Thursday, October 9, 2008
Letting your tongue slip
I have been rather on edge here lately thinking about something that was said at park day last week. We were sitting around and a mom who hadn't been there for quite some time piped up about finally "finding a mechanic who isn't a crook." Uh huh. Well, that turned me off immediately. My husband is a mechanic. And an honest one at that. He wouldn't fix anything you wouldn't want fixed. He works at a shop. He makes crap for cash. Her definition of crook apparently was someone who charges more than others. She found a guy who worked out of his garage. Well, there is something to a shop charging $200 where a guy charges $90. The shop has overhead-they have to pay employees, outrageous business taxes, and the like. The guy can write everything off because he works out of a house. He also does not have the automotive ties to guarantee work like a shop does. My husband's employer is very reasonable in his prices-to the point that they undercharge on a lot of the work done. My husband works his as$ off, and it makes me very upset to hear someone call him a crook simply because he wants to be paid appropriately for what he does. Now, I don't' know that she had ever been in contact with his shop, but I do know that one should speak wisely-think before talking. What she said was very offensive to me and I tend to be pretty laid back about most things. I will have a hard time associating with her for awhile. Oh, and my dad was a mechanic as well, and I know there are those who are not honest in their work, but there are those who only look out for the best for their customers, whether they know them or not, and it is very unfair and childish to lump them all together. I would expect more from a mother on the fringe of what is considered normal in society as we are looked upon as odd, and we are all very different. Lumping any group together is simply a poor idea, but then loudly speaking about it, even worse. Just had to say something...
3 comments:
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A lot of people don't get the difference between someone doing occasional work as an individual and someone doing regular work as an actual business.
ReplyDeleteActual businesses have a LOT of overhead, and some of that overhead protects YOU, the customer. Insurance, for example. Looking to have work done around your house? You can hire Harry from around the corner for much cheaper than someone who does handyman work for a living, but if Harry slips and falls, he doesn't carry insurance that covers him for that. If Harry messes up and fries your entire electrical system, guess what? He doesn't carry insurance to cover that, either.
That doesn't mean that Harry's not competent, not at all.
But it also doesn't mean that all the non-Harrys out there are ripping you off.
It IS hard to find professionals such as mechanics, because we as lay people have to pretty much just hope they're telling the truth. Most of us have no way to tell if they're lying or not, and it's uncomfortable to be in that position.
That doesn't mean that they're all crooks.
Amen! People do not understand how a business runs. I overhear people talking about how expensive photography is and it drives me nuts. I've got my equiptment, training, advertising, and tons of taxes to pay.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I hear your frustration
Funny because when you mentioned to me where your husband works, I thought "great, I'll take my car there".
ReplyDeleteMy dad is a car salesman and you know what people say about those.