“Hey there, can you jump on a quick call with me in about 10 minutes?”
This was a direct message sent on Slack to me by my Director (my boss’s boss) a couple weeks ago at 9:13 a.m. on a Thursday shortly after starting my day at my corporate job. This immediately started my mind racing, because there would be only three reasons for a Director to reach out to a lowly Engineer Spec III such as myself:
1) An HR complaint
2) A drug test
3) A layoff
Pretty much this was a lose-lose-lose because any of the above three would be wicked bad (even if you’re not on drugs, if your employer thinks that you may be, that’s really not good)! The next 10 minutes are probably the longest of my entire life, until I nervously joined the conference video call with my Director, Mike.
A little background, I have been working at Verizon for the past 22 years, it’s the only job that I’ve ever had since I got out of college in ’03. I worked my way up the ladder over the past two decades, continuously attaining positions of greater responsibility and difficulty. CX/UX, Telephone Number Inventory, Supervisory roles leading various teams, Compliance, UAT testing, and finally ending up in Production Support over internal systems along with the .com site and Mobile App.
“Steve, it’s been a pleasure working with you all these years but your position has been terminated due to the company’s focus on an AI future. Thank you for your service, and if you don’t return your laptop you’ll be charged for it.”
22 years ended in about 22 seconds.
My grandfather worked for Verizon when it was called NY Telephone after he got back from Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal in ’45. Both he and his grandson worked for the same company. He got a gold watch when he retired. I got a mild threat to return a laptop.
I was 24 years old when I got that job and I was driving a five-speed, two-tone, ‘95 Sebring hardtop coupe when I applied for it. A total “straight outta college” ride. When the Verizon interviewer asked why they should hire me, I told her that I had built the car that I arrived in, out of a junkyard. I saw a look of surprise wash over her face back in ’04 that I’ll never forget. I was offered the job shortly after.
So, my life has been completely turned upside down in the past 30 days. Bills don’t stop though, and I currently have the same amount of cars that we showcased here, which is way too many for somebody who is currently unemployed.
You have to move, shake and adjust. This means you need to take a hard look at your current skill set and figure out how to make money, wicked fast! Many of my current collection of 13 cars are for sale, and I have been doing some mobile mechanic work to keep the lights on.
Let’s Wrench: Somebody Else’s Chevy
One of my best friends is a guy named Chuck, whom I have referenced over the years in a few articles, (such as what I believe to be the best piece that I’ve ever written here). Chuck owns and runs a paint shop, and has been a lifesaver to me for almost 20 years; he has painted numerous cars for me. The guy has big heart and is always paying it forward for others; he’s kinda awesome.
Anyway, upon hearing that I was down and out, Chuck wanted to help. He said that he had a customer’s car up at his shop that had lost brakes, and thus smashed into something, damaging its front end. He was putting a new front end on it, and asked the owner what he was going to do about the brakes, the owner said he planned on towing the car out of Chuck’s shop and figuring out the brakes later.
Chuck suggested that he had a buddy named Steve who was a pretty decent wrench who would slap some new brakes on it for a couple hundred bucks.
The customer agreed, and I was hired!
Ok, Now What’s Wrong With This Thing?
The next task was figuring out why this guy lost brakes and smashed into something. What he hit was never disclosed so that remains a mystery. Popping the hood I noticed that the master cylinder was completely dry, which was a huge clue. It pointed us towards the fact that the brake fluid had to go somewhere, meaning that there was a leak!
A quick peek underneath the truck fully solved the mystery of the missing brake fluid, as the right rear tire was completely soaked with brake fluid on the inside. This means either a line or the caliper was leaking. Both are pretty easy to fix!
I smiled at my good fortune, knowing that I didn’t have to reverse bleed an ABS block or deal with other, more difficult brake scenarios (ex: Google SBC brake issues on the Mercedes sl500/r230 as a great example of a gross overcomplication of the already-solved-problem of automotive brakes).
Time to grab a C-clamp and some wrenches; let’s go!
Dude, You OK Man?
Removing the tire, and squaring-up to the hub, I noticed the leak was coming from the piston boot. Popping a new caliper on this thing should be a wicked cake job I thought to myself, figuring I’d have this done shortly.
