more vehicles in my bays. Then you have undertrained parts people sending wrong parts, or parts that are on back order. My best customers were the ones that trusted me and relied on me doing the best job for them. And I had a lot of them over the years. One in particular was dying of cancer and he actually called me to his home so I could promise to keep taking care of his wife's car after he died, and he looked at his wife and said "and you don't pester Jim when he is working on it."
Now a large shop or dealership with plenty of service writers you can expect more updates and phone calls, but those extra people will raise the cost of doing business, so then the terms thieves and crooks get tossed around much more, because of the higher labor rates. My major complaint is that a lot of shops today just don't know their business and/or have the proper equipment to do quality repairs. And I say that because I still get calls from time to time to fix problem vehicles in my area. They just don't take the time or have the money to stay current with technology.
 
I went to the dealer to get an emissions test and a recall on my Durango taken care of, two days ago, there was one service adviser. After some small talk, I asked for an appointment, she said November 6th. I told her my emissions test was for renewing my plates that are due in October. She told me, most places are two months out. I told her, that was the reason I hate coming to this place. She said I beg your pardon, you bought it here and have been coming here for years. I said, it's been getting worse every year since I've been coming here and now you need take a picture of me waving goodbye. The service manager came out and asked if there was something he could help me with. I said of course there was, I need an appointment and he said he couldn't help with that. I told him, well then, you need to go back in your office and continue your great service. They can't get enough GOOD workers so everyone pays the price. Someone is making money there, cars cost what a house cost 20 years ago, they just doubled the size of their facility and they don't want to pay their employees anything. Greed and I'm not interested in listening to it anymore..... I went down the street to a shop and got the emissions taken care of in less than 30 minutes.............. The recall, well, that's for another day. The service adviser called someone to see if the parts were in on my recall, I told her, it didn't need parts, it was a reflash for some rear lights as the code on the recall notice stated. She got up and went to the back to get to the bottom of this. Almost ten minutes later she came back and told me it was just needing a reflash..................... I'm looking for a new dealer, they're all over by me.
 
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top