Ever have one of those experiences....

.... that makes you decide NOT to frequent a business anymore??

I had one of those today. Feel free to tell me if I'm overreacting or not.

So, there's a local Mechanics' Shop I take my junk to, but also is a customer on my delivery route. So, I'm popping in anywhere from 3-10 times a day. I've known the owner and his wife since they were a mom and pop operation 25 years ago. Well, recently the owner passed away, and the Mrs. doesn't really seem to involve herself much with the business, leaving it to sort of.... run itself.

They'd been slow this past week, so I asked if they'd do a few jobs on my Gremlin that needed to be done. They agreed and I dropped off the car last Monday.

And that's when it started.

So, one of their mechanics (whom I've never really met before) comes sauntering out to look at the car. We exchange pleasantries but soon the BS starts to come.

"Yeah, Ralph Nader wrote a book about these cars and how unsafe they are."

"Yeah, these used to blow up when they got rear-ended."

I tried to correct him, saying that "Unsafe at Any Speed" was primarily about the Corvair, and the exploding cars were Pintos.

His response: "Well, I've only been doing this for 50 years, but what do I know?"
(and I've heard that phrase so often, I refer to it as the battle cry of the ignorant)

Over the week, their welder guy did the welding job I needed done. Scotty is great, very straight-forward and things were looking fine.

Then the car goes to this other mechanic whom I'd met on Monday. His job was to replace the front bearings, seals and races; and cut the studs so that the front drums can be replaced. But now, with the new drums, the Magnum 500 wheels don't sit flush against the drum face. I got called to the shop to have things explained to me.

Long story short, when I suggested to just use a 3/16" wheel spacer like the factory did..... that's when the fight started. This mechanic started going off on how wheel spacers are illegal and how he's a red seal and doesn't want his name attached to anything where the wheels are going to fall off. He started accusing me of ordering the wrong drums and when I rolled my eyes at this I got a finger shoved in my face and was told "Don't you roll your eyes at me!" Like.... what a Diva. The whole time too he kept going back to his battle cry of "I've been doing this for 50 years...."

So, I bit my tongue, and went back into the front area with the Service Advisor dude who almost immediately apologized for this unhinged mechanic. We Googled his claim about "illegal" wheel spacers and OK, to his credit, somewhere between 2017 and 2022, the government has made them illegal. But even the Service Advisor dude was surprised to learn this.

I explained how I thought this might happen since we ran into the identical problem on my '74 Hornet (oddly enough, this exact same shop didn't flip their poop about it a few years ago) and I told the advisor I'd whip home at lunch, grab my factory steel wheels and deliver them. I had them there by 12:30pm.

But by the time I got back, my car was OFF the lift and in the parking lot on all four Tiger Paws. The service advisor met me in the parking lot away from crazy mechanic and explained how, simply to get it out of the shop, they put my old (now wallered-out) drums BACK on with the Magnum 500's and the mechanic has now tagged the car unsafe to drive and must be towed home.

The service advisor and I had a quick chat and I said "What if I get here Sunday morning, throw the good drums BACK on, toss on some wheel spacers and make tracks?" He said he has NO problem with that.


BUT, here's the real twist. I was (and I guess still am) in the process of maybe getting a job at this shop. They offer great money & good bennies. I have a phone interview with Mrs. Owner tomorrow.... and I feel I really should bring up today's incident. Now, I'm not so sure I want to work at a place with Mr. Stressed-out, fractured-at-the-hinges Mechanic who doesn't know a Corvair from a Pinto.

He might be a fine mechanic. But he's already proven himself a fool.

God.... shades of Mopar Jamie here, huh?
What do you, the experts, think?

Been doing it for 50 years but can't tell a Corvair from a Pinto from a Gremlin.

Meet that type all the time. I just nod and walk away because you can't teach someone who knows everything.

If you're serious about working there, tell them to call you when he's gone.

Do you have a service manual or parts diagram or illustration showing this wheel spacer? If so take it with you and politely ask if there is anything there that might help with this situation? Don't be a know it all, just a show it all Also find out how long this 50 years of experience mechanic has been working there, if not long then I'm pretty sure with his attitude he won't be there too much longer.

I'd apply for a job somewhere else, unless you know the "50 year veteran" is on his way out......I spent 8 yrs working with an idiot like that, and it was "draining" on a daily basis working in the same shop....

