Tipping Service Advisors!!

[kingman]

Hi

Today was the first time l was able to drop off my 96LT1, to a dealer to check out my entire car since l picked it up 6 wks ago.

Normally, l do not tip service advisors but this service advisor owns a 86 or 87 vette and said that he would only give it to qualified vette mechanics only.

What do you think would be the right amount to tip?

Thanks

Alan

 

[Mr.Cool]

This is a great question. My service writer wanted me to buy the GMPP warrenty and mention his name so he would get a cut. But I wound up buying two online saving close to three hundred dollars in sales tax alone. Now I feel bad that he got cut out of the deal. Maybe I should send him a Christmas check next year.

 

[kingman]

GMPP???????

Mr Cool

Where did you pick up this plan and what is the deductable??

Thanks

Alan

 

[pax]

I don't know if I would want too start that....what do you tip him next time? If someone tips him more will they get better service than you?
How about showing up with donuts? If you drop the car off in the morning and are around at coffee time, this I think would be a nice gesture and shared by the mechanic and after all the mechanic is who I think should be rewarded.
john

 

[kingman]

Tips

I agree with you if it was a joint effort, but the service advisor is the one who picks the mechanic and over see's the entire service. Also he is the one that write's up the finished ticket and tallie's up the final $'s.

Since l dropped off the car today, most of the mechanic's were off except the guys who do the oil changes and detail new cars to be del. And what happens if l do not like the way the car was fixed!

Thinking about it now, l should have gave him $50, l guess l just got cheap.

Alan

 

[rrubel]

I've never tipped a dealer's service department, but I'll bring 6-packs of good beer or cases of soda to indie mechanics after a particularly hard or well-done job (ex: the $3k of clutch/freeze plugs/water pump/parking brake/etc that my Vette needed when I bought it, or the $5k of body work to restoer my wife's car to roadworthyness after someone ran a red...) . They usually remember that, next time I come in...
[RICHR]

 

[kingman]

I cannot fight you on that point and your probably right, but when the only people around is the service advisor and a couple of mechanics on a saturday, there really wasn't any choice. l knew this when l dropped off my car.

When l go to a plant where l do my work, there are 35-40 workers, l normally bring donuts or bagels and sometimes pizza for lunch. This is not counting their xmas money.

Yes this gets expensive, but the thing that they value the most is the good old dollar. Everybody needs money and when they get it, they appreciate it.

We live in a capitalistic society, not that l agree with it, but it works, or l should say had worked.

Alan

 

[pax]

kingman,
Your tipping will likely not change the final bill or this would be considered a bribe by the employer and the advisors job is not worth it.
You are paying the bill so you should pick the mechanic (assuming this is a place where you do repeat bussiness). If they can't show me a mechanic I feel is qualified I WILL go elseware.
If you don't like the way the car was fixed why would you want to tip anybody.
I am new to the corvettes and am doing as much as I can myself (which is why I bought the vette) but sometimes we all need some help. Recently with the help of some great people on this forum who gave me the right questions to ask I went to 3 vette shops and one dealer to interview them regarding rear wheel bearings. After I have had a chance to put the work to the test I may pop in and show my appreciation with donuts and coffee, usually picking up something else I need or just have a question.
john

 

[Edmond]

I must admit that tipping service advisors is something that is entirely foreign to me. I don't consider them on the same job agendas as waiters or barbers. I really don't know what to say, but I'd lean towards a six pack than money. I've never tipped a service advisor. Then again, we usually fix our cars ourselves and rarely bring something into the shop. And when we did go to a shop, we got shoddy service so I'm not much help on that.

I think I tip my barber exceptionally well. The haircut is $11 and I always give him $15. I think $4 is quite fair for the simplicity that my haircut requires.

 

[bradfordsvettes]

if this is a place that you do repeat business i would get to know the mechanic and throw him a tip he is the one that is responsable for a good job the writer is usually the one who sends the wrong info out to the shop in the first place i have a hand full of customers who throw me a bone and believe me when they walk in the door i go out of the way for them no matter who else is there only my 2 cents as a 27 year vet in the dealer rat race as a tech steve

 

[LEEJANDZ]

Working at a dealership I have a different take on things.
Your service writer is in competition with the other service writers.
Their pay is based on how many customers/jobs they create.
Most (but not all) service writers will try and take you for as much as they can.

If you can find a tech at a dealership who is allowed to work after closing on side projects... use him.
Parts & labor will be 1/3 the service writer's cost.
and the tech will be happy and take better care of your car because more money goes into his pocket.

If it were up to me... the service writers should tip you!!!

Trust me on this one



JASON *** BRAND NEW MAGNECOR WIRES FOR SALE!!! *** 1979 L-82

 

[kingman]

Excellent Point!

Lee, that is probably the best point so far, and well taken. Your 100% correct after l gave it serious thought.

l was given a name of a mechanic at a dealership that really is approx 1hr away and tried to reach him, but again if l reached him l had no clue what really had to be dine. He happens to be a A-10 mechanic, and the wait for him is at least 5 weeks, because he rents a bay on saturdays.

The dealership my vette is in now, is more local and the service advisor was a past member of my Corvette Club before l joined. l knew this before l selected this dealership and told him of my affiliation with the club.

