Silverstein: Confidence Crisis: Why They Don't Trust Us

What would you do in the following scenario:

A customer presents a late-model vehicle to your shop with a specific noise/steering complaint. The tech verifies, then diagnoses the cause of the complaint and your service writer sells the solution to the customer which includes replacing steering components. The customer pays and departs. 

Unfortunately, the problem persists, as the “solution” was ineffective. The customer returns with the original complaint still unresolved. This time, the vehicle is dispatched to a more senior, experienced technician and a different remedy is recommended and performed. Here, too, the customer pays and much to their dismay, the problem remains.

What is your next course of action as the shop owner? Your staff has been presented with two opportunities to repair the customer’s vehicle and failed. Do you dispatch the vehicle to a third technician? Do you refer them to another shop or to the dealer? Do you refund all or part of the money they spent at your facility while NOT fixing the problem? Or do you keep the money spent by the customer because they “probably needed those parts anyway.”

This situation raises an uncomfortable but necessary question: in automotive repair, what exactly are customers paying for—our time, or the outcome? The honest answer is that they are paying for both. Our time has value, but so does accuracy, and the burden of accurate diagnosis rests on us, not the customer. These kinds of misdiagnoses happen far more often than anyone in our trade likes to admit.

A Recurring Problem

A recent video from a major manufacturer brought the issue back to mind. A dealership employee explained a recurring steering concern found in one of their newer models. To address the steady stream of unnecessary part replacements, the OEM issued a Special Service Message that spelled out the symptom, the real cause, and the correct repair procedure—before any components were condemned or replaced. Vehicles still under warranty were covered by the manufacturer, but owners of out-of-warranty vehicles were paying out of pocket for fixes that frequently didn’t fix anything.

This cycle is not new. Years ago, Toyota issued a well-known Technical Service Bulletin after a wave of shocks and struts were replaced simply because a small amount of oil was visible on the outside of the shock/strut. Toyota had to publish line drawings to teach techs the difference between normal seepage and actual leakage. In other words, unnecessary repairs caused by incomplete or inaccurate diagnosis have been part of our industry for decades.

Implement Guidelines

So, what is the right course of action when your shop becomes part of that problem?

First, you own the failure. That does not mean throwing your techs under the bus. It means acknowledging to the customer (without becoming defensive) that the shop did not resolve their concern and that it is now your responsibility to make it right. Accountability is huge.

Second, you re-diagnose the vehicle—properly this time—at no additional charge. The customer should not pay again until the root cause is known and confirmed. It is unreasonable to expect them to fund what is essentially a third attempt.

Third, you refund the previous charges. This is where many shop owners wince because no one wants to give money back. But ethics and long-term business health demand it. If the previously installed parts did not contribute to solving the customer’s complaint, and there was no prior approval for “might-fix” repairs, the fair resolution is either a full refund or at minimum a substantial adjustment. Telling a customer that they “probably needed those parts anyway” is a quick way to lose not only that person, but everyone they talk to.

Fourth, you create an internal process to prevent the same situation from happening again. Some practical steps include:

• Checking TSBs, SSMs, and pattern failures as well as reviewing the Service Information prior to performing electronic, emissions, steering, and suspension repairs.
• Documenting diagnostic steps so the customer can understand what they are paying for.
• Training techs on common misdiagnosed areas. 

Finally, you need to consider whether the problem is a symptom of your shop’s culture. Rushed diagnostics, pressure to sell, or a lack of technical information can all push techs toward guessing instead of testing. Fix that, and you fix a significant share of repeat-visit headaches. In the end, the standard should be simple: the customer pays for the correct repair, not for the shop’s learning curve. A shop that stands behind its work—even when it stings financially—will outlast one that hides behind excuses.