Those of us working in or running shops, come across idiots on a fairly regular basis. People with no concept of anything. I had one today, hence my venting thread. Three stories come to mind

1. A lady stops at my shop to have four new tires installed. We were taking a bit longer then expected for the job. She fires into my office to complain. She MUST be somewhere important and she's going to be late. I inquire as to why/where. Turns out she was on her way from Kitchener, Ont (where the shop was/is) to Sarnia about two hours away for her sons surgery. She stopped to get the tires on the way LOL her explanation was....well they weren't road worthy for a highway trip! Guess what.... they were bald yesterday, last week and the week before.


2. We had a ladies car on the hoist waiting for a part from the Dealer. The dealer had sent the part on the normal run, stop at a couple of shops, and drop ours along the run. She sent me a lawyers letter threating a full lawsuit because I intentionally delayed her service because she was of African American descent hahaha She claims she heard me call the Dealer and say don't hurry with the part, she's black LOL

3. A lady with a Suzuki Sidekick comes in for a suspension check. The coil spring was broken... and when we lifted it up on the hoist, it fell out in two peices. She declined any repair. She filed a complaint with home office saying that she couldn't drive the vehicle and had to have it towed and we should pay the tow bill and the repair bill she ended up paying.


I get that auto repairs suck, sometimes shops fuck up, techs fuck up etc....
but some people are just complete ass hats

your turn

Friday: Customer comes in and asks the parts guy what we'd charge to take the locking wheels nuts off of his car that he lost the "key" for. Parts guy says it'd be straight time, but probably no more than half an hour.

The guy goes ballistic, and proceeds to argue about it for half an hour, saying he could do it in 5 minutes. We suggested he does that a few times.

An hour later he comes back, and asks what we can do for $15. So I removed one for him.

THEN he wanted to know if I had "any old lug nuts kicking around that I didn't want"... fuck off.

I can't fix stupid, but I can certainly charge accordingly for it.

Also, a few weeks ago I put a new ignition lock cylinder in a Daewoo Epicrap (err... Chevy Epica). The tumblers wear out and the cylinder can't turn.

A week later, the owner comes in going absolutely insane because her heater blower only works on high speed, and her washer pump won't work. Told me I was an asshole, I was a crook, and her "certified" mechanic friend said these problems were obviously caused by the new lock cylinder. RIGHT.

The car needed a blower resistor, and the washer pump was rusted through.

Thanks, you dumb bitch.

The best part was, the car sat in the lot waiting for parts to come in for a week, which finished the (original) battery off. I charged it up so she could get home and didn't say a word.

Apparently she was in tears on the phone when her car wouldn't start the next morning.

Sorry, but I don't want you as a return customer.

stories like these make me so glad i made the career choice that i did, All my customers over the years have been businesses and the only front-line customer interface is with the service manager, between myself and the service manager i cant recall a time ive had to lock horns with a customer over anything.

She fires into my office to complain. She MUST be somewhere important and she's going to be late. I inquire as to why/where. Turns out she was on her way from Kitchener, Ont (where the shop was/is) to Sarnia about two hours away for her sons surgery. She stopped to get the tires on the way LOL her explanation was....well they weren't road worthy for a highway trip! Guess what.... they were bald yesterday, last week and the week before.

i really cant see how a discussion like this is going to accomplish anything useful from a service standpoint even if you are in the right; no one likes to lose face and there's always a way to defuse a satisfaction issue with a customer that doesnt involve embarrassing them. don't fight; manage expectations and show youre doing your best, if the customer gets weird just politely invite them to seek satisfaction elsewhere. remember, your other, more reasonable customers are watching this exchange, and if you lose your temper or get snarky it's going to leave a bad taste in their mouth and theyll be spreading word of it as soon as they get home. if you handle the situation with grace and professionalism youll score confidence points with everyone who sees it. this is the kind of thing that draws quality customers and keeps them coming back, if you constantly have to deal with this kind of shit and cant figure out why, try to imagine how a resonable customer would feel having to sit in a waiting room where jerry springer is playing itself out in your office every day and youll soon see why they arent sticking around... its stressful enough having to sit there while their car is being fixed without having to watch arguments escalate at your counter.

Pissing off your mechanic is kind of like pissing off your pizza delivery guy.

They will remember.

And they will do things to your food.

Or hide lunchmeat under your seats.

and eventually, they will get caught, and sued, or worse. no one wins in a pissing match like that.

