(T) What do Fiat techs want?

Thought I'd put a post up for the benefit of all as there are some cracking and knowledgable Fiat techs on here and some understandable whinging by people getting bad service at times from certain garages.

Myself, I don't see dealers or ANY garage that much. Just like the doctors, I only go there if i have to. If i ever visit the doctor i seem to be telling them what's wrong and come away with a wrong "cure" that has been a waste of time and might even have caught something else whilst I'm there!
I mean, nobody knows your own body like yourself, and the doc tries to interpret what you say into an accurate diagnosis from a 2 minute "consultation". THey take your blood pressure and a blood sample and tell you after a long wait that "They couldn't find anything wrong"

See the similarity here?

SOoooooo I thought it would be good to state how customers can help technicians to diagnose and fix your car when you take it in with some advise maybe from the Fiat techs themselves on what and what not to do.
Imagine being a tech and the only symptom you're given
"I think it's not running right now and then!"

Personally I wouldn't bother trying to converse with the dimwit at the reception desk, I'd type
1 As comprehensive a description of the symptoms as I could
2 What work has been done and tried
3 Try to leave the fault codes in store or at least note what they were State what time you're coming back
and leave the note taped to the steering wheel of the car

It would be nice to hear how awful it is from the other side of that otherwise closed door between irate customers and frustrated Technicians

If anyone's got any tips as to what they do to achieve good results and a good working relationship the better garages then don't keep it a secret.

I was never a tech. When I left the trade 35 years ago we were called mechanics (later they became fitters)

But I guess a tech today is going to want the same as I wanted then. A clear description, concise and to the point. As much information as you can reasonably give without descending into a rambling autobigography. And I would like you to be polite. You tell me my garage is run by a bunch of *&^%$ clowns and I'll tell you to go get it fixed elsewhere- politely of course.

I in turn will work on your car with care and consideration. I will not leave oily marks on the carpet, scratches round the door lock or scuff marks on the wings. I will not strip threads, leave fastenings loose or missing, or overtighten the oil filter. And I will not use your car privately in the lunch hour and put 20 miles on the clock. Should I do any of these things, you should look for another garage to service your car.

And I know members of this forum are a well informed lot, so probably won't fall foul of this one, but I did get tired of hearing accusations in the vein of 'you pumped my tyres up last week and now the radiator is leaking'

One tip for the customer: Although it's a difficult trick to pull these days with the workshops isolated from service reception, try to develop a rapport with the mechanic who is actually working on your car. Once you have a friend on the 'inside', so to speak, things will be a lot easier.

I have absolutely no doubt that there are many fine DETs around, infact I am sure of it. I believe half that the majority of the hassle that garages get stems from the public facing staff and their lack of communication to both the DETs and the public. This is particularly the case with Arnold Clark in Glasgow.

When the problem is obvious the technicians have always sorted it properly..appart from the clutch/flywheel, but that was a ighly unusual one apparently. When it is a strange one, it's taken a few attempts and this mainly has been because the stupid little girls that Arnold Clark employ on the desk write down minimal ammounts of info for the tech to go on, so its pretty much needle in a haystack style diagnosis.

Customer Service:

This is all i want to be a happy customer.

1. TO be told when my car will be looked at, told have a call to say this is whats wrong, the part will be X days, the car should be back to you by ...... I do not want to find out 3 days after i dropped it off that it's not even been touched yet because they are "too busy".) My car breaks down completely, 2 AA call outs in one day, car is screwed, they take it in, say they'll look at it today and then when I phone they say it wasn't looked at because it wasnt booked in and because it wasn't booked in, it's a low priority job for them and it's cost me £40 a day for a hire car while they are "too busy"

2. To ACTUALLY be called back when I'm told they will call me back with a quote (if not covered by warranty). I was going to pay the dealer to put in a good heavyduty battery while they were doing the electrics, 4 days and 3 fone calls later they still haven't provided a quote and they still have my car.

3. The not be spoken to like a piece of crap when I complain about things taking too long.

4. I would like to be called buy the garage to notify me that car has been sorted and that it is ready to pick up. Arnold Clark Glasgow seem to think it's acceptable to make the customer call them constantly to find out what it going on.

ARNOLD CLARK GLASGOW - PROMISES DELIVERED...nah

ARNOLD CLARK GLASGOW - LEMONS DELIVERED, and never fixed quickly!

Think i might just lease from now on.

What do Fiat Techs want to help fix your car????

As a DET I will tell you what we need to do our job as we want to do it and as the customer wants us to do it.

We need information!

