The whole survey thing is complete BS and takes money away from hard working good people, that's why the dealers have $9 an hour "techs." I have worked for several dealers in Birmingham and everyone has a way of dealing with the survey thing. I won't work for another one, and if I ever leave the shop I'm at now, I'll start my own. ;D No surveys, no BS, just upfront in your face honesty, yes your car is a piece and it isn't worth the $2500 head job it needs, or I'm not charging you for that headlamp bulb install, just bring it back to me when something breaks. And yes I've been known to do some odd jobs like swapping tires onto different wheels for beer. People appreciate that type of stuff more than they do a nice waiting room, I'm fine with driving somebody to work so I don't have to disrupt the whole damn shop work flow for something that can wait a couple of hours. This instant gratification car repair that everybody wants is ruining the automotive business. We took a hit on labor and gained a customer the other week by fixing a Montero timing belt for a girl that Express Oil dicked over twice as, 2 teeth off on one cam and 1 tooth off on another, guess where she is coming from now on. People appreciate good work at a good price and honesty more than they do surveys and other dealer crap. The dealers have made their bed, let them sleep in it.
Where ever your vehicle gets worked on, the quality of the repair depends solely on the guy under the hood, nobody else. Hacks and good techs are in almost every shop, I've seen it ever where I've worked. we had an amazing team at the first dealer I worked at, seriously to the point we were doing waiter clutches in Boxsters, then all that corporate bullshit from sonic automotive ran all of us off.
Sorry for the rambling, maybe there's a good point in there somewhere! :
