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Car Forum / Nissan / Nissan Cars / April 2008Why IS it so hard to find a good mechanic? Or plumber? or anything?
DemoDisk hit on a raw nerve in the 'singing axle' thread. It seems like anything that you want someone to do for you, for some outrageous cost ($100/hr for a mechanic or a plumber?), usually leaves you with NO confidence that they are doing any better job than you could do yourself with a little research. This has led me to do just about everything myself, from home wiring and plumbing to computer repair. I have impossibly high standards: I want things done right. Not mostly right, but, well, RIGHT. Correctly. And precious few people of any profession are willing to take the time to do that these days. I am a mechanic, ASE cert master, and KICK a.s at what I do, but people still are skeptical of me, and defer to the judgment of their shade-tree mechanic friend to save a few dollars. So, in general, it is hard to find a good someone because when you find them, you may well not know it. When you do find one, keep them. Treat them well. Listen to what they say. If you always want to take the easy and cheap way out, you are eventually going to have to pay the piper. -Mike > DemoDisk hit on a raw nerve in the 'singing axle' thread. It seems like > anything that you want someone to do for you, for some outrageous cost [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > eventually going to have to pay the piper. > -Mike I'm already in the 'Amen' corner. Been living there! because the good ones don't need to advertise and the rest , for the most part , don't have a f.cking clue and they experiment on their customers cars . > because the good ones don't need to advertise > and the rest , for the most part , don't have a > f.cking clue and they experiment on their > customers cars . the "rest" are in it for the easy fixes,the profitable ones.  SignatureJim Yanik jyanik at kua.net > It seems like >anything that you want someone to do for you, for some outrageous cost >($100/hr for a mechanic or a plumber?), No $hit. When did plumbing and electrical work become equivalent in value to a doctor who maintains people *lives*, not a freaking toilet? > usually leaves you with NO >confidence that they are doing any better job than you could do yourself >with a little research. In most cases true. There are a few craftsmen out there. Most are, unfortunately, hacks and cheats. I know way too many plumbers and electricians with three houses, multiple cars, fat retirement accounts and who take six vacations a year. It's freaking obscene. >This has led me to do just about everything >myself, from home wiring and plumbing to computer repair. I have >impossibly high standards: I want things done right. Not mostly right, >but, well, RIGHT. Correctly. And precious few people of any profession >are willing to take the time to do that these days. You got that right. If I hire someone to do a job, I end up spending more of my own time to fix what they screwed up doing it...or I end up with the job failing early. >> It seems like >>anything that you want someone to do for you, for some outrageous cost >>($100/hr for a mechanic or a plumber?), > > No $hit. When did plumbing and electrical work become equivalent in > value to a doctor who maintains people *lives*, not a freaking toilet? because they often are dirty,difficult physical labor jobs? (that require a considerable knowledge base) If they were easy,anyone could do them. SignatureJim Yanik jyanik at kua.net >>> It seems like >>>anything that you want someone to do for you, for some outrageous cost [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >considerable knowledge base) >If they were easy,anyone could do them. Neither plumbing nor electrical work is significantly skilled. It's methodical, precise, requires knowledge the subject and of codes, and requires someone with mechanical ability. But it's not difficult work and does not require significant training. If people should be rewarded based on "dirty and difficult" then we should pay ditch diggers who use shovels the most: It's dirty, and digging all day with a shovel is very difficult work. > If people should be rewarded based on "dirty and difficult" then we > should pay ditch diggers who use shovels the most: It's dirty, and > digging all day with a shovel is very difficult work. Ditch-diggers are sometimes buried alive! Hazard pay, anyone? >>>> It seems like >>>>anything that you want someone to do for you, for some outrageous [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Neither plumbing nor electrical work is significantly skilled. Then why are they called "skilled trades"? > It's > methodical, precise, requires knowledge the subject and of codes, and reading and following blueprints. >and > requires someone with mechanical ability. But it's not difficult work Maybe for new construction,but on finished,older homes,both can be very difficult.And when they screw up,a lot of damage can be done in a short time. > and does not require significant training. define "significant". > If people should be rewarded based on "dirty and difficult" then we > should pay ditch diggers who use shovels the most: It's dirty, and > digging all day with a shovel is very difficult work. hard physical labor,yes,but requires little knowledge or