boston area dealer who'd let me watch them work?

[mypp]

i'm trying to find a honda dealer in the greater boston area who would let me observe them work on my car. so far, i've come up with nothing--they're all saying "no" and quoting insurance policies.

does anyone know a dealer i may've missed in my search who'd let me watch?

[andysinnh]

i'm trying to find a honda dealer in the greater boston area who would let me observe them work on my car. so far, i've come up with nothing--they're all saying "no" and quoting insurance policies.

does anyone know a dealer i may've missed in my search who'd let me watch?
Don't know of any. Back in the '80's when we had Acuras, Sunnyside in Nashua NH would let me hang out by the service desk and keep a distant eye on the techs, but I couldn't wander down into the bays. That's about as close as I could get. Today, the local honda dealers all have service areas that are pretty isolated from the write-up and waiting areas....

andy

[Conundrum]

I got told the same thing (cannot be back there in case anything happens, etc, etc, etc). Really wish Honda had a big glass wall between the waiting area and the service area, much like Midas and a few other small places have.

Best I have done is to stay with the car if anything is being done in the quick service area (drive in and out). I basically waited there while they cut my key and then programmed it to the car (got to see the infamous HDS. :banana: )

[mypp]

yeah.... unfortunately, an oil change is not 'quick service' :)
a couple said they have a small window, but depending on the bay your car is in, it may not do anything for you.
NTB not too far from my building has a big glass door leading to the working area. if your car is in the first bay, you have prime spot. but it's right next to the balancing machine, so that's the type of service typically being done there. every time i came in to have a new battery installed (twice to be exact), my car was in the last bay, and i couldn't see &%^#. in fact, the last battery had the cables all looped around the handle and stuff so badly, i had to disconnect/reconnect when i got home (was in a crazy rush, didn't bother to check :stupid:)....

this blows. after this first oil change (which i do want to have at the dealer), i'm definitely sticking with midas. they let you hang out just outside the bay, so, when the car is up, you can see everything. (and since i've been going to the same mechanic for years, he actually lets me hang out inside, by the front of the car and answers my questions while he works).

there really needs to be some law where shops, esp. dealers, would need to provide a safe area for customers to watch their cars being worked on, not just some little room with cheap apples.....

[Conundrum]

there really needs to be some law where shops, esp. dealers, would need to provide a safe area for customers to watch their cars being worked on, not just some little room with cheap apples.....

For that to happen society would have to start treating their cars as more than just a "disposable" commodity that gets them point A to point B...and I don't see that happening for the vast majority of people out there, as much as I wish it would.

[mwmcginn]

If I had to work with customers over my shoulder, I would quit. You probably would too. They are trying to maximize the efficency of the operation. Having someone asking questions isnt going to accomplish that for them. In this case, if you are taking it somewhere to have the work done, you dont need to be in the way. Many mechanics arent exactly "people person" material either.

[Conundrum]

If I had to work with customers over my shoulder, I would quit. You probably would too. They are trying to maximize the efficency of the operation. Having someone asking questions isnt going to accomplish that for them. In this case, if you are taking it somewhere to have the work done, you dont need to be in the way. Many mechanics arent exactly "people person" material either.

Still, it would be nice to see Honda have a number of windows between their service bays and the seating area. Sure you could say that it would invade on any privacy the techs have, but imo if they don't like it, then they could work elsewhere at another manufacturer's dealership. Technically if they are doing what they are supposed to do, they shouldn't really care all that much (so long as their break area was separate, and that they were only viewable while working on the car. However I can see that if this were done, there would probably be a lot more for the service writers, etc to deal with (people asking "should the tech really be doing that?", "is that safe?", etc, etc).

I guess my big gripe at least with the dealerships near where I live is that they don't even tell you the name of the tech who works on your car. You simply leave it with the keys in the quick service area, then someone (not tech) drives the car back and you don't see it until someone else (not tech) drives it back to quick service or parks it somewhere in the lot. Personally I'd like to find out who knows the most at a dealership then always request them no matter how simple the problem is. Wouldn't care if it meant I had to call a week in advance either for scheduled maintenance.

I still say a lot of this all comes down to us being the vast minority who actually care about their multi-thousand dollar purchase. I know I get looked at funny if my car ever has to get left at the dealership (therefore they park it rather than just bring it around to the quick service area), as I request just the key and not to have someone bring it around for me. Personally the less people who drive my car the better imo, as I am anal about not burning the clutch for no reason, and I don't trust most people's MT driving skills.

[stevencrosbie]

Meh....would you want someone watching over your back all day at work? I would not either, even though I know I'm doing the best I can.

