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Cables, Coffee, Cycles, and Cocktails


Tarheel

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I have found that ridding myself of an arrogant, annoying customer clears the way for the good ones. We deal with a lot of pregnant women and first time "Mommies". They can be a "challenge" to put it nicely!

 

   I've been doing this so long that it's easy to spot the liars.  It only takes a few minutes to figure them out.  It's getting harder and harder for me to be pleasant talking to them but this is not my company and I'm supposed to represent it professionally.  If we break something or cause a failure, I'll be the first one to apologize and take responsibility of the situation.  It happens and we're not perfect.  If there's ever a grey area, I'll always side with the customer but when people come in with damaged suspension pieces and say they never hit anything, it's hard for me not to tell them politely that they're mistaken.

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She basically said we were POS's and left in a huff.

"Ohhhhh....Ohhhhhhh.... spare your heart, everything put together sooner or later falls apart...there's nothing to it... You can cry.. you can lie..for all the good it'll do ya you can die...but when the police come and they lay you down for dead just remember what I said."---Paul Simon

Edited by babadono
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Watched the Cavaliers push a game 7 last night

 

The US vs Ecuador was a better game to watch in that time slot.  I toggled for a while and am glad I watched the soccer game. 

 

 

 

Happy Friday everyone!!!

 

I searched more than once through the 200+ channels of sheet on the TV to choose from and it wasn't on where we live, incredible.

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Watched the Cavaliers push a game 7 last night

 

The US vs Ecuador was a better game to watch in that time slot.  I toggled for a while and am glad I watched the soccer game. 

 

 

 

Happy Friday everyone!!!

 

I searched more than once through the 200+ channels of sheet on the TV to choose from and it wasn't on where we live, incredible.

 

 

 

I think it was espn 2 but don't quote me on that.  Dempsey's first goal was incredible and he really should have gotten credit for the 2'nd.  Once it got down to 10v10 we started getting hammered.  It was just the opposite at 11v11.

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Yea man....It's Fridayyyyyyy :lol:

 

Looking to be a nice weekend here also.... mid 80's....... don't know what I'll get into..... I should cut the weeds...... It got put off last weekend for the KP-320 adventure  :blink:

 

Got a few things going on at the shop....... Had kind of a run in with a customer this week....... I understand your car's broke and ya don't want to spend alot of money.... but I didn't......... BUY IT, BUILD IT, or BREAK IT........ Your the one that's drove this car for the last 13 years and 220K miles...... not me!!...... Lets just say he's not a customer....

Both front windows inop, stuck in the up position would not work at all........ Put two window motors in his old Accord two months ago.......Windows fixed no problem works 100%....... now he's got a switch problem...... Tells me he's not gonna pay for it......it's my fault the windows don't work...... So I tell this guy..... If the window motors were the problem I would be more that happy to warranty my work....... BUT I'M NOT GONNA BUY YOU A SWITCH!!!

Anyway I don't think he'll be back.......Good ;)

 

OK Gang....... wishing all a great start to this weekend..... Later...

 

MKP :-)

There sure are some kooks out the in the general public. Mechanics seem to get the blame for a lot of stuff. My friend owns a motorcycle shop, some of his stories are comical. 

 

Have a great Father's Day and weekend.

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Good evening gentlemen.  

 

Been working on changing water pump in our 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan.  Nice of the Chrysler engineers to leave almost enough room to make what could be a simple pain in the *** task a royal pain in the *** task.  Ugh.

 

Got to get the last bolt off the water pump and then put the new one back in, put it back together, and pray I don't forget anything.  I will need a few panel connectors to hold the plastic splash guards in place.  One has been off for a few weeks.  Doh!  Hit puddles just right, belt gets a batch and power steering goes for a few seconds.  UGH!   

 

Had to pee and re-hydrating.  Back to the "fun".  

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Good evening gentlemen.  

 

Been working on changing water pump in our 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan.  Nice of the Chrysler engineers to leave almost enough room to make what could be a simple pain in the *** task a royal pain in the *** task.  Ugh.

 

Got to get the last bolt off the water pump and then put the new one back in, put it back together, and pray I don't forget anything.  I will need a few panel connectors to hold the plastic splash guards in place.  One has been off for a few weeks.  Doh!  Hit puddles just right, belt gets a batch and power steering goes for a few seconds.  UGH!   

 

Had to pee and re-hydrating.  Back to the "fun".  

