Mark. If there is one thing that annoys me more than anything else in this trade, it's the never ending line of people who tell the customers want they want to hear whether its accurate or not. Reminds me of the service manager that told one old lady that the fog that she kept finding on the inside of her car windows was a small coolant leak and we simply had to tighten a hose clamp, instead of telling her that as the vinyl interior cures it will give off chemicals that can fog the glass and it will go away completely by the end of the summer all by itself. I think I saw that car in to get the windows cleaned every week all summer long. What the service manager did was tell her what she wanted to hear, that something got fixed. You wrote "I just fixed an intermittent electrical issue for customer that spent a small fortune with 3 different garages that failed to fix the problem. " It takes four things to be able to fix a car. The right person, the right tools, sufficient training, and a broken car. Intermittent by nature are a car that isn't broken all of the time. If it happens to not be broken at the time that any of the other three shops saw the car, then they had no chance. Now keeping in mind what I started off with, people in this trade wanting to tell the customers what they want to hear, instead of the way it really is, you can go right ahead and fault the shops as you did, and play the hero card here. The facts are the forces at work inside of this industry that you allude to are going to hurt the consumer until we all learn how to be professional. Quote" The flat economy has effectively forced many employment/income/savings/credit challenged people to become self sufficient electrical/emissions troubleshooters and/or forced them to use the services of unemployed/under-employed mechanics that work from home, or on-site" Side work is stealing, pure and simple. Someone doing side work has no insurance, which a shop has to pay in order to protect the customer as well as themselves. They don't pay taxes which short changes everyone else that does. They operate in the street, or in a garage not zoned for the business, the list goes on and on. It's the classic apples to oranges kind of a comparison. You cannot compare what happens in someones back yard to what a real shop does today. Quote "Having a little knowledge also helps prevent customers from being taken advantage of by dealerships, independents, tire/brake/inspection outfits etc" Now where does one get this knowledge? In some back alley? Here on the Internet? You can find videos of people unlocking a door on the Internet with a tennis ball that has a hole cut in it. Its fake, but people want to believe it. Your response is IMO another tennis ball trick that unfortunately I don't have all day to debunk. Plus I have the disadvantage of having to tell it like it really is, not the sugar coated version that people want to hear as you did. Yes it costs money, and sometimes you might consider it "big bucks" for something that may seem relatively easy. Did you see Jerry's response just now? Quote " and the Security fault. My truck is a basic model, manual windows and locks, no electronic security. The dealer shop was successful in getting the SES Icon off, and in applying two "silent" recalls (not happy I didn't get a notice), but the Security fault did not result in any action... I'm concerned it is a computer problem, expensive to repair. The problem may be that the Security fault isn't on all the time, so if I had a reader I could look when it is on. The reality of that paragraph is first that Jerry contradicts himself in saying that the vehicle has a Security issue, but at one point says that its a base model with no electronic security. Not blaming him of anything here, but in a way that's a classic perception, and not an uncommon description that a customer might give to a shop. The security issue is likely real, plus it's intermittent. Tell me Mark are you trained and equipped to service that system? If so what scan tool are you using? (brand and software updated to 20XX model year)?? Sadly this is going to end up rhetorical, because I have to give the answer to make my point. Real techs today, understand that the ONLY tool to service that system correctly is the GM tech II, and the shop has to have a subscription to SPS. What tool would you use if Jerry would happen to own a Ford with a similar reported problem? How about a Toyota; or a Mazda; a Honda, an Acura, a Lexus, a Nissan, an Infinity, a VW, a BMW, Mercedes, Kia, Hyundai? Or any one of the other manufacturers currently available in the US market? The reality is techs and shops need vehicle specific training, and specific O.E. tooling for each one of the manufacturers or else they are working with a handicap, and potentially will find themselves unable to actually complete a given repair without sending the car back to the dealer, or having a mobile diagnostic technician come to their shop, or in fact they could come to a shop like mine for about 90% of the most common vehicles on the road. I ask you Mark are you genuinely equipped and trained to service the security system on Jerrys Truck? Would you be for all of the other manufactures that the readers here are likely to own? By taking on that expense, uncommon in the industry, it impacts what a shop like mine has to charge for even the things that are indeed easy. You attempted to make that look as if it is dishonest with your response and I take extreme exception to that. Dealerships, by their franchise agreement, have to be equipped for, and employ techs who are capable and trained to service things like Jerry's Security system. Only shops and techs who "get it" in the aftermarket step up to the plate and make the required investment in the tools, training and equipment required to do the complete job. Customers who understand this, realize that there are many ways to undercut the real professionals, but understand doing so causes either the professionals to charge even more for what they do, or else they have to dial back the services for which they are going to be able to perform for the customers. Or worse yet, simply shut down and no-longer be a viable option for the public. Think that's an exaggeration? Look at how many dealers are being forcibly shut down. If your above average, your still not trained and equipped to fill the void caused by a dealer that closes. I can't do that simply because of the volume of work that could be displaced. (There are only so many hours in a day). Back yard Bob isn't going to do it, because he wont go to any updated schools, and he darn sure won't buy the tools. Auto repair isn't cheap, it's actually under priced for what it really takes to do it correctly, and armed with the knowledge that is based in reality, a customer has a chance to find a real shop that will repair their car. That's my goal here Mark, exactly what was yours?

