Forum Replies Created
- Replies
probably some of you guys from europe. may not understand this concept of moving to new job about 3-6 hours away from where you live..
In europe, you are already in different country by then…for me, i am still in same province…when you live in a country with vast field…
that is how bad job conditions out in my city. about 20% unemployment rate right now.my city is only 30k people…pretty sad.
i come from CAN, true north,…where i am we have formal apprenticeship…which account for 4 years of ongoing training…we had to have hs diploma and life long learning….to techs…we are what we are…
to dealerships. we are just “helpers”…., “necessary evil”….they are anyone can do it and without experience…flush everything means you know something.[quote=”DaFirnz” post=147563]I hear you on the getting calls from people part. After literally months of trying to get my brother in law to fix his truck (suspension, brakes, Chevy 1/2 ton with 200,000kms) I finally got him to come by so I could take a proper look at it. We get access to the shop on the 2 nights the dealership is open late, so as far as I’m considered if they aren’t willing to show up in those times, they can pay retail. So ya, the front end is a shit show of failure and there’s only the one night this week that I can get him in with the kids and sports and whatnot.
So I’m thinking to myself, OK, it’s going to be a hard 4 hours but I think I can get a majority of it done in one shot. And then…. My brother texts me saying he’s getting a grinding noise from his rear axle and is wondering if I could take a look at it. Ugh. Another night gone, just gone. It’s not even about money, I seriously don’t mind helping out the people in my inner circle. They’ve been there for me and never asked for anything. It’s just it all seems to happen at the same time.
I really must find one of these shops with too much work. Honestly where I am now, just can’t possibly work out. Does the phrase “cutting off your nose to spite your face” mean anything to anybody? That’s our managements strategy. They sent our 2 lube guys home the other day while the full line techs were on lunch. Come back and there’s 4 oil changes sitting there. Want to see an excited flat rate tech, tell them they get to do a few oil changes for .3. And we have 1, as in a single, solo, mono, individual squeegee for a 14 bay shop. Oh, there’s also barely any work after lunch left to be done. I’ve been there til the end of my shift once in the last month.[/quote]
sounds familiar of my auto group….where in canada are you? i am in great prairies…only border city in our country…
my family does same thing when they need something…lucky for me that they live about 14-18 hours away from me…they drive vehicle to the ground expect mechanic family to perform miracle…for a instance…my dear sister drove a nissan in past, heard from my mother that my sis kept drove her vehicle till overheat on highway…for a couple of months before they asked…my answer ” did u fill it up with coolant back up?…” silence…..from mom…..next suggestion was ” it will be good paper weight soon..i would get rid of it…asap….”
idk.. they are crazy enough doing it so many times…eventually they got different vehicle now but, lucky for kia dealer techs…they get to work on my sister’s vehicle…sure…she is my family…i know how her and her husband drives….they used to have scrape on each of side of vehicle…left side my sister, right side my brother in law…nice…perfect couple isn’t it..
nightmare customer if you ask me.
i had done that…first job out of trade school…only 2 wks after i left school. work there 12-14 hours a day, for 6 days…finally they said we need to work 7 days…back in 2004 with 1200/month ….more like 4 dollar hour around…once i was registered apprentice..they wanted to pay me $9.hour….they paid 25 year ex mechanic for 17/hour…pretty sad…
learn so much there yet…i hated work condition like that….working McD would been better at that time…
tire shops gets pretty old though…had to fix kids f-up daily…cross threaded lug nuts and bolts…nice…way too many of that…
p.s. i know that ” one more bs day and i am out”. i work flat rate right now…that’s like that for last 1.5 years here…
i am so ready to move yet…it’s hard to call it quits…[quote=”Brettm1388″ post=146381]I definitely couldn’t recommend GM dealerships to anyone unless you have no bills. I’ve watched transmission overhauls go from 8-9hrs down to 5hrs on a RWD warranty. All warranty times have gone down but, I typically work on diesels and trans so that’s what I notice.
Congrats on the job though[/quote]yeah i start to agree your comment about GM dealership…been there about 1.5 years….i noticed, labor op of buick is stat to get really ridiculous…gmc is dropping slowly…just saw stupid air bag removal getting so stupid…i miss asian import with bolt on sides…then she comes out…why is that so difficult to figure out for domestic brands???
[quote=”Jasonw1178″ post=145775]I currently work at a dealer. Got my start on independently franchised chain stores. Goodyear Service Centers. I would not go back, not for a while.
