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Originally Posted by donbryce
"Auto repair is like sausage making...you don't want to see how it is done, you just want to enjoy the end product. Now that I have seen how it's done I can't ever enjoy it again."
Personalities aside, yours, the mechanic (the 'tech'), and the foreman, there's a lot of interesting dynamics going on here.
I have to agree that the use of old fuel in the way you describe is not desirable, but it's not a big deal either. And the mistake that he made with the lines would have been corrected eventually, with or without your 'help'. And there is no way I can see there being any significant damage done to either the starter or the battery from the cranking that, I agree, should not have been done in the first place.
I'm imagining you, the customer, standing over this tech, diagrams in hand, scrutinizing his every move, and interrupting at various points to critique his skills. This guy, regardless of his competence, is formally obliged to acknowledge you as his first order 'superior' (customer is always right, right?), right after his real boss, the foreman. All the while, he is expected to carry out his mechanical duties as usual. I think your presence rattled him to distraction, and a simple error (mixing up the lines) has been turned into a condemnation of what goes on in many shops daily.
I'm not a mechanic, but I've been there, done that, and when I'm in Rome, I try to do as the Romans do. If anything, this is a good description of why customers should remain customers when they go to the shop.
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Hmmm.....Well, I work in nuclear power, as an engineer (mechanical), and as a trainer. Currently my speciality is in human performance analysis and training. Here's the deal: The mechanic was supposed to be operating in what we call Rule Based Performance space, which means following a procedure. He was instead operating in skill based performance space, commonly called 'skill of the craft'. You ONLY operate in skill based performance when the job is completely obvious, and there isn't a written procedure to follow, something that takes very little conscious thought or attention to the job and the job is highly practiced, often performed (like driving a car or putting your shoes on). In this case there was an existing procedure to follow, and the shop obviously wasn't.
As for the customer distracting the mechanic. Yes, that is an error likely situation. But in those situations, the mechanic is supposed to re-focus and re-zero. In other words, find his place back in his procedure, which may mean going back a few steps to find where he left off and reconfirming. Maintenance workers and mechanics in my plant are constantly scrutinized by system engineers and managers conducting observations...no big deal for the professional.
Now the troubling part is when the mechanic was faced with an unexpected condition: The car did not start. This is where he now is in Knowlege based performance. We train people in my industry that when they are in knowlege based performance space, to GET BACK OUT OF IT!! (Errors are made 50% of the time in this space) Get back into rule based performance by finding a procedure that applies, such as a troubleshooting procedure. Don't procede in the face of uncertainty, with an unanalyzed, unexpected condition. If there is no procedure that applies to this condition, then stop and collaborate, go get help, a peer check.
Too bad that auto mechanics are not trained to the degree that nuclear professionals are, but then willful violations of established procedures in my industry could have serious consequences to public safety, and can result in the violator going to jail....