by Todd Low

Automotive Technology

You are an automotive repair shop owner. You run a very honest and fair business, with a good reputation. You have very good technicians working for you who are well trained. They have attended specialty classes and work well with your new, most up-to-date equipment and reference materials.

A customer brings in his car and says that sometimes it stalls. There is no particular time or pattern. He wants it fixed. You assign the car to your #1 technician. He test drives it, goes through all the proper diagnosing procedures and does not find any problem.

You charge the customer the standard ½ hour diagnostic fee and tell him that no problem was found. The customer drives away and the car stalls again. He is mad, because he wants his car fixed. How much time do you spend on the car and how much do you charge the customer?

Your technician could spend 4 to 8 plus hours driving and checking this car, searching for the reason it stalls. After this, he might drive it to and from work, on lunch breaks, etc., keeping it connected to equipment ready to find the problem when it occurs. When and if it is found, the actual repair might take less than one hour. The diagnostic time could be possibly 6 hours - i.e. 6 hours and 1 hour times $45.00 per hour comes to a cost of $315.00.

This scenario is the same as above, but you didn't solve the problem. The cost for six hours diagnostic time is $270.00, but the customer's car still stalls...sometimes.

Questions:

What constitutes professionalism?

When do you get paid for services rendered - only if the car is fixed?...whether or not the problem is solved?

What if you change every conceivable part that could cause this; would that be professional and ethical?

If you cannot fix it, would it be more ethical to charge a nominal fee rather than what is due to you for services rendered?