Marc Favreau

Communication is Key

As a result of two 2019 incidents involving two different individuals and two very different issues, we want to talk about service, from both sides of the counter. The bottom line in both is very poor communication. And the fault, for better or worse, lies with the service personnel.

What Battery Problem?

The first involved a routine oil change and a battery. In the course of changing the oil in my friend’s car, the dealer evidently did a battery check. What was conveyed to the owner by the service writer was that the battery was at “75%”, which was changed a moment later to “50%”.

Now the point here is that the information, while it might actually have some meaning, was meaningless to my friend. There was no indication of what test was performed and how it was performed and the meaning of the percentages.

With today’s maintenance free batteries, its difficult but not impossible to test the electrolyte in individual cells. There may be screw caps that can be removed, but more commonly, one entire side of the top of the battery would need to be pried off.

At this point, you can do an electrolyte test. Here is where percentages may result, but as you would be able to see from the chart to the right if it were larger, the results are temperature dependent and certainly don’t vary a full 25% at any given temperature.

A load test may have been done, which is also temperature dependent, and it can identify a bad cell in the battery simply by the drop in voltage. Anything below a value at a given temperature shown indicates a bad cell, but percentages are not a result.

Now, there are two ends to this story. The first, because the information given didn’t seem credible, the owner opted not to replace his battery. It hadn’t given him a problem.

The second is that a month later, his battery died.

In hindsight, its quite likely that whatever test that was done actually did find a weak battery. But nearly all of us step into a service department with a little skepticism, ready to say no to any add on service. This makes it critical for service personnel to communicate fully and patiently to any customer in the case of something truly necessary. As it happens, my friend is pretty well informed and would have understood a properly explained test.

Tire “Patching”

The second situation is a tire issue, and led to a cascade of mistakes. It started with a leaking front tire and the tire shop my second friend visited said that the tire could be patched.

Now this friend is not so well informed, and when she asked my opinion after the fact, the very look on her face when she said the word patch said it all. This is what the word meant to her! There was no way that she could envision a “band aid” being the proper repair!

So we have error one by the tire store, and by a supposedly experienced person. Its not a patch. What they would have used is this version of a plug! A long cylindrical piece of rubber that is pushed into the the hole, made by a nail in this case. A plug would have made far more sense to my friend and would have been a perfectly satisfactory repair.

The alternative she was given was to buy not one but two tires, which was actually accurate. Given the wear on the tires, buying one was not the proper service. We’ll come back to this.

We are now at mistake number two. The new tires were left on the front. And I don’t care what your own instincts are or what your experience tells you, this is flat out wrong. The best tread belongs in the back of the car to keep the trailing tires in line with the front tires.

Take a look at Michelin Tire’s web site for a video that will show this far better than I can explain it.

How Many Tires?

Which brings us to mistake number 3. Remember, once it was decided to replace the leaking tire, a second tire was necessary. The question then is why, and is it possible that all 4 should have been replaced!

The answer lies in the difference in tread depth. There is some amount of competing information out there, but a good rule of thumb is that if the tire depths vary by 30% or more, the mate on the other side needs to be replaced as well, and if the other two tires are also outside this spec, all 4 must be replaced. This is to protect the axles from coming apart due to wheels turning at different speeds, particularly on all wheel drive vehicles, as hers is.

Now, her new tires measured at 10/32s, like the gauge shows here. The older tires measured at 4/32. This is way outside 30%. The back tires would have needed 7 to 8/32 to qualify.

The supposedly experienced salesman insisted this didn’t matter, but she bought the two additional tires regardless. And she was right to do it.

Now lots of people would have replaced their tires once they were down to 4/32. Note that the wear bars in tires are set at 2/32, which is the end of the line, and pretty much where my tires are now. I’ll be buying 4 very soon. So while she might have been able to stretch her tires another few thousand miles, it didn’t hurt to put new tires on.

But all of this began with the word patch, and while it is in common use in the industry, if you’re a service person, it rests on your shoulders to understand that it could very well have an entirely different meaning to your customers.

And this is easily true in any service business in any industry. What is common knowledge to you is very likely foreign to your customers. That’s why they come to you in the first place. So hold tight to the idea that words matter. And buyer beware be damned, if you’re in a service business, the responsibility belongs to you.

Check out Part II from a few weeks later.

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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the  use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.

These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.

Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.

Marc Favreau

The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY