Do Mechanics HATE When Customers Wait
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ต.ค. 2024
- Do Mechanics HATE When Customers Wait for their car to get serviced? When you bring your car in for service and wait, does that change how your car gets worked on. Is it better to drop your car off?
This is a topic that may have some strong opinions. BE NICE to each other in the comments!
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I've waited (in the waiting room) before when I couldn't drop the car off since I didn't have a ride. Honestly, I'd rather wait 2 hours and have the job done right than wait 45 minutes and have to come back.
I wouldn't fix your car cause it puts pressure.
"are you done yet?"
2 minutes later, Phone call
"done now?"
*not yet, give me 10 min*
"okay, we'll they're waiting"
*i know, I'm working*
"okay thanks"
goes back to working
ADVISOR COMES BACK TO GRAB THE PAPER WORK.
"done yet?"
*well the car is on a lift, with no Tires or Oil, sooo not really*
+The Technician next door Too common a conversation. I usually go a couple steps further if it's a hot summer day. I end up losing it and tell the adviser to inform the customer that "I am working as hard as I can and I can guarantee I will be finished not one second longer then when the car is properly repaired, and that it is perfectly ok with me for them to enjoy the Air conditioned waiting room with the TV and free coffee that the profits off my hard labor has provided them, of which I get a small fraction of. However if that gets difficult for them I would gladly hand them a wrench and instruct them better on how they can be of assistance"
Rarely does the question get asked again. More often then not the customer leaves happier because their car is fixed correctly.
Every day of my life point on
when it comes to servicing or just replacing a part people waiting wouldn't be an issue to me, but if you are trying to diagnose something, like an electrical fault or something having someone watch over you or wait can be annoying
Having been a service technician, manager, and owner, albeit in the motorcycle industry, I have had my fair share of "waiters". I have never been bothered by them in the least. The actual problem falls upon the service writer. If he knows the job is going to take an hour, he should be telling the customer the wait will be one and a half. This takes the pressure off the tech, allowing him to do a thorough job, without the service writer pushing him and also allows for any unforeseen problems. There should be ample displays, brochures, and reading materials to give the customer ideas on how to spend his next dollar, and a way to transport the customer elsewhere if a lengthy problem arises. If everything goes smoothly, you finish the job early and are a hero. If done poorly, you are the worst service department ever, and all his friends will know about it. Remember: Under promise and over deliver!!
this is the single best comment I have seen. As a tech at a car dealership with very optimistic service writers sometimes I have ended up getting into huge arguments with the service writers over this. Our service writers will write us techs into a deep hole with waiters all the time. It starts with the first 12 cars in the door at opening. 12 lube techs. 12 cars. fine. tell them 45 minutes. the problem arises on busy mornings when cars are lined up out of the dealership and 1/4 mile down the road by the time the doors open and granted only about half to 2/3 of them are waiters and some of the other techs get pulled in but when the first 30 or so people in the door are told its less than an hr wait for a full LOF rotate mpi and a wash when the first 12 cars are only just beginning to get the oil draining it gets stacked up. it doesnt matter to the writers how many cars are already stacked outside written but not being worked on because all stalls are full, they still say 45 - 1 hr.
then comes bigger jobs. I have given an 8 hr estimate on front end work to the service writer at 9:30 ish. they call me at 3:30 saying the job is a go and the customer wants to pick up the car at 6 and the writer cant be bothered to realize what she is asking of us. Only because the customer is out of town did I agree to even attempt this but I told the writer to make sure the customer knows it may run a little late. I pulled another tech in to help and split the flag with him. we tore this front end apart nuts and bolts and parts flying everywhere and slammed it together aligned it and pulled it to the service drive at 6:15 ish. customer is throwing a fit because he was told it would be done 15 minutes ago. service writer and manager are jumping my ass until i enlighten the manager to the miracle that just happened. He explains the job to the customer and the fact that its 8 hrs worth of work that we just busted ass to get them out before closing at 630 so they didnt have to wait over the weekend and they seem surprised because the writer said it wasnt a major job just a quick fix.
as a former tech could not have said it better
Ted Bonbrake SPOT ON!
Im a forklift tech and 90% of it is done at the customers premises - so every job is a waiter! One of my many mentors taught me exactly as you said. 'How long it gonna take, I've got trucks to load'. If it's a 2hr job I say 3hr, if it's a 5hr job I say all day. They protest at first, you stick to your guns and they get over it fast. When you completed the '3hr' job in 2hr's your the best thing since sliced bread. The other way round you instantly become the biggest wanker on the face of the planet.
What can be irritating is the guys that come in the shop, watch u work, and get in the way of everyone else moving cars around. Our shop has a sign right next the the shop entrance that says no customers allowed in the shop, yet no one reads it and they waltz right in. People damn near get ran over and have to dodge cars just because they want to be sure we don't screw up their corvettes. If we screw it up, the dealership will eat the cost of the repair anyways, so the customer is covered regardless.
We have the same policy of damage to cars. Thankfully we don't have a ton of customers back in the shop.
James I as a customer don't want another customer interfering slowing you down. One dealership I took my car to had a glass window into the shop. I couldn't bear to watch, the tech had a mallet and was beating on my engine. I got it back in good repair but painful to watch.
Charles, I generally don't like waiting, but do it once in a while when I'm in a pinch and its just routine/express stuff. Two things: (1) being a waiter is an opportunity to listen to whats going on at the service counter and other models of cars and (2) the dealership trys really hard to talk waiters into a courtesy shuttle ride so that they are not waiting at the dealership.
I’m probably late to party but; In my experience When I started I didn’t care for “waiters” do to the Helicopter effect and that really almost made me give up on my career. But I moved out of the dealership to a private shop full service shop. Because now that I’m at this shop; as a Technician I’m able to escort that customer back into the service area and show them first hand what else I found wrong and tell them what problems that it could cause down the road. Some listen and some don’t. But having that ability to actually speak with a customer and build a report with them directly rather than through a service advisor has some what changed my point of view a little bit but you do sometimes still get helicopter waiters.
As a regular customer I like to stay and watch the actual work in my car and to understand wot they're doing, why they're doing that and learn about mechanics (DIY spirit).
