Customer told me I was "just a parts swapper" so I walked off the job

Had a guy in last Tuesday with a 2015 Silverado that was misfiring on cylinder 3. I told him straight up, it could be a few things - plugs, coils, injector, maybe a compression issue. He goes "well you're just gonna throw parts at it and charge me labor, right?" I asked him if he wanted me to diagnose it properly or just guess. He said I should know what it is without looking. I packed my tools and left. Never had that happen before in 12 years in this trade. Anyone else get treated like they don't know their job by customers who can't even check their own oil?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivia_bailey9d ago

My buddy owns a shop and used to say the same thing til it happened to him last year. After watching him deal with it I totally changed my mind, sometimes you gotta walk to keep your sanity.

ryan_ellis9d ago

Walking off the job over one rude comment seems a bit much. Customers say dumb stuff all the time, it's part of the deal. You could have just told him to come back when he's ready to pay for a proper diagnosis and left it at that. Now you look like the one who can't handle a little heat. Plus you lost the labor for that job and probably any future work from that guy or his buddies. Seems like you let your pride cost you money and time.

milaprice9d ago

Last year I would have agreed with ryan_ellis, but after watching a buddy deal with the exact same thing I totally switched my mind. Sometimes you gotta just walk away to keep your sanity.