How does a true professional differ from an ordinary person? Perhaps the fact that they spent many years learning their profession, gaining significant experience that allows them to do something better and faster than other people. Or, as sometimes alas happens, abuse their professional experience to rip off gullible customers...
On the other hand, customers may also turn out to be knowledgeable people - only in their field of activity, and then a situation similar to the one described by the user u/Ko-Riel a few days ago arises. A truly amusing story which we're about to share with you today.
The author of the post bought a car many years ago at the official dealership
Image credits: RLGNZLZ (not the actual photo)
The contract also included 3 years' maintenance, so after a year of driving, the owner took the car to its first service
Image credits: u/Ko-Riel
The odometer showed only 12K kilometers so the author didn't expect any significant repairs
Image credits: Emyr Jones (not the actual photo)
Image credits: u/Ko-Riel
However, in the evening, the car mechanics issued a bill of around 1K euros (over $1K)
Image credits: Vincent Teeuwen (not the actual photo)
Image credits: u/Ko-Riel
Imagine their anger and devastation when the owner simply let them know about free maintenance due to the contract!
According to the Original Poster (OP), it took place in the Netherlands around 17 years ago. They got a new job and the family needed a second car. The author of the post bought a Renault Twingo from one of the local official dealerships, and one of the clauses of the contract was 3 years of maintenance included.
A year passed and the OP decided to take the car for its first service. It must be said that by that time, the total mileage of the vehicle was something like 12K kilometers, so the author was well aware that the car was unlikely to require any serious repairs. In general, when asked what needed to be done, the owner answered something like “Do whatever you need to do...”
If you've ever repaired a car, you can roughly imagine how the mechanics' eyes lit up at these words! In the evening, when the original poster arrived to pick up their vehicle, three representatives of the car service were already waiting for them - apparently (and the bill that they presented to the author proved that), they included many completely optional improvements and 'improvements', and were now expecting hefty pay. Yes, around 1K euros (around $1050 at today's exchange rate).
However, the original poster did not give them a reason to rejoice - they simply thanked the guys for their job well done and asked for the keys. They immediately demanded payment, to which the author, smiling in their heart, replied that payment would not be required - and strongly recommended opening the contract under which they bought the car a year ago.
Then there was a lot of turmoil among the mechanics, a long search for a contract, careful study, dissatisfied glances towards the original poster - and, like the icing on the cake, the keys to a freshly repaired car brought out by a company representative!.. What else could they do? However, years later, the author, in their own words, still switched to a car of another brand - but that’s a completely different story...
Image credits: brian kelly (not the actual photo)
Well, such a case is traditional, alas, for auto mechanics around the world - many years ago I myself encountered a similar situation while repairing my very first car, and since then I have always tried to bring the vehicle for service only to mechanics whom I have known personally for a very long time. In other words, to trusted people. So far it has worked.
“The shop has to stay in business,” ABC News quotes an auto mechanic with 40 years of experience as unveiling the tricks his colleagues resort to to rip off the clients. “There are pressures to do things that maybe you wouldn’t do normally. I’m ashamed a bit to admit it, but when your boss tells you... 'Either you do it here or the door’s right there,’ what are you going to do?”
So it’s not surprising that the story told by the original poster found such a lively response in the hearts of many readers. Among the comments from people there were many stories of a similar kind, and in addition, the commenters were sincerely glad that the dishonest auto mechanics got what they deserved.
And people in the comments are wholeheartedly perplexed as to how a car with a mileage of 12K kilometers could receive a check for repairs in the amount of 1K euros, and what the auto repair shop employees were even counting on. "Other than swap out the new parts in the car and replace with older cheaper parts," one of the folks wrote sarcastically in the comments.
However, there are also opposite examples, no matter how difficult it is to believe. For example, in this post of ours we talked about an auto mechanic who lasted only four hours at his new job - simply because he did not want to deceive the client. Well, let's give this guy his due, and in the meantime, if you have something to tell from your own experience of interacting with auto repair shops (and something tells me that you do), please feel free to tell your own stories in the comments.
However, people in the comments confirmed that such situations are alas not so rare among car mechanics