Most of the time, if I take the car to the dealership, I don't wait. I clean out my car of things that I need and if it is any sort of labor demanding job I just ask for a rental from the dealership. 9 times out of 10 they will give you one that you can drop back off later that day when you pick up yours, free of charge. I work on my own cars for the basic stuff and even some of the basic stuff for my 26 year old Miata may take some time, so I understand what some techs go through.
Keep the videos coming Charles! I enjoy watching them.
When Im scheduling appointments and the customer asks how long it'll be, I usually exaggerate the time a little bit. Not too much so that it seems unreasonable, but just enough to give us plenty of time to get the vehicle into the shop or account for any problems that may arise without the customer's wait time being negatively affected. Any hey, if its gets done sooner than the estimated time, then the customers are usually super pleased about it!
Well my mechanic I tend to go to is a family friend, and he loves when I stick around. He'll pull me into the shop (Don't worry I usually wear steel toes) and give me advice on maintenance for my car or my other halfs. One of those real old just listens to an engine and can almost guess the problems kinda old guru. Nice guy. Always loves sharing information.
This is a perfect topic for a car i worked on today. So customer dropped their car off because their A/C wasnt working. So i figure out that the high side A/C line was rubbing against the metal body and rubbed a hole into it. So i get the car 70% done and my service writer come back asking when its gonna be done because the lady just showed up. So here i am trying to rush to get this car finished up and in the end I FORGOT TO BEND THE LINE OUT THE WAY OF THE METAL BODY. Didnt realize until after i left work. Great... she will be back soon...On top of that, putting that line in really sucked. I dont hate waiters, just dont like being rushed.
I really like your perspective on this. I agree with everything you said. The mechanics I've experienced have never shown me that they were angry that I was there, they even allow me to come in and point different things out to me like where the problem is. When I take my car in, I pretty much have nowhere else to go, other then to wait for my car lol
As a starting mechanic it puts a lot of pressure cause I feel like when they wait they want it to be done as soon as possible. Like I really don't want to piss anyone off and put a bad name to thr ship I'm working with but it gets u rushing a bit.
Anybody that wants to wait for their car repairs, please dont. On an average day I get anywhere from 6-10 cars to work on and just because whatever you need done may only take 45 minutes, it might take me an hour just to get to your car. And from the time your told 45 minutes, I might not get that ticket dispatched to me for another 20 minutes.
A busy dealership can take in 50-70 cars each day....sometimes more. And also take into account the other peoples cars that carried over from yesterday or before....add all that up and what does that mean?
It means that expecting something done quickly just isnt possible sometimes. We are not making brownies, we just dont put them in the shop and after 30 minutes at 300 degrees they are done.
Also, you might be like the 5th or 6th waiter that's gotten written up in the last hour or so, add on top of that the techs in the shop that are busy with big jobs, and the guys that are off that day and there maybe only 3-4 guys available at a certain time that are available to get to your car relatively quickly.
If you must wait for car, please just remember that you are not special, and know that things take time. You wouldnt rush the person cutting your hair? Or the doctor? Why rush the guy working on your car? It's not like you could die if his attention to detail is off because he is being rushed to get work done faster
Waiters don't bother me in the slightest. When I do a job, I do it the same way I would whether they are there or not, and it takes as long as it takes for me to do it right the first time. I have been a technician for 14 years, and fortunately, in that time, I haven't really had too many customers complain to me I am going too slow. If they are waiting, I make sure I always explain to them how long I think the job will take so there are no unrealistic expectations. I could go on, but I think my views on it mirror those of yours Charles!
+Dan iel great attitude. I'd rather take my car to a guy like Charles or you than to most of the other "entitled" people responding.
dansolodan Thankyou. My way of looking at it is they are paying for my expertise and are entrusting me to do the best job I possibly can. Nothing will stop me doing it.
I'd say you hit the nail on the head. I have an issue when someone who doesn't know what's going on or has no experience with actually doing the work says how long work will take and sets false expectations because it makes ME look bad when things take the length of time required and not "about half an hour". Someone sitting and waiting is quite alright with me as long as it doesn't turn into an issue because of them being impatient or nitpicking at me with a thousand questions trying to get me to slip up. Leave us alone and don't tell us how long it takes to do something, that's what it boils down to.
i really hate it when the customer comes into the shop and they follow your EVERY move.
+Arno Desplenter jesus you couldn't have said it better. You go on one side of the car, they follow. You go on the other side, they follow. Worst they do is they'll be on the phone or whatever in the shop and lean on my toolbox. ''sir, kinda need that''
i had a customer come in when i was doing a routine tire rotation, and he followed me in the shop and asked me to not use a air gun on his rims, HE LITERALLY STOOD THERE AS I STRUGGLED TO TAKE OFF THE 8 LUGS WITH A BREAKER BAR
i thought customers were not allowed in the work area in most places unless they are going to show them whats wrong
The first shop I ever worked at had all kinds of waiters. It was actually a cool way to instill trust between mechanic and customer. It gave us a direct line of communication and when I would stumble upon something I noticed that wasn't part of the scheduled service or fix would bring them into the shop to show them what exactly I was looking at and explain the next course of action. Usually when that would happen I'd have the car back in a week or two. Also lead to a lot of customers requesting my work specifically. And I'd end up with a lot of Christmas liquor as well haha. If you're confident in your work and sticking to a quality first approach every time whether someone is waiting at the shop or not it should never impact your job performance, in some ways it actually should enhance it
that ChrisFix sticker in the background tho. automatic thumbs up
+Gonzo Lima :) there are 2 ChrisFix things in the background. Did you find them both? ;)
+HumbleMechanic sneaky but i found it!
thought it was just me that noticed
If I know I am going to wait I bring a book, look at the new cars, and enjoy the free coffee, soda, and snacks. If I am really in a time crunch I bring a ride and have them call me when it is done. You are getting your automobile serviced not going for fast food, plan accordingly.
NICE!!!! I think the average vehicle owner does not see it that way. They don't see the investment they are making in maintaining their car.
The reason I got interested in DIY is because of the waiting game.
First car I had I used to drop off for oil change at 8-9 am. They wouldn't call me to 3-4 pm to tell me its done. So I started being a "waiter". Still would take like 2 hours for them to get it done.
At the end of the day I thank them though. Because now I know so much about fixing my own car.
