Alignment shop tech disconnected my dash-cam - what should I do?

[McGilli]

Took my jeep in this morning to have the caster fixed.

Tonight I realized my dash-cam was not working - no lights on it. I checked it and realized the power cable and the rear camera cable were unplugged from the unit up on the window.

I plugged it in and looked at the footage.

While I was in the alignment shop waiting - a worker came out - instead of taking my jeep into the shop - he drove away from the shop for 3 minutes - the entire time not wearing a seatbelt (can hear the chime over and over) and he was talking on his phone to a friend about moving in with his girlfriend.

Then - he gets to this lot and starts to turn around - and it sounds like then - he realizes there is a dash-cam recording. He says something like he's surprised.

Then you hear a hand on the dash-cam - brushing against it - and the rear camera is disconnected at that point.

He keeps driving - then realizes it is still recording and then has his hand on it - and disconnects the power.

So, I then drove home and around for the day with no dash-cam... And is just lucky I found out at all....



What would you do?


BTW - the shop is over an hour away - it's not easy for me to just drive back there...

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[RedundanT]

So are you mad that they test drove a vehicle before an alignment to see if it pulled, or just mad because someone didn't like being spied on? You fixed the camera move on.

 

[Aonar]

1-Phone call to OWNER
2-Video proof you have
3-Decide what if any damage done
4-Decide what if any compensation owed to you
5-He can easily say he was on a test drive to "feel" what was off
Have all these items answered to your satisfaction B4 you call the owner.
Just some quick thoughts before going to work.

 

[Kurt0]

Holy shit. really? “Decide what compensation” “call the owner” “call the police and demand he be cited” for fuck’s sake its blue collar joe going about his work day and didnt want to be recorded.

is there damage to your truck? No? Does your truck now drive correctly? Yes? Is it reasonable that a tech drive a vehicle on customer complaint of alignment prior to putting it on the rack? I sure think so.

techs are going to drive your vehicle. If that bothers you, then learn how to do alignments yourself with the old school string and chalk method...otherwise, plug it back in and move on with life. If youre that sore about it, dont be a karen and dont be passive aggressive. just be a man and next time you go back say “and dont disconnect my drive cam this time. Its there for a reason.”

 

[Stormin’ Moorman]

1. Find out where his girlfriend lives
2. Rent the apartment next to hers
3. Create a fake identity. Something exciting like an aircraft pilot or white hat hacker.
4. Trick the girlfriend into falling in love with you.
5. Get her pregnant
6. Abandon her in the middle of the night leaving everything behind
7. Alignment dude will think the baby is his and will marry the girlfriend.
8. Alignment dude will spend the next 18 years raising your child.
9. Arrange for a letter to be sent to alignment dude explaining the cuckold when he is on his deathbed so he understands that his whole life has been a lie.
10. Checkmate bitch.

If someone has a better plan I’d like to hear it.

 

[Kurt0]

1. Find out where his girlfriend lives
2. Rent the apartment next to hers
3. Create a fake identity. Something exciting like an aircraft pilot or white hat hacker.
4. Trick the girlfriend into falling in love with you.
5. Get her pregnant
6. Abandon her in the middle of the night leaving everything behind
7. Alignment dude will think the baby is his and will marry the girlfriend.
8. Alignment dude will spend the next 18 years raising your child.
9. Arrange for a letter to be sent to alignment dude explaining the cuckold when he is on his deathbed so he understands that his whole life has need a lie.
10. Checkmate bitch.

If someone has a better plan I’d like to hear it.

this is clearly the only path forward and the only way to remedy an affront such as this. I concur.

 

[ZeroTrev]

I'd like to know why he disconnected it. It would make me think he was breaking a company policy, probably don't be on your phone in a customer's vehicle. if be interested to know how long he drove and how many miles.

I've had a friend getting new tires have the shop found burnouts with his car. I picked him up from the shop and about an hour later his mom called screaming at him for doing them. He was with me the entire time.

The other side is as a manager is want to know my employees are doing dishing like this.

 

[Fatboy97]

Let the owner know you will never be back and why.

 

[Kurt0]

i cant imagine how much fun some of you guys must be at parties. I bet the Ladies are just lining up to get laid.

if they do good work, and you otherwise like the shop, a “hey man. C’mere and let me talk to you for a sec. Dont do that shit again. thanks.” Is all thats needed. Just be a man and tell the dude direct. This passive aggressive “call the manager”, “call the mom”, “make as big a deal as possible over it“ bullshit is beyond lame and tells me there are a whole lot of people that cant handle even the most minor of basic confrontations.

pathetic.