Posted by steponmebbbboom stories like these make me so glad i made the career choice that i did, All my customers over the years have been businesses and the only front-line customer interface is with the service manager, between myself and the service manager i cant recall a time ive had to lock horns with a customer over anything. i really cant see how a discussion like this is going to accomplish anything useful from a service standpoint even if you are in the right; no one likes to lose face and there's always a way to defuse a satisfaction issue with a customer that doesnt involve embarrassing them. don't fight; manage expectations and show youre doing your best, if the customer gets weird just politely invite them to seek satisfaction elsewhere. remember, your other, more reasonable customers are watching this exchange, and if you lose your temper or get snarky it's going to leave a bad taste in their mouth and theyll be spreading word of it as soon as they get home. if you handle the situation with grace and professionalism youll score confidence points with everyone who sees it. this is the kind of thing that draws quality customers and keeps them coming back, if you constantly have to deal with this kind of shit and cant figure out why, try to imagine how a resonable customer would feel having to sit in a waiting room where jerry springer is playing itself out in your office every day and youll soon see why they arent sticking around... its stressful enough having to sit there while their car is being fixed without having to watch arguments escalate at your counter.

Ummmm what?

Nowhere did I say i lost my temper or embarassed them. In fact if there is one thing i've been accused of throughout my career, it's not being harsh enough!!
I am highly trained and experienced in customer service and leadership, am certified to teach both AND am a certified public speaking trainer. If there's one thing i'm REALLY good at, it's using words to guide and direct conversations and exchanges into a direction that I want it to go!

But thanks for the customer service lesson coach.

Posted by bandi Pissing off your mechanic is kind of like pissing off your pizza delivery guy. They will remember. And they will do things to your food. Or hide lunchmeat under your seats.

LOL
nothing like the stench of rotting bologna on a hot summer day (in behind a door panel haha)

never worked in the car repair buziness but... as a computer geek and phone guy and former sous chef we had to deal with this crap all the time.

tonight for example. I get a call from a local business. they got my name from a friends friend. Lady says she heard i can install a phone for a reasonable price. I tell her i only do Meridian/Norstar phone systems. She says fine, hers is a norstar. I go to my supply house pick up a t7316 set and go on over. When i get there i find a 1A2 keyset setup in there.

Nothing i can do with that, only place to get parts for these setups are from EBAY. I inform her and she goes nuts. "MY SYSTEM SAYS NORTHERN TELECOM, YOU TOLD ME YOU COULD ADD A PHONE TO A NORTHERN TELECOM". she was almost in tears. Anyways, it was late, i wanted to get out of there with my good name, so i said i will have a look at the system anyways, turns out she didnt want a new phone, just a move. Now lets put this in context, on a meridian system i only have to pull some JKT or cat3 since they only use a single pair for all the functions. This system is 1A2, they have a 25 pair cable feedimg em, each key uses 3 pairs!!!


Anyways, 4 hours later ive pulled a 25 pair cable from the riser to the location(yes i still stock 25 pair cus it makes great trunk cable) Dug out the amhenol tool i havnt used since the dawn of time, and hooked up her phone. I submitted my bill and showed her how my labor has cost more than the cost of a phone on a newer system. I told her if she upgrades to a meridian ill give her a rebate of the cost of tonights install. Next week doing a cutover to a new system. I could have easily fired this customer, but in the long run, treating her with kid gloves will get me a new customer and hell, i will have a historic phone system to play with!

you know oddspot, if i really wanted to press your buttons, i would. i suppose i could have taken "you" and "your" out of that blurb to de-personalise it a bit, and for that i'm sorry; but you seem to have a habit of taking my posts way too personally whenever i get into a discussion with you, so if you really have the leadership credentials you say you do, i'm not seeing them. you tend to escalate discussions into arguments way more often than not, and your example of rubbing your customer's nose in her bad planning is textbook. so if that's really where you intend to lead discussions, then i guess your leadership training is working, but the bigger question is why you would think that is useful? i don't give a shit why my customers are impatient and neither should you. it gets you NOWHERE. Show them you respect them for a change, you might be surprised how much easier it is to get them out of your face.

Or give me a hard time over this for the next five pages and prove me right. Go ahead...

Posted by steponmebbbboom you know oddspot, if i really wanted to press your buttons, i would. i suppose i could have taken "you" and "your" out of that blurb to de-personalise it a bit, and for that i'm sorry; but you seem to have a habit of taking my posts way too personally whenever i get into a discussion with you, so if you really have the leadership credentials you say you do, i'm not seeing them. you tend to escalate discussions into arguments way more often than not, and your example of rubbing your customer's nose in her bad planning is textbook. so if that's really where you intend to lead discussions, then i guess your leadership training is working, but the bigger question is why you would think that is useful? i don't give a shit why my customers are impatient and neither should you. it gets you NOWHERE. Show them you respect them for a change, you might be surprised how much easier it is to get them out of your face. Or give me a hard time over this for the next five pages and prove me right. Go ahead...