Yeah, I started doing my own work where I'm comfortable after sitting at the dealer for 2 hours for an oil change. There was a window into the service bay and I watched the technician doing SOMETHING the entire time (ie, they weren't running back and forth between different cars), but the oil change just wasn't getting finished. They didn't do any extra work or try to up sell me on anything, so I don't know WTF.
I take the car in to a private mechanic now for bigger work. I don't wait as I know it will take all day (or longer). That's fine, but I hate dropping the car off at 7 am and not hearing anything back all day. 3 or 4 pm rolls around and I'm starting to get worried about where my car is and how I'm going to get home from work.
Writers be like when is it gonna be done?
Me: when I'm done fixing it, now go back up front where you belong
Man I once had a client wait all day for repairs to be made that were previously quoted the last time it was in the shop. It was an 8 line ticket with 14 hours of work. I spoke with him before he came out (military guy stationed 50 miles away) and I told him I could do it all on that day. He said "great I'll wait while your working". This man waited patiently all day. I periodically checked on him and informed him of where I was on the repairs. Got him ready for 5:30 (closing time) fixed all his oil leaks on his BMW 330i, front and rear brakes, all fluids changed and flushed. He was happy gave a great review, and about a month later brought pizza for the whole shop (small shop in central Louisiana). Guy was an awesome cool fella. This was the only big ticket waiter I've ever seen this patient in my 8yrs.
What! one pizza that's it no beers👎?
I remember working at this garage and OOh how the guys hated Bay 1 cause it was the one next to the huge waiting room window. It was great fun teasing the one caught doing the sideshow that day. So there was a positive side.
+TheBigDanois I always LOVED working in that bay 1. Haha clearly I must have a screw loose.
I work in an independent shop with no waiting room, so customers tend to float. When I get a watcher it is beyond frustrating, especially when their head is over your shoulder watching, and trying to give you tips.
I don't mind waiters, but I hate watchers. Would you like it if I came to your work to stand over your shoulders and watch you work? Of course not, neither do we.
cars are expensive and people fuck shit up and are dishonest. its stupid not to watch.
I agree, customers shouldn't watch their mechanic for this reason, but you gotta admit, it would be a lot more interesting to watch than your sandwich getting made at subway.
I don’t mind watchers they tend to tip more 😝😂
Gary Shaw fuck you then
Gary Shaw maybe you should do it yourself. You won't have to deal with trust issues
I've been on both sides of this. Before I knew anything about automotive repair, I had a car serviced at a transmission specialty shop that was an hours drive from my house. He came highly recommended and was meticulous (as evidenced by the immense improvement in shifting when driving the vehicle away and the fact that it's run flawless in 10+ years and over 70,000 miles). Anyway, being that far away from home and not having a second vehicle or someone to pick me up, I sat and waited for hours. It's not fun to sit there and I personally didn't like feeling like I was rushing the mechanic. But sometimes we as customers don't have a choice. This is just one example of several I can think of in my own personal history. For me, it's not a matter of expecting the work to be done quick, it's a matter of circumstance and not having a second vehicle.
On the other side of that, I do computer work for a living and have had plenty of people expect an issue to be solved right away. Computer repair is similar to automotive repair except we don't have parts houses down the street. Most of what we need for repairs has to be ordered especially if it's an uncommon or older computer. A lot of repairs can take a week spent mostly waiting for parts to come in. That certainly isn't a job that can be waited on. Neither is something like virus removal, if done right. I think part of the issue for customers is that they don't know what's involved in a diagnosis and repair as well as what other workload you may have.
Long story short, some people are just impatient, others simply don't know and some don't have a choice but to wait.
i work at a very busy dealership and what gets me about waiters is im working on a car, i have 3 tickets already, having a 4 lifts for myself and i get sent 3 waiters at once. at the shop i work for its not bumper to bumper but a speciality/skill group based. that being said im doing drive-ability, and some times diag for a check engine light is 3 mins and another time its an hour all along during that time you getting paged by the adviser on how long is it gonna be, so and so customer is in a hurry. it just gets stressful sometimes. one thing that is good about my shop is the waiting room isnt near the shop nor have a wall of glass so you feel like your in a fishbowl. its not that im fearful of geting caught doing something shady, its more so no one likes having people look over their shoulders while they are working. that still dont stop some customers from walking out into the parking lot and coming up to the bay door and stand there while you work.
at my shop, the service advisors like to stack appointments, mostly all waiters, giving them all the same promise time. we can be triple and quadruple booked for any given hour. They're mostly all lube tech jobs but those guys only have 3 bays to work with and typically we only have 2 lube techs working each day. it makes it difficult to properly look over vehicles and sell work needed. it's also frustrating having the service advisors constantly sticking their noses thru the door trying to pressure these guys to work harder than they already are to move vehicles in and out. that's when mistakes happen. just yesterday I had to help a lube tech knock out 4 tires, an oil change, and alignment in less than an hour because the service advisors are terrible at time management! it mostly always comes down to the service advisors over promising.
K&B W IMO those are bad shops to go to and I avoid them like the plague. Sometimes the best way to discover this is to be a waiter for something simple and watch and listen from the waiting area and just generaly check out the vibe. If I see stressed out techs I don't go back. If the tech has to talk to me I make it a point to let them know that I'm not "that" customer.
I don't hate all waiters, but I hate those who are either late or early for their appointment, or decide to wait when they arrive at the shop.
And those who show up right before or during my lunch. Those who do, will have to wait for me to finish my lunch. Those 30 minutes are sacred.
That's really interesting. I didn't know if you bring your car in and ask to wait, it changes things behind the scenes by possibly adding pressure to the tech.
The last time I brought my car into the dealer, I told them I'd wait for the car and walk somewhere to grab something to eat. The advisor wrote WAITER really big on the service slip and circled it. Wonder if it freaked the tech out when he saw that.
At our shop 90% of the customers come in as a waiter. We don't even really take appointments, just come in. So I'm pretty used to the waiter aspect of the job. If we get a large job we can usually get them in a rental (on the house) since we have a pretty large rental fleet just for this situation.
