Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: Spazdog
People are stupid.
I had a client come in Monday that was having a difficult time starting his car. Of course it HAS to be my installation work.
Battery voltage drops to 7 while cranking. I tell the client it's probably the battery.
"It can't be the battery. I just got that battery."
Go through the process of digging into the battery and discover that it is the factory original battery and it looks its age.
Service minder indicates that he is something like 26,000 miles past Schedule B service.
When I bring it up, the client becomes very angry. "Do you know how much that costs? I can't afford that service."
I might have believed that he was just maintaining it himself but the vehicle was badly neglected. Three bald OE tires, one Kumho Ecsta. Black and crusty under oil filler cap. Vehicle full of garbage...
He is still sticking to his guns that he "just bought that battery." It fails on a load test after charging. It fails with a capacitive tester.
I don't even know what to tell him anymore. Maybe his problem will get better if he protests enough.
I've run into people like this, and I can't figure out if they are really that stupid, or if they are trying to scam you.
I run into people like this with some regularity, and I think it's a little bit of both.
I think most have some idea that the outcome they are demanding (something for free) is not reasonable, but they think if they make a big stink about it, they will get their way. Their entitlement mentality tells them this is the way the world works. "I want something, but I don't want to pay for it, so I will pitch a fit until someone fixes my problem or gives me what I want for free." They don't care that they are doing something dishonest, it's just "the way things work" to them.
But a smaller number of people are just so clueless about how things work and cause/effect that they really can't comprehend what you are trying to explain to them. Because they can't comprehend it, they think you are trying to trick them or something.
I suspect Spazdog's "client" is the former...he knows his car is a messed up POS, but he is mad about the "device" that is installed, so he lashes out at it for everything that goes wrong with the car. In his mind, it's totally reasonable to go yell at the breathalyzer people first to see if he can get something for free. It's the logical way to deal with the situation because he is mad about the breathalyzer and doesn't want it there in the first place. He's probably also embarrassed to take the car in for repair work at regular shops.