As far as dealerships, you pretty much know what to expect. They keep up on the equipment better, have better equipment, have specialty tools, a lot of resources. Having education credentials and certifications are very important. Training is much better. Best place for a new tech. The standards are much higher though, so accountability is going to be greater. It’s the most professional enviroment. Now, politics are very strong. Policies galore. More paperwork. Of course, is the dealer privately owned or by a big corporation?
Corporate owned Chain stores. My only experience was really pep boys and Sears. Like a dealer, you have the politics, and policies. However, equipment is lacking and standards are much lower. One thing was safety protocol, meaning safety glasses, the chains across the doors, all kinds of crap like that. Unrealistic. They have all these rules and standards but nobody follows them. A dull rock can shine here. Working here, I remember having a lot of fun but not really working on cars much. lol
Privately owned Chain stores/Franchises: I did the Goodyear Swing for a long time. They have a unique format, and you get used to it and it’s hard to adapt to anything else. You come in as a GS (general service) and there are different skill levels. You can make okay money as a good GS. Learn from the techs and such, but there is this HUGE gap to get to the tech level. They will almost never promote a GS to tech, they rather just hire someone who is already a tech. Worse, yet, you are basically the tech’s bitch. You are treated lower than sales guys. Attitudes galore and people talk to you like you are an idiot all of the time. No respect. Mainly because most techs there are sub-par so they have to pick on someone else to feel important. I was fortunate to become a assistant to a very good technician, apprenticeship. When the economy slumped I went back to being a GS for the hourly pay. Was good at first. However, I worked there 4 years with them promising me a promotion and never got it.
Finally, the true indepenents “Joe’s Garage”. Mom and Pop set ups. You don’t know what to expect here. They can be really great, or they can be really horrible. I know of guys that have it made working for these shops, but I have heard horror stories about them. I worked for one once. It was okay. However, there is no “policies”, the owner is the dictator. Equipment? Just LOL, if t
hey have it just be glad it somewhat works. Special tools? that’s up to you. Training? Better already have it.To ADD: I now work at a Nissan Dealer. I’m a chevy guy honestly, I don’t really like Nissans. However in the Japanese Import Tech world, Nissan/infiniti guys are always in demand. They made me start just changing oil even with my experience. I was their best oil changer, set records. Then they moved me to Recon/Used cars for about a year. Now they decided because I do what they want and have proven loyalty, they pulled me back down on the Nissan end, and are sending me to school, about a class per month to get me fast tracked to Nissan Certified Specialist and in the end, Master status. I have ASE Master Status now, so I could go anywhere. However, when I get my stripes with Nissan, especially if I get Sr Master status, I will have something no independent tech can have. I can go to any Nissan dealer anywhere and get a job. “I’m a Sr Master Tech” “When can you start”. I can go to a different make if I want, because I have proven I can do it with Nissan, they know I can do it anywhere. If I had to, I could go independent. Independents would love a dealer technician.
There is another guy at my work, he’s about the same age as me. He started there when he just turned 18 and was still in HS. 18 years later, he’s still there. He knows his stuff, makes good money, and I really wish I knew what I know now, then.[/quote]
i am not sure…everyone is different…some people are ok with staying one place for 18 years but, some don’t…
whatever you have for experience and where you are…situation is always different….i wish i started when i was younger but, it was not possible…i was still trying to finish high school on time…make the best out of our circumstances.
that’s allat least one of province i can fail or next category, (taken off the road) …it will be sent to central insurance stuff so, those people will be able put it back on road…this is only when the vehicle comes from different province though…if from same area…nope…
on the other hand, other province next door has 10 year policy what so ever…
there’s always idiots on the road and a-hole customers..
In Can, we have a manual that we have to adhere by…some people look at it as a opinion but, to me, factory manual and that book really changes opinion into solid evidence…
i can back it up with what the book says…every single vehicle history of inspection would be rechecked by “safety officer” his job to double check every form and make sure it would fall into what they would fail….i happen to deal with next province, two different provinces but, most of stuff falls under similar condition.
at least in the paper trail, you are covered as long as you follow book as bible…without opinion….
our forms have fail and off road category…anything to do rust and failing safety items like steering and brake related ….no questions…
in our country, our discretion to call police as soon as jerk customer drive away on unsafe vehicle…let them stop them on road…they are authorized…not us…we are only mechanics…right?
sounds like red triangle…chain store suck…indy suck, dealer suck…now..
it is really depends on your dealer principle and service manager and such…everything has to be look all together…ok…even within a same auto group that they can run things so different…you end up scratch your head…
personally…i had been at every crossroad possible…i started at indy shop…probably moved around 60+ times in over 11 year period just for mechanic side things….not even counting body shops…
i tell you what….more move you make more you will learn though…my policy….if i am not learning new things…i move…not challenged? move…been doing mechanic about 11 years only way to go…
good luck though…u from USA?
