Universal Antifreeze

[M38 Bob]

And the "**** Fits" they throw because they've ruined one tire on their AWD and can't just buy a single replacement. Had a guy the other day with a nice, low mileage, super clean Explorer go across the street and trade for some Korean 2wd SUV because he had one tire separate and wouldn't buy a set of tires cause "One a them new tires might go bad in a few months and I'd have to buy another set".

Bob

 

[Birdman330]

If a customer insists on putting in a cheaper oil than that required by the manufacturer, do you put a warning notice on their receipt that customer insisted on installing cheaper oil than that required by the manufacturer and that this could possibly void the manufacturer's warranty? I have heard service managers tell customers this verbally but wonder if it is put in writing somewhere. Personally I never deviate from what the owner's manual calls for. As one new car salesman told my brother when he asked about fuel mileage on a muscle car, it you can't afford the gasoline you can't afford the car. That applies to oil and other service items too.

No, and the reason is they used to do that with AWD Tires as pointed out by Bob. But even with a customer signing a ''wavier'' one way or another the customer would still win the battle in court. So they removed things like that to prevent future issues. The only thing they're supposed to sign is if they get overly insistent that they have their brand spanking new tires put on the front of their FWD car with old worn down tires put on the back. I actually got into one huge argument with a guy who demanded they get put on the front using a stupid excuse you don't put new tires on the front of a RWD Car to which I pointed out his argument is moot because plain and simple you don't put new tires on the front if they're a pair. Wouldn't sign the statement about being warned about the tires going on the front but insisted they be put on the front. I told him, want the tires sign the statement or guy buy somewhere else. I didn't even care if he called and filed a complaint on me about it. It also reminds of the guy bringing in the 30 year old white wall to be patched up, I told him no the tire is too old. Filed a complaint and its company policy not to deal with a tire over 10 years old, guess what we did. Patch it for him and send him on his way while I got a written warning.

 

[TheBlueKJ]

^Sounds like my place of work. It's an absolute joke

 

[tjkj2002]

If a customer insists on putting in a cheaper oil than that required by the manufacturer, do you put a warning notice on their receipt that customer insisted on installing cheaper oil than that required by the manufacturer and that this could possibly void the manufacturer's warranty? I have heard service managers tell customers this verbally but wonder if it is put in writing somewhere. Personally I never deviate from what the owner's manual calls for. As one new car salesman told my brother when he asked about fuel mileage on a muscle car, it you can't afford the gasoline you can't afford the car. That applies to oil and other service items too.

No warning or no notice we just sent them packing.Not worth the hassle later on.The best is when there engine takes more then 5qts and that is a extra charge for the extra oil so they state just to put 5qts in there 7qt capacity engine,nope sorry pay extra or go somewhere else.Same goes for a single tire on a AWD vehicle when there will be a drastic tread depth difference,just not worth the hassle later on.


As for the tire thing and age,yep if they are 10 years old or older bye-bye.I don't care what anyone says I'm not touching that tire unless it's to throw it in the dead tire bin(with a hole drilled in the sidewall for good measure).Had a guy bring in a "brand new" set of TSL's he wanted mounted,made in 1992.******* and moaned that we would not install them since they had never been mounted before but I simply stated the only thing I'm doing with those tires is drilling a hole in the sidewall.

 

[Birdman330]

^Sounds like my place of work. It's an absolute joke

It's one of the final reasons I finally quit, I got sick and tired of how frigging two faced the company was. Follow policy, you get in trouble. Violate Policy you get in trouble. The customer might throw a tantrum and post it on facebook we wouldn't do something against policy, most people aren't going to side with the person throwing the tantrum. It was the fact a stupid spoiled rotten girl, threw a fit her five year old Sentra, had dying TPMS sensors that happened 10 months after we mounted her new tires. According her that was warranty and she should get new sensors, well they were working and the tires were way over inflated. Put the tires at proper pressure, they worked fine again. Then filed a second complaint that didn't fix the issue, despite my tech and I going over the tires several times with the TPMS Computer seeing they were all working fine saying I was an A$$ because I wouldn't give her new TPMS sensors. The Service Manager who had sold her the tires should have dealt with it, oh but he couldn't and wouldn't. So I had it and walked out after the end of the day.

No warning or no notice we just sent them packing.Not worth the hassle later on.The best is when there engine takes more then 5qts and that is a extra charge for the extra oil so they state just to put 5qts in there 7qt capacity engine,nope sorry pay extra or go somewhere else.Same goes for a single tire on a AWD vehicle when there will be a drastic tread depth difference,just not worth the hassle later on.


As for the tire thing and age,yep if they are 10 years old or older bye-bye.I don't care what anyone says I'm not touching that tire unless it's to throw it in the dead tire bin(with a hole drilled in the sidewall for good measure).Had a guy bring in a "brand new" set of TSL's he wanted mounted,made in 1992.******* and moaned that we would not install them since they had never been mounted before but I simply stated the only thing I'm doing with those tires is drilling a hole in the sidewall.

