I spent the last 10 years of my professional life as a service advisor and
service manager for Mercedes Benz and Land Rover. And in that position I dealt
with all types of people, and all types of car problems. Some real and some
imagined. But never were there any boring days, and never was there any lack of
broken cars. And an opportunity to meet interesting people. And somewhere
along the way I learned that we not only fixed cars, but fixed people who owned
them too. With the car being the easy part, stupid takes longer, if can be
fixed at all, and the scars from it never heal.
At one time Mercedes Benz owners represented the upper 2% of wage earners,
but by 2003 that had changed, up to 10 year financing, and we began to see many
older cars that should have been retired being brought in by younger people,
bragging they owned a Mercedes, when they could barely afford a Chevy. But I
tried to treat them all the same, with dignity and honesty, but with mixed
results. Sometimes I just reported the problem, other times I had to insist
upon the repair, while sadly a few times I would advise the car was not worth
fixing. And of the three, telling them the repairs exceeded the value of the
car was the hardest. Sometimes it worked in reverse, the more I tried to advise
them to junk the car, the deeper they got into their pockets. An emotional tie
or burst of ego made them want to fix it, like they almost had to or else. Like
I said the customer base was changing, the older ones expecting to spend at
least $1000 per visit, and having a trusting relationship with you, while one
time a woman burst into tears over a bill for $150 for brakes, “I have no
money,” for brakes? Maybe one less latte at Nordie’s....Which left a group that
was always trying to impress you, they demanded things be fixed prematurely, one
yo-yo engineer demanded we replace his starter and alternator, both working
fine, because a co-worker had problems with those on his Toyota of the same
year. Huh? Fixing cars was easy after him. Then there was the older couple who
came in on Fridays with a specious problem, a rattle that only occurred to them,
and would demand a free loaner car, which they got. More than once I confronted
them about the gas receipts in the rental from going to Vegas in our car, they
just wanted a free car for the weekend, newer and nicer than theirs, and not
putting miles on their car also. How stupid did they think we were?
But one thing that surprised me at first, and then became pretty standard
was the owner’s knowledge of their car. And woman always knew more about their
car than men, they read the owner’s manual, asked questions and stayed on top of
maintenance. They kept you on your toes, and were much easier to deal with.
They read the book...I guess we men are too busy to. With of course the
exception to the rule concerning the manual and the new owner. He had just
bought a new E class, and after 3 days found over 40 problems with the car. He
was demanding a buy back immediately, and they sent him to me. For two hours he
wasted my time, and with each complaint found he hadn’t listened to the salesman
at delivery, never read the owners manual, and found he couldn’t afford the
payments, which only took him 3 days to figure out. Not one of his complaints
was valid, my favorite was “ in park it won’t rev past 4000 rpm,” why would you
want to while going nowhere? And it was designed not to exceed that rpm in
park. Ohhh...He left, his ego bruised, his car fine, not sure about his
payments.
At one time I was one of 17 service advisors at MB, and also the busiest.
I had built up a great customer base, I listened, told the truth, and was
dependable. With one trait the others didn’t find time to do. For every car
under me in the shop, the customer got a daily phone call. They didn’t have to
wait for me, I called them. Letting moms know early to keep the loaner, so they
could get the kids at school. Keeping a big repair customer up to date on the
progress and the bill, and changes as needed. I found the less number of
surprises they found out the hard way, the easier my job was, and I could let
the tech do his. With the frequent updates we also got to know each other, the
more we talked, I became a familiar voice, and they grew to trust me. “Take
your car to Mike, you can trust him...” how many times have you not heard that
in a repair shop? Remember we are fixing people too...
In case you haven’t noticed, God is and has been in the people fixing
business for a long time. And based on some I see, his job is one I don’t
want. Think of it a minute, look at his customers-us. The hours he keeps, with
no breaks in between. Good thing he isn’t in a union. His own book, written
about him to help with life, is misquoted and lazily read. Where anyone can
twist his words for their own good...far too often. Most of his communications
with us is one sided, he listens, but we never give him a chance to answer, and
if we don’t like his advice, well Oprah knows better. He is truthful, can be
reached at any time, yet avoided skillfully. The ultimate advisor, the
wonderful counselor of Jesus, the comforter of the spirit, and at prices you can
afford-free. Yet we don’t listen...I think I know the feeling.
But he has one thing compared to cars that no company could ever offer. We
have warranties, extended warranties, and even limited high mileage warranties,
but no life time warranty. Except in Christ. Available to all at birth, many
take advantage of it early, and are born again. Some after expensive and
extensive repairs, sign up and are saved. Some wait, until they are done having
fun, and may have waited too long. But in all cases have the choice to accept
or deny Jesus as the son of God, as deity. And God’s offer is good until our
dying breath, which we don’t know when it will happen. The other fact being
100% of us will die, and we can choose our eternal destination now. And yet
some still say no....
I have found in cars as well as with God, good advice only works if taken.
And stupid still hurts, when it doesn’t have too. I used to tell my customers
that maintenance is expensive, but repairs from lack of it is even worse. Let
God into your life, listen to the spirit’s advise, and avoid a breakdown. Which
is always more expensive. I would never promise you a perfect life, just as I
wouldn’t a perfect car, we aren’t perfect, but our creator knows what we need,
and can fix anything. And everything. Even broken hearts. And at prices you
can afford. Check into God’s warranty today, called forgiveness, and be set
free from sin and eternal death. Enjoy the ride here on earth. Not everyone
can afford a Mercedes Benz, you may be a Toyota that needs fixing. Long before
Toyota promised you “oh what a feeling!” Jesus died for your sins. Experience
his love and forgiveness today, and forever. Fixing people is what he does
best. Now about that rattle in the dash, have you considered turning up the
volume on the radio?
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com