Just my humble point of view here- I've had side and full time positions in automotive and industrial type settings. There is almost always at least one of these at every one of those places. Sometimes, you do learn something from them, just like you did. Its a power thing. He approached you not knowing you from boo and started spouting off random generic car trivia to assert his position of command, you challenged it, he got his pampers in a twist. Typically a very effective way of dealing with these individuals is letting them speak, and do not respond or react in any way. This will be a silent psychological cue to them you don't give a ---- and they will get the clue. If this job and this establishment has perks that outweigh the negatives, id say what do you have to lose? Give it a shot, you may be surprised how much you two have in common. Or, as stated in a previous post, you could find yourself plotting to find ways for his lift to fail catastrophically while he's under it.

Short side story- Worked with, I think, the same dude as in your post at a small shop. He sees what I'm driving and looks at my shirt and growls out "Mopar, huh? I am so sorry you've been lied to all your life. BWAH HA HA HA!" My first response was " Hmm. Yeah. I should have got a Kia Sephia from the 90s or a early 2000 Hyundai elantra like you, because their just better on gas? Sorry man, I'm just an old gear head who wants to drive stuff I love". He got a little butt hurt because the statement was made in front of co workers that found it humorous. He later makes a half arsed attempt to find some common ground with me since he sees I can do more than oil changes and tire rotations. He blurts out, " I almost ordered a T A Challenger brand new when I was graduating high school. It was spec'd out with a 426 wedge, a pistol grip automatic, and the heavy duty 9" rear". I made the mistake of not following my own advice and asked, " what year did you graduate?" He replied "1975". We didn't speak much afterwards...

THIS.......

Well, it seems you've met your potential new coworkers.
I don't think it matters where you work, if there are more than a few employees, there's gonna be "that guy." If you really want to work there, just do your job. Unless you're going to be the new boss man, "that guy" is someone else's problem.
I don't foresee too many scenarios where you'll be working shoulder-to-shoulder with him anyway. That said, I wouldn't allow his presence to influence your decision.

Been my experience idiots like this are the ones put in charge.

Nothing's more tedious to me than a BSer, or technical fiction - that could be a real drag at work, unless you can keep your distance; but that's hard to do.
I'd suggest a friendly chat with the Advisor - maybe their plan is to replace him - with you.
Sounds like they need some skilled management that can keep that mechanic away from customers, or better yet tone him down.

We probably all know someone who's been doing something for 50 years and still sucks at it

My question is, why didn’t you do the work yourself and save the headache?

Call me old but I am getting tired of dealing with idiots, so I don't.

Every week or so I add another business to the list of "I have better things to do than deal with the morons in that place" list.

Funny because I know it isn't my not doing business with them that kills their business, but they almost always go under within a few years. Just something to consider if you want to work there and he stays. You may not be working there for long because he will run off the customers faster than anyone can win them back.

I think I'd go forward with taking a job there, and assume this complete jerk is going to resolve the problem for you by getting himself fired eventually. He's enough of a jerk that other customers won't put up with him IMO. Also sounds like he'll sink himself with the boss eventually too.

i have dealt with this for OVER 50 years !
i am so glad i'm retarded, er, i mean, retired..........[and NOT making fun of people who are, to be crystal clear]
any more, when i am around these types, i ADD to the fun ! [i possess the family gift of "AZZholery". ]
if others are around to hear the conversation, by the time it's done, they are usually having a hard time suppressing their laffs and snorts........

You have to choose the “Quirks” that you can tolerate,
yet isolate from the ones that “get your goat.”

There is a joke:

What is the definition of normal human being?

That is a person that you do not yet know key details about.

They ALWAYS double down on the stupid.

Kevin

Don't worry, he isn't going to last long with an attitude like that. Yes, all those kids were putting spacers on their new cars and it was completely screwing up the geometry

I work with a bunch of guys who know what they're doing because they do what some other guy did.

I do things my own way, they tell me it won't work, but I can do things in half the time. Go figure.

One day I was assembling a transmission and had it on it's side vs standing upright like everyone else. Literally had all the other guys in the shop standing, watching, saying it won't go together. Click, click clunk! It went together. Should have get money on it..

I don't know it all, but I can tell when things are stupid. I'm not against learning new ways to do things either.

Oh Jesus.

Sorta like folks making fun of my ugly tow truck.. I'd chuckle and point out that the ugly 40 year old junker was picking up their disabled 10 years old car. Take it or leave it folks.

It was a Cordoba lol. I'm so tired of all the chevy sheep that have to immediately make anti-Mopar comments. All they know is following the herd. And to prove they are morons they can't ignore your shirt, they have to say something dumb.

You're right IMO, it's a power thing and something gone awry in childhood. "Must lower other people's self esteem because I can't raise mine" kind of thought process. Also explains the chevy love. A need to belong with a herd.