Also, this is why I do things myself. If you really can't trust others to work on your car, find a hobby shop or a place you can do it yourself.

Just my opinion. The Acura dealer won't let you in either. Liability is huge.

[namegoeshere]

I'm happy to say that at my dealer (Sierra Honda in Monrovia) they actual welcome you to take a look at your car while it's being serviced. They told us during one of their new car owner get-together/meeting thingies that they don't have any signs that say "For Insurance Reasons.... blah blah blah" or chains blocking us from entering the work areas.

They told us something to the effect of we own the car therefore we should have the right to see what's being done and to ask questions if any arise, and also that they have nothing to hide. By watching, they also hope that we would learn something about our cars.

If we want to see our cars being worked on, all they ask is that we let them know before wandering back there. I was very happy to hear this.

[totalimmortal]

i'm trying to find a honda dealer in the greater boston area who would let me observe them work on my car. so far, i've come up with nothing--they're all saying "no" and quoting insurance policies.

does anyone know a dealer i may've missed in my search who'd let me watch?

Why do you need to watch??

[namegoeshere]

It's not that we "need" to watch. I want to see what they're doing because I want to

1. make sure they're actually doing the work I'm paying them to do
2. make sure they don't mess/damage anything while doing the work
3. see how it's done so maybe I'll be able to do it myself next time or ask them questions about something
4. see that they know what they're doing
5. make sure they're doing the work properly

Maybe I'm just paranoid :paranoid:

[andysinnh]

It's not that we "need" to watch. I want to see what they're doing because I want to

1. make sure they're actually doing the work I'm paying them to do
2. make sure they don't mess/damage anything while doing the work
3. see how it's done so maybe I'll be able to do it myself next time or ask them questions about something
4. see that they know what they're doing
5. make sure they're doing the work properly

Maybe I'm just paranoid :paranoid:

I used to be that way - flashback to my days watching them work on my Acuras at Sunnyside. The good news is that the techs know who you area, and can give you some special attention. The bad news is that if you bug them too much (or get over-zealous in your "watching"), they can purposely do "things" that you may never find. So it's a double-edge sword.

As I've gotten older and started looking at cars as "necessities of transportation" as opposed to "treasured trophies", I do the things to the car that I can (oil changes, rotate tires), I pick the shops to do specialized things that wouldn't be warranty (like buy/mount tires), and then rely on the dealer to do warranty items and just let it happen. I don't have the time nor patience to fret over whether they're doing things "right" any more.

That being said, I try to pick a dealer where there's a good service department (references), and then bring ALL my hondas there for service. If you're a repeat customer, they're more likely to treat you right to get more business, as opposed if you're a random service visitor who's paranoid....

Just my thoughts.

andy

[GlennD]

As I repair Police radios and our shop policy is customer access, I have someone with a gun watching me work!

I would certainly prefer to work in isolation but you adjust.

[Conundrum]

I work in tech support so yeah, I too have users anywhere from a few feet away, to waiting in the next room over (popping in from time to time to check up on things). Sure, I prefer to work alone in my office, but that just isn't possible most of the time.

I still think it would be nice to have the ability to look over your car while it is being worked on. I mean, it wouldn't have to be ALL bays, but maybe the ones doing alignments, oil changes, inspections, etc...I don't think anyone is saying they are going to sit there for hours on end while anything major is being done (although I can't say I wouldn't be tempted if I had nothing else to do that day...lol). I mean, even if it meant calling ahead by a few days to request "technician x" to work in "viewable bay x"...if you know what I mean...

[Coil99]

Best I have done is to stay with the car


No, not "with the car" - IN THE CAR. I have my wife lock me in the trunk of the Accord when it goes in for service. I have cut a few holes in the bottom of the trunk, so I am able to peer out at the technicians. Works for me!

[mypp]

just to chime in...

sure, working all day with someone over your sholder sucks. but here's the thing. we all slack at work few times a day--a cup of tea here, checking email there. but when you do work, don't you put in 100% of quality work? i don't think i'd care if there was someone standing over my shoulder double-checking. in fact, i've held jobs where there -was- someone always watching, but if you've got nothing to hide, there shouldn't be a problem.

