There area lot of good techs, and there are a lot of bad techs. That's not unique to Chrysler or any other manufacturer or even to dealerships.
Given how helpful Tach_Tech has been here, I'd say he's one of the good ones. He takes pride in his work, and it's natural that he'd be a bit sensitive to complaints about techs. I'm sure he knows there are bad ones out there. I'm sure he also encounters bad customers who try to make him out to be one of them, even when he's giving the best help he can.
cptwing: It certainly sounds like you've been unfortunate enough to encounter lots of bad ones. But don't paint them all with the same brush. They're no more "all good" or "all bad" than any other group of people who happen to share the same profession (or hair color or religion or favorite food or anything else).
The policy of having to verify something before ordering a part is nothing new, and not confined to the auto service industry either. I'm in IT, and it's the same in principle in my industry: the dealer has no way of knowing for sure your level of knowledge or level of honesty when you call them with a problem. They HAVE to be sure before ordering it, since they've pretty much all adopted the same "just in time/zero inventory" model that most other businesses have. Especially on work where they're not seeing any money, like warranty work, they can't afford to get stuck with extra parts in stock.
So can we all ramp down the anger before it leads to mods poking their heads (and banhammers) in?
cptwing is pissed because he got screwed badly by his dealer, and Tach_Tech is right but may need to let cptwing rant a bit before he realizes he may be a bit unfair to all techs everywhere.
Can we leave it at that?
Agreed, but it seems the lions share of bad ones work for Fiat dealers. I plan to call Fiat today and make a formal complaint, I'm sure it will fall on deaf ears but what the heck.
I'm sure no one can dispute that Fiat has a **** poor reputation with regards to servicing and repairing customer vehicles, hence the record fines they received from the NHSTA. But to totally blame that on Fiat is not the full picture, while they failed to provide parts and engineering advice in a timely manor, the dealerships also should shoulder much of the blame for failing to repair these vehicles in a timely safe manner.
As we all know car dealerships are the most dishonest crooked and blatantly incompetent consumer industry in America. We all seen and heard about charging the unwitting little old lady for "changing the air in the tires", "rotating the brake pads", or squirting a little brake fluid or oil on a caliper, and the SM telling you your brakes are leaking, etc, etc! What happened to me here unfortunately is not the odd exception but more the common expectation, I actually predicted this would happen, told the wife a week ago "they will probably break the mirror".
I am sure there are good techs out there but they are very far and few between. What gets me most of all is the Laissez-faire attitude the dealership had about it as if its no big deal, so what. I am reasonably certain that had I just drove off and came back they would have denied any responsibility.
I have come to realize that an apology from the dealership and the clown who broke my truck is asking a lot, taking personal responsibility for damaging some ones property in this industry is frowned on. Whereas deception shoddy work practices and screwing the consumer are encouraged at all levels of the industry.
Tach Tech I am not attacking you personally, I do take exception to the statement I do not know how things work in shops nor do I need to. First of all I worked in them myself and have seen first hand, "Techs" removing interior trim panels with screw drivers and buck knifes instead of bothering to use the proper trim removing tools. Not bothering to replaced exhaust heat shields because its too much bother. Realizing after reassembly they forgot to install a mount, clamp or just forgot a fastener and rather than taking it apart and doing it right they just toss the item and call it a day. As far as you say I do not need to know I say BS that is my 40K investment sitting in that shop bay, so I do need to know! And if they have a lube guy or heck maybe the receptionist working on my truck, who has no clue what they are doing why should I complain?
You work in a business that runs on dishonesty and incompetence and that is what it is. From your responses you seem to take pride in your work, Techs like that are far and few.
Now as far as one poster saying warranty work is low profit margin, what on earth type of math courses have you taken! A 40.00 retail part, dealer cost is much less but I will go with retail. A ten minute at best task to change this part, that they obviously have the lube guy, janitor or secretary perform. So there total real world cost is maybe 50.00 including labor, we could get technical and factor in overhead, insurance, utilities etc, okay 60.00 and that is being quite generous. By the service mangers own words they charge Fiat 200.00 for the light and 250.00 labor, that's 450.00 for a 60.00 repair or a profit of 750%. You consider that low? Dam I would hate to see what you consider high????
I admit I have vented a bit and will move on, this just really gets me!
