The dilemma that honest, competent mechanics (and other highly skilled trades) face in today's world...

[Ace-Garageguy]

 

[mcs1056]

"Dude!!! They're disc brakes. Why are you telling me it took four hours and five cutting wheels to get the drum off? Then, you added the cost of some drum brake pads to the bill!!!. I aint paying you!" 

- Screamed at me by a guy whose rear disc brake parking/emergency brake shoes were worn to the rivets and seized after 250,000 miles and 18 years.

[MeatMan]

Its not just skilled trades that this happens to. I've had rental property, and everyone thinks that you're overcharging them. They don't look at insurance, maintenance, & time spent in court kicking out those who won't/can't pay. I also did computer repair on the side and I can tell you that people devalue your labor, and your knowledge. They can't do it, but they don't want to pay those who can. Those same people will pay more to live somewhere with a faceless, nameless investor runs a multi-suite complex where they never fix anything, and never complain once. Or they'll call Geek Squad to fix their computer and pay more for labor, plus the upcharge for unneeded software. That's the major reason I don't sell my CAD files, I simply don't have desire to deal with people's BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH.

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 minutes ago, MeatMan said:

...I can tell you that people devalue your labor, and your knowledge. They can't do it, but they don't want to pay those who can...

That's it in a nutshell, and many of those are "highly educated professionals" who think what THEY do is worth the sun and the moon, but seem to believe ALL mechanics, fabricators, machinists, etc. are knuckle-dragging mouth-breathers, parts-changers or just crooks who should be paid live-under-a-bridge wages.

It was a great joy to make it to the end of the business where I became appreciated and reasonably well, if not always fully, compensated...but it's still a struggle at times to educate clients as to what's worth what. 

[Beans]

Did custom leather work for a while.  People don't understand that my time is actually worth something and that quality hand made items don't come cheap.  Part of the problem is hacks selling something they threw together for half the price, the other part is cheap online junk with one day shipping that will fall apart in a week.  But the picture looked so pretty online....

[TECHMAN]

1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

That's it in a nutshell, and many of those are "highly educated professionals" who think what THEY do is worth the sun and the moon, but seem to believe ALL mechanics, fabricators, machinists, etc. are knuckle-dragging mouth-breathers, parts-changers or just crooks who should be paid live-under-a-bridge wages.

It was a great joy to make it to the end of the business where I became appreciated and reasonably well, if not always fully, compensated...but it's still a struggle at times to educate clients as to what's worth what. 

oh wow.....really!!!!!    Some clown brings in a "pos" like that, then complains because "it takes longer than he thinks it should" to do A N Y T H I N G  to it.......   If anyone had brought something "in that shape" into my shop' they would have been shown the exit.  Fortunately, I always was blessed to have more business than I could handle, and to me, "up-sizing" only meant having to employ  more people that did not always "share" my work standards/ethics.   

If the owner of that "vehicle" thought he was being over-charged, then my simple solution:  "DO IT YOURSELF THERE BUB.....  You know what YOUR time is worth, and I know what MY time is worth."   

You don't think that a "skilled laborer" is worth the money, think the situation over again the next time your can won't flush and         is running all over the floor.

DJ

 

[W-409]

This fits here...

 

At work I do quite a bit of billing for our customers that visit our workshop. Many times the issue is that the customers don't understand the amount of work something takes, so to avoid conflicts, it's also important to go through the work process with the customer in advance and also write it down properly on the bill. But of course, it doesn't always help either.

 

[Tim W. SoCal]

That was one of the problems I dealt with when I owned my shop with each mechanic ASE certified, most as Master Techs. We had the reputation of being the shop in town that could accurately diagnose and repair problems that no other shop could, yet the "customers" that weren't our regulars expected our labor rate to be the same as the quick oil change shop down the street. Yeah, just try to get them to repair the sequential turn signals on your '65 T-Bird or replace the crankshaft mounted power steering pump on your '62 Lincoln...

[NOBLNG]

Any reputable shop that wishes to remain in business must give the customer satisfaction. That said, SOME customers do not appreciate what is involved with running a business. It isn’t just the mechanic’s wages plus a meager markup. There are all sorts of expenses incurred by the owner…property taxes, business taxes, equipment maintenance, property maintenance, heat and electricity, legal and accounting fees and….Plus there must be a surplus for future equipment purchases or unforeseen expenses.

