The classified ad for help wanted in the Tire/Lube dept of Wal-Mart says "No experience necessary."

I don't even take my company car there. My sister-in-law took her Bubba Truck there and they ran it into another customer's car.

 

ok i just read through this entire thread and all i got to say is....it was very entertaining! i'm still laughing :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

clutchdust - i got a kick out of how you made up names for everyone in the story...bob, monkeyboy, d-waynes mekanik and soda shop! :lol:

 

Good lord!

I would have had my gf get the tag number and tell the idiot woman (not my gf, but the driver trying to escape :) that she will have to wait for the police and an accident report of some kind.

I would hate to let her get away, then the next day notice a chip of paint or something.

But I'm sorta mean like that :) Especially when it comes to my personal property.

 

If you think Wal*mart mechanics are bad none of you have been to a Penscrew outlet at a K-markeddays.

 

FYI - Target is in the process of reducing/eliminating its Automotive Dept.
Seems we guys don't shop it enough... :seeya

Master Ho

 

I have a feeling that this guys car in now, or close to being in a junk yard. I have an iner/personal rule concerning the Vette. If I'm out somewhere and it brakes and needs to be fixed or towed? It gets towed, Don't matter how faror how long it takes. I have one thing to say about most 99.9% of todays auto mechanics. Most are idiots who ability to work as if their work is a craft is nonexistant. They have no idea what a normal person expects from them. Leaving part off, lost, dangling or loose is OK. Leaving dirt, grease, paint or even someones lunch from last month in the seat or on the floor to rot with every insect from a mile around getting down on the buffet, again OK. The only chance, and it's only a slim chance is to tow the thing home where you can calm down and think out how to repair it yourself. That is one of the things I hate about the attitude in this country these days. :skep:


[Modified by killain, 12:34 PM 8/16/2003]

 

Killlian you are so right! Unfortunately it isn't just the auto repair business that is in such a bad condition. I call it the "Trashifaction of America" so many people have no pride in themselves or their property, if they see that someone has a nice car, instead of admiring it, they key it or ram a shopping cart into it.
So when these same people get jobs why should we expect them to have any pride in the work they do?
Unfortunately you can't depend on the mechanics at major dealerships either, my wife has a Mercedes SLK. It has never had any sort of major mechanical problems, but minor annoyences have become major headaches.
One was a squeak from the right front wheel area. Four trips to the dealer and they never could find where it came from. I jacked the car up and looked for five minutes and saw a bushing in the suspension that looked funny. It was cracked and half way out of the shell. I squirted some silicon lube in it and took it for a test drive. The squeak was gone. When I took it back to the dealership for the fifth time, I made them put it on a lift and I pointed to the bushing. The service manager was shocked that his mechanics hadn't found it. I wasn't, I don't think his mechanics are any better than the ones at WalMart!
There is only one person besides myself that I'll allow to work on my car, and that guy is a Corvette enthusiast.

 

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree: 100%

The sad fact is that while most of us here know something about repair and maintainance of our cars, what about our parents, grand parents, and other loved ones that are at the mercy of these "mekaniks"??? This day in age it is so hard to find someone who takes any pride in their work.

 

:iagree:

I went to the Firestone shop across the steet to have my tires balanced. I asked about alignment and the manager told me that his techs didn't know how to do a corvette. I said "just the front... It's just like 40 million Chevrolets"... He said "well they could ONLY set the toe". Then I watched the guy balancing my tires. He spun it for about one second (maybe the equivelant of 10mph or three revolutions) and then proceeded to clamp a weight on. At that point I told him to just put the wheels back on and forget it. The manager asked what the problem was and I explained what happend . He said that the machhine doesn't run any faster. At least he didn't charge me.

 

Couple of Random Thoughts...if you don't like Wal-Mart you might try to remember the quality merchandise at Gibson's, makes me want to drive up the road and kiss Wal-Marts parking lot. Second, who in their right mind would have a minimum wage geek work on their Corvette??? Brings to mind an old saying that my Father was proud of; "If you think hiring a professional is expensive, try hiring an amatuer" Just some food for thought.