Geez, what a nightmare. Why can't people just be honest and treat others like they'd like to be treated? I just don't get it, it's not that hard. I really wanted to bid on some beautiful RL bedding, a rare style, but I really had to read between the lines and push to get info. Apparently with the shams the seller mentioned although never used, she did launder one "by mistake", but it went right back in the package. Saw no logic in that whatsoever... Since it was cotton and lace (delicate), I wondered if she dried it (which would ruin it). I emailed her asking if the washed sham had been distorted or shrank as a result. No reply. I wait a few days, auction is nearing and end, and basically email her a 'hey, I'd really like to bid, but have not received a reply to my question so I'm giving it one more try here.' That generated a response from her, she admitted that the laundered sham was 'snug' and corners 'curled', but suggested ironing would make it fit properly again. Good grief. (She failed to include that significant detail in her description, even after I asked, she didn't post my question and her answer.) Very cat and mouse. I'm glad I took time to push it, because although it was a beautiful set I might well be out the $, and it would be worthless with only one good sham (and it garnered pretty high $$). I'm watching to see what kind of feedback occurs once the buyer receives it. Anyway, back to valinsv's guy. Clearly there are major issues with some items he sells. Is he too ignorant to realize that having integrity would only bolster his business that much more? That's the part I just don't get. Treat people right, they'll keep coming back. Treat them badly as a habit and sooner or later he's going to lose. Seems to me with the type of volume he does he'd be a lot further ahead if he'd just be honest. Just curious mona if you might know: if he does get kicked off, is his IP address banned, or just his ebay ID? He seems to have such a huge system set up and selling high volume, can't see him just walking away. Could he just come back under a new ID? (Although given his business and volume and listing style, it would be easy to recognize it might be him.)

OJ, Canada might be different than Minnesota but here, the store does not get charged for a fraudulent purchase and I'm guessing that would be nationwide. Once the store gets an approval code for the card purchase (and the sale isn't normally complete until the approval these days) the purchase then goes through and the card company is now liable, not the retailer (except of course for the card fee). That's why I often took a card over a check. Challenging a charge these days is more difficult. Used to be people would get buyer's remorse on a custom purchase and try to challenge a charge. Doesn't work like that anymore which is good. Those charges go against the profits, much of which is the 20% or more interest that some fools pay. There was also a check approving company who would give a code and if the check bounced, they paid for it. That was rather expensive though so it's not real popular. And checks aren't real popular around here anymore anyway. I had my card stopped while I was out of town because of suspicious activity and got a call from them once asking if I had bought a computer from a large discount retailer who shall remain nameless (so some grouch won't go nutzo!) They replaced the card the first time. I wonder how much of the scam is coming from inside the card companies themselves. I can't believe that they do intense background checks on their phone support folks. Most of the time and in both of my cases there was no loss to anyone but me (for my inconvenience - fortunately I had cash to cover the hotel) since card purchases need to be approved up front now. In the old days of carbon impressions and sending them in to be processed there was quite a delay and more trouble for everyone involved.

Card information on a smartcard chip is encrypted and is variable - different each use. I'm not an expert but I believe they are considered not cloneable. Mag strips are easily cloneable and that's been an ongoing source of fraudulent use for years and years. That's what skimmers are all about, to read the info on a mag strip in a valid card so it can be duplicated. Historically, card issuers have absorbed fraud losses. (There may be some element of their not being liable for the use of numbers of stolen cards the stores are advised of - that used to be the case but maybe not now. Remember when you'd present a card, as at a liquor store, and the clerk would flip through a soft cover book to check the number? In the days before telephonic/internet transmission of the card info when a charge is made, which can pass back a No Authorization message. When card issuers (Visa, Mastercharge) decided to switch to the Chip and Signature cards now most common in the US, it was accompanied by a liability shift. When a charge is put through with a chip reader, the bank/card issuer remains liable for fraudulent use, as before. But when a charge is entered from a mag strip, THE RETAILER is now liable for fraudulent use if the card had a chip that wasn't read because old equipment was used. That was the arm twisting involved because the issuers said to retailers - "Get a chip reading device or any fraud losses that occur from a mag reading of a chiped card are yours to absorb, we no longer will cover it. " So stores have a choice. It's their decision in the tradeoff as to what costs more - buying new machines or exposure to losses from fraud.