[Wierd Harold]

Correct, that is the flat rate time.

[Codez]

A quick update for those interested:

1. I did not do it myself. Easy as it is. I don't have any tools to do it, nor do I want to damage the car trying to do it myself.

2. I went to the dealer and.spoke to the shop foreman. I asked why the charge of two hours when it takes them maybe 40 minutes to do all 4.

3. Foreman responded and I quote "why should I penalize my guys for being good and fast at their job?" "It's the same as if you were to call out a plumber"

4. I responded "I am paying you 1 hour of labour I expect to get a full hour for my money, that's how a plumber works is it not?

" I have no issue paying for 2 hours if it takes you more than an hour however if you are telling me I pay for the first job (front) for an hour and it takes you 20 minutes. I'm not paying for a 2nd hour when I still have 40 minutes left.

Basically the foreman went on to say this is industry standard blah blah blah and continued to completely dismiss what I was saying.

5. So I contacted the head of the dealership after I was done dealing with service. Advised them of the situation. Part of what I said was you don't treat your premium vehicle customers that way, especially those who likely know their stuff or do their research prior. About 30 min later the gm calls be back, advising I'll only be charged one hour and provided me with the contact for the manager of service for future. Gm.advised I wouldn't encounter this issue again for future services.

Let this be a lesson for others. Know your stuff prior to going in and don't be scammed by "industry standards".

Thanks for the responses everyone.

And yes I could of avoided all of this by doing it myself. I didn't want to do this but will consider it once I move/buy new tools.

Cody

[Camaro1973]

Originally Posted by Codez

A quick update for those interested:

1. I did not do it myself. Easy as it is. I don't have any tools to do it, nor do I want to damage the car trying to do it myself.

2. I went to the dealer and.spoke to the shop foreman. I asked why the charge of two hours when it takes them maybe 40 minutes to do all 4.

3. Foreman responded and I quote "why should I penalize my guys for being good and fast at their job?" "It's the same as if you were to call out a plumber"

4. I responded "I am paying you 1 hour of labour I expect to get a full hour for my money, that's how a plumber works is it not?

" I have no issue paying for 2 hours if it takes you more than an hour however if you are telling me I pay for the first job (front) for an hour and it takes you 20 minutes. I'm not paying for a 2nd hour when I still have 40 minutes left.

Basically the foreman went on to say this is industry standard blah blah blah and continued to completely dismiss what I was saying.

5. So I contacted the head of the dealership after I was done dealing with service. Advised them of the situation. Part of what I said was you don't treat your premium vehicle customers that way, especially those who likely know their stuff or do their research prior. About 30 min later the gm calls be back, advising I'll only be charged one hour and provided me with the contact for the manager of service for future. Gm.advised I wouldn't encounter this issue again for future services.

Let this be a lesson for others. Know your stuff prior to going in and don't be scammed by "industry standards".

Thanks for the responses everyone.

And yes I could of avoided all of this by doing it myself. I didn't want to do this but will consider it once I move/buy new tools.

Cody

I don't agree with any of this. They go by book time, which is pretty much a standard anywhere. Dealers need to make their money off of service, they have to pay for their mechanics and make profits. You should of just did it yourself and not complained. Your not just paying for some schmuck with tools from walmart working in his driveway installing your brakes. 2 Hours labor is actually very fair, Ive seen other places charge upwards of $400 to change brakes.



EX: I am an IT consultant, run my own business and I charge a $45.00 travel fee, and $125 per hour. If i'm there for 35 minutes, you get billed for an hour.

[Vigilante375]

Sounds like a shady dealership getting over on customers. Charging more than what they should. I'd stay away from that dealership and find another one. No reason to give them business when they are doing this to everyone because it's "industry standard" when it's just a straight up lie and people wouldn't take it as far as you did.

Good on you for not backing down and calling them out.

[Vigilante375]

Originally Posted by Camaro1973

I don't agree with any of this. They go by book time, which is pretty much a standard anywhere. Dealers need to make their money off of service, they have to pay for their mechanics and make profits. You should of just did it yourself and not complained. Your not just paying for some schmuck with tools from walmart working in his driveway installing your brakes. 2 Hours labor is actually very fair, Ive seen other places charge upwards of $400 to change brakes.



EX: I am an IT consultant, run my own business and I charge a $45.00 travel fee, and $125 per hour. If i'm there for 35 minutes, you get billed for an hour.

No. 2 hours to just change the brake pads is way over the time frame to compete the job.

It's less than a 30 minute job for a dealership since all 4 tires will be off the ground.