What I saw next was the absolute worst brake repair scenario in my 31 years of wrenching.
Pulling the caliper off of the caliper bracket, the caliper piston fell apart in pieces in my hand! There was no rear pad whatsoever, and the inboard side of the rotor was worn to the cooling fins!
This means that the owner of that truck went completely through the inner pad, through the steel pad backing plate, through the inboard face of the rotor, and through the rotor cooling fins until the caliper piston disintegrated!
[Ed Note: Holy crap! -DT].
I’m not sure if that charts up to willful neglect, a legendary level of laziness, or just a complete disregard for both one’s own safety and the safety of others.
In fact, the reason the truck was at Chuck’s body shop was due to it smashing into something from not having brakes after the brake fluid escaped from the blown caliper piston seal!
This is a perfect example of kicking your own ass, needlessly. None of these events had to occur.
Let’s Wrench: Cheapassery To One’s Own Detriment
The saying “pennywise and pound foolish” comes to mind for the next phase of this repair. Chuck called the owner and told him that he needed new pads, since one had completely turned to dust, and also a new rotor.
The owner, in his (continued) lack of wisdom, cheapassery and dumbassery, chose to spend $34 on new pads, but did not want to replace the rotor!
The cooling fins on a rotor are there for a reason; to cool the rotor and prevent it from warping. Not having those fins (along with necessary thickness) guarantees this rotor will be warped badly in short order. Also, the thickness of the rotor is important so that the piston on the caliper doesn’t become overextended and blow out its seal! Wicked dumb.
[Ed Note: Look below at how thin the back part of the rotor is inboard of the cooling fins. This rotor is TOAST! -DT].
I told the owner that without replacing the rotor, he’s just going to overextend the piston in the new caliper and then be forced to buy another caliper. More importantly, he would be placing himself and others in the same danger yet again that ended up with his truck smashing its front end off.
Those words of alarm and of concern fell on deaf ears as he told me to put it back together with the badly worn rotor, bled the line, and put the wheel back on.
A Feeling Of Uneasiness
The owner of the truck paid Chuck for the new front end, and I got $120 for the caliper/pad replacement job for labor.
There’s something that I’ve been focusing on lately which I found is very helpful towards my well-being on multiple levels: a focus on the things that I can control.
I can’t control the move towards AI replacing white collar human workers, and how my former employer chooses to reduce payroll costs in hopes of improving their financials and “increasing shareholder value”. I didn’t think my life would change so drastically in 22 seconds, yet that event was out of my control.
I also could not control the very dangerous decisions this truck owner was making, and he’s the one who’s going to have to live with the potential negative outcomes of his decisions. I did my part in advising him of the danger he’s placing himself and others in, and by doing the repair to the best of my ability.
I can control reducing my car collection, doing my best to write wicked-fun wrenching adventure/shitbox rescue stories here for this awesome website, and saving as many broken cars as I can from the crusher. That sounds like a great plan to me. Time shoots forward and all you can do is to try your absolute best at whatever you are doing.
And you can control the distance between you and the car in front of you, with a focus on defensive driving, as this article is yet another reminder that due to the shape of many of the cars on the road around you, doing so could possibly save your life.
It’s good to be in control. We got this.
Until next time, my Autopian friends.
88mph into the future.
More SWG below in “Related Stories“!
All photos by Stephen Walter Gossin
- I Took On A Bad GM Design In A Hail-Mary Attempt To Fix My Friends Broken Suburban But It Was Too Little Too Late
- Sparking Joy And Plugs: How To Repurpose A 31-Year-Old Junk Buick
- What I Learned Restoring A $600 Dodge Ram With A Burned Up Transmission And Ruined Interior
- How I Bought A Broken Version Of My Dream Car For $300, Then Nursed It Back To Glory And Let It Free
- Proof That A $700 Car Saved From The Junkyard Can Make Someone As Happy As A New Lambo Can
- How I Saved My Buddys’ SUV After It Died At The Most Embarrassing Possible Time
- Rescuing A 75-Year-Old Car From An Older Car Enthusiast Reminded Me How Important Every Minute We Get Doing This Truly Is
- How I Rescued A Long-Neglected Citroen 2CV Covered With Bullet Holes
- Kumho Flew Me To The Mojave To See If Their New ‘R/T’ Tires Are As Good As They Claim
- How Learning Saxophone in 1990 Led Me To Rescue A Dead Xterra From A Bouncer’s Driveway
- This Toyota Tundra Was Unstoppable, And Not In A Good Way
- How To Re-Owner And Re-Purpose A Sad 2007 Exploder In One Week
Stephen, that absolutely sucks. There’s no other words for it. I’m sorry.