That was company policy, you get a tire that is over ten years old you're to remove it out of service. We used to punch holes in the sidewalls until the ''recycling'' company threw a fit about it. But you didn't dare take a tire from a customer though, the repercussions of one who did was insane after the customer filed a complaint.

 

[M38 Bob]

Hell, I AM company policy!:signs6:

Never been sued, never had to get physical. Have had a few screaming matches, don't remember ever loosing one.:nutkick:

Bob

 

[tjkj2002]

But you didn't dare take a tire from a customer though, the repercussions of one who did was insane after the customer filed a complaint.

I've done it like 3 times.Customer rolls in a flat wanting it fixed and I see what tire it is and grab my drill with the 1" hole saw and went right over and drilled a 1" hole in the sidewall.No warning.




Was the customer shocked and mad? Yep but got over it when we mounted a brand new tire for free and sent him on his way since he rolled in a recalled tire that had to be immediately taken out of service.

 

[Birdman330]

I've done it like 3 times.Customer rolls in a flat wanting it fixed and I see what tire it is and grab my drill with the 1" hole saw and went right over and drilled a 1" hole in the sidewall.No warning.




Was the customer shocked and mad? Yep but got over it when we mounted a brand new tire for free and sent him on his way since he rolled in a recalled tire that had to be immediately taken out of service.

That's the one thing about not working for ''Corporate''. Bridgestone is so cowardly when it comes to customers and it breeds a mentality that is getting out of hand. Word is out, do not work for Tires Plus because you the employee will get shat on. Customers get more free stuff than they should be allowed all at the expense of fear that they'll post something on Facebook, Twitter, etc.... That says the company is bad.

 

[tjkj2002]

That's the one thing about not working for ''Corporate''. Bridgestone is so cowardly when it comes to customers and it breeds a mentality that is getting out of hand. Word is out, do not work for Tires Plus because you the employee will get shat on. Customers get more free stuff than they should be allowed all at the expense of fear that they'll post something on Facebook, Twitter, etc.... That says the company is bad.

I couldn't give 2 sh!ts about what they charge the customer as long as I get paid correctly,I don't set prices or really care.I do however make sure the ticket is correct when I comes to overlapping labor and such,I'm not there to help rip people off.My current manager was our old ADM,well he lost his managing partnership a few months ago and now there is a email posting for his job since he can't stop giving everything away for free.

 

[Birdman330]

I couldn't give 2 sh!ts about what they charge the customer as long as I get paid correctly,I don't set prices or really care.I do however make sure the ticket is correct when I comes to overlapping labor and such,I'm not there to help rip people off.My current manager was our old ADM,well he lost his managing partnership a few months ago and now there is a email posting for his job since he can't stop giving everything away for free.

Shortly after I walked out they finally demoted him, because he was excessive on the discounts. I'll give him credit, he could sell sand to a sheikh in the desert but he had a lousy concept of time management and money management. You can't discount nearly 40% off of every ticket and not expect to take a hit in the profit margin section. They yelled at me one day and I looked at them and said, I wasn't there when the customer got billed out, I don't discount unless they give me a physical coupon. (Oh the complaints I would get on that, it was policy no coupon no discount) Its not my fault he takes a $1200 ticket and then decides to cut it down to $950 because he wants repeat business. Tech's hated him because of his excessive discounting like that, telling them to do a 4hr job in 2 because that's what he told the customer how long it would take, and the list goes on and on. It was known, he was terminated from two other Auto Service Corporations because of the same things when he was put in charge of them.

 

[tjkj2002]

Shortly after I walked out they finally demoted him, because he was excessive on the discounts. I'll give him credit, he could sell sand to a sheikh in the desert but he had a lousy concept of time management and money management. You can't discount nearly 40% off of every ticket and not expect to take a hit in the profit margin section. They yelled at me one day and I looked at them and said, I wasn't there when the customer got billed out, I don't discount unless they give me a physical coupon. (Oh the complaints I would get on that, it was policy no coupon no discount) Its not my fault he takes a $1200 ticket and then decides to cut it down to $950 because he wants repeat business. Tech's hated him because of his excessive discounting like that, telling them to do a 4hr job in 2 because that's what he told the customer how long it would take, and the list goes on and on. It was known, he was terminated from two other Auto Service Corporations because of the same things when he was put in charge of them.

I know the feeling.


I'm always getting asked "how long till it's done?",well it's a 6 hour ticket that was just sold so 6 hours.Granted I say that regardless if I know I'll be done in 3 hours or not.


Also hear you on the discounts,they give them away like it's candy.Couple of weeks ago had a guy make a online appointment for tires,he wanted 275/55R20's and comes in with a Chevy 2500HD with 12" wide rims that had 305/55R20's mounted.Being load range E tires and low profile no way was a 275 fitting on a 12" wide rim.He gave the guy the 305's(not our tires,had to order) at well below our cost,he gave them to him for cost of the much cheaper 275's.He got $1700 worth of tires for $750 and we had to pay $1300 our cost for the tires for his(the customers) mistake.

