Do mechanics not know how to use a phone?

swain90

swain90

swain90

Associate
Joined
7 Aug 2012
Posts
949
Is it just me or do other seem to have this problem?

I cannot think of a time where I've not had to ring up about the status of my car.

Perfect example, dropped my car off this morning at 8:30 for MOT booked in at 10am.

Garage: blah blah blah we'll give you a call when it's done blah blah blah
Me: OK thanks!

Rings garage at 12pm

Me: Hows the car getting on?
Garage: Oh, it's done.


WELL WHY DIDN'T YOU RING ME!?

EVERY.
SINGLE.
TIME.







rant over.
 
Regularly with the dealer nearest to me (when the cars been in for warranty work)

Started using a better rated dealer a bit further away, and every time they've had it, I get called as soon as its ready and they do a full health check every time without being asked to.

They've now become my main garage, well until the warranty is out anyway.
 
Surely down to the receptionist to call and not the mechanic? Unless he's the only guy who works there.
 
Garage or dealer? As at my mates garage they're invariable working on a car and it takes time to wash their hands and make a call so they don't bother till a break (they don't take many) or maybe lunch plus it always usually noisy.
 
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This bugs me no end. Last service I was told I would get a call when it was complete but at nearly 18:00 I rang them only to be told they had just finished the service and were about to call me. I have a dashcam and when I looked at the footage I saw the car service was finished and the car was parked in the car park at approx. 15:00!
 
My favourite local specialist is terrible. So bad in fact that he never actually picks up the phone when it rings. I have no idea how he gets business!

The other garage I use it great at picking up the phone, and seem good at keep me updated.
 
What annoys me more is how seemingly incapable anyone in the motor trade is at using email. If I want a specific job done I often like to contact a few companies for quotes/estimates and I find it easier to manage this by doing it via email, so it's a little bit annoying when I get so many who can't be bothered to reply at all, or I just get a "call me on xxxx and we can discuss"... I'm not asking you to describe your entire process from start to finish in great deal, I just want to know how much it'll cost for you to do X to Y. Why publish your email address if you can't be arsed to use it?!
 
Totally agree with the OP and Howard's experiences, totally incapable garages.

On the other end of the spectrum my experiences with the likes of franchised dealers, e.g. Sytner or Rybrook with BMW, they are usually spot on with responding to changes in your cars status.
 
yup always the case, garage a mile from my house had my car for 3 hours, asked them to call back once done so I Can come and pick it up..


nothing from them, walked back and I see my car parked outside, asked if it was sorted "yeah an hour ago"

brilliant.
 
My friendly mechanic is like this and it bugs me, but its a price I'm willing to pay for lower rates and the trust in the job being done right. Still get annoyed by it though.
 
don't understand why garages cant use a similar software we use for taxi dispatch,

Job gets booked in
Driver( or in there case mechanic gets assigned to the job)
Job started
Job Finished

our system has the ability to send a sms or email at each stage, why not do similar?

Your booking for - Service has been entered into our system for 10/08/2016
Your car is now in the workshop and is being worked on today by - Kevin
Your car is now complete and ready for collection

obviously you could add in various other messages for example

your car is awaiting parts - Estimated time for completion Tuesday PM,
The Apprentice has set fire to your car please contact us to collect a loan vehicle
etc etc.

its not difficult and for many of the disorganized garages I've been into a decent workflow control system would be of great use.

that said my own mechanic just tells me to stick the kettle on or he's feeling particularly mean throws me a spare pair of overalls :)
 
I guess I've just been lucky. The two local garages I use (one VAG specialist and one generic independent) are both fantastic with communication.

As for franchised dealerships, they are always on the ball, email, phone, text or face to face.
 
Makes me sad that I no longer have a family member in the motor mechanics trade. Although he highly recommends the guy who took over from him and I know his best mate. I believe he still has the usual 2-3 week waiting time, that's how popular the garage is. The rest around here are questionable.
 
In general I have found, mechanics don't seem to be inclined towards soft skills such as communication and emails/websites. Unless they have a dedicated front of house receptionist or supervisor, which is usually at larger garages and dealerships.
 
My one-man-band local mechanic was brilliant. He did what he said he would, charged what he said he would, and called when he said he would. If he didn't have the tools or knew someone was better positioned to do a job, he'd decline work and recommend someone else.

Unfortunately he was killed in a motorcycle accident last year and I don't trust anyone else to do as good a job as he consistently did, so since then I've done everything myself. Sucks.
 
Howard said:
What annoys me more is how seemingly incapable anyone in the motor trade is at using email.
Click to expand...
It takes much longer to clean hands, go sit down, log in, type up an email, send and get back to work, than it does to just dial a number and speak the words...

HamZilla said:
In general I have found, mechanics don't seem to be inclined towards soft skills such as communication and emails/websites.
Click to expand...
I know one who's a darn good overclocker... ;)

As for not calling the very instant your car is done - Half the time they have a backlog of calls from other customers who keep phoning while the mechanic is under your car, covered in the congealed oil you should have changed nine months ago...
 
ttaskmaster said:
It takes much longer to clean hands, go sit down, log in, type up an email, send and get back to work, than it does to just dial a number and speak the words...
Click to expand...

Which is why I'm perfectly happy to wait a day for a response if you want to reply whilst catching up on paperwork in the evening or whatever. But if you can't be bothered to reply at all or with anything useful, why bother having an email address in the first place?
 
I had this happen on my cars last service. 'Do you have a contact number so we can let you know when it's ready for pickup?'

I give them it and ask they ring it there just to be sure it's right. Few hours later, no call. Didn't need the car so not too fussed. More time goes by, no call. It's getting late in the day so I give them a call to find out what's going on. The phone just rings, turns out they closed for the day. I call them the next day to find out wtf was going on, they tell me it was ready at lunchtime yesterday.

Well thanks for that.
 
I've used garages like this before and never would again, total nightmare but I can see their dilemma, particularly if it's a one man band.

Dealerships are always on the ball - then again, they've got the staffing to allow it.

Audi specialist I use is great with keeping you updated, although, trying to get a call back about a quote is near impossible. You have to get one of the bosses on the phone at the right time or drop by in person.

Also use another local garage for the other halves car and the occasional small job who are great - they have a receptionist which makes the world of difference.

Morale of the story? Hire appropriate staff to do your calls and scheduling, it'll make the world of difference to your workload and client retention.
 
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