Sick of dealership techs breaking stuff during routine servicing and not disclosing! - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

mpolli · #16 01-26-2005, 07:36 PM

I believe they are paid by "Book hours", how many hours the book says it takes to do the job. If they are very fast they can get 14 hours work done in 8 hours, etc. If slow, they get fired...

Mike

Ferdman · #17 01-27-2005, 10:33 AM

Usually the dealer techs get paid the 'flat rate' time for each repair or service item they perform. So if the 'flat rate' for a certain job is 1 hour and the tech completes the job in 1/2 hour you still get billed for 1 hour labor. Conversely if it takes the tech 1 1/2 hours to dio a 1 hour flat rate job you only get billed for 1 hour labor.

richard28 · #18 01-27-2005, 11:37 AM

And since the dealership has to make a profit, the labor rate I get charged is higher than the labor rate paid to the tech. Do indie shops work the same way?

#19 01-27-2005, 03:41 PM

From what I know most techs get paid by flat rate. This means that they get paid x amount of dollars per flat rate hour(where I live it is around 20 to 30 dollars an hour). Those hours are determined by a labor guide. So, if the labor guide says it takes 3 hrs to change a starter that's what he gets paid. Most techs try to do it in less time(say 2 hrs). Thus the tech gets paid three hrs for two hrs of work in this example. It is in their interest to "bill" as many hrs as they can. Some techs get paid for as much as 70-80 hrs of labor a week(in a 40 hr work week). How do they do this? Well experience, good tools, and mostly by taking shortcuts. Example of a shortcut is when you pay to have valves adjusted on a car and they check a couple and put it back together(who will know?), or they omit parts of a major service(eg inspection of various vehicle systems). This applies to dealers and indy shops. So unless you can babysit these people you just don't know if you are getting good value for your hard earned dollar. Also, some shops employ $8.00 an hour "helpers" that do the work while the almighty tech "supervises" and gets paid as if he did the work himself. I just had the brakes redone on another brand car at a shop. Friend of mine is a tech there. I didn't expect any special deals but it got ugly. I told them to do whatever it needed so they replaced parts as necessary. When the car was done shop owner had left for the day. The idiot in the office said he didn't know what to charge me so I told him to charge for the parts and I would come in on Monday to pay whatever the labor was(this was late Friday). On Saturday I got a very nasty message on answering machine from shop owner. Monday I called shop and offered to pay over phone with Visa whatever the remainder of the bill was. Shop owner refused, said I has to come in to pay. So at 8:30 am I show up and get told that owner is upset because I paid with visa card and that I had not been charged enough for parts. I offered again to pay without questioning bill. Owner says that tech had plenty of work to do on Friday without working for free. Working for free????? Hell, I never intimated I even wanted a discount.
Needless to say after paying the $900 bill without even a word of thanks I got out of there and will never go back. When I was leaving my "friend" says I could have avoided this by just bringing my own parts and paying him directly for labor. They are all scumbags.

benzboy87 · #20 01-28-2005, 09:46 AM

Just reading the previous thread made my blood boil!
I would write a very strongly worded letter to the owner of the shop explaining the situation and the fact that he was not "attending to business" at the time you picked up your car. Also mention that this was on a Friday and that your livelihood depends on your car (can't get to work without it) and that others do as well. IF YOU AND OTHERS DO NOT WORK, HE DOES NOT GET BUSINESS AND DOES NOT GET PAID!! Be sure to mention all the ways you tried to be accomodating TO HIM AND HIS BUSINESS by paying with a credit card.

As an aside, doesn't it seem funny to you he did not want to accept that form of payment? I would just about bet a paycheck that he is not claiming some of his income to the IRS! (I also bet if he gives you any legal trouble you could tell him you are contacting the IRS about his unscrupulous business practices and see how much further he proceeds with legal counsel. Yes, I know this is blackmail but, hey, nice guys finish last!

)

I would not be ugly but very much to the point. I would send a copy to your local and state better business bureaus and a copy to him. His copy I would send certified letter - return receipt requested.

#21 02-02-2005, 09:57 AM

Well, I should write a letter to the proper authorities. However, time will show this guy that complaining to customers that Visa "charges a percentage" will not help him very much. I used to own a Antique store and taking a credit card payment is just one of the many cost's of doing business. I was was glad to accomodate any legal form of payment because a customer standing in front of you willing to spend money is why you open the door everyday. Otherwise, what's the point. Paying customers are worth their weight in gold.
Instead of bringing this guy more business, I will simply go elsewhere. It's ironic that he has plenty of money for tv commercials but complains the I paid with Visa. Let's see..... it cost him maybe 20 bucks to take Visa for a $900.00 bill. Makes you wonder what shop's priorities are.

300sdlguy · #22 02-02-2005, 10:29 AM

G-Benz....can you share the name and address of your mechanic in the DFW area? Thx

G-Benz · #23 02-02-2005, 12:00 PM

300sdlguy...you have a PM

gmercoleza · #24 02-02-2005, 12:10 PM

Please share with me too - I'm new to the DFW area and don't want to get stuck with this guy! Thanks in advance.

Mercedes Guy · #25 04-12-2005, 10:56 PM

I had a bad experience at a local brake place. I was debating whether or not to take it to the Mercedes dealer to have the brakes checked but decided to go with this place because it was no charge to have the brakes checked. Anyway, things didn't start out well when the mechanic drove my car into the garage and all the mechanics gathered around the car and started talking. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I was watching from the waiting room. I thought, "If these guys are making a big deal out of a 1992 190E they must not be too knowledgeable when it comes to Mercedes vehicles."

I couldn't believe it. The first thing the mechanic did after opeing the hood was light up a cigarette. He continued to smoke the entire time he was working on the car. Not only do I think it's unsafe to be leaning over the engine with a cigarette in your mouth, but I don't want my car to smell like smoke. I could really tell they didn't know anything about Mercedes when the mechanic finished with the car and referred to it as "a fancy foreign car." A 1992 190E? Even though I love my car and everything, it doesn't compare with the high end of the Mercedes line. That was the last time I'll ever go to that garage.

Boudreaux · #26 04-13-2005, 01:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mercedes Guy

...the mechanic finished with the car and referred to it as "a fancy foreign car."

That quote from that mechanic is scary enough to think about what they would've done to your car. My sister had a Renault Alliance and had a well-known chain of "oil-changing" shops do an oil change. Well these numnuts put the wrong filter on, spewing oil all over the highway and blew up the engine. Since my sister's boyfriend was an attorney, he told her what to do.

End result, she got enough for a down payment for a new pickup!!

Lesson: find a very good indie shop that will provide references and observe their business practices (i.e. clean work area, loud music, dirty employees, etc.)

AusMBtech · #27 04-13-2005, 07:20 AM

I think the a major factor in all of this is how techs are paid. In the US they are more likely to be paid "flat rate" per job while in Australia we are paid per hour (working or not) and given bonuses if the productivity is within the range set down in a contract. If we need to spend more time on a car then we do it knowing time isn't hurting our wallet unlike our US counterparts.

It doesn't matter where you go (Indy or dealer) as long as you find someone you trust to work on your car then stick with them. A bottle of wine/case of beer for the tech who did some especially good work on your car always goes a long way to ensuring they look after you everytime you visit. I certainly remember every customer who has left a gift or thanked me personally and I would go out of my way to help them anytime again.