oil change from hell.
i know what you mean. but for some, me included, it's almost not worth it with some of the specials that some places are giving for oil changes. there are some as low as $10 (havent seen those in a while though). where supplies alone could cost anywhere from $7 to $15 (of course depending on what parts you are using). for the cost of $3 to $5 dollars i dont have to get dirty or worry about where im going to bring the used oil.
although, i usually do my own oil changes @ my shop, lol. it's nice having a lift....no more crawling on the ground.
although, i usually do my own oil changes @ my shop, lol. it's nice having a lift....no more crawling on the ground.
I hear ya. Not trying to give anyone a hard time. But, from the stories ya here. Like in this thread. Is the reason why, I do my own stuff. Good example, a buddy of mine bought a new Mustang. They thru in, lets say 15 free oil changes. Well, during one of those oil changes, they cross threaded the drain plug. Well, instead of fixing it. They just keep going alittle tighter each time. Till finally, it was just spun around. An THEY!
Blamed HIM!
He was like, "WHAT?! He told them , you guys changed the freaking oil the whole time. Check your records, every 3,000! They wanted to tap it out, an go to a bigger plug. He said, FU! I wanna new oil pan, an I'll change my own freaking oil, for now on! Can't blame him. I just have a problem with someone working on MY vehicle, who doesn't give a rats azz!
Last edited by RAM AIR; Oct 30, 2008 at 09:01 PM.
i definitely hear ya ram air. a buddy of mine went to jiffy lube a while ago. ended up they didnt tighten the drain plug & locked the motor up. they gave him a hard time with replacing the motor, but it eventually got done.
see @ my store, if records show we did it, we have to fix it....no questions asked. one story just came to mind is where a kid bought a tire from our store. 2 YEARS LATER!!!! he calls up & says he doesnt have the right spare & we were the last ppl to work on it. we offered him a tow truck to get the car to our shop (to get the bad tire replaced or repaired). he said he had a friend that lent him a spare. 2 days later i called him to tell him we had another spare there for him & all he had to do was come down to get it.
see @ my store, if records show we did it, we have to fix it....no questions asked. one story just came to mind is where a kid bought a tire from our store. 2 YEARS LATER!!!! he calls up & says he doesnt have the right spare & we were the last ppl to work on it. we offered him a tow truck to get the car to our shop (to get the bad tire replaced or repaired). he said he had a friend that lent him a spare. 2 days later i called him to tell him we had another spare there for him & all he had to do was come down to get it.
i definitely hear ya ram air. a buddy of mine went to jiffy lube a while ago. ended up they didnt tighten the drain plug & locked the motor up. they gave him a hard time with replacing the motor, but it eventually got done.
see @ my store, if records show we did it, we have to fix it....no questions asked. one story just came to mind is where a kid bought a tire from our store. 2 YEARS LATER!!!! he calls up & says he doesnt have the right spare & we were the last ppl to work on it. we offered him a tow truck to get the car to our shop (to get the bad tire replaced or repaired). he said he had a friend that lent him a spare. 2 days later i called him to tell him we had another spare there for him & all he had to do was come down to get it.
see @ my store, if records show we did it, we have to fix it....no questions asked. one story just came to mind is where a kid bought a tire from our store. 2 YEARS LATER!!!! he calls up & says he doesnt have the right spare & we were the last ppl to work on it. we offered him a tow truck to get the car to our shop (to get the bad tire replaced or repaired). he said he had a friend that lent him a spare. 2 days later i called him to tell him we had another spare there for him & all he had to do was come down to get it.
I worked at a Ford Dealership when I was younger on the lube rack. They advertised at x-mas for one week "Bring in 3 canned food items and get a free oil change". Oh man did that suck. It was non stop LOF's for a week and let me tell you, it brought out all the junk.
Same Ford Dealership, owner brought his daughters Escort GT in for a LOF. Well I only hand tightened the drain plug and forgot to wrench it. His daughter came and picked it up at lunch time. About two hours later it came back on a flat bed with a seized up motor. Got fired
Learned some valuable lessons there
man that sucks! ive had that happen before and it almost happened again. I looked at the filter i pulled off and it had no O-ring...fortunately i noticed before it could happen again...i check every time now...
