i had a brake service done there on my KLR, they spilled fluid on the plastic and never wiped it off right away. Left some marks that are permanent
Two Wheel Motorsports
- Thread starter ToSlow
- Start date
DownUnder
Well-known member
Ive never let a shop do my brakes, on my cars or bikes... I trust myself a lot more then the $18 apprentice who may or may not have his head in the game on that day.
Hack
Well-known member
Many years ago I worked at a medium sized new car dealership... I'm talkin' 1980's
All I did was parts dept. stuff, but i soon realized the place had only ONE full time/licensed mechanic on staff.
They had a number of other "mechanics", but they were all apprentices at varied stages of development...
These apprentices would be the guys doing the work, supervised by the ONE licensed guy.
bigpoppa
Well-known member
I would wager not much has changed, for legal purposes you need one licensed guy, and each licensed guy is allowed to have x number of apprentices dictated by the ratio
So you got a mix bag in terms of skill, cheap labor getting paid less than what a fully licensed guy would cost
Hack
Well-known member
I'm bemused at pay rates for some skilled tradespeople... There's a project going on at/in my workplace where the contractors techs are mostly young apprentice types with degrees/skills in high tech electronics. I'm sure these guys have significant time/effort invested in their education and they're earning a few bucks/hr more than min. wage...
I'm no communist, but it doesn't seem fair that in a 20 million dollar project the guys doing the actual work are makin' $20/hr.
When I entered the trades (about a million years ago) the lead guy would give you a list of what your going to need day one. It was basic hand tools every decent garage mechanic would own. You could borrow 'odd' stuff from a lead hand if he liked you, the recommendation would be acquire one if it was needed twice.
Vehicle or process required tools like giant pullers , vehicle specific electronics would be shop owned. Nobody was expected to own a 1" impact gun (in that field) .
I think my first "box" cost me about 1k , a really long time ago.
But the arms race and tool snobbery hadn't kicked in, if you had a set of Grey wrenches or Proto sockets you didn't get looked down upon. I see guys now owing their souls to the Snap-On credit manager.
But with certain things , #2 philips, 3/8 ratchet handle that you will use everyday of your working life. The $32 snap on driver is actually free compared to CTC 24pc set for $19.95. Use one everyday for a year and you'll know what I mean.
You'll acquire a lot of tools , ie; Milwaukee battery impact driver, that will just turn faster, because in shop time speed =money .
If you really take pride in your work, you'll also want better tools that will take out a fastener without marring, You'll not often hear, hey you scratched the bolt head on my presssure washer pump, you might hear , hey you scratched the finish on my $1,200 car rim.
Vehicle or process required tools like giant pullers , vehicle specific electronics would be shop owned. Nobody was expected to own a 1" impact gun (in that field) .
I think my first "box" cost me about 1k , a really long time ago.
But the arms race and tool snobbery hadn't kicked in, if you had a set of Grey wrenches or Proto sockets you didn't get looked down upon. I see guys now owing their souls to the Snap-On credit manager.
But with certain things , #2 philips, 3/8 ratchet handle that you will use everyday of your working life. The $32 snap on driver is actually free compared to CTC 24pc set for $19.95. Use one everyday for a year and you'll know what I mean.
You'll acquire a lot of tools , ie; Milwaukee battery impact driver, that will just turn faster, because in shop time speed =money .
If you really take pride in your work, you'll also want better tools that will take out a fastener without marring, You'll not often hear, hey you scratched the bolt head on my presssure washer pump, you might hear , hey you scratched the finish on my $1,200 car rim.
Trials
Well-known member
Here's 2 bucks, that should cover the damage.
D
Deleted member 50930
Guest
Did not enjoy trying to buy a new bike there either
Trials
Well-known member
That's not so bad, I spent way more then that on one computer system, your tools are probably all still fully functional.
FTFY
$18 apprentice is a huge part of the problem here. Its better than "biggee size that for you?'' but not a lot. Given your tool box will end up being a 2-30k investment. Huge shortage of M/C , snow machine and watercraft service guys, because it is a bit undervalued in some locations.
So many trades just don't pay what should be a decent living. It was my original motivation for leaving.
Lots like working with hands , the awesome satisfaction when something that didn't work is now is now better than new ( recall fixing) , but when smart kid can get hired as a helper installing sprinkler pipe for $26.50 to start , with full benefits , good luck getting somebody to stand on thier head inside your jet ski cowl.
So many trades just don't pay what should be a decent living. It was my original motivation for leaving.
Lots like working with hands , the awesome satisfaction when something that didn't work is now is now better than new ( recall fixing) , but when smart kid can get hired as a helper installing sprinkler pipe for $26.50 to start , with full benefits , good luck getting somebody to stand on thier head inside your jet ski cowl.