skill. SignatureJim Yanik jyanik at kua.net I'm with you Mike. I hate to say it but that ASE certification while important to you seems to be wasted on many others with the same seal. Heard too many stories and went to work on too many cars that were totally messed up by the guy with that patch on his shirt. I've been doing repairs on most everything I do out of self-defense. Almost anything I have PAID for someone to do had to be done over. 2nd complaint is the complaints you get when you KNOW what a job entails and know that very few can do it right but they still whine and whine about prices or time. I also found out early in life that when you call a company and find someone in their employ who has a brain and can actually HANDLE an order or problem properly, they wont be employed there for very long. <sigh> Craftsmen do NOT get the respect they deserve, or the compensation. -Pete > DemoDisk hit on a raw nerve in the 'singing axle' thread. It seems like > anything that you want someone to do for you, for some outrageous cost [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > eventually going to have to pay the piper. > -Mike >I'm with you Mike. I hate to say it but that ASE certification while >important to you seems to be wasted on many others with the same seal. >Heard too many stories and went to work on too many cars that were >totally messed up by the guy with that patch on his shirt. Sometimes the issue is not the certification, but just the fact that they are bad businessman. I once had an ASE guy quote me flat rate for a pan replacement, then tell me that he was going to charge me flat rate labor to replace the rusted out front pipe as an additional job he'd have to do. The front pipe already had to come on and off as part of the flat rate pan job. Guess he thought I was ignorant and he'd get away with it. Took my car to another guy on another date, it came back with a little bump in the hood. It was obvious that someone had dropped the hood with a wrench in there sticking up on top of the engine and it created a pimple. Of course he told me all about it and offered to pay for the repair when I picked it up (NOT!). >I've been doing repairs on most everything I do out of self-defense. >Almost anything I have PAID for someone to do had to be done over. hear, hear. Hired a carpenter to do some framing, then spent a couple hours squaring and reframing the door frame to a size that would actually hold a conventional door. >2nd complaint is the complaints you get when you KNOW what a job entails >and know that very few can do it right but they still whine and whine >about prices or time. Flat rate works in one direction. As soon as there is something difficult, they charge extra for it. >I also found out early in life that when you call a company and find >someone in their employ who has a brain and can actually HANDLE an order >or problem properly, they wont be employed there for very long. <sigh> >Craftsmen do NOT get the respect they deserve, or the compensation. Nope. They go out a start their own company. And a good craftsman doesn't make a good businessman, so they don't all survive. >Sometimes the issue is not the certification, but just the fact that >they are bad businessman. I once had an ASE guy quote me flat rate for [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >of the flat rate pan job. Guess he thought I was ignorant and he'd get >away with it. Oh brother, you hit a nerve there. The wife took her "Exploder" to the dealer for a bad alternator. There was an extended warranty in place. ($100 deductible) I had just replaced the factory battery with a new, 6 year battery from WalMart just 8 weeks earlier. I left the wife in charge and went out of the area on business. Later, she got a call from the dealer and Ford recommended replacing the serpentine belt while doing the alternator repair as the vehicle had 70K on the clock. My wife picked up the car and paid the bill, $370. The warranty covered the alternator but, Ford charged full book labor for replacing the belt (even though you had to remove the belt to replace the alternator). They also replaced the battery saying it wouldn't take a charge. That was $125 plus $25 installation plus a $20 disposal fee. (The WalMart battery was $69 installed, period) I went back and disputed the bill to no avail. I did get my "old" battery back. I put it on a charger and it had a full charge within 6 hours. That was three years ago and I'm, still using that battery in another application. So, my wife got robbed in a fully certified garage by certified mechanics. Certification for mechanics is sort of like credentialing for teachers. It helps so some degree, but dang, if you weren't born to be a mechanic, no certification will make you one. You have to have the knack. And even that is no guarantee that you are honest. SignatureR J Talley Teacher/James Madison Fellow "What? Me Worry? Alfred E Newman >Certification for mechanics is sort of like credentialing for teachers. It >helps so some degree, but dang, if you weren't born to be a mechanic, no >certification will make you one. You have to have the knack. And even that >is no guarantee that you are honest. Like I said... it might indicate mechanical ability - it doesn't make you a good (or sometimes honest) businessman. |
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