Got roasted by a customer for 'wasting time' and it made me a better mechanic

Tbh, I had this guy last month at my shop in Austin who was watching me do a diagnostic on his 2014 F-150. He asked why I was checking all 6 injectors when only one was throwing a code. I told him it's better to catch problems early but he called me a 'parts cannon' mechanic. That hurt but ngl he had a point. Now I explain exactly what I'm testing and why before I touch anything. Has anyone else had a customer call them out and it actually helped?

2 comments

2 Comments

briannguyen5d ago

Hold up. Parts cannon? That's brutal. But yeah you're right. Gotta respect the honesty even when it stings.

sullivan.john5d ago

And you know, @briannguyen is right, that label does sting... I read something about this the other day actually. A guy on a forum said his old shop teacher told him the best mechanics don't just fix whats broken, they explain the whole system so the customer understands why each test matters. Makes sense to me now. Instead of just swapping parts, you gotta show the logic behind the work or you look like a hack. That customer probably saved you a ton of future headaches by calling it out. Guess some lessons hurt but they stick better...