as to asking questions.... i think you (ok, i :) ), as a customer, have to be smart about not distracting the person working on your car. i know herb chambers has a policy where you give them your car, mechanic takes a look, then they invite you back (to the bay where your car is), mechanic tells you what's wrong, point to stuff, etc, and you get to ask questions. then you go back to the waiting area. technically, you don't get to watch them work on your car at all (nor do you know if they broke something or if it was already there). but at least there's room for asking :)

i finally did make an appointment at Clair Honda. by luck, and i mean LOTS of luck, when i first called and asked if rotating tires was included in the price of an oil change (i knew it wouldn't be, but eh :) ), the woman wasn't sure, so she transferred me to the service advisor in charge of their shop. he said that if people are just curious and don't mean to abuse the trust, there's an area opposite the bays, about 20 feet away, where you can hang and watch the mechanic work on your car. you can't talk to him or distract him, but you can hang quietly :)

of course when i called to make the appt, the receptionist told me there's absolutely no way i'd be able to watch. another call to the service advisor, and, with his blessing, i'll be watching the oil change tomorrow morning :)

probably won't rotate the tires though. at midas (or a dealer 15 mins from my house) it's $15. these ppl want $30. screw that :)

(as a side note, their oil change is WAAAAAY overpriced, but since i don't plan to continue chaning oil at a dealer, i'll just have to suck it up this once :) ).

[stevencrosbie]

You got an appointment for tomorrow...

Jeez...takes 3-5 days here even for warranty work...

Sound like you found your dealer to be loyal to.

[BenjiBoy650]

You got an appointment for tomorrow...

Jeez...takes 3-5 days here even for warranty work...

Sound like you found your dealer to be loyal to.
Usually...USUALLY...I would say an idle dealer is one that should be considered not worthy, considering nobody is going to them :D Hondas are good, but they still need maintenance :yes:

[mypp]

You got an appointment for tomorrow...
Jeez...takes 3-5 days here even for warranty work...
:naughty: even though i posed on thursday about having an appt today, i actually booked it tuesday night.

Usually.... I would say an idle dealer is one that should be considered not worthy, considering nobody is going to them
i think it's hard to make a blanket statement of this sort... the receptionist -did- ask me what day -i- wanted.... i'm sure if i picked saturday, or any weekday's lunch hour, it would've been harder to get an appt. also, they may have one or two people dedicated to oil changes and small repairs, which makes it easier to schedule stuff like that.

at any rate, this dealership is -expensive-, and i doubt i'll be going to them for more oil changes or major OOP repairs. but we'll see how i like it. i'll post something after i come back from them, later in the afternoon.

[mypp]

just got back.

holy crap, that service advisor was so good, i want to marry him! *giggles* :)

the service shop is HUUUUUUGE and very hi-tech... you pull up to the door, the door opens, you drive in, they drive it through....

anyway, i got in, got directed to some guy. i told him service advisor (brad) said i could watch them work on the car. guy said, "that's the first i'm hearing of that--let brad deal with it". so i got handed off to brad.

he did my paperwork, talked about recommended services, encouraged me to ask questions, etc. once the tech took my car, brad walked me to the "watching area" which comfortably fits 1 person :) 2 if you're really really skinny :) essentially, it's a little nook off a doorway in the middle of the shop. i must've been 20 feet away from my car.

the car's trunk was to me, but there was a mirror on the ceiling, so i could see the tech tinkering with the front. then brad walked up and said to come get him if i want to talk to the tech, which i did once he started draining the oil. we walked over to the car, he showed me the crush washers (new compared to old). then he asked the tech if he'd mind if i hung out right there in the bay. the tech didn't care, so i got to stand a foot away while he finished putting in the filter and filling her up.

he walked me out, brad showed me how to reset the MM, gave me a tour of their waiting area (if i wanted to wait instead of watch next time), where they have internet access, TV, popcorn, freshly baked cookies (are you kidding me?), stuff like that.

the only odd thing was ALL the techs being completely at a loss when it came to the remote starter. i mean, i said, "press once and hold till the light blinks. let go, press again till the light blinks. wait a few secs, the car will start. then press the button to unlock the door, and you're good to go".

the just couldn't figure it out.... they kept pressing all sorts of button out of order, which causes remote starter and alarm to get blocked..... it can only be reset at that point by manually starting the car, so the tech called me over while the car was still on the lift (on the groung, but the with forks under it) and had me get in the car and start it for him :)

(oh yeah, i have an active bypass, so turning the key in the ignition doesn't start the car :) which is why they need to remote start it :) ).

the tech was 19 y.o. and very bubbly (but in a good way).

i had FUN :) but seriously, the service manager was FANTASTIC!

i can't speak for the quality of their service wrt big repairs, but if you want to watch your car being worked on from 20 feet away, talk to Brad Chase ahead of time and book your appt on the day that he's there. Yippie!

P.S: while i was standing in the nook, -every- technician walking by tried to shoo me out and tell me i absolutely could NOT be there, and every time i'd tell him to check with brad, who'd then say it's ok. that was soooooo random. then, on of the techs, said that some "observer" fell in their shop a while back, and he/she is trying to bring forth legal action.....