Things that irritate you

[Halgar]

I don't know how to categorize this irritation. This literally happened last Friday, and I am not making any of this up.

This is exactly why I don't use boutique shops of any kind for any reason!

Sadly, this problem also isn't just relegated to the local JL, it seems to be everybody from every walk of life, just showing up for a paycheck and not being able to do what is asked of them, let alone their actual F'ing job!

I just took my truck to a new shop, as I'm hunting for a decent mechanic. I had a very specific list of items, service writer wrote them all down. Went on test drive with mechanic, all went well. Then the text blizzard started, I kid you not, at least 10 identical texts over the next several hours, all stating the list I had given them and that the truck was at their shop. Uh, I know the truck is at the shop, I dropped it off and handed over the keys!

Around lunch time I get a lengthy list of repairs, most of which I didn't even ask for, but they "found" during their vehicle inspection. Five of the seven things the truck was there for were listed in the estimate for around $1600, the two items not listed were the two most important items on the list! The extra stuff they found during their vehicle inspection . . . $6600!!!!! This included $1400 to change all radiator and heater hoses, because they're old, not because they needed it. No mention of changing the Y pipe in the heater hose, the actual cause of the leak. I also turned down the $400 steam cleaning of the engine so that they could be certain of where the oil leak was coming from. This is a 20 year old Suburban that has never seen a day off of pavement in it's life, while there is a touch of crud here and there, the engine is NOT that dirty, and it's certainly NOT caked to the point that it needs steam cleaning to diagnose a freak'n leak!

At any rate, I approve the $1600 worth of work via their automated text system. Next morning I get a text that the bill will be $1200. It seems that one of the items I wanted done was magically removed. I call them up and ask about it and they say that it was digitally declined. Uh, no it wasn't, it was listed in the bill when I completed the digital approval. Then I ask about the coolant and oil leaks, if they were being attended to. NOPE! What the ever love'n frijoles?!?!!?!? The main reason the truck is in your hands and you dance all around the issues and don't deal with them?!?!!? I tell them to replace the Y pipe on the hoses and change the valve cover gaskets. Final bill . . . $2100

While I think their prices are outrageous, I'm not complaining about that. What I CAN and WILL complain about is the inability to follow instructions and the inability to do your freaking job!

Why do I have to be an expert at EVERYTHING, just so I know that you, i.e., any service person, isn't shining me on or just showing up for a paycheck and not doing their job or what is asked of them?

[mAdMan]

I don't know how to categorize this irritation. This literally happened last Friday, and I am not making any of this up.

This is exactly why I don't use boutique shops of any kind for any reason!

Sadly, this problem also isn't just relegated to the local JL, it seems to be everybody from every walk of life, just showing up for a paycheck and not being able to do what is asked of them, let alone their actual F'ing job!

I just took my truck to a new shop, as I'm hunting for a decent mechanic. I had a very specific list of items, service writer wrote them all down. Went on test drive with mechanic, all went well. Then the text blizzard started, I kid you not, at least 10 identical texts over the next several hours, all stating the list I had given them and that the truck was at their shop. Uh, I know the truck is at the shop, I dropped it off and handed over the keys!

Around lunch time I get a lengthy list of repairs, most of which I didn't even ask for, but they "found" during their vehicle inspection. Five of the seven things the truck was there for were listed in the estimate for around $1600, the two items not listed were the two most important items on the list! The extra stuff they found during their vehicle inspection . . . $6600!!!!! This included $1400 to change all radiator and heater hoses, because they're old, not because they needed it. No mention of changing the Y pipe in the heater hose, the actual cause of the leak. I also turned down the $400 steam cleaning of the engine so that they could be certain of where the oil leak was coming from. This is a 20 year old Suburban that has never seen a day off of pavement in it's life, while there is a touch of crud here and there, the engine is NOT that dirty, and it's certainly NOT caked to the point that it needs steam cleaning to diagnose a freak'n leak!

At any rate, I approve the $1600 worth of work via their automated text system. Next morning I get a text that the bill will be $1200. It seems that one of the items I wanted done was magically removed. I call them up and ask about it and they say that it was digitally declined. Uh, no it wasn't, it was listed in the bill when I completed the digital approval. Then I ask about the coolant and oil leaks, if they were being attended to. NOPE! What the ever love'n frijoles?!?!!?!? The main reason the truck is in your hands and you dance all around the issues and don't deal with them?!?!!? I tell them to replace the Y pipe on the hoses and change the valve cover gaskets. Final bill . . . $2100

While I think their prices are outrageous, I'm not complaining about that. What I CAN and WILL complain about is the inability to follow instructions and the inability to do your freaking job!