[The Junkman]

8 hours ago, W-409 said:

 

 

 

At work I do quite a bit of billing for our customers that visit our workshop. Many times the issue is that the customers don't understand the amount of work something takes, so to avoid conflicts, it's also important to go through the work process with the customer in advance and also write it down properly on the bill. But of course, it doesn't always help either.

 

"You can have it good, you can have it cheap, you can have it fast.  You'll get two but you're not getting the third."

Edited yesterday at 05:37 AM by The Junkman

[stavanzer]

Good

Cheap

Fast

 

Pick any Two!

[1972coronet]

First rule-of-thumb : Don't give the workin' man a hard time. 

In the line of business that I'm in ; the retail end is, for the most part, okay ( personally, I positively despise working retail in any fashion ) ; however, there are a handful of ballbusters , skinflints, and other churlish boobs which make my - our- job hard. 
Those kinds of folks are either completely out of touch with reality , or they've forgotten what it's like to deal with angry crybabies - like the kinds of jobs they'd have in high school.

The fifth wall society has only made these situations worse. So detached from how things feel, sound, and smell in person. 

[Mark]

It's like that selling something in a lot of places.  The tire kickers will show up wearing a hat and jacket from the local casino (how much did they lose to get those?), pull up in a new/leased truck they don't really need, then try to cut you in half on the price of anything including your time and labor.  Then they'll cry and whine like you are asking them to sacrifice their first born.

[Beans]

37 minutes ago, Mark said:

 pull up in a new/leased truck they don't really need,

Good point.  I know more than a few folks who in no way can afford the new latest and greatest and end up in over their heads on a 10 year old truck with 180K miles that they finance with a billion % interest.  They can't imagine, or just don't want to admit that because they are still struggling with the $500/month payment for the next 8 years, that repairs will be needed.  

Over inflated price does not equate to mechanical longevity.  

[LDO]

Thank you. I’m a plumber with 21 years experience. I took a job in new home construction service in late 2017. It was warranty work only.  After 5 years there, a friend convinced me to go back to COD service (work anywhere a plumber is needed). I got really tired of people acting like I’m dishonest or a criminal. I’m back in construction service now. No selling. Just solving problems. One strange thing; almost daily I see water softeners installed by the lowest bidder. They have drains that are a cross-connection. That is an opportunity  for waste water and drinking water to mix. That doesn’t mean it will happen, but it’s possible. I always point it out and give them a sketch of how it should be done. We don’t repair it because we didn’t install it. What they do with the info is up to them. People in million dollar homes have asked me to do side work. That is nuts. 

Edited 15 hours ago by LDO

[sfhess]

One thing that really baffles me:

I take my car to the dealership for an oil change, tire rotation and "Inspection". They take out the cabin air filter, take a picture of it if it's dirty, send me the picture in a text, put the filter back in.  They recommend replacement of the $25 filter, at a cost of $85.00.  This is a job that takes five minutes at the most.

[Tim W. SoCal]

On 9/25/2025 at 6:04 PM, NOBLNG said:

Any reputable shop that wishes to remain in business must give the customer satisfaction. That said, SOME customers do not appreciate what is involved with running a business. It isn’t just the mechanic’s wages plus a meager markup. There are all sorts of expenses incurred by the owner…property taxes, business taxes, equipment maintenance, property maintenance, heat and electricity, legal and accounting fees and….Plus there must be a surplus for future equipment purchases or unforeseen expenses.

Don't forget the cost of all the insurance policies you're forced to carry...

[Tim W. SoCal]

7 hours ago, LDO said:

People in million dollar homes have asked me to do side work.

That was one thing that made me SICK when I had my shop... After giving a new "customer" an estimate, they would ask "Do your guys do side work?"
 

[Tim W. SoCal]

28 minutes ago, sfhess said:

I take my car to the dealership for an oil change, tire rotation and "Inspection". They take out the cabin air filter, take a picture of it if it's dirty, send me the picture in a text, put the filter back in.  They recommend replacement of the $25 filter, at a cost of $85.00.  This is a job that takes five minutes at the most.

This cost our local (at the time) dealer any future business, plus professional tech recommendations NOT to patronize their Service Dept. Took new car in for 2nd oil change, was contacted and told the cabin air filter needed replacement,but no price was mentioned. I thought, basic job, should be less than $75.00... I authorized the job. Billed $55.00 for the cabin air filter and 1 hour labor. After picking up the car and recovering from the sticker shock, I found a youtoob video for the cabin air filter replacement on this car. The video, with no breaks or cuts, showed the job took less than 7 minutes to complete...