I heard it's not nice to pick on stupid people....

[mchan68]

First, he only wants to do the egr cooler, and we all know that aint gonna fly, and last he was gonna pay me a handsome sum of $200.

I'm sorry, but for that amount of money, I would've declined too. How much is it going to cost you, to see a chiropractor?

[Aaron]

I make more than $200 doing them at work under warranty, for crying out loud!

[Jim Warman]

I don't recall saying anything about doing something on the dealers nickel.. I do recall mentioning that line techs should be left to do what line techs do... and that is fix vehicles...

 

Something that seems to fly over the head... if we improved this trade... if we became the professionals that we pretend to be... we would have a chance at shaping the complection of our industry... we could initiate the change that would have us feel good about our progeny entering this field...

 

But we have two problems... my view is altruistic... I have this misbegotten belief that enough people would actually want to invest some personal effort into improving the trade that pays their rent and feeds their family...

 

The other problem is me actually thinking that anyone really gives a fuck.... we can't be fixing things because that would leave nothing to bitch about...

[Jim Warman]

Years ago, I would "moonlight"... but that branched into becoming my own boss.... I'm a shitty businessman and I soon realized that I didn't want to be the boss.... all I wanted to do was fix cars.

 

Today, I still pull the very odd side job... usually for someone on a fixed income (pensioner, single mom, handicapper)and often I don't even ask to get paid for the parts.

 

But that's the altruism I spoke of in another post...

 

If it benefits my store, be it from increase associated sales or improved customer (I said CUSTOMER)satisfaction - I help.

 

Come July, 2010.. I will be 60... for over 40 years I have watched, listened, learned... everything I can remember from those 40 some years is available from nearly free... after work, we can peel the roof off a cold one - AFTER WORK... and all you have to do is sit back and listen...

 

The better we can make the people in this trade... the better this trade will be for all of us... for the knee jerks... I didn't say "give away the farm"...

 

Give a man a fish and he can eat for a day....

 

Teach a man to fish......now you got something

[LARRY BRUDZYNSKI]

My opinion on this is as follows.

 

The dealer invests large amounts of capital into not only the dealership as a whole but also ,Sales,Service and parts. These include sending employees to training on the latest product, whether it be Ford,GM,Chrysler or other. The dealer also supplies the latest tools and information needed to accomplish the jobs at hand. Some dealers will make you sign a agreement not to go to work for anyone in the same field for a period of time, 1 year,2 years or whats agreed upon. The dealer invests this money in you to be able to make a profit for him. It's not difficult to understand, If he wasn't doing this why would he be in business. Employee's also invest in themselves. I have heard everyone here talking about buying this widget or that widget at sometime, hell even building tools that don't exist. I have read everything that has been said and I agree that giving out information that we have earned is something we will share with others, but on a different level than most expect. If we didn't do this we wouldn't be here on the DTS. There would be no need because we would know it all and would have nothing to say. For the most part the "Rex's" of the world are on there own. They CHOSE to be independent from the dealers and should be treated that way. If calling the dealers "Stealers" makes them feel any better than so be it. But in the end they will call for some bit of information at sometime, whether it be service,parts, or even sales. It is up to each and everyone of us to make the decision whether or not to assist them with their needs. I have competitors all over the country and get calls everyday with someone looking for a replacement for a obsolete fan, or fan clutch. I usually have the answer but I won't give them the information, why should I? I work hard to be able to come up with these solutions everyday why shouldn't I make the money for it.

 

Just my

[Keith Browning]

I recall another thread on this very subject led to the conclusion that its "us against turds" and I took that as ALL technicians that care about what they do and the industry against those who don't. We have tossed this around before with the same concerns and complaints and I think we are losing sight of what is important because we are being distracted.

 

I share in many of the same frustrations our vocation has to offer. I have to agree that we shouldn't point our noses in the air and dismiss anyone seeking our assistance or knowledge - as discussed there are GOOD reasons for such communication. I think that for many of us there are certain boundaries that need to be set. You need to decide how willing you are to be forthcoming with information or assistance and determine the best way for you maintain that boundary with respect.

 

For me, I simply got annoyed with the constant interruptions in my day - interruptions in my earning a living. It got to the point that I was looked upon as having a nasty disposition because I would tend to bark at people "for asking" and the requests eventually diminished. This also affected the way I performed my duties which was never my intention. It takes a good honest look into your soul to figure this out and come out with a good approach that works best for you.

 

I hope this helps someone...

[Jim Warman]

This contains some of that rationality that is eluding my statements... the big thing is that flat rate techs be allowed to perform what flat rate techs perform... without interruption if possible.

 

A line tech isn't doing ANYONE any favours if he allows himself to be called away from his job at hand... to begin with, this is how fasteners get forgotten and that's the nicer stuff...

