I've worked alongside maybe 50 to 60 techs over the years...at small shops ma/pa shops and big dealerships, hourly and flat rate technicians. my observations
-3 or 4 of those techs were true masters...could fix anything superfast
-5 or 6 were rip and tear without a care...anything to do the job as fast as they could
-1 or 2 short changed jobs...not performing the work properly
-1 or 2 oversold everything...every vehicle got sold flushes for every vehicle, brakes changed to early
-1 or 2 bookworms that are book smart but can't fix anything or be productive
80-90%, the remainder fall into the pretty good techs...fix stuff right 99% of the time....have strengths is some areas, weak in others.
imo it takes 7 to 10 years experience to get to a high level

 

That sounds like a bell curve distribution.

So is there a story behind this question?

 

1rst mistake going to jiffyscrewb. If you have a screwdriver, sockets and know how to turn them and a utility knife you can and should change your own. Go out when it's not hot unhook the bottom hose drain it there and open the petcock on the radiator. Change the hoses, thermostat and heater hoses and fill with new coolant. You won't have to mess with it for another 3 years.

 

It's not just that they'll rip you off. They'll strip out your oil pan threads, break things or generally eff up your car. Once I had to put out a fire that a 'tech' had started. On top of that, they don't even do the things that they are supposed to do. You know that report they give you with a hundred things ticked off that they supposedly inspected? Well they did maybe half of that just to get you out the door quicker, so you think that they are checking your suspension and greasing the zerks, but they're not.

 

I avoid any quick lube type shop like the plague. Especially after I spotted a vehicle nose down in the pit at one. No, they are not all bad, but they will try to up sell unneeded services. I have a few independent shops and one dealer I trust. If they tell me a certain service or repair is needed, I can trust that it truly is needed and they are not ripping me off.

 

If it wasn't for places like 'JiffyLube' I would probably skip a lot of oil changes. You have me nervous at "stripping" threads, but even McDonalds has a purpose for some. I just go in for a oil change that is it. Just do what I will continually put off so it's done. That and grease the ****. If you miss the grease from time to time, no big deal. Where I go they used to always have decent staff. Including a smoking hot little chicklet on time. You just watch them that's all. At least there I can somewhat ask/force myself down into the pit and look underneath myself. If they used hoists I probably wouldn't go.

GM wants appointments. That was an option from day one, just go to GM. They want appointments and that's their downfall. I do not mix with appointments for nearly anything. I just with the flow, do things on my time, when it meshes.

 

This is how the quick lube training goes:

supervisor: "Did you watch the computer powerpoint?"
new employee: "Yup"
supervisor: "Good man. Now get out there and sell some engine flushes."

 

I don't care. Just change the oil. That's it.

 

What kills me is the customer not realizing these extra services take time to do. If they say they are done in 15-20 minutes they are pulling a fast one.

 

Just spitballin' here, but what if that 12 quart rating is for the vehicles that HAVE the rear heater?