FA+
Shop
The game
12 years ago
General
Anyone who contacts me regularly knows that with my current employer is pulling my chain and because of that I am not making enough money. I am getting 250$ bring home a week, for 40 hours of work.
They keep moving me around from place to place, without my tools to cover the shops on their other mechanics days off.
First problem with this is that I don't have all my tools with me, and due to the size of my box, it is impossible/illogical to haul all of them around in my car, or have the shop move them to a new place every day. Hauling them to my car, inside my house to keep them safe everyday, then to the shops is a waste of lots of time and energy, not worth the effort.
What I don't get is that when I was hired, I was making good money. My first full week I bought home 680$ (made 945$, fucking taxes...) I did this consistently for two weeks, and there were even some days that were slow.. Then they played shuffle the mechanics and sent a mechanic from another store to where I was and sent me to the store he was moved from. Quickly I discovered that the other mechanic there was cherry picking the tickets (He was taking the tickets that were not oil changes and had the potential to make more money) Even when there was NOTHING he was doing, and there were 2 oil changes waiting to be done, he let everyone else do them after they got finished with their car so he could get what was next if it happened to be something other than an oil change. He does this every day, and avoids the oil changes like the plague.
Why is he avoiding oil changes? I can explain it like this:
All shops work on the "Get them in the door" principle, where they offer a few services free, or at a very low cost so that they can run down a huge checklist of parts and check each one. This allows the shop to build a big money ticket with other parts that are worn out that the customer is unaware of. Now, some shop DO recommend parts that are not broken and use scare tactics to get the customer to think that they are in mortal danger if they are not replaced. I do not do this, call it karma, a deity or whatever you want, if you fuck people, you yourself will get fucked at some point. I find potential problems and areas of concern and let the customer know that it's going to need attention soon, later in the year or immediately. It may not be what the company wants me to do, but I will not lie for them.
The whole problems, while genius with the ridiculously low cost oil changes is this: The low cost does get the customers in the door, but the wrong type of customers. What do I mean by that? There are those that want ONLY the cheap oil change, and completely blow off any recommendation, no matter if the wheel is about to fall off or not. They had not an intention to repair their car, but just get the cheapest oil change. They never come back to get the vehicle serviced further. They either don't care or don't have the money for anything else. The lower the price goes, the more trash you get.
I can see why people don't want to get their stuff repaired there. Let's face it, shops have mark ups and high rates of labor. Where I work it's 85$ a labor hour, and parts mark up are on average of 200%. Meaning a 7$ spark plug can be as high as 40$ each, racking up quite a large bill (500$ for plugs and wires) I can see why. When I work on the side, I charge 30$ a labor hour, and parts at cost. Meaning that if the book calls for 1 hour for plugs and wires, they pay me 30$ and buy the parts themselves. When the shop starts listing off a large list of what needs to be repaired, I can see eyes glaze over. Mainly from the fact that they have heard this time and time again and nothing has fallen off the car... I can see why. This is why oil changes are a waste of time. 90% of all customers don't listen to anything. The other 5% get the air filter, the belt ect... the last 5% get the big service items. But wasting 30-60 minutes on a car for nothing is a waste of time, and the customer hates it. My advice, go to jiffy lube...
This compiled with all the bad reputation that one finicky, or perhaps truthful customer spreads around, can kill a shop. Then they have to clear everyone out, and hang a sign "Under new management" to try and persuade them to come back and reset the opinion they have. This has been done alot in the automotive community.
Back on track...
I'm making dick because they keep moving me around to fill in without the proper tools, meaning that I can only do light work, oil changes, ect. When I have the full potential to do more and make more. But it's all a game.
I will admit when I was bringing home 680$ it was exciting. I began to dream about what I would be able to get. Parts for my car, fursuits, I may be able to go to the gym and begin to eat right!
After that started to cool down and I looked at the situation, I started to ask questions.... The weeks I made 950$, my shop records said that I made over 7000$. Odd. It's part of the game. I know full well that the shop itself made move 3000$ in labor and about 300$ in part markups after they paid me, why on earth would I be glad over the fact that I was only getting 1/3rd of what the shop gets? That's the game.
So many people in the world get a tiny fraction of the money THEY MADE and treat it as if they are were privileged to get a fraction of what they are worth. After all, think of this, if no one worked there, the shop wouldn't make any money. Everyone has been lulled into the status quo of how things work. I'm beginning to like Andrew Ryan alot more....
The point of fact is that everyone and their work is equally important. Someone that fixes a car is just as important as the the person that designs them and those that assemble them. Point of fact that a majority of private sector services are equally important, yet are under paid. Mechanics keeps cars running, plumbers keep pipes clean, construction makes houses. Yet there are things that are unequal.
