I’ve had very good service experiences with Pranzo’s garage in Lakeville PA. A neighbor asked for a good mechanic, and I referred him to Pranzo’s. In the end he felt Pranzo’s had ripped him off. I think that some folks just expect to be ripped off on car repair. This guy experienced complete brake failure on an '88 Econoline work van, and he expected a $50.00 repair bill. He got a $900 for a complete brake job and wasn’t happy even when shown the old rusty parts.
It’s not a rare thing for someone to pose a question on this forum about being ripped off just because the estimate was not to their liking or that a shop was going to (appalled beyond belief) charge them a diagnostic fee.
It’s also not a rare thing for some to add a bit of fuel to the fire by stating that the price quoted is outrageous and that the shop is gouging.
The dealer wants 300 bucks for a part and someone can buy a similar part online for a third of that or a shop wants 300 in labor but “my buddy can do it for a 100…” so ergo, the dealer or shop are thieves of the highest order.
“I see no need to compliment people for doing their job competently and correctly,after all isn`t that what they are being paid for?”
Mechanics don’t need to get praised for doing their job correctly
But a little praise now and then is much appreciated
As are donuts as a way of saying thanks
Tom and Ray even mention that the customer should bring some donuts for the mechanics
A few times, customers were impressed and pleased that I could solve and repair something that other shops were not able to do. And they told me so.
I tend to remember the customers that brought Krispy Kreme donuts
I also tend to remember the customers that lie like a rug and outright cheat you
If that Econoline had 8 lug wheels the owner should be happy that the bill wasn’t WAAAAAY past $1,000.
If one has a good experience they are less likely to post it than one who has had a bad experience.
Mechanics get complemented for sure when they do things well. It’s the quite compliment called…" Repeat business." I seldom got complements after a game one way or another when refereeing but, when I got the teams tournament vote or good rating for assignments, it meant they wanted to see me again. College teams weren’t assigned officials when I worked at the time but were hired by agreement of the teams. When I kept getting hired back to work at the same schools year after year, that was all the complement I wanted hear. Verbal complements mean little. Any one can mouth them to your face just to make “goodie” then slam you behind your back. It’s superficial and lots of customers and people in general understand that. When they instead, rehire you and throw down the greenbacks to pay you with their hard earned cash again and again for the job you do routinely for them, that’s the best complement of all. If you’re a mechanic; do you want to hear “good job” or do you want repeat customers. Because “good job” is often quite superficial and means little.
I want to hear “good job” AND I want repeat customers
There’s no reason you can’t have both
You can “want” good job complements all you wish to get you through the working day. Rest assured, if you are doing maintenance on my car, you won’t get a good job from me until I know the job was done right. Over the years I have found out much later a shoddily job including loose drain plugs, wrong parts etc. were done… Some times weeks afterwards. What I do appreciate and the only time I give complements is if the mechanics go out of their way to keep my car clean. Otherwise, they find out I like their work when I write the check and come back again.
I have had a lot of good experiences with mechanics. Some times they have actually given me a lead to try and fix something myself and if it didn’t work, then bring it to them. Other times they have advised against costly repairs and told me to drive it until it stops and it has turned out to be the best option.
I also get informed about a lot of coworkers and their car issues. The correlation between the quality of the job done and their satisfaction is all over the map. Some are satisfied with a crappy job and high price. Others are just paranoid about everything. They would rather drive with no engine oil than to pay $20 for it to be topped off.
At work we also have this forms for our visitors/costumers to fill out if they want to thank someone. I get to read these notes at times and sometimes they are for some of our workers that are less than stellar. We also have quite a few high quality workers that I rarely see any appreciation for. Even if they do something right, I do get “complaints” about them.
Apparently, making people happy and appreciative is an art that is a bit different than doing your job right. At least that is what I am learning as I get older. You can smile and be nice while providing poor service and people like you.
Referrals were the greatest compliment anyone could make.
@galant “You can smile and be nice while providing poor service and people like you.”
you`ve just discovered the secret to being a good politician.
“Referrals were the greatest compliment anyone could make.”
A close second was something a customer told me recently when I was offering choices for tires and recommending maintenance before an upcoming trip: “Just do what you think is best. You know what I need and I trust you to take care of my car.”
“You can smile and be nice while providing poor service and people like you.”
That’s also the secret to running a shop if you want to do it that way. A shop with a great service writer and lousy mechanics will probably make more money than a shop with a lousy service writer and stellar mechanics.