 

From 8AM to 5 PM, I have, in effect, sold this block of time to my employer... What happens in that time should benefit him. Each and every request for assistance needs to be weighed on it's own merit... (for my own accomplishments, our local Canadian Tire no longer calls us for assistance... and I didn't ruffle any feathers getting there).

 

Some of the scenarios I work with.... One municipality purchases trucks from another dealer... the decision is out of the hands of the maintenance shop... However... they spend several thousand per month with our parts department.

 

Now... the government isn't famous for hiring the best people for the job... They hire people that will trade slave labour wages for a better benefit package. I have given this fleet account a set of expired red discs with instruction on how to access them.... It ain't fucking gonna happen. I devote a portion of my time to assisting these types of situations... and, until someone comes up with a better way to ensure that these guys spend what they can at our store.....

 

We have one account that has a construction company in a remote town. He hired a mechanic but couldn't keep him busy all the time.... Natural progression - start doing retail work to fill in the gaps. A little over a year ago, he purchased his wife a Tundra.... Is it my job to piss him off? Or is it my job to show him that SL Ford has better after sale support and her next car will be an expedition?

 

After 5PM, I will share all of my knowledge freely.. I don't care because I know how many techs are as fussy as I am.... and I know how many aren't. I've known a lot of my customers longer than some guys have been sucking oxygen.... And part of that reason is....

 

I'm not out to make any tech better than I think I am (shit - don't that sound like I'm full of myself?).. I'll be happy of they turn out better than they were....

 

You can catch a lot more flies with sugar than you can with vinegar....

[Aaron]

to begin with, this is how fasteners get forgotten and that's the nicer stuff...

 

100 percent agreement.

 

How many times have you been pulled off a job, only to go back to that job thinking to yourself, what the fuck was I doing?

[Jim Warman]

So..... I'm sitting here snacking on a tasty little Canadian variation of the "Texas Torpedo" (nothing deep fried... just a yummy little red jalapeno stuffed with feta cheese in extra virgin olive oil) flipping through my e-mail.....

 

I am on the mailing list for i-ATN Ford related help requests. Used to be, years ago (I joined i-ATN back in it's early days... in the early 90s - I had discovered them when I got my first 14.4 dial up... more on that in a bit). Used to be that you would see no more than a half dozen help requests... No doubt, in part because membership levels were lower than now... but also the vehicles weren't quite as complex as today. Indeed, with the popularization of the diesel, there isn't a day goes by without several 6.0 no starts and one or two 7.3 problems. It won't be long before we see 6.4 help request.

 

Here is a group of guys trying to help each other out (Bruce is a member, as well) as best they can...

 

Without the classroom experience... without the web based courses and without lukewarm line to help them along, they do what they can... All in the name of trying to make this trade (and themselves) look good to the motoring public...

 

We can hide our "intellectual property" from all others... we can lock it away.. hide it from prying eyes.... I share mine... I share it with people that share their intellectual property with me...

[Bruce Amacker]

I am still a supporting member of Iatn ($30/mo) but I don't respond to as many forum requests as I used to, and virtually no e-mail requests. Why? because I'm tired of the same old questions, over and over, posted by guys trying to fix a CAN Ford diesel with an aftermarket scan tool and no service manuals.

 

 

They won't buy the right tools, they won't spend $10 to access the Motorcraft website for factory info (which is a hell of a deal, I'll add) and they expect free help on the internet. Or, they're trying to fix an IH with NO scan tool at all, or a generic J1708 code reader, and don't realize 3/4 of IH's service manual is on the free side of their website and I'm tired of telling guys that. And they won't support Iatn (it used to start at $10/mo, but may have gone up) where you can do searches of past forum posts. If you can do searches of past forum posts, it would eliminate 75% of the new posts, as much of this has already been gone over.

 

It got old. I do still post occasionally, and I probably respond privately to more guys than I post.

 

 

Yep, it got old. I'm old.

 

 

[LARRY BRUDZYNSKI]

 

They won't buy the right tools,

 

Ding Ding Ding, Give that man a cigar......

 

My shop is included in this list. Not of my doing but of a gent that shall remain nameless. now mind you Bruce has sold them his manual and has made 2 appearances but still have yet to purchase a IDS. They,(my service side which is seperate from me) still come to me 2-3 times a week to find possible cause of failure. I still look and search to find a direction for them, why? Because I know the customer expects us to fix it. I try to not ask in the forum for these answers but search on my own. I keep preaching the proper tools to do the job, to no avail. I expected Bruce to give me the verbal lashings about the proper tools but have not heard any.(Thanks Bruce).

Okay guys, it's your turn if Bruce won't I expect you too......

If not then I thank you......

I believe in the proper tools to do the proper job. I won't touch something in my house if I don't know what I will need and go out to the local home improvement store to do the job properly. Lowes...........Love it.......Kid in a candy store.......Drool........

 

Bruce on a side note.... You aint old

[DwayneGorniak]