Trust me sir when I say nothing you or anyone could do on an internet forum gets me riled up or pushes my buttons! I take nothing personally from someone who has never met me and knows little about me.

That will be all

I remember at Walmart ya come in 5 till we close wantin 4 tires on your 2 story conversion van you just got yourself a 2 hour wait min.

I deal with probably the stupidest customers you'll ever meet and it only gets worse when we hire them.

I swear if one more parent brings their puking kid in ... I'm gonna rub his nose in it. "He said his stomach was upset before we came here!" Well what did you think would happen when he eats greasy fast food? I did get a free meal everyday this weekend for cleaning up three messes.

Though this is not the appropriate form for that discussion

Most of the work week I do security at an appartment complex. One of my duties is parking enforcement. Now I am sure some of you guys have a few thoughts about being towed but I run a clean show. The property has pretty simple polices about parking; residents have assigned spaces; guests must park in guest spots. No exceptions for parking in fire zones or anywhere else.

One of my favorites involves a Scion TC sedan. The owner thought it was a great idea to park in a fire zone on the backside of a dumpster. This zone in addition to being a fire zone also blocks cars from properly exiting out of nearby spaces. I issue a citation, then call for a tow. The tow driver comes and hauls the Scion away.

Around 4 AM, this petite woman is hounding on the door to the security office. I let her in and she goes:

"Where is my car?"
"I can help you locate it if you tell me what make and model."
"Its a silver Scion TC"
"Oh. Your vehicle was towed for being in a fire zone. I can put you in contact with the tow company if..."
"HELL WHAT? It was towed?"
"Yes, it was in a fire zone"
"Thats bullshit. That's not a fire zone and I have been parking there for a month while visiting a firend. The other officer said it was okay to park there."
"First of all I've never seen your car here before. Second, there is a giant sign in front of the space. Third what's the other officers name?"
"Ummm...Landon?"
"Not even close."
"Well, my boyfriend who works at Portland State University Public Safety says I can."
"He has no authority on this property, so that doesn't matter."
"Just give me the tow company info"
"OK, but I will need your name."
"Why?"
"Its policy"
"ugh. Fine. Amanda.....Jacks."
"Okay. Here is the card of the tow company.
"Now what's your name and badge number? I'm going to complain about you."
"I don't have a badge but I am Officer Skelly."
"whatever"

She exits the office. About an hour later I called up the tow dispatcher to see what happened. The dispatcher told me she came threatening to sue them if she pays a dime. The dispatcher pulled up tho photo required by state law of the violation and she changed her tune :p

Posted by Agent Skelly The dispatcher told me she came threatening to sue them if she pays a dime. The dispatcher pulled up tho photo required by state law of the violation and she changed her tune :p

photo of the violation required by law? So if I read that right, everytime an infraction notice is issued, it's photographed for proof?

holy that's effin cool! talk about a black and white way to win
I like it

Posted by oddspot photo of the violation required by law? So if I read that right, everytime an infraction notice is issued, it's photographed for proof? holy that's effin cool! talk about a black and white way to win I like it

Well, if they tow a vehicle, they have to take a photo of it to show the condition of the car, but if they are towing for in a fire zone, the photo must show the indication of the fire zone.

That's a really smart idea actually...

Posted by Agent Skelly Well, if they tow a vehicle, they have to take a photo of it to show the condition of the car, but if they are towing for in a fire zone, the photo must show the indication of the fire zone.

Man, a parking law that I LIKE!

We had a woman come into the exotic car dealership I worked at. We had gotten a vw jetta on a trade. So she bought it, and she came in a week later telling of off our tech guy.

Our tech is a real nice guy, very quiet, hard working, and really knows his stuff. She complained about a sound coming from the rear of her car. So the tech jumps in the trunk, closes it behind him, and we go for a spin. This not being the first time he's done this, typically the car has to be moving for most sounds to come up again. He yells after a minute "ok!! go back!!" he was laughing. I pulled over on a side street to get him out. He had found a dildo, on, and vibrating away.

We pulled back into the garage, and she was still yelling at him. He was calm as always, even though being yelled at, and berated, she even called him a stupid chink. He motioned her to come to the trunk. She was still yelling, he held it up in the air, in her face. He said to her " Ma'am I fink this you problem!?" She shut up, turned red, grabbed it, and she was gone. Never to be seen again.

He was giggling away at her, and for awhile after.

LOL...


-that's pretty awesome.

I may have mentioned it before...but we had a customer come in for an electrical problem. Tech starts digging under the dash from the footwell area and a bag of weed drops out and bops him on the head LOL