Great video!!! Had a lady last week peeking through the bay door windows at me. It was funny because she was short so all I could see was from her eyes up... People watching me makes me over think and make mistakes. Lol it's called a waiting room for a reason, it's for waiting. Please stay out of the shop!!!😂😂😂
My experience has been as a bicycle mechanic.. I generally don't like the people that wait. 1) I feel like they could be doing something else. It could take longer/ it makes me feel less stress. 2) every shop I've worked at the mechanics are not hidden from the public. What this means is that I can get distracted by another customer or in the worst case (which I've had happen) the customer stands over my shoulder and watches. I had a fellow watching my coworker that made sweet wet mouth breather noises right in his ear for 4 hours. Normally I ask them if they can move or if they have something else they can do. When they are so close they are stressing me out because of personal space and usually getting in the way. When I get blocked by a customer on my way to my tool box it slows me down and distracts me.
I'm lucky! I've known the Tech's at my preferred dealership for years. If you know something about the brand/Gear-Head, they love bringing you in the back and showing you what's up before they finish.
I used to not like the customer waiting situation and feel stressed out but over the years I think hey they asked to wait. I've done cambelts, full services with MOT test and even a clutch once. If they want to wait it's their time, the only pressure is the pressure you allow yourself to feel. I also think it's something you become used to. Waiters are the future really, it cuts down on hire car cost and collection and delivery costs too.
great video, I see the chrisfix sticker lol,
I had to wait for a recall service, single car household and had nothing else to do. I did call ahead to verify the time they needed and made sure I gave them the time they needed.
I think a proper expectation on all sides is the key
I think it depends what they're doing. I don't generally buy new and I generally don't take it to dealerships but if I'm in the position my mindset generally works like this: If it's something set like a brake job or an oil change I'll wait around, I don't mind waiting an hour, it's way more of a hassle to get a ride back and forth, especially if public transit isn't big in your area. On the flipside, if it's something like diagnosing an issue, I realize as I do most of my own work that you may be at that for hours - so I'd have time line expectations nor would I stick around.
I would never give the service manager a hard time unless the technician is destroying the time limit completely (ie. a 1 hour job, 2 or 3 hours I'm still not out of there), so generally don't mind, but I do get very annoyed at technicians when they give off that vibe that they don't like me waiting because it really shouldn't be any skin off of there back whether I stay or go, not like I'm sitting next to them asking questions and shit - so I don't take too kindly to people getting pissed off at me w/o proper justification.
It never bothered me, although I've moved away from the field, I don't see myself growing any ill will about it. My experience was waiting customers were usually entertained by the sales folks. The only time it kinda got irritating is when the customer doesn't understand the billing. "Why am I paying 4 hours of labor on that clutch? it only took an hour and a half".
Honestly now as a customer I prefer to wait and look around at all the new toys on the lot I can't afford. I expect my car will be repaired correctly, not quickly. I do wind up just leaving it a lot though. Unless I'm at the speed shop. Then I'm there with a raging hard-on.
I don't mind waiters in general. BUT, when someone makes an appointment and needs to be out by a certain time I do not like. Many times the service can be completed in that time frame, but it is too much stress. Not a fan of getting a large diag and they are waiting for it. Also many infotainment programmings are at least 1 hour and longer on top of other possibly services.
If you're waiting around because you're bored, and just making small talk, thats cool. I don't mind the company. I also like to educate if possible. People get attached to their vehicles and often times, im doing a job because the customer does a lot of their own work, but is bringing me something because its over their head. If they walk out with a better understanding of how to care for their baby, then I have done my job. They will trust you more and are more likely to return. Now.....if you're standing there so you can tell me how to do my job.....hell no....just come back later. If you knew how to do it, or think you can do it better, then why did you bring it to me!?!
Man, you understand! As a female whose car is her baby, I would so appreciate having a mechanic who's not bothered by me looking on for educational reasons.I'm not doubting their work or care how fast they get it done. Unfortunately, I never get to see anything and my mechanic hates small talk :(
On my previous car I would go for a walk since there was no internet at the dealership, but I couldnt go walking for 2 hours or so, but when I came back there was normally a 45minute wait.
And I did tell them not to hurry.
But Now I do my own work.
I'm a simple tire-tech so almost ALL of my customers are waiters (a 4 tire install where I work can take up to 20-40 minutes depending on how many techs and type of vehicle). What I personally hate are the people who watch. My mindset is "dude, you're in a retail store. We have TVs, music, books, and a friggin' cafe. So go do that instead of giving me the unflinchable stare down. We have people who literally ONLY come to our store for tire service, and normally that makes us feel good, but these same people will literally stare directly at anyone who services their vehicle until the job is done. Part of what also makes it annoying is our management sees that and thinks we're ignoring customers. Just another example of upper management assuming their employees are in the wrong when they have zero clue what they're talking about.
My cars see a tech once a year - annual state inspection. I always wait. Always. I've met some of the techs, cool guys; they seem to understand why one wouldn't leave this sort of machinery on a dealer lot. Been going to the same place for 11+ years. Never a bad experience.
Customers that don't want to have patience deserve it when they get the vehicle back with the job not done right. It makes no sense to pressure the tech, I've also done PC work and networking, if you want it done right, pressing someone isn't the way to go about it.
I don't mind someone watching me work, the real problem is when people won't keep quite and let me work and pay attention to what I'm doing.
I do home auto repairs sometimes, it gets annoying when they won't stop talking and you don't want to be rude or seem annoyed and here you are trying not to forget to do this or that or where you set something down and so on.
But then again I don't like waiting on other people so I do understand both sides, this is also why years ago I learned to just fix my own junk and not bother with needing someone else, it's way cheaper.
If you don't have a dispatcher in your shop, waiters can be suuuuper annoying. My shop doesn't have one, so us techs constantly have the advisors trying to drop everything we are doing on one car to try and do their job. I've gotten in situations where my boss will give me waiters or new cars that need to get inspected, he expects me to drop what I'm doing and jump on that, then when I get a chance to hop back on the other job I've got the advisor saying the customer is here or on their way to pick up the car I'm working on.
