I think the OP is legit. The sticky question may be trying to prove anything if the scene was a re-actment.
As to cameras, they’re becoming more prevalent and in my opinion I’ve thought for decades that shops should be outfitted with them and that includes the front counter with every interaction between customer and service writer, service manager, or mechanic being saved; both video and audio. That could clear up a lot of amnesia issues.
I never liked the idea of the canister type (vs spin-on type) oil filter. Here’s one reason why.
I LOVE the canister type filters. Far less goes to the dump.
Fair enough, but only one of us will truly know if our new car came with its oil filter installed.
I see HUGE possibilities for abuse/misuse of those cameras
And the loser will ALWAYS be the poor mechanic
I could imagine some customer raising h . . l if he sees that a mechanic didn’t torque every single bolt when he was doing that brake job. Never mind that most of us wrenchers probably do a lot of things by feel
The customer’s also going to get upset when he sees the mechanic moving a bunch of stuff in the trunk, to get to the burned out taillamp bulbs. The customer will only care that somebody touched his stuff, not that it was necessary
And then the manager will get the mechanic and give him a dressing down, right in front of the customer. He will say that every single bolt needs to be torqued . . . never mind that the shop doesn’t even have a shop manual for the customer’s car
And he’ll tell the mechanic that he needs to get the customer’s permission to move his stuff, so that he can replace that burned out taillamp bulb
And then the manager will discount the price of the work, as a way of apologizing for the mechanic’s mistakes
And the mechanic will get backflagged
I really could see all of that happening, because the customer is always right
pathetic
@db4690, please don’t misunderstand by position on cameras. I’m in favor of them up to a point.
The reasons you laid out are certainly valid and I fully agree with them.
Full time surveillance of every stall I am not in favor of but I think they can serve a purpose if a mechanic runs into a snag.
Maybe flip it on and video feed to the front counter where a service writer could page the customer and point the problem out? Or send it to someone’s PC or phone?
The service manager at a dealer where I worked came out in the shop and started dressing me down once over a Subaru that was in for an alignment. The entrance to the alignment rack was sharp, the floor was glass slick, and the car has zero scrub geometry.
The lady customer is watching through the plate glass from the upstairs waiting room as I eased her car in a sharp turn onto the rack. This led to the front tires howling on the slick floor. Even a non-running Subaru that was pushed in by hand would do this on the entrance to every stall.
So I’m starting the alignment and the SM comes out chewing me for “burning the tires off of her car”. This led to a few minutes of heated back and forth before I told this imbecile to step out to the floor area behind the rack and show me one iota of tire black.
After managing to cram both feet into his own mouth he mumbled sorry and went to pacify the customer.
With the alignment done I got the SM and told him to watch and learn as I backed the Subaru off the rack and put it in a barely moving tight turn; squealing the tires all the way.
"So dude, see any smoke or tire marks…?. No answer to that one… 
You’re exactly right about some customers misconstruing things.
To the commenter who doesn’t believe the video: I was surprised that Oil Can Henry records video of their work, but they do. They DVR it. I had to wait in the shop until they could retrieve the segment that was for work on my car, and then I watched it on their screen and took a copy of it with my phone. So I now have a 2 minute, 25 second video on my phone with conversation between myself and the DVR guy talking through what we are seeing on the screen *–there was no audio. The tape shows the technician calling for the manager when he saw no filter, and then the manager heading up to talk to me.
They had no motivation to stage a reinactment, and they explained their reasons for the DVR set up as a normal course of conducting business (a corporate policy related to insurance).
“l if he sees that a mechanic didn’t torque every single bolt when he was doing that brake job”
Won’t happen if the video is shown to the customer only in there’s a dispute, not full time.
“This led to the front tires howling on the slick floor”
I hear this all the time in parking garages. Trucks and SUVs seem to do it the most.
I chalk it up to less sophisticated suspensions.
LinoaB Since Oil Can Henry’s is a mostly regional franchise in the western states so most of the posters would be unaware of the video cameras and monitors. I doubt if they were recording when they opened in 1978 as VCRs were not very common then. This information is on Wikipedia. Oil Can Henry’s is an oil-change shop based in Tualatin, Oregon, United States.[1] The company operates as a franchisor, and had 80 locations in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, Arizona, Colorado and Minnesota as of 2008.[1] One feature of these shops is that they do not have waiting rooms; instead, customers watch the service from their car using a monitor that shows cameras from around the car.[2] Employees are known for their uniforms that feature a bow tie and a newsboy cap.[3] The company motto is “The one you can trust”.[
@circuitsmith
“I chalk it up to less sophisticated suspensions.”
I disagree
This happened all the time when I was at the Benz dealership, no matter what speed you were driving, no matter what vehicle you were driving
In my opinion, it was simply the floor and nothing else
I can imagine a shop having surveillance cameras, but I am having a hard time believing that these cameras are able to focus minutely on something as relatively small as the oil filter canister which is located in a poorly lit area under the hood. If this surveillance video clearly showed the interior of that oil filter canister, I am extremely impressed with the technology.
I think the first time I used OCH was in the early 1980s so the video was just OK. One of their franchises changed my oil and filter in April and the video was very good. The invoice from the dealer’s 11,000 mile service should include the part # and price of the cartridge. Charging for a part that was not installed could be serious trouble for them.
This [tire squealing] happened all the time when I was at the Benz dealership, no matter what speed you were driving, no matter what vehicle you were driving
Tire squealing during a tight turn at low speed can be a function of steering geometry. The typical Ackermann steering geometry where all wheel axles point toward a common center of the turn should prevent squealing:
My old Fairmonts squealed like crazy in parking lots. They had the steering rack ahead of the front axle and Ackermann geometry is very difficult in this configuration (the tie rod end must be outside the steering axis of rotation).
My recent Hondas, like most cars, have the rack behind the front axle so Ackermann geometry is a given and I’ve had no squealing in parking lots. Many (most?) Mercedes have the rack ahead of the front axle so squealing at a Mercedes dealership would be expected.
Please
Those Benzes did NOT have inferior suspension and steering, as some of you have suggested
They may be different than the honda you mentioned, but not inferior
By the way, it might be pretty hard to mount the rack on or near the firewall, on a longitudinally mounted engine in a RWD application. On a car, anyways
All this does not mean I think Benz makes a great car. I worked on them long enough to know they’ve got their fair share of problems. More than many others, in any case
“In my opinion, it was simply the floor and nothing else”
I can see that if the floor is really slippery.
But if 5 vehicles turn the same not-so-slippery corner and only the two big SUV/trucks squeal that says something else.
SOMEBODY did not install an oil filter but was it the Lexus dealer? Maybe the guys on the lube rack have an attitude problem...Maybe they never even removed the canister to begin with...It's a messy job...And since this first service is free (right?) the service departments motivation is nill...
It sounds like they had an alcoholic attitude, they were more worried about beer 'o clock than the job at hand. Or they were hungover.
@circuitsmith
Yes, every single vehicle
Yes, the floor was really slippery
rick, rick, rick…
I ve seen the smooth concrete floors where my shoes squeal everytime I changed directions or stopped. but I am, or was, an aggressive walker