Leaving "note" for Jeep Technician

[rickinAZ]

@rickinAZ

No, I would not leave a note... What I do and suggest you do.

A head of time, DO, meet you Service Manager... introduce yourself

The day of your visit, get there a few minutes early and get your JL, checked in.

Tell the Service Writer you would PLEASE, like to speak to the assigned tech before he touches your vehicle.

I actually sit outside in the parking lot, by my vehicle, waiting for the tech to talk to me.

I have done this for many years... never had one time when the tech did not come to me and talk to me prior to working on my vehicle...

I introduce myself to the tech ... and explain to him/her my thoughts and concerns.. I bond with him so to speak...

I let him/her know that my vehicle means a lot to me and that I am let says anal about IT. Every tech I spoke with always appreciated my lets say love of my vehicle and my knowledge of the vehicle, and my concern for it.. They listened with open ears and told me not to worry, etc... I tell them thanks and could they please talk to me personally after completion of the job.

When they come to me afterwards, I look over the vehicle ... I always give the tech, say a $10-$20.... Actually, usually I slip the guy the $20 at the meet and greet I asked for.. I tell them Thanks and to have lunch on me...

I can tell you that the tech truly appreciates the $ and remembers me and my vehicle and my $ the next time in. He also tells the other Techs... that guy took care of me... appreciates us..

Ironically, I was going to leave a twenty with the note, but I didn't mention it because I thought that you guys would fry me. "Thanks in advance. Let me buy you and a friend's lunch".

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[aldo98229]

You can always try this

 

[rickinAZ]

As for the DIY advice, my dad was extremely handy (he built the house I grew up in), and, while I inherited none of his skills, I've spent a lifetime trying, and sometimes pushing my luck. I bought these rock rails months ago and have read every thread on installing them, and despite people with positive experiences, there are a whole slew of forum members with broken body bolts. I mean a ton of them. Given my in-expertise and ham-fistedness, I'd ABSOLUTELY be one of them. And...the broken bolt people appeared to come with all levels of experience. It seems like the install can go south on skilled people as well - poor design, weak bolts, red locktite = looming disaster.

BTW, historically tips were paid prior to service being rendered - just like (kinda) your video clip. "Tip" originally was an acronym short for "To Insure Promptness".

Some great input. Thanks folks!

 

[No IFS]

In my experience :
a note works better than face-to-face for the customer
A tip before is more effective than a tip after
You rarely meet person who actually works on vehicle.

 

[jeepingib]

Except mine takes 9 quarts.

In that case you should be really pissed when they put in 6 qts!

 

[DrJoeSchmoe]

Being that I've lost all faith in car dealers and their service departments, I guess you're better off trying SOMETHING to avoid the mechanic doing a rushed/sloppy job. The only reason I'll go to a dealer is for warranty work.
It's sad that we have to bribe our service techs to feel like we are not going to get screwed.
It seems like some kind of personal interaction via a note/bribe or a "face to face" is easy enough to try. Good luck with your $120 install. Let us know how it goes.

 

[blnewt]

Otherwise shut up and do it yourself.

FYP

 

[oceanblue2019]

When my Jeep arrives I'm taking it to the local dealer to have ACE rock rails installed. They made me an offer I can't refuse ($100). I've heard three basic tips about this:

• The body bolts are tricky and (somewhat) easily broken if you're not careful.
• Only remove the bolts from one side at a time to ensure that the body does shift subtly on the frame.
• Be careful to avoid nestling the ACE rail against the OEM Rubicon rail to avoid rattling.

Now the first two tips are fairly obvious, although I could see #2 happening with a newish mechanic and I'd never know why my Jeep is driving wonky. Is it bad form to leave a note?: "Sorry, I'm a little OCD, and here are some notes that I made when I was considering doing the job myself...."

I can't be the only one who worries when someone else is touching my Jeep out of my sight.

If you are worried and don't trust them to do the job properly you should not be taking it to them no matter how good of a deal it is!

