Posted: 1/31/2008 6:44:36 PM EDT
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An interesting take on my profession. I go through this stuff and wonder sometimes if I should just say "to hell with it". Most folks these days who are not in the profession is some fashion or another have no idea of the level of knowledge and costs of being a tech is....Mitch does an excellent job of conveying a bit of it. Mitch’s World Who Says? Having sense enough to choose your words wisely By Mitch Schneider I’m the last person in the world to minimize the power of words. They have been a recurring theme in my life since I was a small child and shared a single bedroom with my two younger brothers. Then, the words came together in stories about distant worlds and unusual, if not unlikely, super-heroes; and, my brothers wouldn’t sleep until they were quite satisfied there were no more words left to share. The words continued to come in high school and college and then stopped for more than 20 years, displaced by a new love, the world we share: the wonderful world of broken cars and broken people. And, then suddenly in the summer of 1984, they came again just as I was ready to walk away from both. They have been an integral part of my life ever since I discovered there were still stories to tell with a new voice that has ultimately led me here. Over the years, I have developed a profound respect for words and the images they create — they have a mystical, magical power few of us ever fully comprehend. I try very hard to use these words wisely, recognizing the profound responsibility that accompanies the opportunity I have been given. They are, after all, the foundation upon which our realities are built; they define our existence. Unfortunately, not everyone shares this profound respect. At times, people say things without realizing just how much power the words they use can have. They fail to realize that while the “right” words can elevate and inspire us, expanding our worlds, the “wrong” words can cause great pain and hold us hostage. The wrong words can constrict our vision, limiting our ability to experience the world as it is, or perhaps more important, as it could be. They can hurt us, or the people we care most about — if, or when, they are not used wisely, carefully. As I came to understand just how powerful these words we use so often and so easily can be, I began to realize there are times when the words take on a life of their own, when they decide what must be said and how, when they take control. This is one of those times. A time where what I wanted to write about this evening will have to wait its turn until I’ve said what I need to say. And, what needs to be said is inextricably tied to someone else’s words. For more than 20 years, my wife and I have shared a large part of our lives with the same group of eight couples. We have gone through good times and bad together, experiencing all of life’s surprises. They are what my father liked to call “3 o’clock in the Morning Friends,” people you can call at any hour of the day or night, whose only response would be, “Where are you…” or, “I’ll be right over!” We are an eclectic group: three aerospace engineers, a theoretical physicist and mathematician, an accountant, a pharmacist, a retired printer and me. I feel better knowing that I can depend on them, and hope they feel the same way about me. We got together the other night, as we often do, for a movie and dessert afterward. Each of us arrived at the coffee shop separately, but we all left together. A few weeks before, I did something I’ve never done, I scratched a “Mid-Life Crisis” itch. I bought a new, albeit slightly used, “toy.” After “building” and then driving my 1981 C3 Corvette over the past couple of years, I discovered something I hadn’t really prepared for. Much to my surprise, I found that I truly loved the car. Yet, no matter what I peaked or tweaked, modified or added, there was always something that just didn’t feel right, something I could never quite put my finger on. When I mentioned that to an old friend the other day, a “Boomer Geezer” just like me, he smiled and replied rather matter-of-factly, “It isn’t a convertible — Tod and Buzz (Milner and Maharis, the stars of TV’s Route 66) drove a convertible: yours isn’t. It’s a ‘T’ top, and that’s not the same thing!” So, after putting two kids through college and working three or four careers for more than 20 years, I did the only thing that made any sense to me at that particular moment, I went out and purchased an almost-new C6 convertible and discovered that somewhere buried deep in my subconscious was the hidden need to fulfill a 13-year-old kid’s fantasy. The new Corvette was in the parking lot when we left the restaurant. It was the first time any of our friends had heard about it or seen it. Two nights later, I received a call from one of my friends who couldn’t wait to share something he had just read. It went something like this… “Never trust a mechanic who drives a new car… It means that either he doesn’t have the skill or the ability to keep an old car running, or he charges too much for what he’s doing!” Words... I had just finished the last edit on my “Going Up!” column (November 2007) when the call came. The reality of what not charging enough — the seeming reality of what the motoring public’s continued