aklim

1. I think that at a dealership I frequent in WI, names withheld, it was the team leader of each team. As many under them have noticed, it is surprising how they, more often than not, seemed to luck out with the plum jobs although they would preach thst to be fair, nobody should pick and choose jobs.

2. Yes it pays. What's your point? Some jobs are better than others. My friends have gotten jobs that pay 2 hours but they sweat at it for more because of circumstances beyond their control. They are human beings and the tendency is to pick the easiest route to make more money with less work time.

3. Ask my MB tech. I don't think for a moment he is going to beat book time regularly on a C4 until he gets up to speed. Yes, an extreme example but it illustrates my point. On an MB, he will, most often. Why? Familiarity. For his side jobs, he won't want to work with non MB products. So why would I want to work on older cars I am not as familiar with if I am trying best book time?

Sure. So do a lot of other professions but what they say often deviates in real life in my observation. Maybe you have that kind of work ethic, IDK. It is my experience thst when I bet on people doing less than ideal things, I usually win. If you really have such an ideal crew, good for you. I, OTOH will bet on people doing stupid things. I might lose in your case but I think, in the long run, I'll be right most of the time and so far, I have.

Tom400CFI

1. All the tasks get assigned.
2. That's my point. It's pays.
3. You taking your 'Vette to your MB dealer...Aklim? You think the OP is? Come on. get real.

aklim

That's the ideal. Look around and see closely and tell me what you think of the work ethic you see in general. Employers aren't loyal to their employees and vice versa. I see that in people making minimum wage all the way to 6 figures unless it is their own business.

Cool Runnings

People tend to think jobs others do is easy .. Dumb people acting smart ??? Lot's of them around, even here. Tried getting some tips on the FX3 here and it's was a waste of time. Everyone has an opinion just as everyone has an *******.

aklim

1. Unless it gets rejected, sure.
2. So beating book time isn't in your interest?
3. I did mention it was an illustration of the principle

Cool Runnings

I live in a townhouse association and have witnessed 'contractor' here work over decades. Most work is shoddy at best. I mean real shoddy ... Simple things like snow removal or tree trimming, most are nothing more than fast buck operators.

aklim

Every job is easy to till you have to do it. That said, I'd rather show up for 40 hours and flag 50 than to be present for 40 and paid 40. But that is me.

aklim

See this professional storm door installation on 2 doors.




Another professional auto glass company was supposed to take the pitted glass out, wait till the body shop got done and put a fresh sheet in. Very simple. I came there soon after they got done. I saw my powered mirror hanging by it's wire. Called the shop and they said the tech was a pro and it must have been OK. Left a bad review and the franchise asked me to call the shop and work it out. WTF!! Did you even read the part where I said the franchisee said it was their professional judgment it was OK to dangle a powerd mirror by it's wire?

Space387

How old where you at the time if you don't mind me asking?

And about the mechanics do the work that shows, not so much. While it may be true for a large franchise most of the time look at it this way. you have 5 jobs show up at once and 2 bays to do them with. you charge flat rate for shop hours on all 5 jobs because none of the issues are major.

Here are your jobs:
2008 SUV oil change, plugs and wires - 2 hours
2014 sedan (fwd) front wheel bearings and alignment - 4 hours
1999 hatch back brakes x4 - 2.5hours
1991 Corvette clutch - 6 hours plus delay of 2 days waiting for new slave cylinder
2012 convertible AC recharge and blower fan replacement - 3 hours

Do you risk the 1 lift on a drawn out ( but decent paying) customer maybe to turn down 2 others or tell the 1 big job you cant do it? General business says please the most customers possible and they will come back. If I go for 1 big over 2 small the smaller jobs will not come back. It sucks for us that own any difficult car, part of why I started working on others corvettes.

aklim

That is the decision an owner makes. Also, he has to see if he can salvage something. So if I can somehow delay one person, give him something for his convenience and mine, I might also do it. Problem is, the employee is often thinking of his next paycheck and not as much of the company and it's future.

Looking back at the late 90s, I wonder why we didn't fix the y2k bug eons ago? Perhaps it was because the reigning CIO didn't want to wreck his budget and bonus to fix a problem in case he wasn't around? Can got kicked down the road till it couldn't be avoided any more?

Tom400CFI

35. What difference does it make? I was talking trim packages, color options, a-la-cart options, etc, all relative to ordering a car (all made clear at the beginning of the meeting). It wasn't like my pants were 1/2 way down my *** and I was asking, "How much HP, BRO?" The guy guaranteed I wasn't buying a 'Vette....from him.



No!
You take and schedule ALL the jobs. You explain to the 'Vette owner the reality of acquiring the parts for his "special", older car and that he should keep his car (assuming it's still drivable) until all the parts are in. You order the parts. You do the job x days later when the parts are already in. You make everyone happy...and you and your tech make a buck. That is literally how you do that profession.

mfowler

I have to agree, I'm lucky in that there is a reputable repair shop here that I take all my vehicles in for repair/maintenance. There is one "old school" mechanic there that always works on my C4 and does an excellent job. Now yes he loves to bitch at me when he sees me coming for bringing that "damn thing" in for him to work on but its always in a laughing, joking way. I dread the day when he retires!