I'm so tired of all the chevy sheep that have to immediately make anti-Mopar comments.

GMC, Chevy, same difference. From several years back, customer was always giving me crap about my 'POS Dodge'.............until his beloved GMC needed a jump (later found out a module or something was pulling down the battery, but not before he had to ask for another jump, )

I still have my Dakota, I doubt he still has his GMC.

#1 I don't have a lift.
#2 I don't have a welder
#3 I'm a very poor welder even if one were provided to me.

In regards to the brakes:

#1 I don't have the tool to cut swedges
#2 I don't have a drill press to be able to cleanly drill out the old studs
#3 I figure since it was at the shop to get some welding done.... why not?

And this has been the crux of my existence. I have the skill to do all the mechanical stuff, but I lack the tools necessary to do so. I wish I were rich enough to afford all this stuff and maybe that's why I'm thinking about staying where I am. Sure, it's minimum wage, BUT the boss has said he'd consider giving me Saturday's off to attend car show stuff AND the staff discount we get is cost +10%. That's on both auto parts AND tools, be they Makita, Jet, Milwaukee, etc.

I'm actually still eyeing a full-size, 2.5 ton floor jack that'll only set me back about $300. And a drill press my cost is only $500. So, there's perks to staying where I am.

I think I've made my decision. Like some of you have said, there's always gonna be "that guy" and sometimes working somewhere where it's calm and quiet is worth a lot more than having to deal with an idiot at work all day for more money. Funny how a lot of us here think alike. I too had labelled this guy with the "Chevy" mentality.

Let's see, been doing this for "50 years". Means he's pushing 70...

We've all heard the stories from those who don't have a clue, but usually they aren't aggressive like this guy...

Honestly, I don't think he's a lot older than me. He might be in his 50's. He's just an arrogant pr*ck.

So, this brought to mind another story of mine. A very well known photographer in Carlisle whose name I won't mention, let's just say, B.H.
B.H. was known for senior pictures and my mother caught wind of this and let me know it was going to be a thing. I let her know immediately it was only going to be a thing if my car was in these pictures. She agreed without hesitation. The moment I pulled up in my charger at a park only a few blocks from the fairgrounds,, B.H. started to fire off the mopars suck cannon at me and my mother. He was so unprofessional and just an ass pirate. After the session, he packs up his gear and says to me, "Thats a really nice car. If I wouldn't be accused of being a redneck in this area, I'd buy it from you right now." I simply said, "not for sale dude." And drove home. Had the car for all of 18 years before I sold it. The pictures are still on my parents wall.

I believe that in 10 years your going to look back at this decision and consider it to be one of those "I'm sure happy I made that decision." events.

I have discovered as time passes that when ever I have to make a choice concerning my future, and something triggers a red flag, I need to stop and figure out why the red flag appeared. Most often that red flag was a warning shot that whatever triggered it wasn't going to be in my best interest.

Yeap: Some people just "Like To Hear Themselves Speak".
Doesn't mean you have to "Listen".
And the louder they speak, the more they're 'convinced', they are Correct.
But they usually just 'Sound Off' their stupidity.

Amen, buddy. When the Universe speaks, you listen. It's just funny too how this all played out. Thursday, I was given the phone number of the owner to contact for a job. Thursday night I procrastinated. This incident went down Friday morning.

I tried phoning the owner last night (Saturday), wound up leaving a message and have still not heard back. So, pretty sure everything is done.

And the stupid thing is???? I went to the place today, popped off my wheels, threw on a 1/4" set of spacers, threw the tires back on and drove the car home. Wheels didn't fall off.... I didn't die.... dogs didn't marry any cats.... the sky didn't fall.

They did apparently misplace all the trim screws for the plastic trim they removed from the back of the car, and lost one of the very special bolts for the back window but.... whatever. I'm done. I don't want to work there and I'm not taking any of my toys there ever again. There's another place just outside town that is *VERY* Old-Car friendly and I think they'll be getting my money from now on.

Yep, as much as I hate to say it, sometimes things we don't like happen for a reason we can't grasp at the time. Often times that reason we didn't understand at the time, saved our butts at some later point.

I try not to judge an entire business (especially one I've dealt with for years) on one bad experience with one employee (especially a relatively new one).

Every place I've ever worked, and every business I've ever frequented has one or more people that are hard to deal with.

It's just a question of how "bad" are they and how many of them are there.

In the post-covid tight labor market some businesses are having to employ people they might not normally employ because they need the bodies and don't have many options to choose from.