But if you can turn your wrenching skills into your main income, then maybe it’s a blessing. And maybe share some highlights/lowlights on here too. I’m sure we’d all appreciate that.
If I were in the US I’d be more than happy to have you work on my car. I enjoy your articles so much, and I’m amazed at the cars you’ve fixed over the years.
For the truck driver and his brake rotors, I guess you can fix cars but you can’t fix stupid.
OH SWG, I truly am distressed to learn of your layoff. 🙁
There is no such thing as loyalty in corporate America anymore, we all are just a cost to the company that they are always looking to trim.
Keep your Chin up!! Just know that us Autopian members are rooting for you! 🙂
Most of the times I have heard about a business laying off IT people the business has had to turn around and hire them back or get new ones, sometimes at a higher rate. IT people tend to hallucinate less than large language models and sometimes the old IT person is the only one who knows how to fix the legacy systems when they break.
Best of luck SWG!
Customer is also down to the wear bars on the tires. I expect nothing less on an early 2000s GMC. This is par for the course in Philadelphia
Hopefully it will have to go through a mandatory inspection in the very near future.
For a state with a supposed safety inspection requirement it’s amazing the stuff you see in Philly. There must be so many fake sticker mills. It makes me feel like an absolute sucker when I have to replace something to pass.
Great article. It’s rough out there, but I hope you are able to shake off the startle of such a big change and embrace the next chapter. Although we don’t know you personally, thinking of you dragging yourself to some thankless corporate job didn’t resonate with your personality and massive potential. I really hope for the best, screw big corporations, and let’s hope that owner gains some sense fast.
“Listen sir, I understand you don’t want to pay for a new brake rotor. But you have two choices: you can either pay to have the vehicle towed to another mechanic willing to put your car back in the road with a failed brake rotor, or you can have me replace the rotor right now. Let me know what you decide.”
As someone who drives around the city with trucks that look just like this (or worse) with my toddler in the back, please say this next time. Please.
The truck owner likely believes that this is fine because he, of course, is in a truck. And not some small car that would be “unsafe”.
There’s no way to force others to do the right thing, but I agree with your concern/sentiment for the safety of others, which is why I included numerous references to that concept in the piece.
You cannot police every repair situation for every vehicle, in every state/city/town in the US, and thus force owners (who are usually too broke to fix the vehicle correctly) to perform repairs that you deem necessary or to pay for a tow.
There is no enforcement mechanism outside of calling the police on your customer (who will just write a “faulty equipment” ticket) and you cannot seize their property.
Think about the flip-side of that situation: a mechanic acting in bad faith demands you perform non-needed repairs or pay for an expensive tow based upon their arbitrary (and financially-motivated) whims. Sounds awful also.
Please don’t attempt to extend associated guilt, wrong-doing or liability upon the mechanic, especially after we pleaded with them to do the right thing and documented it.
At least write up the warning and have him sign it. Cover your ass
“There is no way to force others to do the right thing” Does that mean you get to help them do the wrong thing? We all agree that putting that car back on the road like that was the wrong thing, right?
“You cannot police every repair for every vehicle in every state/city/town …” No one asked you to police them all, just the ones your tools and hands have touched.
“… and thus force owners (who are usually too broke to fix the vehicle correctly) to perform repairs you deem necessary or pay for a tow”. Yes! That is the decision the customer is faced with – spend money (that they may or may not have) on a single brake rotor that can be replaced and back on the road later that day vs. finding a tow truck to get it towed somewhere else and put back together by someone else (which is significantly more expensive than a single brake rotor).
“There is no enforcement mechanism outside of calling the police on your customer (who will just write a “faulty equipment” ticket) and you cannot seize their property” I understand, but the decision posed by me was “pay for a new rotor or pay for a tow” didn’t imply seizure of their property. I would also avoid calling the cops on the customer to get them to write that ticket unless there were some other circumstances that warranted a cop.
