A few recent discussions here on insurance, poor shop practices, and part failures not relevant to repairs being performed got me thinking about this:
Suppose you bring your car to me for some routine service. I begin a repair order, go over the prices of the requested service, agree to call you about any other repairs needed once work is started, but before you sign the repair order I ask you if you’d like to buy insurance on your car for an additional $20. Just in case we scratch or dent your car, put grease stains on the seat, throw a wrench through your window, or someone steals your car during lunch, for the $20 insurance fee your loss will be covered up to a certain amount. How many people would agree to that?
And yet the Post Office can do it day after day and no one complains.
Post Office? Ever order anything from UPS? Those guys are the worst. I think they actually try to destroy packages with their conveyors and fork lifts. I ordered a garage door opener sprocket and shaft not too long ago and the box was a total disaster. They had taped the box up again and luckily its pretty hard to damage the part but still. At work once, we got a case of special order baby formula in that was beat up so bad it couldn’t be used-and they were cans. Mostly part timers working there now.
Post Office stuff though has been pretty good and they deliver for Fed Ex now a lot here.
Re: Insurance
Kinda depends on the work being done, the age of the car and of course how attached and sentimental the client is towards the car.
For my car no. Standard comprehensive auto insurance should cover damages. I don’t have comprehensive on the 99 Civic. Hate the thing and wish it would just die.
Coerision, intimidation, strong arm tactics? You the mechanic have my car. You will not damage it. If you do, you will fix it. And I, the customer has to pay extra for this? Thug.
The difference is that the post office is not insured to cover loss and/or damage to packages. Shops are. The business model is different.
I personally have no qualms at all with the post office. Considering the magnitude and complexity of their charter, I think hey do a darn good job for a paltry fee. Our level of mail delivery is far superior to most of the world’s.
@tsm. Not sure I’d concur with the rah rah attitude about the US Postal Service. I’m not American so my dealings with USPS are through plenty of online purchases. If I want anything quickly, the communist Chinese are way more efficient and cheaper. I can often get small items faster ( way faster) from china then I could from neighbouring NY state. Frankly that’s embarrassing.
It should already be covered by an insurance policy that the shop holds.
But you aren’t asking about that, but more about transferring the risk to the car owner from the shop. I don’t think it would work for two reasons. First, current custom is for the shop to guarantee that the car will be returned to the owner in at least as good condition as it was received. That would be a hard change to make, especially for a small shop. And isn’t every repair shop small? Even AutoNation, with over $600 million in service and body shop sales can’t control the market. Six of the top 50 dealer groups are located in the DC/Baltimore area, and I doubt that any of them could get away with it.
And I suspect that if you send a package that is damaged during transit, the parcel company would be liable for it. But you might have to take them to court to get it resolved. You pay them for the convenience of having no dispute.
"I personally have no qualms at all with the post office. Considering the magnitude and complexity of their charter, I think hey do a darn good job for a paltry fee."
+1
Most of the things that I mail to friends & relatives arrive within 24 hours, or at the most, 48 hours. For a fee of 46 cents, and considering the volume of articles that they deal with, I think that this is still almost incredible.
And yet, every time that postage is raised by a couple of cents, many people react as if someone is trying to remove their left kidney without benefit of anesthetic. My answer to them is…Okay…How do you propose to send your letter if that 46 cent fee is too high? Would you prefer to pay FedEx or UPS several dollars for the same type of service?
“If I want anything quickly, the communist Chinese are way more efficient and cheaper. I can often get small items faster from china then (sic) I could from neighbouring NY state.”
More than likely, the delays in shipping on domestic purchases are due much more to the speed of the company that is sending you those goods, rather than to the US Postal Service. But…I am curious. Since those Chinese goods are cheaper…Are you also proposing that we lower our wages to the slave wages of those Commies?
Just in case we scratch or dent your car, put grease stains on the seat, throw a wrench through your window, or someone steals your car during lunch, for the $20 insurance fee your loss will be covered up to a certain amount. How many people would agree to that?
I’m guessing none. I wouldn’t. Most of your examples are a result of negligence on the part of the shop.
And yet the Post Office can do it day after day and no one complains
Not quite apples->apples. The post office does carry some level of insurance for packages and you don’t have to pay extra for this basic coverage.
The big difference is they have no control over your packaging quality. If you choose to wrap a Ming vase in newspaper and place it in a cardboard box, they have no way of knowing that. They also do not know the value of the contents. Should everyone pay enough to cover the odd package that might have something of significant value in it? If we did, the costs would be much higher than they are today. The post office covers issues arising from their own negligence just as the auto repair shop should…
A repair shop isn’t sending the vehicles all over the world which is being handled by many different people and machines. With a system like that there are bound to be some problems and risk. As with MB and others I have no problem what-so-ever with the USPS. You’d be LUCKY to run a business as efficient with so few problems.
Why would I pay for insurance if I were to bring my vehicle to your shop for repair?
When you take possession of my vehicle you’re under what is called a “Contract For Hire”. This means you’re responsible for my vehicle and it’s contents while it’s in your possession. So I don’t need the insurance, you do.
I understand the point you’re trying to make but don’t think something like this would ever fly.
Plus, it seems a bit crass to me to hit someone up for something that is due to negligence or even temper.
The USPS does a pretty good job all things considered, but they do waste money like drunken sailors on shore leave and some things do grate on me.
Over the years the USPS has lost 3 money orders I’ve mailed off for antique cycle parts. I was reimbursed after filing a claim but the irritating part is having to pay the USPS to investigate something that is their fault. They do not refund the lost money order fee they charge.
Apparently the tongue-in-cheek tone of my suggestion was lost when put in writing. Of course we’re insured and of course we take every precaution to make sure nothing happens to your car when we have it. And of course the customer is paying for the garagekeeper’s insurance policy, just like the customer pays for the light bill and the phone. It’s part of the price.
But a fellow shop owner was remarking to me the other day that many other businessees try to sell insurance or service that really should be the responsibility of the business, and it occurred to me that we take responsibility for things that happen in our shops, why don’t other people and places? If someone breaks out your window and steals your purse from your car while you’re at work, will your office pay for it? Why not, since people seem to expect the same from me?
If someone breaks out your window and steals your purse from your car while you're at work, will your office pay for it? Why not, since people seem to expect the same from me?
Because the car is NOT intrusted to the place they work. When someone brings a car to you for service…it’s ENTRUSTED to you…so yes…it IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.