unwillingness to pay enough — has done to our industry, was still very fresh in my mind. I hadn’t yet received the gut-wrenching e-mails that have subsequently followed, e-mails from professionals who have left the industry — or, are about to — because they could or can no longer survive on what this industry is able to provide. Nor, had I come to terms with what all this has meant in my own life. I bit my lower lip and tried desperately to remain cordial as I hung up the phone. But, a number of the words in that quote kept bouncing around in my head: “too much money…,” “not enough skill and ability to keep an old car running…,” “Never trust…” Words… Words that pinched and poked, prodded and cut; words that left you bleeding. Forty-two years of frustration, resentment and anger bubbled to the surface. What the hell does this guy know about our world; my world? Where the hell was he when you and I were eating cold pizza and drinking warm beer, trying to stay awake, trying to remain engaged, after twisting wrenches for 10 or 12 hours? Where was he when we were trying to absorb anything we could, about electronic ignition, computerized engine management, ABS brakes or active suspension? Where was he when we were staying late or coming in early to get a customer’s car finished? How many of his son’s soccer games or his daughter’s ballet recitals did he miss? How many hours did he dedicate to staying current in his field, and exactly how much technological change has he had to deal with over the last 40 years? Words are more than the sounds we make or squiggles on a page: they are the tools we use to capture and create reality. They allow us to communicate concepts and ideas, thoughts and feelings. They are the structure and foundation of our ability to interact with one another. They define our existence: who we are, who we might become, how we perceive the world around us. They can set us free… or they can hold us captive. And, at that particular moment, they were exploding in my head like fireworks on the 4th of July. The words my friend shared with me are links in a chain of self-doubt that holds us prisoner to this very day. They reinforce the notion that we are somehow less than we are: somewhat less than we could be. They paint us into the portrait of an industry that has long since passed: an industry that no longer exists. As individuals, we have spent more on tools, training and equipment than any other skilled trade or profession I can think of. We have mastered technologies that defied imagination a quarter century ago, and live in a world in which science fiction has become science fact. We work on vehicles that cost more than 10 times what they cost when I first entered this industry, in an industry that is both indispensable and unrecognizable, an industry that is essential to the freedom and mobility of the people we serve. Yet, a “good mechanic” isn’t “good” unless he drives an old beater? Also, “good mechanic” charges too much if he or she can afford to drive a vehicle as new or as good as those his customers are driving? A “good mechanic” isn’t skillful unless he’s driving the wreck he’s resurrected? Who says? If words can hold us prisoner, words can set us free. Words like competent and confident; disciplined and determined; proficient, productive and professional; expert and experienced. If we choose our words wisely, carefully, we can paint the picture of an industry very different from the one we know — an industry in which excellence and effort are rewarded; an industry in which we are compensated commensurate with our skill, training and ability; an industry that is ours to define, ours to deliver, complete with the rewards we deserve, complete with the rewards we demand. But, nothing is likely to happen, nothing is likely to change, until you and I start using a new and different vocabulary. Nothing is going to change until we create a new definition of what it means to be “a good mechanic.” A better definition for a repair professional, a definition that includes realistic compensation and the same perks and benefits every other group of skilled professionals across the country enjoys. A vocabulary that helps us understand that loving what you do doesn’t have to mean suffering or starving. A vocabulary that doesn’t prevent us from being rewarded for doing it well, either. A vocabulary that can and will put you behind the wheel of something you love to drive, not something you have to drive. Never take your car to a mechanic who drives a new car? Baloney! The public perception of our industry is outdated and inaccurate. It doesn’t reflect the skill and ability it takes to succeed in this industry. It doesn’t reflect the dedication and discipline required to survive. But, change isn’t likely to occur on its own. In fact, nothing is likely to change until you and I change it! Who says? I say! And, so should you! |
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"Power of life and death is in the tongue" Jesus Christ. It works both ways, a highly famed mechanic charged my brotherinlaw $1500 for a 5 speed standard transmission repair but it failed, the second repair only $1100, which also failed, the third repair was only $750 but it held tigether until the car was sold but to this day my brotherinlaw thinks he was thr geatest Peugeot mechanic that ever lived. 