 

[JimmyZ]

1. Find out where his girlfriend lives
2. Rent the apartment next to hers
3. Create a fake identity. Something exciting like an aircraft pilot or white hat hacker.
4. Trick the girlfriend into falling in love with you.
5. Get her pregnant
6. Abandon her in the middle of the night leaving everything behind
7. Alignment dude will think the baby is his and will marry the girlfriend.
8. Alignment dude will spend the next 18 years raising your child.
9. Arrange for a letter to be sent to alignment dude explaining the cuckold when he is on his deathbed so he understands that his whole life has need a lie.
10. Checkmate bitch.

If someone has a better plan I’d like to hear it.

Omg dying over here

 

[Shots]

I'd like to know why he disconnected it. It would make me think he was breaking a company policy, probably don't be on your phone in a customer's vehicle. if be interested to know how long he drove and how many miles.
.......

Quite possibly, he just didn't want to be "spied on" so he unplugged it. It's very possible there was nothing nefarious going on, just that he didn't want his conversation recorded.
I don't know how Canada works, but in various states recording video and/or audio of someone without their knowledge is a crime. Yes it's your Jeep so that probably changes things a bit (I'm no lawyer so pure speculations), but the point is that since there are laws regarding recordings/privacy then doesn't it stand to reason that he might have wanted to keep his phone conversation private?
That said, I'm not condoning his action. I'd be mad too. If he doesn't want his conversation recorded, then don't make it in a customer's vehicle. Plus as you said, it's probably against company policy.

As for not wearing a seat belt. So what. If he wants to risk his life, who cares. It's not like that damages your Jeep, or puts you at risk of any trouble. Heck if anything he helped you out by keeping his dirty paws off one more surface of your Jeep.

The solution? You could call the company and complain, just so they know what their employees are doing. There's no compensation to be had here. More like a heads up to the company about customer satisfaction. I wouldn't demand any sort of restitution, or that he be punished because both will come off as unreasonable. When the manager asks what you want to see happen, just point out that the techs shouldn't be messing with stuff that doesn't involve what they're working on. My main concern would be that something happened on your way home and the camera didn't capture it because you didn't know it was disconnected.

As for how many miles they drove. That's easy. I log the odometer any time I drop my vehicles off anywhere (even the dealership) and check it again when I pick it up. I expect some mileage depending on the service being done, but it shouldn't be unreasonable.

 

[Oilburner]

If those cameras were on & recording video & sound while your Jeep was being worked on, I imagine that is a no-no. If I had a business I wouldn't allow it. That being said, they should have come to you & asked you to turn your surveillance devices off while in their business.

 

[JeepJLU402]

Was the guy driving irresponsibility? I had a friend who was at the dealership with his 370Z and his dash cam found the tech doing burn outs and messed up his rims. He got new rims from the dealer and was told that he couldn’t get service from them ever again.

 

[jdubya421]

i cant imagine how much fun some of you guys must be at parties. I bet the Ladies are just lining up to get laid.

if they do good work, and you otherwise like the shop, a “hey man. C’mere and let me talk to you for a sec. Dont do that shit again. thanks.” Is all thats needed. Just be a man and tell the dude direct. This passive aggressive “call the manager”, “call the mom”, “make as big a deal as possible over it“ bullshit is beyond lame and tells me there are a whole lot of people that cant handle even the most minor of basic confrontations.

pathetic.

Unless you know which tech it was, you'd have to talk to a manager/owner anyway. Knowing what you want to say before you call is now somehow "not handling basic confrontation" and "pathetic". Calling and asking why this was done before being aggressive and "direct" is also now unmanly?

At the EOD turning it off probably doesn't matter. But driving an hour just to go up to a tech and go "hey don't do some shit again because I am a DIRECT MAN" is what is really lame.

 

[Kurt0]

Unless you know which tech it was, you'd have to talk to a manager/owner anyway. Knowing what you want to say before you call is now somehow "not handling basic confrontation" and "pathetic". Calling and asking why this was done before being aggressive and "direct" is also now unmanly?

At the EOD turning it off probably doesn't matter. But driving an hour just to go up to a tech and go "hey don't do some shit again because I am a DIRECT MAN" is what is really lame.

no, it isnt. Handling your own shit is never lame, and trying to convince me or anyone worth their denim that a man whining to someone else is the right course of action isnt going to get you anywhere.

I dont see why this has to be such a big deal. Just tell them next time you go not to do it again. If you saw the guy who did it, tell him not to do it again. If you didnt, tell the guy at the counter booking you in “hey last time this happened. Please dont do that again” Is all that has to happen. this “call the manager, call the owner, demand compensation omg omg” people are advocating for is utterly fucking pathetic.

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