The only thing that l'm having done is change the oil and filter, lube the entire car, check all fluid levels including the rear and tranny. Change the anti freeze if needed.

And turn off the service light (LTPWS)

The dealership has a 44pt check up for free and l noted on the work order that they must call me before they do anything besides what l requested.

Remember this is a car l recently purchased and the previous owner lost his job and ran out of money. When l first drove the car, l barely had enough gas to get to a local gas station.

By the way the service advisor put my vette indoors, instead of out in his lot. Now that says something.

Alan

p.s. What is really pitiful is that 146 members looked at this thread and so few voted!!

 

[vigman]

It's not a resturant

The service writer is not the waiter...

I do tip mechanics & body people that show EXTRA effort.

Since I do most of my own work..I am not faced with that issue...BUT when I'm either to busy ( or to lazy ) or it's something I DONT DO... I hover and watch as time permits... and you can easily tell when somebodys over their head on a job... but when I see a mechanic constantly moving & grooving.. the I know he is a PRO.. Tipping ( read gratuity) is a way of saying THANK YOU.. and nothing says Thank you better than GREEN.. espically is the mechanic has just met you.

 

[vettepilot]

It was a long time a go, in a different age, but when I worked for a Chevy Service Dept as a Tech, if somebody gave the service writer a tip he would graciously accept it, but promptly turn it over to the Tech who actually did the work, before the customer departed, so the custumer would see where his tip went.
It didn't take long before those customers would hand the service writer the tip money, but ask that the mechanic recieve it.
After a while, many customers asked if they could give the tech the tip directly and ask about the service that was performed.
Often the customer would request a certain tech by name to work on their vehicle. So in the end we had many satisfied customers, some of which became lasting friends outside the workplace.
That made us very happy, we made the customer very happy, and the whole thing went full circle.
vettepilot

 

[LEEJANDZ]

Please remember one thing.

Dealerships charge anywhere from $60-90 an hour for labor.
Yet the top techs wont make 1/3 of that.
But the service writers make more than that.

If you get the chance, meet the tech who works on your car.
If you get to know him, he will take care of you.

Put a face to the car instead of "just another job" on some rich @$$'s CORVETTE.

There are a lot of techs who will never be able to afford one of these cars.
And too many of them are jealous enough to abuse your property.

 

[Mr.Cool]

Kingman

GMPP General Motors Protection Plan. Of course your car must be within the orignal warranty period to get this extended warranty. They are available online if you do a search.

 

[Alex D]

i don't tip because it doesn't make at damned difference.........you're not going to get better service........go and find a good dealer ......that will work......unfortunately the best dealer I have ever been doing business with is a Ford dealer who put a shift kit in my SOHC Thunderbird beater..........

 

[jester]

I've never tipped a service writer, but then I've only known two who were worth a darn. They were both at the same Pontiac dealership at different periods. I bought several cars from that dealership and I always made it a point to tell the owner, and sales manager that the main reason I kept coming back was because the service guys took good care of me if I needed something.

 

[UvetteIrace]

I think the idea of getting a mechanic to work on your car after that mechanic's normal buisness hours may run into some problems, in a legal aspect. First, if you obtain a mechanic from an auto-shop (dealer's service dep't or not), will the shops' warranty still be applicable. I think not, b/c the owner of the auto-shop can say the job that was done not through company (auto-shop). So, if you did obtain a worthy mechanic, or just a mechanic, what happens should that mechanic screw something up - that may take more hours to correct than that particular mechanic was willing to work for, simply b/c he has a 9-5 job.

I think prudence dictates that if your going to obtain a service (not a product) from someone or something, one should get some kind of exit plan, should anything go wrong. The best way is to go to a shop, especially nation-wide type shop b/c they will have the resources to correct and refund any money at a timely fashion. More importantly they want repeat business. Or should I say they survive on repeat business. Also, a threat of exposure through the media will motivate any shop keeper to correct mistakes. One letter to the BBB or state attorney general's office will prompt shop owners to man-up to thier errors. An independant mechanic may simply not want to do that b/c again, he or she has a stable job already, and really is only seeking extra money, not to replace his/her job by taking on independant work. The mechanic working on your car is doing so on their spare time, it make take months before that mechanic has the right amount of time to correct the mistakes. True, that if you get a top mechanic more than likely he will do a good job (sorry he or she will do a good job), but top mechanics are human too. And they too can be prone to make mistakes, especially if they are having any kind of personal problems (divorce).

I would not tip a service advisor simply b/c the prices being charged are high enough, and if the mechanic is not getting paid enough, that really is the problem of the owner and lies with his consicous, not mine. And should the shop do a bad job, Well that is when i use the full force of the legal system, which I am an active player with. They mess with my car, I'll mess with thier legal disposition.

 

[warren s]

In all my short 20 years of having a bunch of muscle cars, and now my 95 LT1, it never even occured to me to bring one to a dealer for service.

The service I have recieved under warrenty for my last 3 new GM cars (93,96 and 2000 Bonnevilles) was so poor, i was just glad to get my car back. Some friends I have that work at independeant shops tell me they gets lots of customers with cars still under warrenty by the factory, but refuse to go back to the dealer.

At any rate, I would tip the actual guy who did the work.