 

[Outlawd]

I would explain your concerns to the service writer when you drop it off. If you are super picky I'm sure your taking your Jeep to a place with a good reputation, they will do it right. If you take it to a place where you have to leave a note on how to do it right then I'd find a better place.

 

[Jking]

I had a friend help me put the ACS rails on, very easy install so the Tec should have no problems putting them on. They are awesome by the way, you will love them !

 

[BCalvin]

I used to be a tech back in the air cooled Porsche days.

Our service advisor would put notes like that in the repair/work order and I appreciated them.

 

[drvn]

When my Jeep arrives I'm taking it to the local dealer to have ACE rock rails installed. They made me an offer I can't refuse ($100).
I can't be the only one who worries when someone else is touching my Jeep out of my sight.

To the OP.
You get what you pay for and it would be hard to be critical of a job poorly done when you got a deal. I'd rather pay full price and be able to hold people accountable for a quality finished job.
In general, with that said, You are not OCD. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Leave a Note if you are inclined to.
Unfortunately, the number of morons in all facets of society only seems to be increasing. Furthermore, few people seem to take pride in their work.
Customer follow up is too frequently necessary to get the job done correctly. When you pay someone you would think you'd be somewhat free from that.
I fight these interactions on nearly a daily basis at both my job and when having work done on....whatever.
Leaving a note (of what needs to be done without endless/limited commentary) can avoid future issues. After reading every post on this thread I'm not sure if to laugh or be embarrassed for those who fight such a proposal.

 

[UtahRubi]

I recently had a conversation with the parts guy at my local dealership. He is friendly and knowledgeable. My build out was going to be close to $15k when all was said and done. He asked me to make a list of everything I wanted and I emailed it off to him. He has yet to return any of my calls to discuss the build (lift, wheels, tires, complete Steersmarts front end, bumpers, winch, fuel caddy, ARB compressor, Goosegear plate system, Dometic 'fridge, Genesis battery system, etc..). My Jeep will be at their dealership next week for 5 days to resolve a paint lifting issue on the door from poor prep as well as getting the steering box upgrade. I wanted to get the ball rolling with the build while it was there having service done. No response has been frustrating. I called the dealer to speak with the parts guy and I heard him say in the background that he is too buried to take my call. Ok... can you call me back when you have second? Nothing... Now I have researched another shop that specializes in custom builds. I really wanted to have the dealer do the install as they will warranty all their work and it would be a one stop shop regarding service. The new shop has been very responsive and I have a meeting with them on Monday to discuss the build in person. They are located not far from my dealer. In the old days, I would've just done the work myself. However, I don't have a facility or the time to tear apart my daily driver. I see nothing wrong with discussing any issues with a tech beforehand and if he has the experience doing the work then that's awesome and he'll let me know. I've had some good techs and some bad ones. All from dealerships. The ability to discuss a build out gives me the peace of mind that these guys are conscientious and want to do it correctly and professionally. I worked in the motorsports world for years. I had zero issues with a car owner telling me that he wanted something specific to make his job of driving easier and more efficient. Heck... it's his car! I loved communicating with the team owners and drivers and delivering quality work that resulted in better performance on the track. It makes for happy customers. When I moved into the MIL/Defense world it became a little different. We had a saying "dead customers don't pay."

 

[rickinAZ]

O.P. here with a quick postmortem:

I decided not to leave a note (or a tip) for fear that I'd insult the technician. Bad mistake. I gave the service advisor these simple instructions -> "Please leave the factory rock rails in place and ask him to watch for rattles between the ACE rails and the Rubi rails". [I was worried that she wrote none of this down.]

When I picked it up, it was rattle-free - mostly because the technician had removed the factory rails ("had to take the stock rails off to make the new ones fit."). One MAJOR reason I went with the ACEs is that the Rubi rails stay in place to cover the pinch seams.

Never a dull moment. I think my day would have gone better if I'd done them myself and broken a body bolt.

p.s. They made it right and I'm happy with the end result.

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