 

Woodchuck has a good one worth remembering here!
Quote:"Brings to mind an old saying that my Father was proud of; "If you think hiring a professional is expensive, try hiring an amatuer"
And my .02 is: Never have your car repaired where you buy your toilet paper! :lol:

 

In our society today the 'Excuse' has prevailed as the accepted management practice of dealing with an unsatisfied customer. When things go bad on a project or service, the customer is always provided with "I'll check with the tech" I'll get back to you" That's not my department" "you'll have to speak with the Manager" "Oh Really, Hum!" "We only do what we're told" 'Duh?" "Nobody told me" "What?" "You gotta talk to the dude over there" "I'm on break" Not taking responsibility is at epidemic levels. It is so pervasive that most products that fail are simply replaced, not repaired because it's not cost effective to even try to ascertain what went wrong. If your car is trashed by a service department, they simply send you to the insurance company. So the real question here is do you prize/want your 71 Corvette in perfect shape? Or a paper check made out to the negotiated price which the insurance company and it's lawyers grudingly agreed to, (Of which they'll write off in taxes that year) Sitting on top of your television till you get a chance to deposit it, or do just like to start the Corvette up and listen to it idle? Cause no matter how much work you put into your car, to most shops your car is a price of operation. It's not even a car it's a product or service they render for a price. If it's destroyed it no difference to them. You simply have to fix it yourself, or at least protect it from these mechanically trolls who could care less what you've done to restore something of classic value. Only you can realize it's worth and beauty! they do not care, period. :confused:


[Modified by killain, 1:16 PM 8/17/2003]

 

wow, killain. so tell me how you really feel! in a lot of respects i agree with you, in a few i don't. now, in bob's case, it cost us nearly a weeks time we had set aside to address some specific other problems. the whole time, he was banging his head on the wall for not having waited like he knew he should have.
where i disagree with you is mostly in an area i'm all too familiar with. see, i own my own company. i'm THE guy. i write the checks and sweep the floor. i started this company because i didn't see anybody offering the level of service i wanted to offer. heck, the company i left didn't want to offer that level of service (or they would have tried a little harder to keep me). so i earned a reputation with my clients and when i left my old company so did most of them. in the 2.5 years since, my company has steadily grown to the point where i'm now trying to figure out how to hire someone to help me. a major sticking point is finding someone who won't compromise the standards i've set and the trust i've gained.
however, i do still believe there are some people out there.

 

I applude you. And sooner or later your company may be big enough to where you don't get involved in the day to day operations. And that's exactly how Wal-Marts are run. Btw, I never said ALL companies are run that way. hope your friends car work out OK.


[Modified by killain, 9:26 PM 8/17/2003]

 

You take your car to Walmart and that is what happens...I have news for you BLAME YOUR SELF !!! :eek:

 

What's so funny about all this is that 10 years ago Wal Mart was THE place to shop. Before they started doing EVERYTHING people never had a problem shopping there. It was better than K-Mart right? When I lived in Orando SuperTarget was the place I shopped. Had everything that Wal Mart had for a penny or two more, but the experience was much better. Wider isles, less...uh..diversity, better looking cashiers. I hope they don't make the mistake of actively persuing Wal Marts customers.

Anyway, I'm starting to become less and less of a fan of one-stop shopping. I think I'll stick to grocery stores for groceries, phamacies for medicine, and of course real mechanics (or myself) for auto repairs.

 

Surely this genius doesn't actually think the top guy of Wal-Mart can be involved directly with all 7000 Wal-Mart stores and Sam's clubs spread around to 10 different countries.

As far as the guy who stated something about Wal-Mart's bad image, all I have to say about that is when you are on top, everyone is gunning for you and sees you as an easy target for big law suits. You probably think that any dumb butt that spills hot coffee on themselves deserves millions in damages from McDonalds too. Every corporation is going to be accused by crybaby ball-sucking democrat liberals of discrimination against women and blacks and **** and everything else, and yea, when you have 1.5 million people working for a company, you will probably have stuff going on that shouldn't.

 

i was wondering how long it would take before someone affiliated with wal*mart checked in. longer than i thought.
personally, i have nothing against wal*mart, but then again i would never trust them with my car either. the most i've ever come to that is i took a loose tire to them to have it mounted once and they managed to rip about 10" of the bead off it. oh well.
me, i know what wal*mart is good for. i like shopping there for the most part. i don't much care for the 'bag-****' (greeter), they're fine normally but my wife and i have both encountered instances where we were returning something. in each instance that person put their hand on me (and my wife) to 'direct' us to customer service. as though we're too stupid to figure that out. i don't much care to be touched by a stranger and one time somebody's going to pull back a nub.
aside from that, i wouldn't let them touch my car but valvoline is valvoline and rubbermaid is rubbermaid. i'll buy it at wal*mart sooner than krap-mart or target.

 

I take it they only put 5 quarts in? :crazy: :crazy:

 

Good way to make your point, insult not only an entire state, but also the good members of the C3 Forum. Not one person here said they took their own car in for an oil change or a battery, they were relaying stories they had heard.

As for my comment on Walmart's hiring practices, I am relaying a story that was told to me by a close friend whose opinion I trust. In your reply you have made no attempt to prove this to be inaccurate. As a matter of fact, I can take your statement to mean that by hiring inexperienced people at low wage has made them the "richest company on planet Earth".