Shop owner in hospital after taking my deposit for parts?

[bdcardinal]

I remember one time I ordered a part and paid for it and 2 days later I went to the dealer to pick it up and they sent it back to the warehouse. Why? I threw a fit and they overnighted the part to my house. Now that same dealer you have to drive to the dealer to pay for the part, then drive back again when it comes in. They don't do credit card over the phone.

A lot of dealers aren't doing CC on the phone anymore due to all the scams. We will post on our private message boards about someone calling for tires or headlight housings and wanting to pay over the phone with a CC. Then you hear they called 10-20 other dealers with the same name but different stolen CC numbers. So now at my work if someone wants to buy tires over the retail counter it is cash only.

 

[ecotourist]

How long does it take to recover from gall bladder removal? My guess is that's what they'll do if he's in pain. I don't seem him dropping a fuel tank anytime soon, but I want to give him a few days to see what the situation is before I just yank the job from him.

It will depend on how it's done. Not that long if it's done laparoscopically. Longer if it's done open.

I'm not a surgeon so I don't know exactly. But the surgeon will.

 

[Hall]

so I don't want to burn a bridge with a good mechanic here, he does great work.

In a situation where you need your car repaired quickly and he's not able to do it, if he considers you going elsewhere to be "burning bridges", he's being petty.

 

[bbhero]

Surgery isn't "Surgery". I recently had 2 cardiac "surgeries" and could have been back at relatively light work the next day, and doing everything within a week.

He may be back at work next week - or not. I'd ask his wife if she knows how long he will be off work. She may know.

Certainly there are cardiac procedures that are no big deal. I agree.

My mom had a pacemaker placed… a surgery but only a minor surgery.

But Open heart surgery…. IS a real surgery…

A gall bladder surgery is no where near as severe as open heart surgery obviously . No doubt… However, it is a minor to moderate surgery that does take some time to heal and… things can go wrong.

I have seen routine surgeries go way, way, way wrong. Granted very, very, very seldom did that ever happen. But it definitely did happen. We had a gastric bypass surgery patient die… from a massive bleed out event… Thank goodness the people that day were able to save her and it was a Herculean effort to do that. And she had zero deficits after that event because she was my patient 4 days after that horrific event.

 

[The motor guy]

In a situation where you need your car repaired quickly and he's not able to do it, if he considers you going elsewhere to be "burning bridges", he's being petty.

That's true and everything these days takes way way longer now since it's still pretty hard to get parts

 

[Lubener]

To speculate on the mechanic's recouperation time and his medical issue is nonsense. This is a negative when dealing with a mom and pop operation. Either get it fixed elsewhere or wait. Worry about the deposit later, there is always small claims court.

 

[The motor guy]

So for those on here with shops where you order parts through a distributor. Do they allow you to return the part back to them?

 

[John105]

He buys the parts from a wholesaler and wants to mark the price up. My guess is too many people change their mind, so that's why he takes a deposit. It's a lift pump for a diesel engine.

You're probably right. My local Lexus dealer wanted me to pay for touch up paint in full, before even ordering it. I said, you're joking, right? I'd rather pay when you actually have it. Guy said no, too many people have ordered it, but then never came back for it and no other customer wants it (which is why it's not stocked in the first place). But what made me walk out the door was when he said, maybe I'd order it for you if you weren't a new customer. I'm no longer a customer at all.

 

[John105]

So for those on here with shops where you order parts through a distributor. Do they allow you to return the part back to them?

What I could find online, short answer yes.

speedDIAL Sales Terms & Conditions

 

[D60]

I just talked to the mechanic on the phone. I guess they're trying to decide in the next couple days if they need to take his gallbladder out. He says the parts are at the shop, so I can either come get the parts when he gets out of the hospital or wait. I'd really prefer him to do the work, so I guess I'll see what the deal is in a couple days before I just snatch the parts from him. I feel for him and understand things happen, so I don't want to burn a bridge with a good mechanic here, he does great work.

I'm a one-man operation and if that "burns a bridge" he's not someone you want to work with.

From my perspective customer service is most important and if I can't meet my obligations, I Iook at it from the customer's perspective. It's not YOUR fault or problem that MY gall bladder went south.

Now, you may need to allow a little grace for him to get you your $ back, but if you go elsewhere and he's ANGRY over that, that's simply not customer service

 

[The motor guy]

I'm a one-man operation and if that "burns a bridge" he's not someone you want to work with.

From my perspective customer service is most important and if I can't meet my obligations, I Iook at it from the customer's perspective. It's not YOUR fault or problem that MY gall bladder went south.

Now, you may need to allow a little grace for him to get you your $ back, but if you go elsewhere and he's ANGRY over that, that's simply not customer service

On Monday I'll call and ask for an update I guess. Hopefully I can get my parts that I paid for and I can just go to another shop with these parts. I'd rather do that vs start fresh with another shop and have to ask the guy for the full amount back.

 

[D60]

On Monday I'll call and ask for an update I guess. Hopefully I can get my parts that I paid for and I can just go to another shop with these parts. I'd rather do that vs start fresh with another shop and have to ask the guy for the full amount back.

I think that's VERY reasonable

 

[The motor guy]

I think that's VERY reasonable

I think getting my parts is the best thing to do. I just don't see him being able to work on anything anytime soon in the next couple weeks.