 

Too small a floor jack.  Not enough clearance for a creeper.  Trying bottle jack to see if can get more clearance.  Last bolt is very difficult to get to when can't get under it.  The good news is I'm saving over $200 in labor maybe closer to $300.  The frustration factor is going up though.  lol

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Too small a floor jack. Not enough clearance for a creeper. Trying bottle jack to see if can get more clearance. Last bolt is very difficult to get to when can't get under it. The good news is I'm saving over $200 in labor maybe closer to $300. The frustration factor is going up though. lol

 

Know you are but careful as can be by using stands...you'll get it.

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Good Friday evening my friends!  

 

Well, I had to share a photo with you all............as I am over in RTM for my usual get together with friends there.   Two of us are anchoring the west and east coasts with some Duke Ellington this evening, and I have my usual 'budget' wine, a good merlot and some Brookside Dark Chocolate/Blueberry confections to go with it...

 

Just a lovely evening, work week over and the K'Horns are singing nicely with Duke's   'Masterpieces' recording  :D

 

Enjoy your evening everyone....IMG_92661.jpg

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Hanging up on auto repairs for the evening.  Once the sun went down decided to wait for daylight.  Going to pick up all the parts and tools and make sure everything's good and stable. and start up again in the morning.  

 

Hosed off the driveway underneath the Grand Caravan.  Clean concrete to start in again in the morning...

Edited by BLSamuel
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Both front windows inop, stuck in the up position would not work at all........ Put two window motors in his old Accord two months ago.......Windows fixed no problem works 100%....... now he's got a switch problem...... Tells me he's not gonna pay for it......it's my fault the windows don't work...... So I tell this guy..... If the window motors were the problem I would be more that happy to warranty my work....... BUT I'M NOT GONNA BUY YOU A SWITCH!!! Anyway I don't think he'll be back.......Good

 

  I get more of those than you could imagine.  Lady comes in with transmission issues.  We sell her a valve body and send her on her way.  10,000 miles later transmission issue again.  She says we didn't fix it right the first time.  We check the vehicle, it's low on fluid due to a split in the cooler by the radiator.  Fluid was all over the underside of the vehicle and it was fresh.  We sell her a cooler and send her on her way.  10,000 miles later, transmission issues.  The wheel speed sensor we tried to sell her last visit (and documented on her receipt) for an ABS light finally quit working all together.  Trans doesn't know when to shift.  She says we're bugging her car to break down every 10,000 miles.  Vehicle has 150k miles.  After we fix the speed sensor and give it back to her, she says we broke a pressure sensor in one of her tires.  I explained to her that we didn't dismount her tire or even take the tire off the vehicle and it was on the opposite end of the car we were working on.  I then said if she'd buy the sensor, we'd put it on and program it for her at no charge.  She basically said we were POS's and left in a huff. 

 

What sucks is that there are mechanics that do this and spoil it for the rest of us. Every industry has it's crooks which spoil it for the moral. Back when I was in the moving industry, I saw a 60 minutes that was an exposé on how moving companies are basically criminal. That was the last straw for me, and very soon after that I decided I didn't want to walk around town with my head down. Movers aren't low life crooks, but there are low life's who are movers. The same is true for mechanics. Most women and some less than mechanically inclined men feel vulnerable when they walk into a shop. It really isn't their fault. Once the switch is flipped that they might be getting ripped off, things spiral out of control and they start getting really agitated. Many times the mechanic just gets pissed and hands them back all their money and boots them with some choice words. It's very sad and it is a serious problem in just about every industry and profession I can think of.

 

How about this one. "All businesses are evil." We've been hearing that crap for decades. It is true that some are, but for the most part businesses just want to survive until next year.

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Both front windows inop, stuck in the up position would not work at all........ Put two window motors in his old Accord two months ago.......Windows fixed no problem works 100%....... now he's got a switch problem...... Tells me he's not gonna pay for it......it's my fault the windows don't work...... So I tell this guy..... If the window motors were the problem I would be more that happy to warranty my work....... BUT I'M NOT GONNA BUY YOU A SWITCH!!! Anyway I don't think he'll be back.......Good

 

  I get more of those than you could imagine.  Lady comes in with transmission issues.  We sell her a valve body and send her on her way.  10,000 miles later transmission issue again.  She says we didn't fix it right the first time.  We check the vehicle, it's low on fluid due to a split in the cooler by the radiator.  Fluid was all over the underside of the vehicle and it was fresh.  We sell her a cooler and send her on her way.  10,000 miles later, transmission issues.  The wheel speed sensor we tried to sell her last visit (and documented on her receipt) for an ABS light finally quit working all together.  Trans doesn't know when to shift.  She says we're bugging her car to break down every 10,000 miles.  Vehicle has 150k miles.  After we fix the speed sensor and give it back to her, she says we broke a pressure sensor in one of her tires.  I explained to her that we didn't dismount her tire or even take the tire off the vehicle and it was on the opposite end of the car we were working on.  I then said if she'd buy the sensor, we'd put it on and program it for her at no charge.  She basically said we were POS's and left in a huff. 