I am a customer and I don't mind waiting for the mechanic to completed the job. I actually would like to watch the mechanic do the job. It offers me a unique insight into how my car works. I don't ever want the mechanic to feel that I am pushing them to finish the job quickly or carelessly because of me waiting. When I wait, I am normally looking at the cars in the showroom at the dealership. As you said in the video example that a customer came for an oil change but you saw bad brakes, I would not mind if the service manager told me "Your brakes are bad and it may take 2 hours to fix". I would ask, "Does the dealership offer a free shuttle service or possible rental car option?" It all depends on what my schedule is for that day. If I am not busy and it is in the morning, I may take the shuttle service and come back in the evening when the car is ready, but if it is at the end of the day and I need my car, then I hope that the dealership has a contingency plan for this situation.
as a customer, if I'm waiting just be honest with the usual time. that's all I ask. be honest and don't try to feed me a line of shit so I'll just go sit down and leave you alone. that being said, I wish I could actually be there watching the guys work on the cars just so I can interact and learn what exactly he's doing. that probably because I like working on cars myself and also want to know more. so what's better than having someone who does that for a living explain the why's and how's to me.
once in my old rx7 I needed new front brake calipers disks and pads. I had made the appointment over a week in advance. I brought it to the dealership witch was in the contry. they had recently changed there insurance and could not longer give anyone under 25 a loaner car. so I brought my game boy. they told me it was a 2 hour job. 90 mins into the appointment I could hear the service writer 'that rx7 was supposed to be started 90 mins ago he's wating hear for. it's a two hour job. you have just fucked his day!!!!!!!' then he came into the wating room and apologize because they were just now starting. he have me a Mazda blanket. a calendar and offered me some money for the Caffè across the corner. I said I was fine as long as I could get new batteries for my game boy lol. I think if I recall correctly they gave me 25% off the bill too.
The Man's Garage now that’s a dealership damn hooking your gameboy up 👍🏾
If you could give me some advice as a waiter... Usually I don't have a ride so I'm stuck at the shop. I take my school stuff so I have something to work on in the lounge area provided. Does that still cause pressure? Would it be better to actually go up to the service advisor and say "Hey I'm not in a hurry so take your time" or just leave it be? Just curious since options are limited. Keep up the great content!
I usually don't have any choice but to wait. I've only got one vehicle. If I'm there, it's because not a DIY job, and realize the job would probably take me the most of a day, or maybe more, so waiting two to three hours is no big deal for me. I am guilty of sneaking around to the garage door and striking up a conversation with the tech if I can, not because I want to lean on him to hurry up, but because I just want to get to know the guy that's working on my car, and maybe ask him, hey, do you see any other potential problems I might be dealing with in the near future? Some of them hate it when I do that, some of them don't mind.
+wayne foutz
I do exactly the same lulz. I like cars and i like to see whats going on and whats changed etc.. but for my knowledge, not to bug the guy. It would be moronic having someone do your brakes and then pester them every 2 minutes if it's done.
+Looodak I work in a garage and I have a hard time focusing when people talk to me. If I'm working on your car, better to leave me alone. But that's just me. You can say hi and ask me what's going on, you can watch if you want, but don't talk to me about your wife and kids. Especially when I'm working on major safety components. I'll be focusing on listening to you instead of focusing on putting it back together and being 100% sure everything's in shape.
TheAngryFrenchCanadian if I get a negative vibe, I'll back off. On the other hand I've been to some shops where I went home with my hands just as dirty as the guy I hired to work on my car. It depends on the type of shop.
My car wouldn't be there for a brake job. I can knock that out in an hour in my driveway. If my car goes to the shop, it's usually because I have either a lack of time, lack of a tool that's required, or usually both. Last time my car went in was for a steering rack replacement. It wasn't a job I wanted to tackle with no air tools and Jack stands. I took it to a friend of mine's garage, he had just had a lift installed. Cost me $500 including the parts and labor. I sat there on a stool and we talked sports, cars, and traded ex wife horror stories while he worked on it. But if I'm not welcome back there, I get it. I can pick up the vibe and I'm gone before you have to tell me.
+wayne foutz oh I get it! im not a dick to everyone who comes around haha. i work at a place where theres a lot of volume and mostly, in the tire season like this, we got 15 cars waiting constantly. talking just slows me down, and slowing me down means less money in my pocket at the end of the day. I understand I have to explain and let them know whats going on. but theres a limit
TheAngryFrenchCanadian understood. Then again, I wouldn't take my car to a shop like yours with that kind of volume unless it was a dire emergency. The guy I go to has a garage with two bays, and no employees. I usually have to make an appointment 2-3 days in advance. This usually isn't a problem, I'm a truck driver, I'm out of town during the week, and part of my job is to inspect my equipment every morning to spot issues before they become a problem. I do the same thing with my car. I change parts as they're failing, not AFTER they've failed, so waiting half a week for him to make time for me is never a problem. There have been times where he's come to pick my car up while I'm out of town and ended up fixing it right there in my driveway.
Speaking as a retired technician I didn't mind waiters. And I didn't mind if they watched me work. For me it was an opportunity to educate the owner about their car . Except when they came to me every 15 minutes asking "Are ya done yet? Are ya done yet? When ya gonna be done?" I've heard every reason and excuse why they needed me to rush the job. Everything from "I got a golf game at 10!" to "I gotta pick up my kids at 3 o'clock! " to "I gotta get to da hospital! My wife's on dialysis!"
I think we are largely on the same page. I don't mind chatting with customers. In fact I general enjoy it. But I need time to be sure that I am doing my job correctly. It's what we both are paying/getting paid for
I wait when my car is serviced. Because I have to drive 120 miles to the dealer, and by god, I'm not gonna bug my friends to drive 120 miles to pick me up, 120 miles home, 120 miles back to pick up the car, 120 miles back to home. The breaks of driving a Fiat. Thankfully they don't have to work on it much.
However, I always make sure I only go if I have all day, and I do not set any time limits.
That's a heck of a drive for service. It sounds like you don't have any other choice but to wait.
HumbleMechanic It's what I get for having a Fiat Abarth. Thankfully I haven't needed any major service, just the sideskirt needs reglued (known issue). I enjoy the car though and minor services I can handle myself.
just wait youll be driving to the dealership every second day F.ix I.t A.gain T.ony
***** I've been driving a Fiat for 2 years and I haven't had a single reliability issue. You don't know what the shit you're talking about.
My trips have been for oil changes, and one for a cosmetic issue.
As a customer, I don't mind waiting, but I shit you not that a recall took like 3 hours to put an insert in my key, then drill a new hole for it. It was for unintended ignition key rotation (if key ring had too much weight on it), it could potentially cause the car to shut off and not deploy the air bag.) which is a safety issue, and I understand. (It's a 2000 Chevy Impala) Would that be too much time, or should that have been done faster than what they should have? (just curious) That was for only one key, by the way.
