Intercooler Installation

[Amec]

right so I want your opinions on the following incident that occurred at our workshop today.

firstly customer has paid $0 up front.

so I get in a Greddy M Spec intercooler kit for him, and quote him 2 hours labour to install. It takes me about 3 but who cares I quoted him 2 so thats what I will charge him.

so its installed and I put the front bar back on and hey presto it doesnt fit back on because the piping in the FMIC kit rests too close to the front bar not allowing it to be re-fitted as it was before. oh well I say to myself, the customer will just have to get it modified to fit by a bodyshop. I wouldnt want to attempt to modify it not having those kinds of skills.

so the customer comes to collect the car, I point out the fact that the front bar needs to be modified to accommodate the FMIC piping. and thats when all hell brakes loose, the customer starts to say things like "I'm not paying for that!" etc etc. so I have to get the police down to the shop so they at least paid for the parts which they eventually did.

so what do people think about this? did I do something wrong here? or did I just have a bad customer?

[Munkyb0y]

i would have expected the front bar to be trimmed and fitted if it was my car. but then this should have been discussed prior, when the price was set.

i think most front bars need trimming after a fmic install. and so it would be natural to expect the entire job to be done, fitted, and ready to drive.

of course, thats just me

Edited March 29, 2008 by Munkyb0y

[ToMMaH]

I'd have expected a phone call prior to coming down there to be told there was an issue.... thats the only thing that would have pissed me off.

Edited March 29, 2008 by ToMMaH

[Nissan-r33]

Bit of both i would have like phone call to tell me but its not hard too trim a front bar with a angle grinder.

[FineLine]

I am guessing it was a series 2. I have rarely seen one that doesnt need some mods to the front bar.

If you hadnt done too many series 2 lines i guess its an honest mistake but if you have done a few you should have been aware.

That doesnt give the customer the right to go nuts tho. Theese issues are best sorted with discussion rather than allowing it to get out of hand. (thats my job)

[chook]

Can't see what the customer is so upset about. You did the right thing by holding off cutting the bar without his permission, as he might not have realised what was involved and got even more upset. Let him go elsewhere and be someone elses problem.

[Devils_Advocate21]

I say he was just after something for nothing with out understanding the full process involved, But added note to self keep in mind for front bar modification for next time round, that way you can mention before hand before starting anything,

[Amec]

I say he was just after something for nothing with out understanding the full process involved, But added note to self keep in mind for front bar modification for next time round, that way you can mention before hand before starting anything,

yes I think thats what has happened here, I will be sure to inform people before any work is done that there may be additional cost involved to get the front bar trimmed to fit.

thanks for your responses and opinions guys

[Revhead]

I'd have expected a phone call prior to coming down there to be told there was an issue.... thats the only thing that would have pissed me off.

Just adding my 2c here, even though you probably already have the answers you're after

As above, I'd have probably expected a phone call mentioning that the front bar will need to be modified to fit, and is that ok? If you get the go-ahead (and you most likely would) then go for gold!

I won't comment on the customer's behaviour as I wasn't there but I'd say he was justified in expecting it to be part of the installation job, but if it were me I would have also been pleased that you didn't cut up my front bar without asking me first So perhaps an overreaction on his part and a small but honest mistake on yours.

On a side note, it's pleasing to hear some ethics given the number of bad experiences people seem to have with workshops around the place. Top marks for erring on the side of caution, and also for asking for opinions on whether you had done the right thing.

[Col-GTSX]

To fit a Fmic there is cutting involved 95% of the time... If he (the customer) did not understand the process he should have asked more questions...

As for you guys mabey a better explaination of the process when he dropped off the car might have helped, and as suggested already a phone call if you forgot...

[Amec]

On a side note, it's pleasing to hear some ethics given the number of bad experiences people seem to have with workshops around the place. Top marks for erring on the side of caution, and also for asking for opinions on whether you had done the right thing.

thanks for your kind comment.

I really do try hard to make my customers happy. but in this case, it simply wasnt possible.

[raver1987]

TBH working in a workshop(as i do) no matter how kind you are to some customers the fact of the matter is PEOPLE ARE A**HOLES. I would personally remove the intercooler put it in his boot and send him packing, yes its harsh but sometimes it needs to be done. The thing people dont understand about cars is they never ever ever ever go to plan, there is always something that f**ks up.

[33fan]

Well it’s good to know you get on the net and have a little dig at me about this.

Firstly who usually pays for a job prior to having the work done to the car? Usually you pay for the work after it’s done because you don’t know how much everything will cost. Plus it’s not like you don’t have my car there as well.