Although I cannot imbue on you reading this the information I have collected and seen over the years, and to present such information all in one block would be overwhelming and the ideas presented would be called insane.
Long story short, we are all forced into a system where we shouldn't ask questions, watch our TV and buy what they say. Distractions crafted to lull us into a sleep, and take what we are given.
Before I get into this too much, I want to say that I want out of the game. I want the true freedom to be able to say "How much money do I want to make today?" To choose my own schedule, wake up when I want and to work as much as I need to support myself.
From an outside view, this would be called lazy, it would be called non-conformist and alien to some, as they all play the game. That I don't want to be successful as described by others.
Then I have to ask, what is success? Making millions of dollars a year? A large house, two new cars and a wife?
I would rather quantify success as the ability to say "I don't NEED to work today. I don't need the money." I would like the freedom to choose what I want to do, instead of having to go into a work on some one else's schedule and take what they give me. I want the freedom to take a trip across the country because I want to, when I want to. I don't want to ask anyone, let them know that I would would be doing.
I have already cut out the media in my life. Gotten rid of the public's idea of what is trendy, what is new, and what they would like me to buy. I wear what clothes fit, not what is advertised.
I drive what works, Not what is new
I have always operated independently and outside of the 'system'. And to those inside the system, I am weird, crazy and insane. This idea is so foreign to everyone, they do not understand. They cannot see what true freedom is. The whole system is set up for the game. You can't get a house or loan if you don't play, can't get a car, can't be valid.
I want to stop playing the game. I can, because I never played it. I don't have the financial responsibility that those playing do. I haven't dug myself into the hole. And I feel sorry for those that have, but realize that it isn't their fault, but rather they were never allowed the freedom I have.
I just want to stop playing the game.
They keep moving me around from place to place, without my tools to cover the shops on their other mechanics days off.
First problem with this is that I don't have all my tools with me, and due to the size of my box, it is impossible/illogical to haul all of them around in my car, or have the shop move them to a new place every day. Hauling them to my car, inside my house to keep them safe everyday, then to the shops is a waste of lots of time and energy, not worth the effort.
What I don't get is that when I was hired, I was making good money. My first full week I bought home 680$ (made 945$, fucking taxes...) I did this consistently for two weeks, and there were even some days that were slow.. Then they played shuffle the mechanics and sent a mechanic from another store to where I was and sent me to the store he was moved from. Quickly I discovered that the other mechanic there was cherry picking the tickets (He was taking the tickets that were not oil changes and had the potential to make more money) Even when there was NOTHING he was doing, and there were 2 oil changes waiting to be done, he let everyone else do them after they got finished with their car so he could get what was next if it happened to be something other than an oil change. He does this every day, and avoids the oil changes like the plague.
Why is he avoiding oil changes? I can explain it like this:
All shops work on the "Get them in the door" principle, where they offer a few services free, or at a very low cost so that they can run down a huge checklist of parts and check each one. This allows the shop to build a big money ticket with other parts that are worn out that the customer is unaware of. Now, some shop DO recommend parts that are not broken and use scare tactics to get the customer to think that they are in mortal danger if they are not replaced. I do not do this, call it karma, a deity or whatever you want, if you fuck people, you yourself will get fucked at some point. I find potential problems and areas of concern and let the customer know that it's going to need attention soon, later in the year or immediately. It may not be what the company wants me to do, but I will not lie for them.
The whole problems, while genius with the ridiculously low cost oil changes is this: The low cost does get the customers in the door, but the wrong type of customers. What do I mean by that? There are those that want ONLY the cheap oil change, and completely blow off any recommendation, no matter if the wheel is about to fall off or not. They had not an intention to repair their car, but just get the cheapest oil change. They never come back to get the vehicle serviced further. They either don't care or don't have the money for anything else. The lower the price goes, the more trash you get.
I can see why people don't want to get their stuff repaired there. Let's face it, shops have mark ups and high rates of labor. Where I work it's 85$ a labor hour, and parts mark up are on average of 200%. Meaning a 7$ spark plug can be as high as 40$ each, racking up quite a large bill (500$ for plugs and wires) I can see why. When I work on the side, I charge 30$ a labor hour, and parts at cost. Meaning that if the book calls for 1 hour for plugs and wires, they pay me 30$ and buy the parts themselves. When the shop starts listing off a large list of what needs to be repaired, I can see eyes glaze over. Mainly from the fact that they have heard this time and time again and nothing has fallen off the car... I can see why. This is why oil changes are a waste of time. 90% of all customers don't listen to anything. The other 5% get the air filter, the belt ect... the last 5% get the big service items. But wasting 30-60 minutes on a car for nothing is a waste of time, and the customer hates it. My advice, go to jiffy lube...
This compiled with all the bad reputation that one finicky, or perhaps truthful customer spreads around, can kill a shop. Then they have to clear everyone out, and hang a sign "Under new management" to try and persuade them to come back and reset the opinion they have. This has been done alot in the automotive community.
