Ignorance

Willemjm

Willem
Corporate Member
Perhaps I am the problem and expect abnormal things from people?

Person who works for a big cabinet company for whom I do work if they have odd sizes or non-standard requests has 8 years service with the company. He takes orders from builders, customers, and supplies cabinets, coordinates the install, purchases items which he cannot supply and works this business. First time he saw a kitchen I build in solid Cherry with a clear finish he wanted to know what stain I used. When I said natural, clear coat to render the natural look of the wood he wanted to know what kind of wood it was. When I told him it was Cherry, he said it is real pretty and has never seen anything like that before. Yesterday he asked for shelves with a clear coat finish, as the customer will stain them himself. I had to explain in great length that staining on top of a clear coat is not a good idea and would know what the customer will use for compatibility. Finally, he agreed to just a sanded finish. Should these folks not know this stuff?

Don't talk about my Toyota Dealer.
Wanted to replace a water pump at +$1,000 because I had a tiny crack in the radiator hose.
Wanted to charge me $400 to replace a cab brake light bulb, because his mechanic broke off the bulb in the fitting. Took me 5 minutes and $2.00
Put and old tire on the right front and a new tire on the left front, so when the vehicle was pulling to one side tried to argue with me about fixing it with doing wheel alignment.
The service advisors have no idea, they are not trained technicians, yet they deal with the customers and tell the techs what to do?

That is my rant for today, will stop here.
 

Graywolf

Board of Directors, President
Richard
Staff member
Corporate Member
That is big ..... YES, they should. I was told that I was the problem because I expect people to do their job. I shook my head and quit on the spot.
 

bowman

Board of Directors, Webmaster
Neal
Staff member
Corporate Member
That is big ..... YES, they should. I was told that I was the problem because I expect people to do their job. I shook my head and quit on the spot.
I've been told to dial it back. For what my peers and I get paid to do in IT, they need to be stepping up to match me, not dragging me down to their level.

I have not dialed it back, and still work for the same company...
 

Jim M.

Woody
Corporate Member
There was a day where people were paid to think and cared about their craft...no more!
 

tri4sale

Daniel
Corporate Member
Had a simple job of 4 new tires being installed turn into a complete front end axle replacement because the shop broke a $120 part and wanted me to pay half and I said no, so they blamed Toyota and Toyota blamed them, and by the time it was sorted out tow truck driver had dropped my car off the back of his truck, san's a tire, and bent the axle.
 

Raymond

Raymond
Staff member
Corporate Member
One of my favorite sayings: "A man who does not think for himself does not think at all." Oscar Wilde.

I keep this in mind when I have to deal with service managers and stubborn people.
 

JimD

Jim
Senior User
While BMW was doing "free" oil changes they must have cross threaded the drain plug at least once because I could not turn it without a wrench when I took over. After a few years of my changes, it is back to turning freely (once loose). They also lost the plastic cover over the drain plug (or put it on poorly so it fell off). I don't give them many chances - if I can fix it myself I do.

I paid a HVAC guy to move a vent from the wall to the floor - which was a slab. He said he could to get the job then came back to do the work and said he couldn't. But the price (there were several things) did not change. Two flooring guys I paid to refinish floors did not sand the hallway sufficiently. They had to use the edger instead of the big machine and it is not much fun.

My favorite tire place put the aluminum wheels on my BMW on so tight I had to get a pipe off one of my pipe wrenches to put on a socket to remove the wheels - twice. I complained and they used a torque wrench the next time.

But the tow guy when my BMW needed an alternator knew about the required screw in ring and brought a flat bed and skillfully backed the car into the slot at the repair place. The battery guy AAA sent before the tow guy was also very helpful and told me it was probably the alternator.
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
Once in HD, was looking for some hardware cloth. Hardware guy told me if I was looking for hardware cloth, I needed to go to a fabric store. Similar experience in a local hardware store when I asked about hardware cloth. Clerk gave me that "deer in the head lights look." A customer told me that I was "pulling clerk's leg," until I found hardware cloth and showed to both.
 

Gotcha6

Dennis
Staff member
Corporate Member
Went into an HD looking for Cove base adhesive. They sent me to the ceramic tile section.
Went looking for rod couplings and the 'hardware specialist' was stocking the shelves and didn't know what they were much less where.
On the other end. some years ago I drew my BIL's name at Christmas and the paper said "DZ golf balls". Went to 3 different golf shops looking for that brand before I realized he meant to write "dz." (Dozen) golf balls.... :p
I don't play much golf.....
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
You can't fix stupid .......... remember ..... caveat emptor

The questions I get on a daily basis is so discouraging ........ from engineers, architects and even tradesmen.

Here is a sad state of affairs, the local union out here does not start the apprenticeship school with tool training, but rather, focuses the 1st year on codes and reading specs ......... huh ??? .......... like I said, discouraging
 

blackhawk

Brad
Corporate Member
Once in HD, was looking for some hardware cloth. Hardware guy told me if I was looking for hardware cloth, I needed to go to a fabric store. Similar experience in a local hardware store when I asked about hardware cloth. Clerk gave me that "deer in the head lights look." A customer told me that I was "pulling clerk's leg," until I found hardware cloth and showed to both.

I'll have to admit that I have never heard the term "hardware cloth". I had to Google it. I asked several guys at work and they never heard it either. Now, if you said wire mesh, I know exactly what you are talking about. Hardware cloth may be a regional term, kind of like "lightning bugs" and "fireflies".
 

Joe Scharle

New User
Joe
I buy 2 items at a hardware store. Total come to $9.98. Since I already have a pocket full of pennies, I hand the kid $10.03, whereupon he looks at his register again and gives me 2 of my pennies back along with a "thanks and have a good day!"
Wait!...... What?
 

Graywolf

Board of Directors, President
Richard
Staff member
Corporate Member
I buy 2 items at a hardware store. Total come to $9.98. Since I already have a pocket full of pennies, I hand the kid $10.03, whereupon he looks at his register again and gives me 2 of my pennies back along with a "thanks and have a good day!"
Wait!...... What?
He wasn’t worth a nickel then was he.
 

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