In a message dated 11/24/02 8:31:26 AM Eastern Standard Time,
trsix74@comcast.net writes:
> I work part time for a LBC shop. I listen every Friday afternoon and
> Saturday mornings to my boss (Owner and Operator) about the people that
> bring their cars in and spend the a good hour yakking about all sorts of
> things, mostly asking for advice, about beefing up this, that or the other.
> So now the solo mechanic has been pulled away from doing any repair work on
> the cars that are piling up. Then the multitude of phone calls to discuss
> trivial matters or inquiries into "How far are you?" Think of this: Your
> under the car. Your doing a job that needs setting something up. You start.
> The phone rings. You stop. Wipe your hands. Answer the phone. Its that guy
> again asking about "how far are you on my car". Not to be impolite, the
> response is not what you would like to say. Finally, farewells are made,
> and
> you put the phone down. In absolutely no mood to proceed on the job at
> hand,
> because you have just spent the last hour being pissed off at someone that
> has wasted your time. What some people don't understand is that time is
> money and every phone call is costing money. I have never seen on any
> repair
> bill going out, a line item for wasted time: 5 hours at $47.00 per hour!
>
> And my part of this: my boss has a week of this building up. So when I get
> in to work on Friday afternoon, I get to here it all, as he vents. And now
> my time is wasted at $7.00 per hour. I know that this didn't answer your
> question, but boy do I feel better now. Thanks for letting me vent!
>
> Robert L. Gannon
> trsix74@comcast.net
> TR6 1974 CF22956U
> TR3A 1960 TS70951L
> http://hometown.aol.com/twodzusfittings/myhomepage/auto.html
>
>
>
Robert:
I think your point is well-taken, and I'm glad you too are gaining solace
from our mutual venting. With regard to phone calls, however, I have 2
comments. The first is that, without them, my car would be relegated to the
back of the shop permanently. The mechanic doesn't even touch the car until
I begin calling 7-10 days into the process. The second point is that he has
a secretary who answers the phone. I actually just leave messages with her,
and he returns the calls once in a while at his convenience. I can assure
you that it is much easier for him to interrupt me, a doctor with a busy
practice, than it is for me to interrupt him.
Michael Samuels
'70 TR6
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