Just a day in the life of.....Cooter. Warning, Long read. Part II (Wifey).

[Cooter]

Well, Today began like any other day....As I write this, I'm still amazed at how close this idiot came to getting delt with.

I get to work, things are fast paced as almost every Friday is, then about 2:00 PM, in comes this Busted, Fart cannoned Honda for State inspection. The guy called in earlier. Ok, so I go get the car and don't really know the guy as a customer yet, and begin my inspection. Of course, the old sticker went out 10/10 And it's been 2 years since it was last inspected by a gent that no longer works here. Well, As soon as I get the car inside, I notice those Stupid, Lighted Hood sprayer/nozzles for the washer. A No go here. Illeagal. I inform the guy those will have to be removed. He fights it, but agrees to remove them. No problem. I then get the car in the air and begin shaking the right front wheel. This is where the story goes sideways a bit.

As soon as I state that something like a Ball joint or something is moving, the "Gent" begins to shake the wheel himself at the 12:00 and 6:00 position and Very rudely states that there's "Nothing wrong" with it, and "That's not bad for the miles on car"....I begin to tell him that it's "Bad enough"...

This is when he "Exclaims", "Well then, just set it on the ground!". "Let the damn thing down then, your being a prick!"....Of course, me being me, this didn't sit very well. I have been cussed before, so that's nothing new, but it was what he did next that almost "did the trick"....

As soon as the car is down enough, he begins to slam the hood and the front "H" emblem falls off, so I calmly pick it up and tell him "I'm gonna set your emblem on the front seat OK?"
He screams "You just broke my car!" About this time, the boss who's standing in the next bay comes over and tries to calm this crackhead down. "Hey Scott, What's the problem guy? I've never seen you like this before?"

He states "You boy just broke my car!"
I state to him that when HE slammed the hood, the emblem flew off. So, in keeping with the "try everything before firing a customer" Thing, the office lady comes out and states she'll pay for his little POS emblem.
($20.00). This wasn't good enough. He begins with the "Your a prick! You wanna get sh*tty, I can get sh*tty too!!"
I never said a word as that was what he wanted me to do so he could claim I "Verbally abused" him.
Then, he begins to Exclaim that I didn't know what I was doing and there's nothing wrong with his "Wheel bearing".
This is when the boss came over and asked if he "Trusted HIM(Boss) to look at his car?".
He pulls it back in my bay as I had backed it outside and told the guy I wasn't working on his car.
He begins to shake the wheel at the 12:00 and 6:00 position. No play....
I inform him that "shake it at the 3:00 and 9:00 position and you'll see what I'm talking about".
He does and feels the front end moving around, calls the guy over to physically look at it.
This wasn't good enough yet, so the guy begins to tell the boss that He's gonna call the state police on me for being and ass. The boss informs him that YOU(The guy) didn't even let him(me) finish the inspection.

He then begins in again with the "Well, your guys being a prick about it" sh*t" again. By this time I've bout had enough.  The boss knows me and how I am about this type sh*t and sees me on the phone. Dude(the guy) thinks I'm calling the state police. [Actually, on the phone with another friend at the time, informing him that I may need his services later on]The boss comes over and states that he "Can't have "Anything happen" here. I can see his eyes are bloodshot and he's cranked up. You just drew the short straw today man. No need to bring in anybody else, so just Please try and let it go".. Well, After we kiss this drug infested POS ass for about 30 min., he still comes out to where I am and begins to come at me again. I'm thinking, I'm getting too old for this sh*t.

This is when I in my most calm voice inform him.....
"Listen, you drive truck right? "Yeah, WTF?"
That means you have a CDL license right?    "So! What about it?"
You got any idea what would happen to your ass if your truck just happened to have an air brake line busted, and DOT pulled you over?"

"I mean, you call on me, I call on you right?
License tag number XXX-XXX TL?"

About that time, he's lookin' like one of those balloons that I see being inflated at the fair, and commences to Inform me of how he will be "Waiting for me when I get off".....

I try VERY hard to calmly inform him yet again that that would be a very bad idea. Bout this time the bossman begins to informe me that "You need to calm down, just call the law".  So, bossman tells me he WAS a good customer and will probably call back in a day or two apologizing for his behavior, for me to try and overlook it. I tell him "I'll try"...The whole time dude is yelling sh*t and the boss is running interference telling him "Scott, it's time you shut the "F" up". I can take a whole lot, but this guy was cranked up on something. I have been cussed, had customers storm out threatening to beat my ass, had one guy tell me to "Get away from under there before you find something else" (on a Tandem axle dumptruck with a broken rear leaf spring shackle), I've had people squealing tires out the lot, etc., but this guy was terrible. I know it's a bad economy and people don't have much money. ME of ALL poeple know this, but if your junk won't pass, it won't pass.

I don't ask to borrow anybody's ol lady for the weekend, so don't ask me to put my State inspection license on the line for your ass.