For me lately when I have a waiter and I give the advisor recs usually the customer is in a rush and wouldn't want to buy and extra 3 hours worth of work so I gotta hope they come back
Admittedly, i am guilty of not going to the dealership very often. I prefer to do the work myself so i am to blame and i have good hands on knowledge of whats happening and what it took to fix it.
The few times i have been in, i am a "waiter"(in the shop watching if i can). The big difference is that i wait by my car for the tech that comes to pull it in, so that i can ask to watch and tell him there is no pressure and that i just want the work done calm and thorough. My attempt to put him at ease and make things go more smoothly. I just thought of this; but if i am in the shop with him, his advisor cannot come and breath down his neck during the repair also putting him at ease.
I usually wait at the dealership. I don't bug the service advisor or watch the tech though. If I could watch the tech I would, but only because it's fascinating stuff.
A waiter in a dealership waiting room is entirely different than a waiter in an indy shop where they are able to get much closer to you or stare at you when you have to grab a phone call or heaven forbid eat lunch. At my shop we did everything we could to keep waiters to a minimum as we do electrical diagnosis and repair which can take quite a while in some cases where you are spending a bunch of time researching and not actually working on the actual vehicle. The customer doesn't know that, they may think you are on Facebook when you are actually going over schematics on Mitchell and they get noticeably upset that you aren;t tooling on their car.
When I take my Jetta for maintenance I usually wait in the lobby or browse other vehicles inside the dealership. I only deal with the service manager. I never see the techs.
I'm 19 and am trying to become a technician so i like to watch to see how a professional does it for jobs when I don't have the proper machinery to do the job.
I wait for an inspection. Is that ok? I would love to stand by the window and watch them like a hawk because its way more interesting than the talk show that they have on in the waiting room. But I alway felt (even as a kid!) that I wouldn't feel comfortable working with a vulture looking over me, so I didn't do it.
On the other hand, I'm a nervous fuck knowing that a stranger is touching my vehicle and I can't see what they're doing. So it goes both ways. My stomach starts churning and I feel the urge to take a watery shit while I'm waiting. My bowels can't take the stress. That's probably a bit too much information but its the truth.
man if you dealership guys don't like waiter's watchers and the best of all helpers don't get in the mobile repair field guys roadside work customers always there
+sandra casey oh man I can only imagine. Lol
+BigAL lol get over my lack of punctuation I apologize I focus on my mechanic work not my grammar
Thanks Charles!!!
When dropping my car off at the mechanic, I wait most of the time. it's just a small garage, the owner does everything himself, inclusing working on cars. He doesn't have a waiting room, so i just walk around in his showroom or just awkwardly stare at him (and/or his colleagues) while they work on my car. It's interenting to see them work, never realised they might find it annoying that i watch them.
I just quit a job that was working on cars and each costumer was a waiter.
The boss is all freaked out about each customer waiting time, every time a car is finished there's an argument, it was really a pain of a job to have. Lasted 4 months.
I am a lot Attabdant at a used car dealership and when people bring their cars and that we don't usually work on I get sent out across town to go pick up parts for their cars and sometimes it takes me up to an hour and a half two hours to go get their part and bring it back and I have the service advisors calling me all the time asking me when I'm when I get back putting pressure on me to get back
Most of the time, waiters just do their own thing in the lounge, so that's fine. Sometimes they like to look on and that's whatever. Sometimes they come out and chat; sometimes that can be pleasant, sometimes they talk forever and it's very distracting. I've even had one guy try to help me put a stabilizer bar in (just that one guy though).
The problem with waiters is car repairs often have complications. Parts might be ordered wrong. The parts might be damaged. Someone else (maybe at another shop) may have misdiagnosed the problem. Waiter diagnosis can often take longer than expected. Other parts may break during the repair (and it may or may not be my fault).
There are a lot of angles on this. Waiters are best for very routine jobs.
With all that said, waiters are never going to go away, so you'll just have to suck it up and make the best of them.
I don't mind "waiters", I still do my job and make sure everything is done correctly. I have a great relationship with my service writer, so the pressure is minimal. Only time the heat gets turned up is when I am three bays deep in repairs and more are coming.
I do almost all of my own work on my VW's(friends as well) so when someone else touches my car I watch. I always ask if they mind, usually they don't and I bs with them while they work. If they do mind I go away but still watch. I've had people watch me so I know how it feels. btw where did you get the Wolfsburg sign? I want one since I own a 91 mk2 jetta GLi built in... Wolfsburg.
+Gregory Goodell when folks are cool about watching, most techs are cool about it too. Lol.
The sign is a VW drivergear sign. At one time they had it for sale from VW. My dealer has them in stock from time to time.
Great video thank you...As a customer, I really don't mind waiting for my vehicle. I always expect the wait to be longer than the first estimated time frame, and at times I'm shocked they finished early. I like to watch, because I want to learn, and it is definitely not to question their job after all they are the experts. Otherwise, I would not have them work on my vehicle, I think what it is, is that at one point in their career someone got stocked on stupid and like you said make them feel uncomfortable, and because of that we all have to pay the price for that one idiot. I like to be told the true, than a lie... if the tech is telling me something needs to be done I will be open to it depending on how they approach me. In other words customer service is key here... is not what you say is how you say it. In contrast, I know we're all habit creatures and if it is taking longer than expected I would walk away and give them some space, because it doesn't benefit me to be an a/hole when they're working on my vehicle. I need it to be done right not half/as.
I might have had that problem once until I launched a hammer at a service writer and the 5 other writers caught on quick. As a tech I think one should always remember that writers, service managers are leaches: their intire business model revolves around marketing and selling a talent and ability they themselves have never had or going to have.
I am a fleet truck mechanic and a such we have more of a hospital setting you have a yard full of "waiters"( in this case units waiting to get in) but you work on the one on the slab in front of you until its ok to go You still have the pressure of the units to go that you need to turnout before the shift is over but you can only work on so many at once Its kind of cool because there is no loly gaging yet you can only work so fast. I tried a dealership for a while they had an open shop policy with waiters observers and of course experts all allowed in the shop Nothing is more frustrating than trying to sort out an electrical problem with a peanut gallery "helping" It was the managements position that the customer should see us repair the truck At one point I suggested we install bleachers and serve popcorn I got my notice for that I went back to fleet and laughed when the dealer got sued by a customer when they fell in the shop I think the customer deserves to know what the repair is if they want to but I don't think they need to be involved in the repair no one stands over there shoulder at work why don't we get the same respect?