Secondly yes I AM new to the import scene and WOW you’ve got to start somewhere, and YES I will admit I was not fully aware that the front mount you sold me would cause my front bar to not fit back on, but a call when you found this out would of been nice, you called me when the job was done why couldn’t you mention that at the same time THAT is what had pissed me off. SIMPLE

Thirdly your comment to me about me not being able to afford and maintain my car was what started it all, and the fact you acted like you simply didn’t give a shit was even more the reason I got pissed off. As a matter of fact I work 5 days a week 8-5 and all my savings goes towards that car plus any extra money left over also goes towards getting things LIKE the front mount done.

I have spoken to bout a good half dozen of my mates and I have told them about it a fair few were interested in getting fm's done and they defiantly wont be going to see you after they seen what you done to my car.

Fourth thing was I called the cops after you decided to call me and my family a bunch of pricks and abuse my mother and ask to know what suburb we lived in so you could figure us out.... WHICH has nothing to do with the fact for anything?

All it would of taken a simple phone call when you had realized the front bar doest fit back on and tell me what was going on instead of getting down to your work shop to find it like the way it was and to be told by you that I don’t have the money to afford my car

That’s my 2 bits about all this, as there are ALWAYS two sides to a story mate.... thanks

[Nismo_Boy]

I would have expected a courtesy phone call when you worked out the bar wouldn’t fit and had been told of the situation/explained why it won’t fit and been asked if I would like you to trim the bar as part of the initial installation or whether I would like the bar left off for a body shop to trim it (at my cost)

The behavior of the customer sounds like he wanted something for nothing as mentioned, as that is a major over reaction for such a small problem.

Edited March 31, 2008 by Nismo_Boy

[Nismo_Boy]

Well it’s good to know you get on the net and have a little dig at me about this.

Firstly who usually pays for a job prior to having the work done to the car? Usually you pay for the work after it’s done because you don’t know how much everything will cost. Plus it’s not like you don’t have my car there as well.

You will find, a lot of work shops will get some form of payment up front. EG: for the parts.

For example they might not have the FMIC kit in stock and will ask for the kit cost upfront in the event you bail with turning up to get the installation done, they aren’t out of pocket.

[33fan]

TBH working in a workshop(as i do) no matter how kind you are to some customers the fact of the matter is PEOPLE ARE A**HOLES. I would personally remove the intercooler put it in his boot and send him packing, yes its harsh but sometimes it needs to be done. The thing people dont understand about cars is they never ever ever ever go to plan, there is always something that f**ks up.

THANKS for your comment but if you were there you would of realized the whole story. i was not going to leave my car at that workshop after what he had said to me and my family as for the simple fact i did not trust him with my car at that moment. so removing the cooler at 4 in the afternoon would not of been a reasonable answer. and NO i am not an asshole either, i am simply NEW to the import scene and recently bought my skyline nearly 4 months ago after getting it from what it was to what it is now has taken me months of solid work and alot of money time and effort and to take my car to this work shop purely out of my good hopes for a job and to get it back to see the front bar not sitting right with out any phone call ticked me right off

he called me to tell me the job was DONE and what held him back from telling me that the front bar did not fit on( personally it would of been the first thing i would of told the customer before i even told him the job was done)

after he told me and my family we were a bunch of pricks and abused us and i abused him he decided to tell me that over 90 percent of fmic's will never fit but at no time was i told this. so you would think if 90 percent of the time the job never comes out lookin the way it does and will now require the customer to spend more money to get the pipes bent you would mention this to the customer before carrying out any work??? thank you

[33fan]

You will find, a lot of work shops will get some form of payment up front. EG: for the parts.

For example they might not have the FMIC kit in stock and will ask for the kit cost upfront in the event you bail with turning up to get the installation done, they aren't out of pocket.

at no point did he mention anything about paying for the part upfront

and if he did i would of happily handed over money via internet or dropped some cash round to him during mid week

how was i meant to know this if i was never told?

[Nismo_Boy]

at no point did he mention anything about paying for the part upfront

and if he did i would of happily handed over money via internet or dropped some cash round to him during mid week

how was i meant to know this if i was never told?

I was saying in general. You weren't told, nor asked for an upfront payment for the FMIC so it’s not relevant.

[R33S2]

When you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME

It seems that both of them assumed something without the right details.

[Amec]

I have spoken to bout a good half dozen of my mates and I have told them about it a fair few were interested in getting fm's done and they defiantly wont be going to see you after they seen what you done to my car.

this is a good thing, because if they are anything like you, then I wouldn't want them coming to my shop either.