 

What sucks is that there are mechanics that do this and spoil it for the rest of us. Every industry has it's crooks which spoil it for the moral. Back when I was in the moving industry, I saw a 60 minutes that was an exposé on how moving companies are basically criminal. That was the last straw for me, and very soon after that I decided I didn't want to walk around town with my head down. Movers aren't low life crooks, but there are low life's who are movers. The same is true for mechanics. Most women and some less than mechanically inclined men feel vulnerable when they walk into a shop. It really isn't their fault. Once the switch is flipped that they might be getting ripped off, things spiral out of control and they start getting really agitated. Many times the mechanic just gets pissed and hands them back all their money and boots them with some choice words. It's very sad and it is a serious problem in just about every industry and profession I can think of.

 

How about this one. "All businesses are evil." We've been hearing that crap for decades. It is true that some are, but for the most part businesses just want to survive until next year.

 

 

Real Crappy day....

 

I just read my YELP review from this guy. Not only did he post a REALLY BAD review he got his two adult kids to slam my shop... The BOSS and I are really upset...

 

Really makes me wish I did something else for a living...

 

MKP :-)

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Both front windows inop, stuck in the up position would not work at all........ Put two window motors in his old Accord two months ago.......Windows fixed no problem works 100%....... now he's got a switch problem...... Tells me he's not gonna pay for it......it's my fault the windows don't work...... So I tell this guy..... If the window motors were the problem I would be more that happy to warranty my work....... BUT I'M NOT GONNA BUY YOU A SWITCH!!! Anyway I don't think he'll be back.......Good

I get more of those than you could imagine. Lady comes in with transmission issues. We sell her a valve body and send her on her way. 10,000 miles later transmission issue again. She says we didn't fix it right the first time. We check the vehicle, it's low on fluid due to a split in the cooler by the radiator. Fluid was all over the underside of the vehicle and it was fresh. We sell her a cooler and send her on her way. 10,000 miles later, transmission issues. The wheel speed sensor we tried to sell her last visit (and documented on her receipt) for an ABS light finally quit working all together. Trans doesn't know when to shift. She says we're bugging her car to break down every 10,000 miles. Vehicle has 150k miles. After we fix the speed sensor and give it back to her, she says we broke a pressure sensor in one of her tires. I explained to her that we didn't dismount her tire or even take the tire off the vehicle and it was on the opposite end of the car we were working on. I then said if she'd buy the sensor, we'd put it on and program it for her at no charge. She basically said we were POS's and left in a huff.

What sucks is that there are mechanics that do this and spoil it for the rest of us. Every industry has it's crooks which spoil it for the moral. Back when I was in the moving industry, I saw a 60 minutes that was an exposé on how moving companies are basically criminal. That was the last straw for me, and very soon after that I decided I didn't want to walk around town with my head down. Movers aren't low life crooks, but there are low life's who are movers. The same is true for mechanics. Most women and some less than mechanically inclined men feel vulnerable when they walk into a shop. It really isn't their fault. Once the switch is flipped that they might be getting ripped off, things spiral out of control and they start getting really agitated. Many times the mechanic just gets pissed and hands them back all their money and boots them with some choice words. It's very sad and it is a serious problem in just about every industry and profession I can think of.

How about this one. "All businesses are evil." We've been hearing that crap for decades. It is true that some are, but for the most part businesses just want to survive until next year.

Real Crappy day....

I just read my YELP review from this guy. Not only did he post a REALLY BAD review he got his two adult kids to slam my shop... The BOSS and I are really upset...

Really makes me wish I did something else for a living...

MKP :-)

Thats crappy. Hopefully most people look past a couple bs reviews.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

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Bet you get a lot of referrals from customers by word of mouth. Always going to be a detractor. Almost inevitable.

Cannot please everyone in that line of business. You and the Boss know the truth so... have a good day anyway.

Edited by billybob
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