So, to all who think that these inspection stations inspectors are "Being an ass" to them, remember, it's YOU and YOUR FAMILY that is riding in that POS you are pissed about not passing. Try not to take it out on the inspectors. They are only doing their job. Protecting you from yourself, because if you get into an accident and you are staring down a $1 million lawsuit, your gonna try ANYTHING to shift blame and you will hang that Inspector out to dry if possible.  You KNEW those brakes/front end/ball joints/etc. were bad when you asked the inspector "C'mon man, hook me up? I ain't got the money right now"..

I've even had customers come in and when we are doing a check over for trip, and inform them that their brakes are getting dangerously low, the FIRST THING they say is "Well, I just had it inspected!! That shouldn't have passed right??", Always looking to get something for free, when I look and the Inspection was done about 9 months ago.

People here tend to think that if their car passes inspection, they are good to go for a complete YEAR. This isn't true. The state allows only 2/32" on pads to legally pass. You could wear 2/32" out on one panic stop and be in the  rotors/drums..

This usually happens about once every two weeks....And you guys wonder why I post the way I do. Positive is a wonderful place, but positive ain't where I live. If it's raining soup outside, my bowl is upside down.


So, how's your Friday been?

[69 OUR/TEA]

Thankfully,here in Ct,we don't have those annoying yearly inspections.At least for myself,I know my cars are up to par.As far as emmissions testing,here in Ct when they hit 25 years old they are exempt.My 87 GN is now done forever as of last year,yaaaaay!!!!At one years test,the inspector dented my hood closing it,after that I insisted for them NOT to close the hood,and especially since 96 after I did the body and paint.I am truly one of those that HATE having my cars under anyone elses handling !!!!
The only thing we have is an "out of state" vin verification.
When I bought my B5 69 R/T in 98 we did still have safety inspections though,they tried failing me because of the side lights not working,LOL !!!!!Took getting the manager to come out,as the inspector 100% beleived I took the wiring out of the car.
Can see why you would have gotten aggrevated Cooter,should'nt have to deal with a-holes while trying to earn your living.

[Dans 68]

...A hell of a lot better than yours. Thanks for making me feel I had a great day! Good read. 

Dan

[RallyeMike]

Just smile, chuckle, and act joyful next time. It's easier on you and it will piss them off way more than arguing with them.

The percentage of accidents caused by faulty equipment compared to that of human factors is a tick above zero, so you are getting aggrevated for almost nothing anyhow.

[Silver R/T]

Wow that was pretty rough. I have crappy days at work but not quite as bad.

[Indygenerallee]

Should have punched the mouthy bastard...  ..... On the other hand thank God we don't have inspections in Indiana!!

[stripedelete]

I commend you for not embedding a wrench in his head.  However, your best move was writing it all down.  Now you don't have to carry it around.

[Cooter]

You know fellas, it may sound corny, but it really does help to have just one more person simply say something like "You did bout all you could do guy"....Thanks guys.

Troy, Mods, I know there's been times you've almost hit that "Button" on me, but I thank you for allowing me to Keep posting here as sometimes, when days are like these, it is good to come here.

[b5blue]

  You did good, jerks running their pie holes in overdrive should never get your goat. Protecting your professional license and public safety per your states requirements is something you should be proud of!  He most likely was hoping you'd fudge the inspection and pass him so he could go get really high and drive around bragging about how cool he was with his "connections" for inspections. Then your shop would soon be seeing every other looser like him with a crappy car.   

[Finn]

So, how's your Friday been?

I went to Disneyland....

[cdr]

COOTER you did better than i have in the past,been in the auto repair business most of my life,this is what i do when people do what happened to you 

[Cooter]

What got me out of the wole thing was how the boss kinda decided he would I guess, see how I handled something like this. I was looking at him the entire time, there's no way he didn't see/hear what was happening like he claimed. Claimed he wasn't even aware of anything happening until the asswipe came over after i walked away saying "You believe this sh*t?"...

Only then, did he begin to try and "Reason" with him.

If it weren't for going to jail, losing my job, and anything lawsuit wise, I'd have called in a few hard, pipe hittin' friends and took him round back and "Explained" a few things to him. Otherwise, it wasn't worth it.

However, i have since done some recon and found out where this jerkwad likes to hang out at the local Moose lodge and get tanked. Only a matter of time unti I catch him leaving tore up....

[cdr]

ring--------ring------------ring--hello,,, so & so poe poe department

[tan top]

 crikey  ,  you always get one  every now and again , had few days like that !     

[BigBlackDodge]

Wow............what an Idiot.............the other guy, not you Cooter.


I've never had to have a car inspected, but is it common practice to have the car owner right there with you while you inspect it? Seems like it would be better (for the inspector) if they had to wait in the office or something to prevent this kind of thing from happening to you. I know most shops will not allow customers/clients into the shop for insurance purposes, you guys have anything like that?


