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Funny Story from an unbelievably low class customer !


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So we have a customer come in with a 2010 X6. This is her second time here. Both times she walks in with a fur coat. Second time she brings her husband. Her husband notifies us that he is having issues with his battery/charging system. I explain to them that we would first like to perform a charging system test to ensure there is nothing else in the system that is in need of attention or repair. They agree and by all accounts seem like nice people. He even informs he has a 2006 M6 that he was interested in selling.

 

Fast forward 2 hours later, we call them back and let them know that they would be needing a new battery and the rest of their charging system looks to be working. We had told them to expect that the battery costs between $250-325 and there may be an additional IBS cable that is recommended to be replaced as BMW has released an updated version of said cable. Upon notifying the customer, he gets upset with the price and says, "Wow, I could have just went to the dealer." We tell the customer he more than welcome to come pick up the vehicle since we won't have his parts until Monday if he chose to perform the service.

 

Fast forward another 3 hours, the customer shows up (the wife). We see her pacing around outside on the phone as we are closing our roll down gate. My partner informs me the customer is outside and is probably coming inside the office. I wait 5 minutes and no one comes through the door, I find it odd so I go outside. She is no where to be seen and the car is gone.

 

We try calling them 3-4 times with no luck. She finally returns our phone call screaming saying we are irresponsible for leaving her key in her car and we are going to have to deal with her husband then hangs up. All subsequent calls are not answered.

 

In 8-9 years I've been doing this, I have never had this happen. These people looked like decent folks and seemingly were at least middle income. It amazes me what low class scummy people will do to get over. On top of that she had the nerve to try to make it our fault she stole her own car back LOL. I'm not going to go crazy over theft of service ($49.95).

 

Class has no appearance!!!

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Our first organic customer had an e46 330i and stopped because I had mine parked out front. He had terrible headlights because the projector bowl was bad. I found a repair kit online and quoted him a quarter of the cost to repair than replace like the other shops wanted to do. He was still shocked and asked of we could just wrap then bowl in aluminum foil instead. Good news is all the other customers have been great so far.

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I've had a few customers try to drive away... I've stopped them, a few I believed they have forgotten, a few I am pretty sure they were making a run for it!

 

 

 

With getaways, you have to be careful both ways, we had a service writer release a car and forget to collect payment for a head job on a GTI ($2000+ worth of work)

 

I called the customer and told him he forget to pay, he said sorry and gave the card info over the phone... lucky!

 

 

I had a lady with a mercedes come in screaming the other day asking what we did to her car... (we changed the oil 4 months ago)

 

 

She said that yesterday the car started making a noise, and it never had a problem before.... :wub: gotta love it!!

 

 

I've had a repo guy come to pick up a car, and I said tough luck, pay the bill... he said that what I am doing is illegal and will call the police...he came back with Police for "stealing a car"

 

Police didn't do anything, the repo guy was furious and I asked him to leave the property until he can pay

 

 

the repo guy returned with a check the next day...

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Had a customer like that with a 2004 CL500. Couldnt pay the $3000 bill after disappearing for 3 weeks. Told me he got arrested and facing jail time for being a heroine dealer for the Chinatown gangs LOL. Asked me to give him 3 weeks to pay. He didn't show up, repo company came, told them with storage they owed me $6000. They paid the next day. Owner's friend calls up a week later, tell him car is gone.

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

         5 comments
      I recently spoke with a friend of mine who owns a large general repair shop in the Midwest. His father founded the business in 1975. He was telling me that although he’s busy, he’s also very frustrated. When I probed him more about his frustrations, he said that it’s hard to find qualified technicians. My friend employs four technicians and is looking to hire two more. I then asked him, “How long does a technician last working for you.” He looked puzzled and replied, “I never really thought about that, but I can tell that except for one tech, most technicians don’t last working for me longer than a few years.”
      Judging from personal experience as a shop owner and from what I know about the auto repair industry, I can tell you that other than a few exceptions, the turnover rate for technicians in our industry is too high. This makes me think, do we have a technician shortage or a retention problem? Have we done the best we can over the decades to provide great pay plans, benefits packages, great work environments, and the right culture to ensure that the techs we have stay with us?
      Finding and hiring qualified automotive technicians is not a new phenomenon. This problem has been around for as long as I can remember. While we do need to attract people to our industry and provide the necessary training and mentorship, we also need to focus on retention. Having a revolving door and needing to hire techs every few years or so costs your company money. Big money! And that revolving door may be a sign of an even bigger issue: poor leadership, and poor employee management skills.
      Here’s one more thing to consider, for the most part, technicians don’t leave one job to start a new career, they leave one shop as a technician to become a technician at another shop. The reasons why they leave can be debated, but there is one fact that we cannot deny, people don’t quit the company they work for, they usually leave because of the boss or manager they work for.
      Put yourselves in the shoes of your employees. Do you have a workplace that communicates, “We appreciate you and want you to stay!”
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