[quote=”Pitt” post=145305]Documents will show the customer declined service, and that caused his crash. People always look to blame someone else for their fuck ups. That old piece of shit is no different.[/quote]
they are not just declined services..gov’t inspection stuff…i guess mechanic didn’t want to d-k about it but, you have to.
but, they are doing gov’t inspection….as far as i am concerned, i rather fail vehicles and people tell me i am anal about inspection…don’t care…
if you see something that should taken off road, do it…fill it out…gov’t would back me up…most of indy shop in my area would get money under the table and pass vehicles..our system is that gov’t insurance has each vin for out of province inspection sheet…actually at classroom they even discussed about a-hole customer that would keep going shop to shop until someone passes them…gov’t has every single one of those inspection…you better hope you didn’t miss anything..
you fail it and put explanation why it failed…based spec, safety failure or whatever…whenever unsure fail them…don’t like it…too bad there’s the door.
hard to say, does it actually say that he passed vehicle under the table or what? i had seen a case of school bus mechanic that passed without taking wheels off that should be checked over.
here in CAN, sort of funny thing that i know some provinces allow vehicle as long as they has brakes and steering working…they figure you can stop and steer away from rest of road users…whoodeedoo…you pass inspection…whether you have motor or tranny in it.
probably that mechanic’s employer put him out to dry…nice…typical
i had a mechanic friend…told his employer when asked to pass vehicle…for a one year wage for payment so that when he can’t find work for passing that vehicle for while…at least he would have money to start over…company declined….i think i’ve had old nissan stanza that wouldn’t start, did spark, fuel, air. all checked out, none of timing mark lined up…anymore…
yep, estimate was given for new sprockets, all timing chains…not knowing if head already f-up valves or not…if jumped teeth….it would worse than just throwing codes…i work on gm stuff…usually, if jumped teeth, usually bent valve first…even at idle…
good luck…have fun with it…good old working at indy shop…
i remember those a2 chassis, what year is that…looks like early 90. had 86,85,87 mk2 jettas and gti. they are so much to drive on highway…for so little power on paper can push really through it.
yes, i agree…there are enough kids think that since everything is scan tool usage must be like on face book..they come realize that it’s not…
can’t even fix sandwich or clean messes in shops…nope…have to on FB update way more important than “employed”….since their daddy is part manager at another shop own by same owner….he got saved once but, second time, he was gone…after growling pain watching that kid for 4-5months…[quote=”MDK22″ post=139354][quote=”DaFirnz” post=139351]
Logic? What the hell is Logic? Nothing that goes on makes any sense what so ever. It’s actually a running joke that whenever someone gets riled up about whatever, that we remind them they are trying to use logic and therefor it doesn’t matter. I just keep telling myself, just 2 more years and I can go wherever I want.[/quote]Dealership Logic – Warranty Repair for Coolant Leak in EGR: Update Calibration Release to Customer.
How does increasing the threshold so it doesn’t trigger the Check Engine Light help at all in fixing the coolant leaking into the EGR, Answer: It Doesn’t.
This is what the world is coming too and it makes my head hurt so bad so so bad.[/quote]we have one of those diesel sitting in two bays…one guy just quit with tear down fuel system.
other people will have put it together and make it work…
ok…dealership thing would….NFF.(no fault found)…rattle or leak.we are technically paid to chase those crap….especially when vehicles are 2014-2015….so sad.
[quote=”Chevyman21″ post=139275][quote=”kevk62″ post=139274]
hey, chevyman21. i had been at gm dealer for about a little over 1 year..they are not bad brand. except depends on recall and pay scale of it….common pattern of failure in gm is struts, timing chains, intake gaskets…..anything electrical diagnosis….somewhat different from other brands out in the world….
[/quote] Trust me if I thought GM was a bad brand I wouldn’t be as dedicated to them as I am. I was simply sharing my dealership experience, your mileage may vary. Dealerships in general do have a different dynamic that is not for everyone and certainly wasn’t for me.[/quote]i understand what you saying….mopar was not bad except…their warranty time can’t beat until you do that kind of repair many times…at least 3 times or so.
my opinion of it….my beef would be menu price and pay scales keep going up and down like roller coaster…