Why do I have to be an expert at EVERYTHING, just so I know that you, i.e., any service person, isn't shining me on or just showing up for a paycheck and not doing their job or what is asked of them?

I’m a D.E.Y. guy. Do everything yourself. I didn’t want to be this way I was forced into it. I had to become an architect, electrician, site manager, foreman, and laborer to install a solar system myself off my roof. Wasn’t my first time having to do a job this big all by myself. A month of research, became a certified reseller. Did an owner build permit with the city. Followed all codes and ordinances. I had quotes back in 2016 for $47,000 and $51,000 and none of them wanted to install a ground mount. Tile roof penetration was a big fat no. So I did it all myself. All said and done materials, planning, permits, and install cost me $8,600 for a “6,000 watt” (avg: 35 kw/hr a day) system not including the $3300 shed. So let’s say $12,000.

It saves me $3000 a year.

This is the only way now. I literally hand built my daily driver.

[1911Colt]

We are coming full circle as a nation (planet?). In the beginning, folks did everything themselves to save on expense. Then we had a period of job specialization in which it was cheaper to outsource what you could and develop your own specialty. Now many "specialists" are actually idiots, so we are moving back to doing everything ourselves.

[Incredible_Serious]

The last time I changed my wife’s oil...

You have to change their oil?

Not even sure where the drain plug would be....

[Halgar]

I no sooner made that last post this morning when I had to leave for work. The shop had sent me a picture of the truck's dipstick to show me that the oil was a tad low, so I checked it this morning, yep, added a bit, all good. But what's this I see on the floor? Coolant?!?!?! You've gotta be F'ing kidding me! Reach in, grab the Y pipe that was supposed to have been replaced, YEP it's wet! I get home this afternoon, with more light I pop the hood and have a closer look, the Y pipe looks old and dirty, certainly not 3 days old with less than 30 miles on it. The factory plastic crimp rings are also still on the hoses, if they'd have changed the Y pipe, you'd think they'd put new mechanical clamps on the hoses.

While I'm at it, I slide under to see if there are any oil drips and the oil pan is still slick with oil. In my phone conversation with them they said they could use brake clean on it well enough, but obviously that wasn't done, which now means I have to crawl under the hood to look for signs of new valve cover gaskets that they supposedly replaced. They also supposedly changed the trans mount, but I didn't think to look when I was under there 5 minutes ago and I can't do it with the truck in the garage, so it will wait for another day.

I wasn't mad when I made the post this morning and was willing to give them another go. After seeing that there is still a coolant leak I'm now questioning just how much work they actually did for the $2100 they charged me. I'll be going through the truck and revisiting everything they touched before deciding how I'll handle this. I'm just a tad heated at the moment, to say the least.

[Frankentruck]

If it's work that I don't do myself, I've had to routinely go down the path of always requiring them to show me the removed items before I pay and leave.

[Halgar]

Yeah, I always forget to ask for the old parts because even though experience has taught me otherwise, I'm still a trusting soul. You'd think I'd learn, apparently not.

[Incredible_Serious]

You'd think I'd learn, apparently not.

Gee, that must irritate you....

[RC10th]

You'd think I'd learn, apparently not.

Gee, that must irritate you....

Not if you don't remember....

[mAdMan]

When you help someone and go so far out of your way to do it but when it was all said and done the upkeep was just to much so they scrapped it.

[mAdMan]

We should start a new thread called “proof humanity has peaked.”

No more hard chrome bearings or wear surfaces?

That knowledge is no good anymore or what

https://www.visordown.com/news/general/euro-chrome-ban-what-does-it-mean-bike-makers#:~:text=Starting%20in%202024%20the%20EU,the%20process%20from%202027%20onwards.


Erin Brokovich really made an impact. I mean, we don’t HAVE to dump it in the desert creeks anymore.



And while I’m at it, Nissan makes Mercedes motors now.

[Coelacanth]

We should start a new thread called “proof humanity has troughed.”

I think I had to fix this.

[mAdMan]

We should start a new thread called “proof humanity has troughed.”

I think I had to fix this.

I like your optimism. Who knows what the future holds. I can get with that.

___
….…\___more proof we are here ___

[Halgar]

You'd think I'd learn, apparently not.

Gee, that must irritate you....

Not if you don't remember....

Remember what?!?

[Frankentruck]

And while I’m at it, Nissan makes Mercedes motors now.

Forgot the Mercedes, I like what I'm seeing here...
.