+Jeff Pitman
Our Labor Rates:
Hours To Perform Procedures Are Set By Mitchell/Helm Industry Standard Repair/Maintenance Labor Tables
Per Hour Flat Labor Rates:
$75.00 General mechanical
$100.00 Electrical
$150.00 if already apart
$175.00 if using your parts/materials *(NO Warranty)
$200.00 if you hang around in shop
$250.00 if you watch
$300.00 if you watch and ask questions
$400.00 if you watch and tell us what or how to do
$500.00 if you help
1 Hour Minimum, Parts, materials, towing, fees & taxes not included
I don't have any issue with waiters usually, however there are exceptions. I fork for GM certified service, and there are a few jobs that suck on a regular basis one example is an oil change on a Buick Enclave or GMC Acadia. When the engine is cold they suck because the oil filter is located in a horrible spot you can't really fit your hand in and almost always make a mess. When the engine is hot it quickly becomes apparent that the oil filter in that extremely tight space is only about an inch from the catalytic converter. It also seems that the demographic that owns enclaves and Acadias never drop them for an oil change. One more example is the new GM valve cover recall on the 1989 to 2004 front wheel drive 3.8 liters. They take about a half hour when the engine is cold and about 2 hours hot. My point is there are allot of jobs that are easier when the car is dropped and is given time to cool down.
Waiters depending on shop type and market location can be an absolute nightmare. Despite efforts from service writers and/or techs to get customer informed in this day an age the average consumer is full of the Instant Gratification pace of life. The average consumer seems to think that they bring the car in, set the dial to 30 mins and bam....pop corn is rea.... I mean their car is ready. I have at times told service writers to send the customer back to me so I can show them why things take time, and why it is a bad idea to try and time a repair or even at times maintenance with in a tight schedule. Crap happens and most often times it's when its when you or the customer can't afford it to. If the customer gets too out of line I have been known to hand them a wrench and offer them a chance to assist.Too many times I see a customer come in for 2 hours of maintenance come in and inform the service writer in the middle of the job that things need to hurry up because they had an appointment at the Doctors, DMV, Kids to pick up or whatever 1 hour after the appointment at the shop. AND the havoc they can play when you have folks smart enough to drop off their vehicles that now get pushed back later in the day at risk of not getting done because Last Minute Mary couldn't take the time within the 3-4k miles to make room on her calendar for that pesky oil change that seemingly surprised her.
I've waited aswell. But... I honestly just fall right to sleep in the waiting room. So I hope they don't feel pressured. I just didn't want to pay to make two trips.
every how often should you do a carbon cleaning on a mk6 gti? and is it that important?
when a waiter is looking at your work, your performance decreases, makes you nervous and thats why we hate those kinda people
Having someone over your shoulder makes a lot of people nervous and it can lead to mistakes for sure.
I have no problem with customers waiting. Actually I have worked at places that the staff that don't like waiters are some times the Shady ones. As well it gives me also the ability to inform them and show them what else I have found wrong with their car
I don't mind a waiter service if nothing is going on, however if my lifts are tied up and a waiter comes in and wants the work done right now it pisses me off. I'm not going to stop working on someone's car that took the time to make an appointment.
+yo momma let's separate this into two categories "Waiter" and "Complainer"
@Dansolodan
That's a good point. As I said in another comment - I have to wait because the dealer is 120 miles away, so having someone just pick me up is not possible. That said, I only go if I have all day, and I take my tablet and read, listen to music, whatever. I make sure they know to take as long as they need, I have nowhere else to be.
Wait intermittent problems are my issue . Some electrical problems also .
question how come most mechanics get mad at you if you just walk into the grage. I walked into the garage when they are working on my car. most of the time I get told I can't be in their because of multiple reasons. do mechanic shops have something to hide when they do this
i wish all customers were like these people commenting i work in a ford dealership and we have work coming out our ears and all we get is waiters shouting and screaming witch tbh like the video states we just go slower i dont mind working through a brake or so to finish but if they gona be arsy about it il just take my brake
Sometimes it's hard to work with someone looking over your (proverbial) shoulder. People like seeing how many (few) bolts you had to turn, or whatever, and acting like they could have done it (at least, in my shadetree and small engine type experience). Then they want to lowball you, when it was your KNOWLEDGE and expertise and tools and such that they were really paying for in the first place - labour doesn't mean building pyramids or some shit, it means time spent, which people tend to not understand.
"it was just THAT the whole time?" Yeah, and it was just ME that knew about THAT, and had the skills to make it look quick and easy.
I don't like when advisors who mostly don't have a clue like how to take things apart and get back together right and fixed, waiters just ask for make more pressure on technicians, I'm a motorcycle mechanic and oh boy every motorcycle it's different, it depends of how well maintained is but mostly they don't.
Hey Charles,
I am a Toyota Technician, from New England.... I was Trained at a Dealership, and I Have to Say, that I HAVE ALWAYS HAD A PASSION FOR FIXING CARS, In All Honesty, I LOVE FIXING ANYTHING.... LOLSSSS.... HOWEVER, In regards to This Question, I Do a Lot of Work, Outside of My House... For My Family, Friends, Customers.... And, There is a Whole Other Scenario for "Waiters".... As, When I'm at Home, Doing Side Work, I become the Service Advisor, and the Technician, All At The Same Time.... And, I Believe, The Biggest one for Me, Is a Customer with LIL TO NO PATIENCE.... HOW'S IT COMING ? How much longer ? Almost Done ? Are You Having a Problem ?.... Then, You Get the Dilemma, Of Emotional Entanglement..... Which means, They are ALWAYS Worried, That Something is Going to Get Broken or SCREWED UP.... And, If You get a Stubborn or Frozen Bolt, and It Breaks, RIGHT AWAY, THEY SAY, OHHH NOOOOO !!!! COME ON !!! Are you Serious ???? Are You Sure that You Know What Your Doing ???? That's Great !!! UNBELIEVABLE !!!! And, WE KNOW THAT IT HAPPENS, And, RIGHT AWAY, WE ARE AUTOMATICALLY THINKING AND PLANNING, THE SOLUTION TO IT, WHILE THEY ARE BUGGING OUT AND MAKING THE SITUATION WORSE.... I BELIEVE THOSE ARE MORE OF WHAT THAT SCENARIO IS ABOUT.... WHAT DO YOU THINK ON THOSE, Charles ???
