Fleet Farm Tire Center

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DelSlow;200750 wrote:
Why does it always have to be a shop? or only car related? Ever thought about a job that actually pays well?

Spelling/Grammar isn't up to par with for a job that pays well perhaps?

CRX_Civic;200746 wrote:
As of last week i no longer work at fleet farm tire center.....because i rotated and balanced my tires for free, had a tire repair done for free, and mounted some tires for free....all over the past year, I think its Stupid that they wont let you work on you own vehicles occasinally? **am **i right? i want to know what your shops rules are on that type of stuff and if anyone else agrees that it is a dumb policy. i could  mabey see if it was busy and **i **was taking away from other buisness but it wasnt. **along **with me 3 other guys got fired to form the same BS so if anyonw wants a SHITTY job im sure fleet farm is hiring?! Thnx

bubba

Who cares if the policies are dumb or not...policy is policy and you follow them...they were right to fire you, u knew the rules and disobeyed them...and when another shop calls them for a reference they'll tell the new shop that and you're gonna have a hard time finding someone to hire you. I worked at Fleet Farm Tire Center for a year when I was still in Fergus, never had a problem with it because I followed the rules. When I worked at Tires Plus I did rotates and oil changes on my own stuff, but I made sure it was ok with my manager ahead of time. All I have to say is quit your fucking whining, that's like saying you stole something from work and crying that they fired you because of it...ur dumb

bubba

Oh and if I remember correctly the policy there is you can't work on your own vehicle, whether or not you're on the clock. You can't even be in the shop when someone else is working on it. And when you get something done there you have to PAY.

XJHEAD

CRX_Civic;200746 wrote:
i want to know what your shops rules are on that type of stuff

I have done quite a few things on company time;
R&R'd the engine twice
swapped turbo's a couple times
changed the cam out once
rebuilt the whole rear-end
Swapped tires numerous times
Re-plumbed fuel system X2
Whole bunch of other stuff cannot really remember though.

Do not know what the shop policy was/is, never asked.

capitlj

IDK I have some friends who have done that kind of thing before but it was OK with the owner. If it was against company policy, you broke the rules and got caught. Move on.

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bubba;200756 wrote:
and when another shop calls them for a reference they'll tell the new shop that and you're gonna have a hard time finding someone to hire you. `

Not necessarily, they really can not say much bad about you....

khock3

I work at Sears Auto Center and we have the same rules as FF. I don't like the rules, but technically you were steeling from them by doing all of that stuff to your car for free.

BTW I think we are hiring

XJHEAD

tjamz;200795 wrote:
Not necessarily, they really can not say much bad about you....

The easiest question to ask, and answer
"Would you hire them again"

amicheze

tjamz;200795 wrote:
Not necessarily, they really can not say much bad about you....

Yeah they can. They can say whatever they want, but if it's something bad you can sue them for slander, even if it's true. That's why places generally don't say anything bad aside from "no" when asked if they would hire you again.

MisterCMK

XJHEAD;200801 wrote:
The easiest question to ask, and answer
"Would you hire them again"

Even that one is tough. The best thing someone can do to protect themselves when giving references is to simply verify dates of employment.

XJHEAD

A previous employer can say anything he wants about a previous employee.
Whether it is good or bad. Most larger companies will refer you to their HR department. They usually will only tell dates of employment and that is it. They do not want to be tied up in a deal where the past employee could possible take them to court. That is what they are told to do and they do it.
If a previous employee heard that the old employer had said negative things about them they could go and try to sue. If the information is true, as truth is a valid defense, they will need to prove it somehow in the eyes of the court. Some companies will document any deficencies with an employeee and make them sign it. If they don't sign they are gone.

If someone called me and I knew who it was (future employer) I would tell them that either they are good or a worthless piece of shit.

ps. I probally wouldn't even hire myself

thrash

I can't beleive shops that don't let customers into the shop are still around. I mean many shops have a sign saying "no" but I end up under the car with the mechanic anyway

If the shop doesn't let me down in the bay, I just don't go there. I usually have a good reason to be involved. I know my vehicles forwards and backwards and if I'm at a shop it's usually for something I can't do at home (wheel balancing, alignment) or something I want done before I'll have time to do it right (CV boot replacement).

dynotune

I can't beleive shops that don't let customers into the shop are still around. I mean many shops have a sign saying "no" but I end up under the car with the mechanic anyway

If the shop doesn't let me down in the bay, I just don't go there. I usually have a good reason to be involved. I know my vehicles forwards and backwards and if I'm at a shop it's usually for something I can't do at home (wheel balancing, alignment) or something I want done before I'll have time to do it right (CV boot replacement).

Because 9 times out of ten you really don't know what's going on, and you are an insurance liability, a pain to the tech, and you are costing them more money by "helping" because the tech is losing efficiency. I own a shop, have worked at dealerships, and have worked at independents. MOST of the time, the guy working on your car knows WAAAAAAY more about it than you do, whether they lead you to believe that or not. Whenever I have my truck serviced on the road, I leave the guy alone. Work gets done faster and less likely to screw up because some know-it-all keeps jabbering away, causing distractions. I work on cars in front of hundreds of people at a time, and I am used to it now, but when I was at the dealership, I was not trained in customer service- but trained to repair vehicles (and that's what I was paid to do)

KA-T_240

^word.

I have been in the situation where I know more then the tech. But it was a situation that was understandable. I had my 240 in there and they had no clue how to adjust the aftermarket suspension so figured better safe then sorry after they royal screwed it up once.

XJHEAD

dynotune;200839 wrote:
Because 9 times out of ten you really don't know what's going on, and you are an insurance liability, a pain to the tech, and you are costing them more money by "helping" because the tech is losing efficiency. MOST of the time, the guy working on your car knows WAAAAAAY more about it than you do, whether they lead you to believe that or not. Work gets done faster and less likely to screw up because some know-it-all keeps jabbering away, causing distractions.

Fine, I'll just drop it off next time

DaveH

XJHEAD;200862 wrote:
Fine, I'll just drop it off next time

lol !!!

dynotune

sorry, if forgot to put attn BILL on my first post!
Performance stuff is a little different, but if you did take it in for a cv boot or routine crap, stay the hell outta the guys way, you know.

thrash

I'm feeling a bit attacked. How good of you to assume or extrapolate about my circumstances based on your own experiences.

Clearly, in the cv boot case, i took it to a shop because i didn't want to mess with it, (i'd done boot replacements and joint rebuilds before, and they're messy and ended up failing later on [i re-used worn parts to get the car on the road]) so i didn't stick around and annoy the guy. There's no value i can add in that process.

I have 2 safety inspections done on my race car every year and that is a modified vehicle and the tech ends up having a fair number of questions. And to be honest, most guys around here just aren't familiar with German cars. Telling a guy how to open the hood means I'm sticking around to head off other problems before they get worse. I don't fault these guys for not being familiar with my weird cars, nor do I act disrespectful or "hover" or anything. I stay off to the side unless they call me over to ask a question, but invariably we end up chatting and it seems to go well.

I've had 2 different cars aligned here at 2 different places. Part of this was me learning what shops not to bother with... a guy couldn't figure out how to align my stock Audi. The other case the shop was great and the guy was BSing with me the whole time as I explained my aftermarket toe/camber adjusters and other mods i had made to the car.

The point is -- If I'm going to PAY to have work done on the car, it's going to be with someone I have a previous relationship with and trust, or I'm going to be watching them like a hawk. Experience has taught me better than to just assume folks know what they're doing. The shop labor rate is entirely too high for me to not be completely satisfied with the experience.

I dropped off my new Audi at Valley for the "free 5k mile service" and was completely unimpressed. I asked the service writer to have the tech show me where the oil filter / access cover was while it was up on the lift and easy for everyone to see (these cars have a shit ton of plastic under them these days, and the fasteners and mounting points tend to be fragile) and while he agreed to do it, they "forgot" about it or whatever.

Yeah, I could jack the car up myself and find it myself, or, the guy could spend an extra 60 seconds and let me walk under the car while it's on the lift. They didn't, and to top it off they spilled oil on the valve cover (which has caused a burning-oil odor ever since) and the wash/dry kid ran drying towels over spots that hadn't been washed (if you're going to do a complimentary wash, don't do it wrong).

The quality of service was not worth what I "paid" for it and I said as much during the follow-up phone call i got.

I understand where you're coming from in terms of know-it-all customers, etc. I'm looking for a different level of service on the occasions that I pay for service, and shops that assume I don't want to be involved with the maintenance of my vehicle need not apply. I'm not the right customer for every shop, and conversely, every shop won't be able to earn my business. That's all.

harm

your comment about opening the hood brought something back to me. Specifically, the pry-marks on the front of my old honda's nose panel - the hoods on some of the early ones opened toward the front. confusing as hell to most people. "what do you mean, the latch is by the windshield?" hehe.

for the OP - my shop's policy is ask the boss, get permission, let them know at the very least, and THEN do whatever it is, on your own time. Same with my parents' business - ask first, then do (and don't overdo). Sucks you got fired, but it sounds like you were asking for it.. good luck finding another job, and maybe this time it'll be for a company whose policies aren't as shitty.

darkelvis

OP-sounds like you broke the rules and lost your job, quit whining.

As far as the shop I work for it goes like this.

Work on your own car off the clock and you get parts at cost, don't charge yourself labor. Work on your own car on the clock and you lose your job. Work on another employee's car doing minor shit (tire repair, oil change, tire balance, etc...) and give them parts at cost and charge some labor. Work on another employee's car doing bigger shit and parts are 10% above cost and labor is $42/hr instead of the regular $65.

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Fleet Farm Tire Center