Kevin Francks wrote....

>>>Hi all,

Paul asked for some simple advice and ends up with 3 very unhelpful / juvenile reply's.<<

Hi Kevin

Although my reply may have appeared to be juvenile I can assure you that is was not intended to be a childish remark! Jovial maybe, but my comments are based on my experiences at the sharp end.

Generally speaking, I have found that allowing customers to supply their own parts can often lead to wasted workshop time, frustrating & fruitless exchanges between yourself, the customer & maybe even the third party parts supplier too.

Here is a scenario that illustrates my point of view.....

Customer books Renault Clio in for a front wheel bearing replacement. He has already popped into Halfourds & purchased the part. The car is now on your ramp & it appears that the new bearing is incorrect, or even damaged (lets not even go there). You can't afford the ramp "down time" & try to contact the customer to explain, but he is not available until lunchtime! You decide to buy the correct part from your local factor & as a result, the ramp is then made available for the next patient. The Clio owner later arrives & kicks off, because your bearing cost 15 quid more than his "wrong one" & he can't return it to get a refund!

Supposing that you did fit his bearing. Then two months later, the customer returns with a repeat bearing failure. Do you have time to deal with the various discussions between customer & bearing supplier?

My Restaurant analogy might appear unhelpful, but it is an example that I often use to explain to certain customers. Once they have looked at it from the point of view of a restaurant goer, then usually they understand how impolite it is to ask me to fit their parts.

Customer supplied parts compromise the professional repairer in several ways.

1) Your business profit margin takes a hit
2) You stand to lose workshop time, due to complications.
3) Your workmanship might be called into question, because of inferior quality components, that you have no control over.
4) Your public liability cover may be compromised.

So returning to my restaurant scenario. Would you, or would you not ask Gordon Ramsay to cook a Steak that you bought from Marks n Sparks?

I don't think Gordon would consider compromising his reputation & I certainly wouldn’t either.

Sorry if this offends.

Cheers now

Dave