“Think about the flip side of that situation: a mechanic acting in bad faith demands you pay for non-needed repairs or pay for an expensive tow based upon their arbitrary (and financially motivated) whims. Sounds awful.” Yes, that does sound awful! There are a few key differences between the situation you were actually in vs the one you made up as the flip side:
– you were not a bad mechanic acting in bad faith, you were a good mechanic acting in good faith
–the repairs were needed
– yep, the tow will be expensive
-your recommendations were not arbitrary, cars need working brake rotors
– your motivation wasn’t financial, in this case you were already in there and as a good mechanic, the customer would have only paid for additional parts, not the labor
So yeah, the scenario you posed is awful but not the flip side of the situation. The flip side of the situation is: if you had your car in for repairs, and your mechanic saw what you saw and recommended what you recommended, what would you have done? Pay for the rotor? Or have them put it back together?
“Please don’t attempt to extend associated guilt, wrong doing, or liability on the mechanic, especially after we pleaded with them to do the right thing and documented it” No one made you put that car back on the road. There is no law, to my knowledge, that legally binds you to performing that unsafe repair. You had the choice entirely within your hands to either proceed with putting a full size pickup, with that unsafe brake rotor, back on the road or refusing to complete the work that way. The same way that an electrician could do the same thing if I refused to correct a serious safety issue they found in their work. I am glad that you tried and pleaded, and documented it to not only cover your ass, but also as a nice bit of evidence in any would-be trial if that guy kills someone with that truck – nothing like some concrete evidence that they knew the car was unsafe prior to a fatal accident to help with a criminal or civil conviction against that guy. You wouldn’t face legal liability, but I guess could get sued in civil court if they think they have a case against you somehow. Still legal fees and your time.
NOW, let’s talk about the real fucking piece of shit here – poverty and this economy. If this guy had more money, it might have been a non issue. You lost your job, and you have bills to pay too. Losing any pay from the time you already invested may not have been feasible. You can’t subsidize every deadbeat on the road. If you were doing this in a good economy for a friend or something, that rotor would have been replaced. It is easier to solve all this with more money and security. But damn, I don’t know. That truck shouldn’t have been put back on the road like that, and you accepted his money and helped him do that. You may not have done the wrong thing legally, but you certainly didn’t do the good thing either. You are in the “it’s just business” between those two. Which is fine! You did not want it to go down like this, you tried everything you could short of declining to complete the repair. We don’t have to agree on the morals and all that. Just please, in the future, consider declining to complete work like that.
“Please don’t attempt to extend associated guilt, wrong-doing or liability upon the mechanic, especially after we pleaded with them to do the right thing and documented it.”
This ^.
So many others want to assign responsibilities to those doing ‘good’ in the world. One person can only do so much, and like SWG said, some things are out of a person’s control.
I’m sorry that you were fired, not for incompetence or any of the other awful things people can do. It totally sucks. Fucking sucks.
I hope that you remain surrounded by people who care for you as you deal with the uncertainty and crap of these recent days. And, I sincerely hope that you find another place in which you can contribute your amazing talents.
From other Autopian staff comments, you’ve earned a huge amount of respect and admiration by being the person you are. May that innate ‘goodness’ (for want of a better word) remain after you find stability and routine again in your daily life.
All the very best to you.
EDITORS: If there were a way for me to “pay it forward” and offer a small bit of help to SWG, I’d chip in. Let us know.
Thank you sincerely for the above, super-kind words, my friend. They mean a lot.
Actually this might be the only case I’ve ever seen where get a used rotor and even a pad from a junkyard as it is certainly safer than what this clown was thinking. Even being that cheap you’d think that accident would have had him thinking brakes are a good idea
Rotors are so cheap, it would cost way more in time for SWG to go pull one from a junkyard vs running down to the auto parts store and buying the cheapest one they sold. But no way he should do that out of his own pocket.
I still can’t fathom spending all that on bodywork and then skimping on something as important as and inexpensive as a rotor.
NC does have vehicle inspections and I’m guessing this would fail at its next appointment unless fixed in the meantime, which makes the whole situation even more confusing.