[Codez]

Originally Posted by Camaro1973

I don't agree with any of this. They go by book time, which is pretty much a standard anywhere. Dealers need to make their money off of service, they have to pay for their mechanics and make profits. You should of just did it yourself and not complained. Your not just paying for some schmuck with tools from walmart working in his driveway installing your brakes. 2 Hours labor is actually very fair, Ive seen other places charge upwards of $400 to change brakes.



EX: I am an IT consultant, run my own business and I charge a $45.00 travel fee, and $125 per hour. If i'm there for 35 minutes, you get billed for an hour.

You are missing the point.

Example

So the customer comes to you with 2 IT repairs (let's use laptops as an exsmple). These repairs take you 45 minutes lets say. What you are telling me is even though it's the same time slot, and the customer has paid you for an hour, you would charge the customer for 2 hrs even though it took you a total of 45 minutes? Simply because it was two separate laptops?

My point is it takes them less than an hour to do all 4.

Why would I pay someone twice for their time ?

I DONT CARE IF I SHOULD HAVE DONE IT MYSELF. Everyone can stop posting this. I have my reasons why I chose not too.

[Codez]

Originally Posted by Vigilante375

Sounds like a shady dealership getting over on customers. Charging more than what they should. I'd stay away from that dealership and find another one. No reason to give them business when they are doing this to everyone because it's "industry standard" when it's just a straight up lie and people wouldn't take it as far as you did.

Good on you for not backing down and calling them out.

Agreed, I'll definitely consider finding a different local mechanic. Just haven't found anything reliable yet.

[PROMETHEUS]

You don't have any friends or maybe a Corvette or Camaro Club around you that would/could help with equipment? That is too bad. If you where close to me, I would have been happy to help with a lift and tools.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by Camaro1973

I don't agree with any of this. They go by book time, which is pretty much a standard anywhere. Dealers need to make their money off of service, they have to pay for their mechanics and make profits. You should of just did it yourself and not complained. Your not just paying for some schmuck with tools from walmart working in his driveway installing your brakes. 2 Hours labor is actually very fair, Ive seen other places charge upwards of $400 to change brakes.

EX: I am an IT consultant, run my own business and I charge a $45.00 travel fee, and $125 per hour. If i'm there for 35 minutes, you get billed for an hour.

This is fundamentally the way I see it, too.

However, I will say that the "framing" is unfortunate here, and I believe this is why many people complain. Saying "we will charge 2 hours of labor as per the book" when the job takes less than 45 minutes is nothing but an invitation for undue, yet understandable criticism.
I think a better way to communicate this would be "we work in labor units of 30 mins (or maybe 60); in our x years of documented experience this job takes 1.25 to 1.75 units, so we'll charge 1.5 hours of labor plus a fixed 'overhead', which is your acknowledgment of the fact that we know what we are doing AND we posses and maintain the infrastructure to perform a completely satisfactory job". This also preserves the motivation for mechanics to perform a quality job and not just try to beat the book time allocation no matter what, because otherwise they make mininmum wage.

In short, "brake pad job: $xyz fixed + 1.5 hrs labor @ $abc"

Originally Posted by Codez

You are missing the point.

Example

So the customer comes to you with 2 IT repairs (let's use laptops as an exsmple). These repairs take you 45 minutes lets say. What you are telling me is even though it's the same time slot, and the customer has paid you for an hour, you would charge the customer for 2 hrs even though it took you a total of 45 minutes? Simply because it was two separate laptops?

My point is it takes them less than an hour to do all 4.

Why would I pay someone twice for their time ?

I DONT CARE IF I SHOULD HAVE DONE IT MYSELF. Everyone can stop posting this. I have my reasons why I chose not too.

You pay more for their training, their experience, their infrastructure and the resulting significant reduction of output risk.

All of the above is under the assumption that this is a good service department worth your or our business.

[Gunkk]

That's the problem with the whole "standard labor" method. While it protects the dealership by establishing a minimum base rate that helps cover unpaid training, cost of equipment, software licenses, etc., it leaves them open to negotiation if the standard hours are in far in excess of what most folks can do.

In this case the Brembo pad swap is stupid simple (easier than standard Chevy brakes) and at least 100% in excess of what an experienced, competent technician would need. Not to mention schlubs like us who have their hand jacks and hand tools and can still do it in less than book standard time.

If I was a dickhead service writer I could say "Well the job is going to cost you $$$$ fixed price. Do you want my best tech who can do it in 1/2 the time or my worst that takes the full 2 hrs? Either way it costs you $$$$"