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Ok..I have listened to people piss and moan about having to repair the 30-40 k dollar vehicle that they managed to fuck up through sheer idiocy..I've listened to them tell flat out bald faced lies...On how they ALWAYS kept up with the maintenance, I hear their teenage son or daughter lie about how certain damage occurred My tool bill for last year is over 5 grand, and I get to listen about how I make "too much money" The state wants me to pay 500 bucks every three years for their worthless emissions tech program...I get to take exams every four years [at my cost of course] to try to prove to people I know my shit...On top of other classes to help me stay current with whatever the manufactures come up with......all at my cost ...of course. Yet in the end.......I still get..."you mechanic make to much money" not according the W2 I got today I'm not.  btw...yeah..I got to hear how I make too much money today....some people are only alive because it's illegal to kill them. |
Thats just the beginning wait until your commercial account goes delinquet on parts materials and labor for $60000 and yet the state still wants it's taxes. tell me about 
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I would just tell them that you are booked and it is what it is. If they want to find a cheaper tech then go right a head. The price is what it is. I get the same shit from time to time. I just tell them good luck. I think it funny that the cheap tree guy they hired fell a tree through there house or some shit. 
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You're just a grease monkey I'm a dirty construction worker Phil just develops pictures 1GR is a jack of all trades, master of none OdT has it easy and just fucks off all day Coyote makes way too much money for just chopping down trees Rune is a dumb yard bird The list goes on... It ain't just you, man. Now if you could communicate like the author maybe you wouldn't have to turn wrenches. OTOH, he does turn wrenches.  There will always be pink fingers who can't wrench. When the SHTF, you can do brake jobs for TP or gas or food. 
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And PCR, GMW and I just sit in front of a computer all day. We all get it. Good read gwitness, it applies to most professions. People tend to see their own little slice of the world and disparage the rest. As for me? I sure do appreciate my mechanic, the kid who mows my lawn, the guys I'm going to hire to replace my roof, deck and build a fence next year. Why? Because I can't do those things myself. At least not as well as the professionals can. Hang in there, tomorrow maybe you'll get to work on a C6 'Vette, I hear they can haul ass. |
You can add real estate agents to that list. They do nothing and get 6% for it. |
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Waaahhh. It's part of life. Deal with it. I get the "dumb yardbird" crap all the time. If you let other people make you mad by their words, you're letting them control you. If you continue to let this happen, it's going to be a long and unhappy life you lead. Remember, words have no meaning unless you respect the source. If you do not respect the source, then forget it and drive on. Life is tough, the world is full of idiots, lots of people don't know what they are talking about, and if you spend all your time worrying about what idiots say, then you have too much time on your hands. Time to grow a thicker skin. |
nevermind...you ain't worth the effort. |
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I cant remmember for the life of me what movie that was...
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Lethal Weapon 43 |
Lethal weapon 2. edited: Damn, beat by gummerhummer by 11 seconds.....  |
Mostly GD, there are some VERY narrow minded people there. I rarely go over there now. |
What is truly ironic is that in another thread gwitness is supportive of the violent arrest of protesters guilty of nothing more than the expression of dissent using .... .... words. |
But when the banks push and shove credit to people who really shouldn't have that credit... Or when mechanics try to "sell" repairs (which aren't needed)... Or when a contractor bids on a home repair, only to have the bill double--or triple!--in size, then runs out on the job after the money's been paid... Or when a lawyer plea-bargains a cut-and-dried case just because it's easier and/or quicker, and he makes the same amount of $$$... Some lines of work just seem to have a higher percentage of crooks than normal. Funny thing is, it is these very lines of work that has the loudest people saying "hey we're not crooks!"  Fuck what people say. If you're honest, that's all that matters. Good customers, workers, and business people are hard to find, and by definition they don't listen to sound-bite philosophers. |
"Excuse me, do you work here?" "Work? No, ma'am, I'm a government employee..."  |
Reminds me of the joke I always hear when people ask me what I do for a living and I tell them I work for the govt. What do you get when you put 50 lesbians and 50 govt. employees in the same room? 100 people that don't do dick.
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Show me were I supported the violent arrest of protesters.....I simply said I would not condemn the cops based on that video alone.....if you have further information..then lets see it..if not........well...I went back and checked that thread...nope..never once did I post as you said........either put up or shut up. |
actully was my first response was asking if what you posted was necessary.....than I remembered the source...and edited. |
| I'm a pink finger who can do any job. I came up putting on roofs and working in the plywood mill. My problem is that my work load has reached a point where I can no longer justify doing any maintenance task that I don't enjoy. I find very few tradesmen who meet my standards of quality. The difference is they do the job "today" where if I do it myself it won't reach the top priority for" months". So I pay and am quietly dis-satisfied with the results. |
Most people these days would open the hood of their late model car and recoil in fear......I had a 03 Seville in my shop today...with ride control problems....that Caddie has 12 separate computers....all CAN enabled. |
| I wouldn't buy that Caddy. If you can figure it out I can figure it out. Heck, maybe I can't figure it out but I'd rather F it up myself than pay someone else to maybe not F it up. Seriously, I take the statement "No User Serviceable Parts Inside" as a challenge. GW, all the warrantee claims I've ever had, I knew what needed to be done and the Jr "tech" who got the call totally failed - cross threaded seat belt anchors type failed - so my opinion of professional "techs" has been poisoned pretty badly. IM me with where you work. I'd like to deal with someone who has pride in their work. |
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The new cars today will be the "old cars" in 20 years btw...the Seville....the ride control problem that was flipping codes by the dozen....turned out to be a mechanicle problem.....a bolt was missing from the rack& pinion.......cost the customer 1 hour diagnostic time..and a 2 dollar bolt....with locktite on it.
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I feel for you. Back when I turned wrenches at an RV shop, I used to be able install a 5th wheel hitch and wiring for lights and brakes (before all the prewiring became standard) in about 2hours. The job billed out at 6 hours. Boy did that piss off customers. But the truth of the matter is the only reason I could do them so fast was my experience and my snap-on credit line. I could set up the hitch in the perfect spot in any truck by memory without pulling out the measuring tape. The tools I used just to install the hitch totaled well over $2k alone. Two 1/2" air drills, two 3/8" air drills, one half inch impact, one 3/8" impact, 1/2" torque wrench wrenchs, quality drill bits, all snap-on made. Not to mention the cutting torch, esab mig welder, metal miter saw, assorted wrenches, wiring tools and so on and so on. On the experience side, I had literally installed hundereds of hitches, (along with all the other RV related work). So I simply ask the customer, would you rather pay 6 hours labor to a qualified RVIA master certified tech that has the experience and willingness to buy the proper tools to get the job done right in two hours, or would you rather go pay 6 hours labor down at u-haul where a $6.50/hour employee is installing his 3rd or 4th fifth wheel hitch and taking all 6 hours to do it. |
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Im a tech in a local 4x4 shop and we do lots of custom stuff, I inevitably end up having the conversation to explain why things are so expensive at least on a daily basis. I found that in any blue collar type work to be done I always tell customers that there are three factors involved. MONEY, TIME, and QUALITY...and tell them to choose the two that are most important to them because no one can satisfy them with all three! my2sense |
| I get 1.8 hrs to do a water pump on a GM Vortec 5.7...I can put it out the door in around 45 minutes...but those are the gravy jobs...at this moment I have a 02 Chevy Cavalier with no fuel pump relay signal..no ignition signal...and the car was shot gunned by another shop [meaning they threw parts at it hoping to fix it] This one is going to take some serious poking and prodding....and I'll take it in the shorts because the customer will not want to pay for 5 or so hours of diag time. |
lol...my service writer tells customers....if they worked on it..it's going to cost more..because the tech has to figure what they did...and undo it.......I had a Toyota Camry towed in once with a blown engine [3.0l V-6].....the Customer thought he was going to just slide that 'ol engine out of there and pop a new one in....lmao......little did he know I got to me as a car in a box....it cost him extra for the labor I spent trying to figure out what went where.
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Sweet. Now i'm worth twice the effort. You sure know how to make a guy feel special...... 
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All it takes it getting jerked around once by any service/business and some people are skeptical of the entire industry. I had Roy Robinson Chevy in Marysville tell me I needed a new injector/wiring harness/wiring harness upgrade in my 3 year old Chevy Duramax due to the KNOWN wiring problem with injectors #7 & #2. I got pissed off and talked to Chevy's customer service and got nowhere, mostly due to the heavy accent & "engirsh" on the other end. I went home and researched the problem on the net. It still cost me $200 for the tow + $200 for diagnostic work and the 5 mins they spent retaping and replacing the fusible link I cut out and bypassed when I broke down. The final solution was RECRIMPING the electrical connector through the plastic housing with a test probe and reconnecting the now tensioned female connector to the fuel injector. Took me 30 mins on the net to find the poroblem via Google and 5 mins to do the work. Not too mention it was considerably less then $1500. The service rep. claim said the tech tested the injector and it needed to be replaced. I contacted another Chevy diesel tech at a different dealership who'd worked on my truck before. He said that injectors either work or they dont in his experience. Giggling the wire SHOUDN"T make the injector work if it's burned up. I'm a lil sour'd on Roy Robinson's service dept. at this point.
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