I took my old Beretta to a quick oil change place once that used a lift, not a pit. I was watching the guy do the oil change - after he let it down and put the oil in, all he did was start it and run it till the oil light went out and shut it off and gave me the bill. I asked him if he was going to check for leaks. He refused to do it, saying that "it ain't gonna leak because I did the job". I never went back to that place.
that's crazy! i would fire...or at least write up the tech. that's not the kind of person i would want working in my shop. i got a guy now that kinda has an attitude like that. but i keep putting him in his place really quick. if he doesnt shape up, he will be gone.
that's crazy! i would fire...or at least write up the tech. that's not the kind of person i would want working in my shop. i got a guy now that kinda has an attitude like that. but i keep putting him in his place really quick. if he doesnt shape up, he will be gone.
I've never had one customer come back in 2 years. By the time i raise it back up, check it , bring it down and get it cleaned up i can already have another vechile in.
Just curious, how many oil changes do you guys do a day?
Just curious, how many oil changes do you guys do a day?
I guess I won't be bringing my truck to your shop for an oil change. I want the filter and pan bolt integrity verified both visually and by feel. The place I take it now does exactly that without me having to ask, and they use a pit instead of a lift to minimize the time waste. When I used to run a shop in my younger days, that's exactly what I did. If you are in that much of a hurry, I wouldn't trust you to do a proper job to begin with.
Why don't I still do my own oil changes?
1. I wouldn't be saving that much money.
2. I have no desire any more to jack up my truck, crawl under it, and get dirty.
3. Disposal is a hassle these days.
Why don't I still do my own oil changes?
1. I wouldn't be saving that much money.
2. I have no desire any more to jack up my truck, crawl under it, and get dirty.
3. Disposal is a hassle these days.
Last edited by glc; Nov 11, 2008 at 01:09 PM.
I guess I won't be bringing my truck to your shop for an oil change. I want the filter and pan bolt integrity verified both visually and by feel. The place I take it now does exactly that without me having to ask, and they use a pit instead of a lift to minimize the time waste. When I used to run a shop in my younger days, that's exactly what I did. If you are in that much of a hurry, I wouldn't trust you to do a proper job to begin with.
Why don't I still do my own oil changes?
1. I wouldn't be saving that much money.
2. I have no desire any more to jack up my truck, crawl under it, and get dirty.
3. Disposal is a hassle these days.
Why don't I still do my own oil changes?
1. I wouldn't be saving that much money.
2. I have no desire any more to jack up my truck, crawl under it, and get dirty.
3. Disposal is a hassle these days.
Trust me i'm not in that much of a hurry. I know what needs to be check and what to look out for. Customers like you aren't a special case. Quite honestly I would take it as an insult if you told me to do that. If you stand there and watch me I don't care but don't start telling me how to do my job
I don't change my ways for anyone, even friends. Everything gets checked from your fluids to your belts/tire pressure. You as the customer may never realize it but i look at everything. I hate doing oil changes too
Take it however you want, and nothing personal is intended whatsoever, but that is the way I was trained to do an oil change service. On the other side of the coin, if I'm paying someone to do a job for me I insist on the job being done right.
I spent time in the military working on aircraft. NO job gets signed off without a 2nd person inspecting the work. When I was running a shop after that, I insisted on that procedure being followed. The guys working for me hated it for the very same reasons you are being cranky about this piddly issue. It didn't take too many boo-boos being caught before the light bulbs came on in their heads - and the day I screwed up and one of THEM found it, everything fell into place. It's not a matter of trust, it's not a matter of questioning someone's competency or knowledge. It's a matter of quality control.
I spent time in the military working on aircraft. NO job gets signed off without a 2nd person inspecting the work. When I was running a shop after that, I insisted on that procedure being followed. The guys working for me hated it for the very same reasons you are being cranky about this piddly issue. It didn't take too many boo-boos being caught before the light bulbs came on in their heads - and the day I screwed up and one of THEM found it, everything fell into place. It's not a matter of trust, it's not a matter of questioning someone's competency or knowledge. It's a matter of quality control.
we are actually the number one store in our district, and in 2006/2007 we were the number one store in the country..(i got service manager of the year & got some cheap plaque (sp?)..but it was cool). during our busy time we did around 45-55 cars per day. but with everything now, it's more like 25-35.