 

[profdlp]

...He got $1700 worth of tires for $750 and we had to pay $1300 our cost for the tires for his(the customers) mistake.

Where is your shop located? You see, after I get my lift I'll need tires and... :happy175:

 

[TheBlueKJ]

Sounds just like pepboys, we had a customer that ******* and moaned because his alternator was put in in 10 minutes when on the bill he was charged for an hour of labor. He wanted his money back because of that, the service manager told him that that's not how it works, if it had taken 2 hours would he be charged for 2 hours of labor? So service manager pretty much told him your S.O.L. Guy went to corporate about it and long story short he got his money back.

 

[Birdman330]

Sounds just like pepboys, we had a customer that ******* and moaned because his alternator was put in in 10 minutes when on the bill he was charged for an hour of labor. He wanted his money back because of that, the service manager told him that that's not how it works, if it had taken 2 hours would he be charged for 2 hours of labor? So service manager pretty much told him your S.O.L. Guy went to corporate about it and long story short he got his money back.

Makes me think of an Armchair Mechanic that came in, wanted to know how long the tune up would take on his Camry. Computer said an hour I believe it was. Told me that's not right it would take him 30 minutes to do. I responded by telling him he should do it himself because its what would be charged if we did it. He walked out.

 

[Birdman330]

I know the feeling.


I'm always getting asked "how long till it's done?",well it's a 6 hour ticket that was just sold so 6 hours.Granted I say that regardless if I know I'll be done in 3 hours or not.


Also hear you on the discounts,they give them away like it's candy.Couple of weeks ago had a guy make a online appointment for tires,he wanted 275/55R20's and comes in with a Chevy 2500HD with 12" wide rims that had 305/55R20's mounted.Being load range E tires and low profile no way was a 275 fitting on a 12" wide rim.He gave the guy the 305's(not our tires,had to order) at well below our cost,he gave them to him for cost of the much cheaper 275's.He got $1700 worth of tires for $750 and we had to pay $1300 our cost for the tires for his(the customers) mistake.

That takes me back to one his most incredible screw ups. A female customer broke down crying when I was trying to offer her different tires in her size. One of the things we do when all cars came in was mark down in the computer the CORRECT tire size. I did not realize what he was doing at the time but this customer came in a week earlier, I did a full inspection on her car recorded all of its information. He wiped her tire size out of the computer she had 15 inch tires on her Honda. Put in the 17 inch tire size, ordered the tires she wanted in 17 inch. Tech comes in with a look on his face when he goes to mount the tires and asks me to come take a look at this. I walk out there and about lost it. I swapped for a different tire at cut rate while still in grounds of making a profit so I wouldn't get yelled at too much, she was insistent on that particular type of tire. I told her, that he should have told you that tire did not come in your OEM size but he swapped out sizes. She broke down right there, I about had to steal a set of tires for her, I found a second optional 15 inch size that they came in. I even reported it, and was told I handled the situation so no need to do anything. If I did that, I would have been dragged into the office for a three hour lecture on how do PROPER procedure.

 

[profdlp]

There's an old story from the early days of computer repair (think room-sized mainframes) about a tech in a similar situation. He gets called out to a job, immediately fixes the problem by pressing a button, then leaves a bill for $300.

The company disputes the bill, saying "How can you charge $300 just for pressing a button?"

The tech rewrites the bill:

1) One button press: $5
2) Knowing WHICH button to press: $295

:icon_lol:

 

[Birdman330]

At a previous job, we used to have a phrase known as Customer f*-up Fees. Charge them now if they had a credit card, if disputed and found in the right for real refund them.

 

[tjkj2002]

There's an old story from the early days of computer repair (think room-sized mainframes) about a tech in a similar situation. He gets called out to a job, immediately fixes the problem by pressing a button, then leaves a bill for $300.

The company disputes the bill, saying "How can you charge $300 just for pressing a button?"

The tech rewrites the bill:

1) One button press: $5
2) Knowing WHICH button to press: $295

:icon_lol:

Sadly it's the complete opposite for us....................


10mins to fix but charge 1 hour.......................


Can do the job in 10mins because I spent $1000+ on the correct special tool(s) to do the job quick.Only 250 more jobs just like that 1 to break even when you factor in the tool(s) you had to buy.

 

[M38 Bob]

Sadly it's the complete opposite for us....................


10mins to fix but charge 1 hour.......................


Can do the job in 10mins because I spent $1000+ on the correct special tool(s) to do the job quick.Only 250 more jobs just like that 1 to break even when you factor in the tool(s) you had to buy.

BUT, like most of us in the profession, you're a tool junkie who can't get on one a them weekly enablers trucks without buying something. ;-)

Bob



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[tjkj2002]

BUT, like most of us in the profession, you're a tool junkie who can't get on one a them weekly enablers trucks without buying something. ;-)

Bob



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hey I have not bought anything off a tool truck in weeks.