Man, I wish WA drivers would realize that my five-length following distance is because of people like this guy, not because I want you to swoop your Lexus GX into the gap.
lol, I can verify that this is true
That’s an insanely bad looking tire no less…did it give you a sense of what was coming, or a “can’t be as bad as this.”?
So sorry to hear about your career loss. It’s little practical consolation I know, but your time spent and the expertise developed shows you were truly skilled in the craft of your work. They can take the job from you, but they can’t take that you were a professional. And in a world where amateurism is now the norm, that’s something to be very proud of. Thank you for the example you set; helps keep the rest of us inspired.
Your philosophy would make the stoics proud. Epictetus tells us everything has two handles – one with which we can pick it up, one with which we can’t – and counsels us to choose the right handle. Sounds like you did.
Epictetus’ advice really rings true/helpful for me right now, I may have to look more into this guy.
SWG, I know you wrote about how much you appreciated your job, so I’m really sorry that its ended for now. I hope better things aren’t far behind.
I sent this to Mercedes for a COTD nomination.
Thank you for the above kind words, my friend. They mean a lot.
Another day, another talented and dedicated employee let go to improve a corporate spreadsheet. I pray this is only going to be the launchpad for a better future for you man.
Love the article, and yeah. Even in inspection states, the condition of some vehicles sharing the roadway at 70+ mph with the rest of us can be utterly shocking.
Good on ya for a job well done and giving a guy a brake for his safety, and a break on the labor price.
Saying no to a $25 to $50 part that won’t add significantly to labor while paying someone labor to do a job is wild to me. A major component in brakes it’s absolutely insane.
But I’ve heard mechanic buddies say people turned town new pads that would be done for basically cost just because they didn’t think they needed. All they can do is say then no warranty. Sometimes they will think about it $35 for a warranty becomes worth it.
I met an older guy at a trade show probably 15 or 20 years ago. That basically predicted what’s going on with ai. He said people need creativity and to be technically inclined. Always something to fall back on and new opportunities. He was warning all the engineers he met. It always stuck with me.
Great advice from the old timer.
For sure, he had been burned in the early 90s I think. It might have been right around 08 when people were starting to get burned and he saw the writing on the wall. Everything is cycles.
All of history is just old things being replaced by new things, old employment jobs trends to new employment jobs. The idiots in the office suites will soon realize AI ain’t all that, but they won’t admit a mistake and things will get worse. As far as I know AI is the equivalent of combining all options and reducing it to an average. So medical AI the janitors opinion counts the same as the doctors. Well it’s working so good here in the US where the crackhead vote counts the same as the the genius vote. Think about it our forefathers designed the first AI
I know a few people that got called back at a higher rate after the AI transition failed. Hopefully the person who suggested it was removed and underling who witnessed it all was promoted with a certain fear of stupidity and trusting bros.
The specialized ai models generally seem worse then the general purpose and that’s a low bar. Medical AI has already killed many. Legal AI just makes things up like they all do. We had a number of good search algorithms that have been ruined by insertion of AI.
The thing that really makes me laugh about AI is ATT has been using it as a term since the 1930s. It’s not a new idea at all. And most systems are worse because of AI. The bubble bust is upon us.
I hope all the a-holes who invested in this lose their friggin’ shirts.
Along with Trump and the invasion of the Ukraine, AI completes the trifecta of waist-deep BS that we are all wading through.
It’s going to make 97 / 98 and 01 tech bubbles look like nothing. Scary times. Apparently there is a good chance Russia is going to split in to 9 different countries once they admit defeat or start dragging people though the streets so there is that.
Sorry to hear about the layoff dude, flex your network, that’s the best way to find the right place quickly. And who knows, there might be some Autopians who could help you land your next full-time gig.
Sorry to hear about that layoff. I worked in the telecom industry during it’s heyday, and every two years I was laid off, but was able to find a new job within weeks in most cases. I finally figured out that was not likely to change, and that I just liked fixing things. I was lucky to have a friend who worked for a company that needed people in the electrical maintenance field, and worked there for 5 years, before finding the exact same sort of job, closer to home and for a bit more pay. I actually liked going to work and knowing I could fix the things that broke down. I worked there until I retired. Perhaps this will work out best for you if you can figure out what you really like doing.
