So a customer comes in and complains about a noise...

So a customer comes in and complains about a noise in the back of their vehicle. And this is what was found.

No wonder, those are cheap aftermarket pavers.

Thick as a brick indeed, Jethro Tull.

Be careful, the customer may discover this post and get you fired

WalMart shopper. Shocking.

So, what did the customer say when you revealed the problem?

It wasnt a ruse to try to get you to go with him to taste some really good wine he just got, was it?

Was she/he a blond?

My question is was the noise still present after removing the weight?

You take a little ride and end up in a hole looking up as they say "you put the lotions on the skin..."

I wonder how many people never bother to look in the trunk before complaining about a noise?

Just make sure those bricks aren't pointed at a fuel line.

How much did you charge for the repair?

Im guessing the noise complaint had something to do with scraping or grinding

heh done that to myself before. Caught it before I got too far into diagnosing

I remember one that complained of a "rattle in the dash". They had about $20 in change in the glovebox rattling around.

mad_machine wrote: I wonder how many people never bother to look in the trunk before complaining about a noise?

THE NUMBER IS NONZERO.

I will leave it at that.

Bobzilla wrote: I remember one that complained of a "rattle in the dash". They had about $20 in change in the glovebox rattling around.

"No, not that noise, this is a new one."

Often the same people who, when going for a road test so they can identify the noise they are concerned about, keep friggin' talking through the whole drive so you can never actually get to hear the noise.

The last noise concern I had to deal with involved a customer who declined fixing everything in the suspension, then the next week came back and said "It's still rattling." Well, yeah, it's still rattling, we only eliminated half of the problems.

My favorite was the car that needed upper ball joints (had positive camber on an RL), rear control arms, sway bar links and two wheel bearings, declined it all and instead spent $450 to send the E36 M3ty OE radio in for repair. 4 days later the car was towed in with one of the front wheels half off becauase the ball joint let go.

Said customer then threw a fit that we didnt tell them that could happen and they split the repair cost and paid the tow bill to make them happy. Never understood that philosophy. They hemorraghed so much money in free repairs because Acura people can be some serious douchebags when THEY berkeley up.

In reply to Bobzilla:

It's across all manufacturers.... I got to the point of nearly writing in the RO, " customer declines repair. Customer informed about related potential failure."

Dammed if you do dammed I you don't. Tell them there wheel may fall off and you are trying to scare them into a repair and rip them off. Don't tell them and you are libel.

I had a very new Range Rover come in with a TPMS light on. A quick scan showed it was a low spare tire. I open the hatch and it is floor to cargo cover with bricks from the gate to the back seat. After a heated argument with my service writer the truck went away. I have no idea if it ever came back empty, but I sure as hell wasn't removing a cubic yard of bricks just to put air in a tire.

dean1484 wrote: Famed if you di famed I you don't. Tell them there wheel may fall off and you ate trying to scare them in to a repair and rip them off. Don't tell them and you are libel.

Ummm, what?

In reply to Junkyard_Dog:

And to think: I actually wash the car or truck I'm getting fixed so the mechanics don't have to deal with oily dirt, mud, grease etc. when working on it.

I had a customer once (young female) with a noise complaint of a rattle while going around left hand corners. I get the work order and the keys from the service writer. She had a dozen or so keychains on her car key that would touch the dash on left handers. The look on her face when I explained the repair was priceless.