I take my boat into the shop to get checked out. It hasn’t been running quite right. II want to make sure everything is good to go.
I am extremely mechanically inclined but the specialized tools are too pricey to buy for one use.
The s hop quotes 125 to check it out, then tells me they already fixed it and I owe over 400. If they had called first I may or may not have told them to do it. Also, the price is a little high for what they did.
Do I be nice and pay, and leave feeling like I was taken advantage of, or be “that guy” and argue it.
Also, I work in an auto shop, so this is a little more personal to me, since I know better than to do that to a customer. Any input would be appreciated.
I wouldn’t put up with it. They were going to charge you the 125.00 diagnostic fee, but if you didn’t ok any work, then I would definitely let them know how you feel about it. That’s not the way to run a business.
That sucks. I had a shop give me a quote of 250 on a 8hp Johnson one time. 2 weeks later, they call and tell me it’s ready. 700 bucks. They still have it.
They call me every year and give me a notice that my engine is ready and if I don’t pick it up they are going to sell it for the balance. I have their quote in writing, I also own 5 other outboards. I learned a great lesson from them. I now have to travel a bit further when I need service that I can’t perform. Not worth the effort for me to fight it, but hopefully it works out for you.
I’d probably be “that guy”, and make a stink about it. The repair was not approved ahead of time(I always get it in writing), so they are in the wrong.
Bob Van Gundy
Marine Designs,Inc.
Custom Aluminum Fabrication
803-727-4069
Pay the diagnostics fee and ask for a detailed invoice with parts and labor. Since you didn’t give permission to fix it and they went ahead and did the job, you should only have to pay for the parts. They screwed up, not you.
Mark
Pioneer 222 Sportfish Yamaha F300
Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy but they’re definitely dirty. But, a dog’s got personality. Personality goes a long way.
“Life’s tough…It’s even tougher if you’re stupid” John Wayne
Why is it this seems too common? I have a friend going thru a similar situation. In fact, I thought you might be him until I checked your profile. I doubt he’s on this site.
I’d raise a stink. I’m mechanically inclined as well. But you’re right about the specialty tools. I just pulled the pulled a gear case apart with a couple of cables and a harmonic balancer puller because I didn’t want to drop $100 on the special puller.
Had the same type of thing with one of my heavy dump trucks at a well known service/dealership. Could have been a jerk and walked out but I agreed to pay the diag and parts. Everyone makes mistakes and to be fair I would have had to buy the parts anyhow…
-Albemarle 248xf “Chella”
-Dolphin 18BC Pro
-HT Bugbuster
Muddy
as the Owner of a boat dealership, I can tell you that has happened here a time or 2. it has always been a miscommunication between the technician and the service writer. If the customer was going to pay to have the repairs done anyway, we would apologize for the issue and offer some type of incentive like a free pick up and delivery for their next service, etc…
if the customer says they would have done the repairs themselves, we would ask them to cover the parts and we will eat the labor.
If they were to say they would not have fixed it at all, and the parts have value and they aren’t difficult to remove and we still have the old parts, like a starter or powerpack, we would put the old part back on, and the eat the total bill minus the diagnostic. if it was something like a carb job or lowerunit seals, we aren’t gonna pull the old parts, we just eat the total cost except the diagnostic.
Call the shop and ask to speak to the Owner or Manager and have a calm discussion. I highly doubt they are trying to “pull” something, it was probably an honest mistake.
most business owners want to have happy customers, I know I do, so I would expect him to be accommodating since it was his mistake.
I agree with Chris. Probably a miscommunication. It’s a tough and competitive business and nobody who stays in it for long does it by intentionally shafting their customers. They need them and they need them to pass good words on their service, not bad. The boating community is small and tight, compared to automobiles. With the Internet, bad news travels fast and could easily wreck their business overnight.The question really is was it an honest mistake and miscommunication issue, or did they intentionally mislead.
I would do just as Chris suggested, give them the opportunity to make it right. Be polite, don’t be “that guy”.
Remember in business and in life one “oh shat” incident can outweigh a whole lot of attaboys. Default to the side of grace, give them the benefit of doubt and an opportunity to make it right. If that doesn’t work, plaster their name all over the net:smiley:
FWIW, I recently had the pleasure of dealing with Chris’s business and was completely satisfied.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
I had a bad day before I went in, so it was a challenge to stay calm.
After explaining my side, and how I didn’t feels as though I owed them anything more, we came to a deal. I guess they jumped the gun on the repairs because they didn’t want to come back to me empty handed.
I will likely do business with them again when the time comes, and after a good cool down.
I’m sure that next time they will call first before assuming… you know what assuming does.
Cracker Larry, plastering their name all over was plan C… I’m glad plan A worked.
Thanks for the input. It helps to take advise from good folks before making a decision.
Muddy
as the Owner of a boat dealership, I can tell you that has happened here a time or 2. it has always been a miscommunication between the technician and the service writer. If the customer was going to pay to have the repairs done anyway, we would apologize for the issue and offer some type of incentive like a free pick up and delivery for their next service, etc…
if the customer says they would have done the repairs themselves, we would ask them to cover the parts and we will eat the labor.
If they were to say they would not have fixed it at all, and the parts have value and they aren’t difficult to remove and we still have the old parts, like a starter or powerpack, we would put the old part back on, and the eat the total bill minus the diagnostic. if it was something like a carb job or lowerunit seals, we aren’t gonna pull the old parts, we just eat the total cost except the diagnostic.
Call the shop and ask to speak to the Owner or Manager and have a calm discussion. I highly doubt they are trying to “pull” something, it was probably an honest mistake.
most business owners want to have happy customers, I know I do, so I would expect him to be accommodating since it was his mistake.
Chris, that’s what all service departments need to do!! Like your philosophy and wish all service departments followed what you said. It is the customer that keeps a store in business.
Along those same lines, service shops are starting to get slammed with customers this time of year. Everyone that brings a boat in wants it back yesterday. Its hard on those guys, too, so lets all take this thread and keep it in the back of your mind. Cooler heads will prevail.
