Kevin, this is an excellent message for all of us. Very well stated, my
friend. VERY hard to find those people nowdays who do something just
because they love doing it. They're national treasures....we gotta take
care of them......and give them the time to work their magic.
Tom Caperton
47-2nd 3100....in Whiteville, NC
----- Original Message -----
From: Kevin D. Pennell <oletwuk@fastrus.com>
To: Oletrucks <oletrucks@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2000 9:25 PM
Subject: [oletrucks] In Defense of Mechanics.
> <<<Snip>>>I tell ya.. I have ALL the luck with slow,
> unreliable and mostly inadequate service. But lets not get me started! In
> the engine shops defense (sorta) they have a 70+ year old retired guy do
the
> babbit work since he is the only one who knows how. If it were me, I would
> be learning that stuff so the art doesnt disappear with the older
> generation!<<<Snip>>>
>
> Hi all,
>
> Deve,
>
> You're not the only one with "all" the luck with terrible service, but if
I
> may, let me add some insight...
>
> A lot of shops in business today are in it for the quick job, and the
> quick buck. They live for the fast turn-around jobs where they can make a
> profit. The employees are for the most part parts changers who, given a
> specific task can do it fairly easily, and quickly. These shops are the
> equivalent of taking your car to Jiffy Lube for an oil change. That's
what
> they do, and they are fairly proficient at it. They have bills to pay,
and
> taking the time to learn how to do something like pour a babbit insert is
> not cost effective by any stretch of the imagination.
>
> As a mechanic, I have to say that I've lost money on every job I've
ever
> had that required "real" mechanic-ing. God forbid I charge for the actual
> hours that I spend diagnosing, weighing options, considering the customers
> habits and use patterns, and the actual painstaking efforts to achieve
> perfection in doing whatever job I'm doing that does not involve changing
> the brake pads, or replacing a leaky gasket. You must realize that
> something as simple as how the air fuel mixture is set may vary depending
on
> the customers shoe size, and where he or she uses the vehicle most. A
> mechanic is somewhat like a doctor, and should know you and your vehicle
> well in order to keep everything rolling along smoothly. The newer
vehicles
> have computers that compensate for everything you can imagine, thus
keeping
> you relatively happy no matter where you drive, or how you drive, but the
> older vehicles require middle of the road management by the mechanic, as
in
> most cases what works well at 8000 feet doesn't do worth a tinkers dam at
> sea level. A recent thread on vacuum wipers expounded on that a little.
> Those guys "know" what they are talking about, trust me.
>
> Please be patient with that 70+ year old gentleman. He probably does
what
> he does because he loves it, not because it pays well. Allow him the time
> to get his mind right to do a particularly delicate job, and give him
credit
> due for perfection in areas of your engine that you will never see. He
> knows what happens in there, and he knows exactly what his efforts must be
> to make it all right for the engine, and for you the customer. If he's
like
> me, he cares more about how the engine is feeling than he does about how
you
> are feeling. I think that just might be a good thing. After all, your
> mechanic is your truck's doctor. You have your own. Find your own truck
a
> good doctor, and be faithful to him. The rewards far outweigh the
deficits,
> for both you and your truck.
>
> Respectfully,
>
> Kevin P.
> '59 Apache 38/NAPCO
> Courtland, VA
>
>
> oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
>
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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