BBD

[Bob T]

Good read Cooter and yeah good effort for keeping your hat on, no prizes for filling in the village idiot even if he deserve a verbal at the very least. Heard it and seen it here too, guys berating the inspector like its his fault that the worn out part or p.o.s. car is the inspectors fault and yet the moron is happy to drive it around knowing or probably aware at least that it is not up to standard. And worse, likely with family inside it. Dickheads

We have fairly strict 6 monthly road worthy checks here, takes about 30mins and costs around $50, if your car is'nt up to standard it fails and is not allowed to be driven ( except to be taken to repair) and you have 28 days to either take it somewhere for repair or do it yourself if capable and bring it back for a recheck

I had to inspect a friends wiring & switchboard in his house on Friday, was just there to assess putting in an extract fan. The wiring was mostly 50 years old and very hazardous, insulation crumbling etc and a real fire risk. Had to tell him it needed a full rewire and upgraded compliant switchboard, probably $6kish. No one likes to hear that but its a fact of life & I cant sit on my hands and not say it after seeing the state of things. Fortunately he handled it well and realises its all about safety and his house not burning down...

[myk]

"Lighted, hood sprayer nozzles?"  They actually make such things?  Cooter I'm going to have to get back to your post after I drink a few beers and whatnot...

[rt green]

sorry about your day cooter. and yeah, we get those 'gifted' people in now and again. they  bitch and scream out the door and claim they'll never be back. a month later they're back asking for service.  we are not the only game in town so go figure.

[Paul G]

You did a good job maintaining your cool Cooter. In the long run it always pays off to avoid confrontation. The world is full of idiots, bound to run in to them at times.

I work for a public utility, a water company. We have our company name in big letters right on the doors of the trucks. Logo on our shirts, etc. Big targets. I have had people try to run me off the road, lots of dirty looks in traffic. Last week sitting in a restaraunt eating lunch an old guy comes up to our table and says "is this why my bill is so high, you guys just sitting here for hours". Makes you want to say something back. But we don't. Sometimes it can be amusing to say nothing and just ignore them.   

[Sgtwallace]

Could be worse Cooter...you could be a cop an deal with aholes like that all day

We don't have inspections in Iowa.  Kinda wish we did.  Everyone that you fail keeps some unsafe car off of the street that could run into your family or friend's.

Richard.

[Cooter]

Wow............what an Idiot.............the other guy, not you Cooter.


I've never had to have a car inspected, but is it common practice to have the car owner right there with you while you inspect it? Seems like it would be better (for the inspector) if they had to wait in the office or something to prevent this kind of thing from happening to you. I know most shops will not allow customers/clients into the shop for insurance purposes, you guys have anything like that?


BBD

That's just it, he wasn't supposed to be out in the shop, but the boss had known his family and we kinda don't make them go away when we think they are "ok"...
Thing is, the inspections here only cost $16.00.......And on some POS we have to take like a hour(Shop rate is like $90-100/hour) to fully inspect these things.
Newer cars are better becasue odds are, with only 20K miles on it, the body shouldn't be rusted out, or anything REALLY bad wrong. So, we lose BIG TIME on Inspections, but the state police tells us "well, too bad, as you signed up for it"...Really? We Want to lose money doing YOUR job? Thing is, if you don't do inspections, you won't make any money for other things as they simply won't come to you. So, it's kinda a catch 22.

Keeping them in the waiting room only delays the inevidable though, as we still have to inform them that their pride and joy really shoulda been crushed 10 years ago.

[nvrbdn]

holy cow cooter, i can understand that you try to keep customers in todays economy, but to not stand behind your employee is hard when he knows you do your job right.

[Cooter]

Could be worse Cooter...you could be a cop an deal with aholes like that all day

We don't have inspections in Iowa.  Kinda wish we did.  Everyone that you fail keeps some unsafe car off of the street that could run into your family or friend's.

Richard.

I asked the State Tropper here if he'd simply issue the inspectors a gun and badge. We'd never have to call downtown again...It's different when you Command respect with things like Mace, tazer, Gun, Badge, handcuffs, we have nothing but the telephone.

Officer: "Sir, please put your hands behind your back."
Offender: "no"...
Officer:"Sir, i'm going to ask you one more time, then you will be tazed. Do you understand?"
Offender: "No."
ZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTT!


Offender: "Oh man, please sir, don't taze me again! Please sir. I'll cooperate!"....


Inspector: "Please sir, refrain from calling me a Pr*ck and a POS that doesn't know what he's doing".
Offender: "No. PR*CK!"
Inspector: "Ok sir, I'll just call the state police and it'll prolly take the till tomorrow to get back to me on this, for you being rude".
Offender: "Ok, call 'em!"

[Sgtwallace]

I asked the State Tropper here if he'd simply issue the inspectors a gun and badge. We'd never have to call downtown again...It's different when you Command respect with things like Mace, tazer, Gun, Badge, handcuffs, we have nothing but the telephone.

Ever been hit with a telephone?....THEY HURT!!!...

Sorry, I didn't mean to ruffle feathers.  No one should have to put up with that sort of grief for doing their job.

Richard.

[Cooter]

No ruffled feathers here Sgt. I have law enforcement officers in my family and some in the military, so I know what you guys do. I guess I would have some reservations about staring at 9MM bullets flying all day long, with some aimed at me. So, I understand what you were trying to say, it's just different when we have to do their job and we have no recourse when the "Stuff" is happening right then.


BTW "Hit with the phone"...Classic!!!