Shopsmith Forums

robinson46176 wrote:Most of these systems have a relay in the circuit usually at the fuse block. On my Astro it is identical to the one for the A/C enable relay so I was able to temporarily swap them to check the one for the fuel pump.
These problems are much easier to solve if we could just throw money at them and keep replacing stuff until it works. Unfortunately that is how many dealerships operate. A former dealer acquaintance once told me that was why he sold his dealership, that he could only hire "parts replacers" who didn't care at all how expensive the job came out for the customer. He was a long time dealer who had matured to the point that he was very concerned with how his customers perceived him in this smallish community and didn't like being seen as a gouger (I don't think it bothered him much in his early days ).

Last week I was reading a Chevy forum where some guy asked advice and got good advice from several Chevy techs and he seemed grateful but then the guy started replacing all sorts of kind of off the wall stuff that did not help him and ignored the good advice. He suddenly had an unnecessary $500+ spent and still had the original problem that was actually fairly simple and cheap.


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Maintaining an efficient and honest business is hard nut to crack and your friend in your example had the luxury of getting out the business.

If you don't hire or use "parts replacers" you have to get trained or train people. That can be very expensive.

Early on in the computer world we were extensively trained on the computers. Often the training required 3 to 6 months at highly specialized training centers. The expense was outrageous. I would venture a guess and say we needed half again the number of field people so we could cover each other while the other was in school. Add to that transportation, instructor, facility and living costs while away from home and the price becomes even more outrageous. When I first got hired my family and I were sent to San Jose for 4 months that was after approximately 2 months of in office self study. Then when we returned I averaged two weeks of every month away from home being trained for the next two years.

So to cut cost various ideas were tried and eventually it all came down to a diagnostics that called for a parts replacement. Most PC are repaired that way today and I see the car industry moving toward it. In my 2012 car it goes through a set of diagnostics when the key is turned on. Since it is a GM product everything is stored in the onboard computer and right now any major exceptions are reported to On Star.

The day of the shade tree mechanic is gone. I open my engine compartment, look in knowingly and shut the hood. At one time I rebuilt engines but not today.

The problem with training is the person trained is worth more, so what often happens is once you train the guy he starts getting job offers from people that don’t want to train.

I have a neighbor that is often written up in magazines for his skill in upholstery; he needs help but refuses to hire anyone. He has been burnt so many times in the past. He would hire a guy, spend all kinds of time and yes money to train him and once the guy was trained he would either go into business for himself or get an offer he could not refuse from a competing upholsterer.

If one is going to hire and then further train someone, it is important to acknowledge that this employee is now MORE VALUABLE and MORE CAPABLE than in the beginning. Therefore, he/she deserves to be paid more.

If that fact is not recognized, be prepared to start training all over again.

dusty wrote:If one is going to hire and then further train someone, it is important to acknowledge that this employee is now MORE VALUABLE and MORE CAPABLE than in the beginning. Therefore, he/she deserves to be paid more.

If that fact is not recognized, be prepared to start training all over again.

Excellent point Dusty. I remember being trained to do a job as a youth. The employer informed me that raises were out of the question as it cost them money to train me. The good news being that other employers disagreed with the original. A few years ago I served on a committee of employers for a local chamber of commerce. At the other end of the table were two employers involved in the same type of manufacturing. One clearly hated the other. As we were leaving the unpopular employer asked the other fellow if he had any desire to know why he continually hired employees away from him. The answer was very simple. He believed in rewarding those who took the trouble to become well trained. He did so in two ways the other fellow refused to do. First with periodic raises and secondly he offered health insurance as a benefit. Jim

beeg wrote:IF ya have a defective fuel pump, you'll probably get to FILL the tank when ya get it back.

A few years ago, I had to have a Ford F150 fuel pump replaced. Not knowing what the problem was before hand, I stopped on the way to my independent garage and filled the gas tank. There was a small labor charge to pump the gas out and then in again, but it was full when I drove it home.