Wait, no Altimas? 😛
Glad I live in an inspection state just to keep these off the road. Better to pay an SWG or indepentent shop for this sort of work. At least we know the cars on our roads have tires and functioning brakes.
Me too. I used to find them annoying, but then my auto shop teacher gave me a much better perspective – he’d tell us it’s the cheapest thing in the long run, as it’ll spot (relatively) cheap to fix small problems before they become expensive to fix big problems.
NC is an inspection state.
Clearly it’s working.
I live in NYS and they only recently started actually cracking down on shady shops handing down pass stickers. Enforcement is key as well, although no inspection is really wild to me for a state to function that way.
Sorry to hear about the layoff!
Stuff like this is why I’m okay with mandatory annual inspections. Yes they’re a pain and cost time/money. That said they catch stuff like this before it gets to that stage. This truck would have failed because of that rotor. If the driver kept driving and let the inspection lapse, it’s not good for them.
But NC is an inspection state, so it didn’t help.
Didn’t know that. I thought they didn’t inspect vehicles.
Here in the states you can always find “a guy”
Heck, my car should have failed emissions inspection the last time I went in but they just gave me a warning that I need to replace a part “because I was a long time customer”. Now, being the responsible person I am I replaced it within 24 hours, but if I were not, I would have been passed when I shouldn’t have and didn’t even ask for it.
Goddamn, I am furious on your behalf. I’ve been saying for years this is the real danger of AI. Not that it’ll make humans obsolete, or go all Terminator on us, it’s that the big boys with dollar signs in their eyes, who are definitely too smart to be fooled about things like this, you can tell they’re smart because they’re rich, won’t realize they’ve fucked up until it’s too late because they’ve already fired everybody.
Anyway, you could obviously make a career out of wrenching and writing and probably a profitable youtube channel, if you wanted it. You got all kinds of high-level skills, my man! Best and speediest of luck to you in the meantime.
Sorry to read about your misfortune. I’ll give the standard platitude that when one door closes, another one opens. I know that doesn’t help pay the bills, but everything happens for a reason.
I had a similar experience 4 years ago when I was called into the office for what I thought was my annual performance review, only to be blindsided when they explained to me that my employment there was ‘at-will’ and after 11 years, they no longer needed me in my position and that they wished me well in my future endeavors. I, too, had to return the company laptop.
But after a lackadaisical 9-week search, (I had tons of stuff to do around the house and took advantage of my newfound free-time while fighting with unemployment to get the former company to pay – a battle which I ultimately won) I was able to find a new job less than a mile from where I live. It was a small business, and the owner started me at a lower wage, but there I was a big fish in a small pond, and I was making more than the previous job within a year.
Last year I was able to retire, and everybody at the new place threw me a great retirement send-off and told me I was welcome back any time if early retirement wasn’t working out for me.
Hopefully another door opens for you soon, and your situation improves to an even better level than it was previously.
Keep on writing, though, as I enjoy your articles.
First, I’m so sorry about your lay-off, it really sucks. Second, what a great dude this Chuck is.
Then, yes, there’s only so much we can do to control what’s in front of us or by our side. Knowing that we do/did our best brings a much deserved serenity.
All the best, Stephen, hope things get better in every sense for you.
Dude this fucking sucks so bad. I’m so sorry. I was sweating that same concern for a whole week last week and it seems I just happened to catch the lucky side of the coin flip.
I’ll buy you a beer or three next time I’m down your way, I’ve been wanting to get over there all year anyhow.
Sorry our cruel capitalist system screwed you so thoroughly.
I’ve been escorted out of my office as well. Up there in my top ten suckiest days.
Also sorry you just encountered a mechanical manifestation of just about the stupidest level of human thinking imaginable.
Sorry to hear of the job loss. Shows how much these mega corps really care about you. It’s fortunate that you’re able to do this in the meantime to keep some income rolling in, as there are many people out there who sadly aren’t this lucky.
Sorry to learn of the job loss SWG. That sucks bigly.
Wishing good fortune as you search for a new one.