Point blank, info is the key to a technician being able to identify a fault quickly and as cheaply as possible for the customer.

To give the keys to reception and tell the receptionist the fault is obvious is no good at all. Many faults need to be demostrated, or a road test needs to be carried out, as a customer, you need to allow time for this, if you dont then how can you expect someone to do the job you demand?

Taped to the computers on our reception we have the following moto.

WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? HOW?

If you answer all of those questions as a customer then the fault is easier to find. Often the first time the customer has actually thought about the fault is when the tech or receptionist interview them at the reception desk. DETs ask lots of questions during customer interviews, they do this to reduce the time they need to spend on the car and therefore the costs to the customer!

You would not go to the doctors and say "well cure me then" without giving the doctor as much information of what is wrong with you, how long you have been like it etc etc. For some reason customers would volunteer info at the doctors yet dont feel they need to at the dealers. Sorry the doc and the tech are doing the same job, the docs "models" dont change from year to year and dont use new technology. The techs "models" are always being changed, updated, developed etc.

Examiner gives the DET more info than any other diagnostic tool available, there is more data available to the operator than just fault codes, but if the AA or another garage have deleted the codes they also have deleted all the extra info that can be accessed by examiner. So please think twice before allowing anyone to delete errors on any system.

The final thing to remember is that the customer doesnt need to try and prove that they understand the car, or mechanics etc. DETs will interview the customer at whatever level of knowledge of vehicles the customer has, sometimes faults can however take longer because the customer appears to know more than they actually do. If a customer uses a technical term, that they dont understand the DET may interpret that information incorrectly.

So dont use terms that you dont understand, be honest and as descriptive as possible, think about when the fault occurs and how it could be demonstrated and be prepared to spend time whilst dropping the car off for a test drive, or an interview with the DET. Also always have a contact number available, as sometimes the tech may want to ask questions that have arisen from tests that they have done on the car.

pah just tell um car seems funny, make um spend all day looking for a fault

I would have expected that from Phil if he ever came to see me Dave, but not you lol.

i just thought of a more evil one, book car in for a service on a saturday morning, borrow a mates key and give that key to the girl on the desk, when she rings and says key is wrong one say it cant be you drove the car there with it, then start shouting that its the dealers fault and they have to fix it

Oi I'm always helpfull and quite often do the diagnosis for them because of the thorough discription of the fault and if fiat had made a workshop manual for the car and it was available to the public the only time I would bother you is if the car needed to go on an examiner so there now go and shut the door behind you Oi its that way out >>>>>>>>>

LOL ok grandad

Well the other problem is that the dealers have a way of doing things and they like to stick to it even if its the worst way to.
Ive had to order parts behind they're back(door check strap etc)for them cos theyve gone again and the desk sez bring the car in so they can have a look..i tell um why do i have to come in twice (first to show them wots broken,2nd visit so they can fit it)its 45min journy each way and whos paying for that?

Well when i bring it in(check strap),the day before its over heating (used up all coolant and oil) i get it to the dealer which they looked at both problems-the problems was written on a check sheet.
Check strap has amazinly broken!wow..do we have it in stock...yes we do(that would be cos i ordered it )

I told the desk and service manager who over sees everything apparetnly, how much oil and coolant it has used up-all in 3days,told they look at it.
Later they say its leakin coolant pipes..."fine but why so much oil?"...Dont know bring it back in 500 miles..Well with that im watchin it but its levels are goin down with the smell of burning oil still and they dont know why but the desk lady said it sounds like a head gasket which i was guessin at.

1.So the way to go about it is to go behind their back and order anything u need before it goes in.
2.Get them to write what is wrong down on the check list.
3.See who dealing/dealt with the car which in some places is off limits but what the hay.
4.Check its been done before it leaves the garage and watch it like a hawk and be ready to phone them back when your by the side of the road Waiting for the AA.

Really it a problem with a lot of things which you just cant pin point as loads of different places have different problems,desk people,managers,techs(some are useless),manufacturers.
Its just people that are the problem,Wrong person for the wrong job.

Glad to see you took that in the spirit it was intended thought I might have offended you by the way money for that buckshe examiner is ................................

Guess I'm just lucky to have a mate who is a fully quialified engineer/MOT tester. He works on all makes of cars, but particularly likes Fiats. The downside is that it can take him a week to service my car because he does it in his spare time (clearing the 'service due' message in about 15 seconds), the upside is that he lends me his car whilst hes doing it.

All for the cost of the parts and a few beers.

Sorry Lobster you seem to have missed your friends address and phone number off this post

I'll just send a bill for standing around for two hours waiting for your car to make me laugh