RE: [ihc] Tom H's Explorer Transfercase Problem

[Tom Harais <THarais@xxxxxxxxx>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Steven Stegmann [mailto:steve.stegmann@domain.elided] 

Tom,

You misunderstand why the service dept is there. 
They're not to help customers or any silliness like
that.  They're there to make money.  Make no mistake
about it.  Anything that increases profit is what they
do.  Or get fired for their efforts.

Funny you should say that Steve.  A woman I work with used to be the "DMV
person" at the local Ford dealership.  She knows their operation there
intimately and has a personal relationship with most of the staff there,
including the mechanics and service writers.  I had already asked her what
she thought of that dealership's service department and if I should take the
Explorer there.

She had told me:

1) At the time she worked there, it was a great service department.  But the
new owners had pretty much destroyed that.

2) Service writers at virtually all car dealerships these days are working
on commission, not a salary.  And, because of that, they have incentive to
lie, cheat and steal to drive up the amount you spend on any service in the
shop.  She told me that after the new owners took over, the service writers
were instructed to just tell the customer to leave the car, no matter what
their backlog, and that they'd "get to it today".  Then, when they didn't
get to it that day, which they knew they wouldn't in the first place, to
call the customer and tell them that "we're waiting for parts so you're car
will be here for a day or two".  The idea was to ensnare the vehicle into
the holding pattern for the shop.  She said that it was common for the
service writers to give that line to the customer and the car would be at
the shop for a week waiting for a mechanic to perform the service.

3) The mechanics were told NOT to spend any time on a repair, but to do
whatever was the most expedient.  Thus, they would never try and remove the
actuator motor on an Explorer transfer case and clean the brushes and
re-install it (a one to two hour process according to the website) but just
R&R the motor, charging the customer the book labor rate ($100 for one hour
around here) and $300 for the new motor and throw in a bunch of "add ons"
bringing the bill to $800.  Compare that to the website fix full of
testimony from Explorer owners - Remove the motor, clean the brushes,
replace the nylon bushing that breaks with a piece of fuel line, reinstall.
One to two hours in the driveway.  Cost $0.

By the way, if any of you love working on vehicles, I highly recommend that
you consider a year's worth of automotive trade school and then get into the
field.  There has been a nationwide shortage of mechanics for many years and
there is no end in sight.  The pay is outstanding.

At the transit agency I work at, a top-of-scale mechanic makes $26.00 hour.
The benefits are as good as they get.  A supervisor pulls a 25% premium to
that.  They have the best tools, equipment and a great, clean shop.  They
have "fueler/washers" that steam out the engine compartments in each bus
BEFORE the mechanics wrench on them so that they don't have to get dirty.  I
swear, you could eat off the engine bays in most of our buses!  The
mechanics whistle while they work out there, literaly.  They work 10 hour/4
day shifts generally.  Several, with less than 20% overtime, will make
nearly $80,000 this year.  I've heard from them, that dealership mechanics
pull even more around here, but the pressure to get more done is greater.

There are only two or three top managers/executives in this organization
that will make $80,000 this year.  There are at least 3 mechanics that will.

 Tom