As to the idiot with the crap attitude about driving a safe vehicle, and his I don’t give a crap POV? If you don’t care about the safety of others there is one word that describes such a turd like person.
LOSER.
This is pretty much the best advertisement possible for mandatory vehicle safety inspections, and removing vehicles from the road that aren’t in compliance until they pass. Of course it’s in a large truck as well, which will have a higher chance of killing anyone it hits compared to something smaller.
This is the part where you document every conversation with the customer and attach your written statement to the back of the invoice the shop has. When this moron crashes into the school bus next week he’ll tell everyone he paid Steve to fix the brakes. Don’t be the fall guy.
This published article will serve to do the same as a written statement on an invoice.
Write a note in the wheel well for the next person who looks in there
There’s a thing with liability that I guess it applies on your State as well: you have to let them know exactly what you found, what you did, what should be done, and the consequences of not doing it. A signed statement may suffice. Maybe send it via text message or some other system that this moron cannot deny having received. Because that’s what he’ll say next time: “Chuck’s friend never told me anything”.
No it won’t. This is only your side of the story and this article isn’t actual proof of anything.
That is why shops write everything out on an invoice and either have the customer physically sign or digitally sign next to every line item. Both so the customer can’t say they never authorized a repair or if they refuse a recommended repair they can’t say you didn’t warn them.
You’re really wearing out your welcome around here with the constant negativity.
You mean reality?
Do what you want but there is a reason profession shops do paperwork and carry insurance.
This happened to me once on an oil change. A 495,000+ mile beat to shit 2007 Express van. Did the oil change. Made eye contact with the tech writer while putting the filter on – he saw me do it.
Customer comes back and says we fucked it up, the filter shot off and we owe him an engine. Another tech does another oil change. Same thing.
The shop master tech does an oil change. Conspiracies and concerns are starting to fly about maybe needing to recall a batch of filters, maybe they’re out of spec, there’s no reason for this.
The van sits at the shop for months, goes through Claims.
Turns out they had swapped the long block and it actually needed a different oil filter (I think from an 09 – just close enough to seem to fit until there’s oil pressure). Claims told him to get bent, but I found out later he had gone all over town telling them what a shitty job we’d done, we’d ruined his van, etc etc, carefully leaving out the part where he changed out the goddamn engine without telling anyone.
Auto parts counter guys have all had several experiences in which an angry customer comes and yells, “YOU SOLD ME THE WRONG PARTS!!”
The customer never bothered to tell the counter guy that he had swapped out the engine a year or to before with something different.
Or better yet, report it to the authorities since given the secrecy around the accident, there’s probably a 99% chance it was a hit and run causing significant property damage (or worse) to someone else.
This, too.
This explains A LOT. Like why he’s more concerned with bodywork than running gear safety.
Sorry to hear about your job loss, Stephen. Play your cards right and maybe you can finally warm Old Man Tracy’s cold, cold heart and get that Jag piece published. You’ve got shitboxes to feed!
Thank you, Buzz.
Having 4 Jags doesn’t really line up that well with $0 income at the moment, so hopefully things take a turn for the better in the near term so that those beauties can roll on and into the future.
Thanks for keeping the faith and for the kind words!
That certainly sucks. I actually quit my job over 7 years ago to deal with my dying parents. That took the better part of 5 years and now nobody wants to hire me. I’m considerably older than you are, so I certainly hope you land on your feet more quickly.
How our country hangs caregivers out to dry surely represents greed and lack of character. Hope you can land something soon, and thanks for the value you gave to society by taking care of your parents.
Skills with physical objects (mechanic, plumber etc.) will get you through times of AI better than AI will get you through times of no skills.
AI might lead a person through a bunch of steps concerning repair, but eventually it will be wrong and that person will not have the skills to identify and solve the problem.
Also, Verizon has the most corrupt employees I’ve ever met. One sales person confessed to stealing an iWatch before he started working there. Another Verizon employee said on the phone to basically lie to the company about something.
When we were messing around with our Verizon contract, they could not tell us how much our monthly bill would be. The only other place this happens is in the US medical system.
I say good riddance to Verizon, life will be tough for a bit, but you have real skills as a mechanic, a writer and a storyteller, which means you have a future. You also have a network of people who are aware of your work in these areas.