Back on track...
I'm making dick because they keep moving me around to fill in without the proper tools, meaning that I can only do light work, oil changes, ect. When I have the full potential to do more and make more. But it's all a game.
I will admit when I was bringing home 680$ it was exciting. I began to dream about what I would be able to get. Parts for my car, fursuits, I may be able to go to the gym and begin to eat right!
After that started to cool down and I looked at the situation, I started to ask questions.... The weeks I made 950$, my shop records said that I made over 7000$. Odd. It's part of the game. I know full well that the shop itself made move 3000$ in labor and about 300$ in part markups after they paid me, why on earth would I be glad over the fact that I was only getting 1/3rd of what the shop gets? That's the game.
So many people in the world get a tiny fraction of the money THEY MADE and treat it as if they are were privileged to get a fraction of what they are worth. After all, think of this, if no one worked there, the shop wouldn't make any money. Everyone has been lulled into the status quo of how things work. I'm beginning to like Andrew Ryan alot more....
The point of fact is that everyone and their work is equally important. Someone that fixes a car is just as important as the the person that designs them and those that assemble them. Point of fact that a majority of private sector services are equally important, yet are under paid. Mechanics keeps cars running, plumbers keep pipes clean, construction makes houses. Yet there are things that are unequal.
Although I cannot imbue on you reading this the information I have collected and seen over the years, and to present such information all in one block would be overwhelming and the ideas presented would be called insane.
Long story short, we are all forced into a system where we shouldn't ask questions, watch our TV and buy what they say. Distractions crafted to lull us into a sleep, and take what we are given.
Before I get into this too much, I want to say that I want out of the game. I want the true freedom to be able to say "How much money do I want to make today?" To choose my own schedule, wake up when I want and to work as much as I need to support myself.
From an outside view, this would be called lazy, it would be called non-conformist and alien to some, as they all play the game. That I don't want to be successful as described by others.
Then I have to ask, what is success? Making millions of dollars a year? A large house, two new cars and a wife?
I would rather quantify success as the ability to say "I don't NEED to work today. I don't need the money." I would like the freedom to choose what I want to do, instead of having to go into a work on some one else's schedule and take what they give me. I want the freedom to take a trip across the country because I want to, when I want to. I don't want to ask anyone, let them know that I would would be doing.
I have already cut out the media in my life. Gotten rid of the public's idea of what is trendy, what is new, and what they would like me to buy. I wear what clothes fit, not what is advertised.
I drive what works, Not what is new
I have always operated independently and outside of the 'system'. And to those inside the system, I am weird, crazy and insane. This idea is so foreign to everyone, they do not understand. They cannot see what true freedom is. The whole system is set up for the game. You can't get a house or loan if you don't play, can't get a car, can't be valid.
I want to stop playing the game. I can, because I never played it. I don't have the financial responsibility that those playing do. I haven't dug myself into the hole. And I feel sorry for those that have, but realize that it isn't their fault, but rather they were never allowed the freedom I have.
I just want to stop playing the game.
I've been doing the same thing, though. Too many places will push unneeded services on customers, and the last Chevy dealership I worked at I had to pass vehicles for state inspections when there was obvious problems that would have been under warranty. They hired a bunch of kids that didn't know what they were doing, though, and rather than correcting problems they just gave out more paperwork, which nobody did, and I was getting in trouble for.
on an unrelated note,
YOU ARE ALWAYS PLAYING THE GAME.
I LOSE THE GAME!
counting retail stores i see it all the time
i mean it is nothing new but its still pretty gross...if you are a boy you love transformers, avengers, spiderman, and disneys cars.
if you are a girl you love monster high, brats, disney princess garbage and squinkies.
you wouldnt think it but all those my little pony toys all the guys are on a rage about are like a niche item in 90% of the general merch stores i audit.
and man...this game that mechanics play hurts us regular folk to high hell and back...i am RUNNING OUT of mechanics to take my dieing car too, because i simply cannot return to a mechanic that has jumped the price of repair 400$, or locked me into a situation in which i have to pay well beyond my means (went in for a brake check and new muffler, he did the muffler first which i could have lived another year on and apparently the brakes had rusted and decayed to the point were they could not go back on and needed even more parts to fix, i only had the money for the 400$ muffler repair (what he fucking quoted me on) and 200 for new pads, wich is what i was under the assumption that the problem was, final bill was over a grand and a lost customer)
and i know as a mechanic someone may want to start defending them, and yes my car probably DID need those repairs, but customers are not mechanics, stop talking to us like we are mentally deficient, and stop ripping us off.
sorry for the rant but because of these surprise costs i am flat broke, maybe even loosing my car for good.
There is no real chicken in their nuggets