Do NOT bug me. Let me do this job,my way. This is not automotive school for me to show/teach you. Leave me alone so I can focus.
ddd228/Dave in Seattle. Right Right !!!! That Is The TRUTH !!!! I DON'T LIKE IT WHEN CUSTOMERS, Stay and Wait, On a Job that Will Take a Couple Hours or Few Hours, and They Wait There, As If, It's An OIL CHANGE.... LOLSSSS.... And, After about a Half Hour, They Start Asking, "How Is It Going' ??? Is it Going to Be Much Longer ??? And, Forget About, Coming Across a STRIPPED Not Or Bolt, Or Poorly Maintained Part or FROZEN BOLTS, Tough to Reach Spots, Electrical Diagnosing, And They Are Sticking They're Head's in the Way, and Asking Questions.... I have found, That In MANY Cases, The Customers, Are WORSE THAN The JOB Itself..... LOLSSSS.....
+147!
That 2 hour additional thing has happened to us but, the dealer usually then offers to take us where we need to go. They even offer to pick us up when the car is done. I have also have had them give me a rental. I am one who likes to wait. I wait so I can walk around the dealership and look at the cars. But I tend to let them know that what ever happens happens and it takes the time it takes. I don't rush service people or those who would be bringing my food.
+Steven Poleske Good policy all around :)
Smart man.
Steven Poleske then you can look at all the new cool cars without a sales person breathing down your neck
What about when customers come back and watch you do the work? Very few places will allow this anymore, I assume a liability issue? But there are a few.. the place I get my alignments done has been around since 1932 and they allow it. I have a great time, the guys talk and BS with you, will even explain what they are doing if you ask questions etc...
+The Fox Shop
Our Labor Rates:
Hours To Perform Procedures Are Set By Mitchell/Helm Industry Standard Repair/Maintenance Labor Tables
Per Hour Flat Labor Rates:
$75.00 General mechanical
$100.00 Electrical
$150.00 if already apart
$175.00 if using your parts/materials *(NO Warranty)
$200.00 if you hang around in shop
$250.00 if you watch
$300.00 if you watch and ask questions
$400.00 if you watch and tell us what or how to do
$500.00 if you help
1 Hour Minimum, Parts, materials, towing, fees & taxes not included
+patw52pb1 nice!
+patw52pb1 LOL! That's awesome! I will say I don't usually make it a point to go back in the work area in the rare times I take one of our vehicles anywhere.. usually do the work myself... but this alignment/axle/frame shop has been around a long long time, family owned, everyone is extremely friendly AND they have NO waiting room whatsoever. I live about 45 min away.. and they even invite you back, so its a little different. Last year when I was there I was just kinda looking around, saw some old Moog boxes... just sitting way up on some shelves, asked some people on FB... and they thought they looked like there were from the 30's or 40's by the boxes. Its just a really neat old fashioned place (in my opinion). Loved your answer above though! LOL!
I once waited 48 hours for an oil change. I got real scared when the lights went off at night. I would wake up the next day, fold my blanket and sip my coffee looking out the window. I started sending post cards to friends and family. My kids came to visit me twice, asking when I was gonna come home. I said I didn't know. Finally someone asked me what I was doing there and I told them I was waiting for an oil change. He said "Oh. Why didn't you say something..." and 15 minutes later I was out of there.
I wait, but I work for myself and plan my day around it so just work from my phone... I dont care if it takes hours and never ask how long until its ready. If I get bored I checkout the new models. Bought my current car as my last one was being worked on.
I leave the car at the dealership and take a rental and come back when the car is finished. I wait if it's a simple oil change or other routine maintenance.
If the shop is at a more remote location, why not bring along something to read while waiting?
I dont mind waiters at all. But when they come on the floor and are looking over my shoulder the whole time its super aggrivating and with any tech this will usually make them go slower and lose focus which can lead to mistakes
Can I wait for it? You can wait all day ;p I've upgraded my waiting room and now it is a lawn chair, big step up from the block of wood it used to be ;)
It all depends on the waiter a oil change that's fine tires cool. but a 3 hour thermostat job and they want to go in the middle, sorry its gonna be another hour and thirty minutes if not your not making it very far I don't let it pressure me. You also gotta keep your adviser updated weather it be your having trouble or u broke something so they can let the customer know just incase we gotta take them to work or whatever. Not them ask whats going on 15 minutes before they need to leave and u need an hour to put it together
And watchers i just figure out a way to put them to work
I don't mind waiters, so much as the customers who think they can stand over me while I am trying to diagnose their car. Personally, I feel like this shows that the customer doesn't trust me or doesn't believe I am competent, which is demoralizing and distracting as a newer mechanic.
Waiters are good because the service adviser doesn't need to play phone tag trying to get authorization for work their car might need.
When a service writer comes out to the bay more than once asking how long it's going to be it drives me batshit crazy. I'm not getting it done any faster because you tell me they're in a hurry.
+brakedd
Many years ago I had a service advisor/writer that was always rushing and interrupting for status updates.
I finally took him to lunch, bought him a nice expensive steak and during the lunch I proceeded interrupt him about every two minutes asking pointed questions requiring him to talk and not eat, when our time was up and needed to return to work his steak was mostly uneaten and I made the comparison to him interrupting me when I was working and sucking up my time.
He actually got it and pretty much stopped continually interrupting me asking about the status and when the job would be finished.
+patw52pb1 You did not do that
I never knew waiting was a problem...I usually bring enough magazines and books plus my phone to pass the time away if it is a large repair and I need to wait. I guess I should tell the service writer next time to not rush the tech if I am waiting?
It is only a problem when unrealistic expectations are introduced. That can come from the customer or the advisor. If everyone knows what to expect going in, its all good.
YES YES YES not only a distraction but also a pressure on the tech that might wind up screwing up on the job due too it bottom line if i I tell a guy the job only takes a hour and when the parts house delivers the wrong part and we have to track down the right one and we still look bad to the customer because it took more than a hour