What a great video, I wish the general public would learn about the dealerships and how most mechanics get paid from him. This is a subject where I’ve basically given his lecture to many folks over the years.
Very articulate and he sounds like he knows of what he speaks.
While this reply may be long for a post I can personally relate to nearly all of his main topics.
Although I only worked in a dealership for three years, it was after many years as a hobby mechanic; a career in the USAF as an electronics/computer tech, graduate from CISCO Networking Academy, two years at auto tech school and three ASE certifications obtained during school. My wage there was just above those who could only do oil and tire changes but the service manager did give me a base salary unlike most who just got paid for their flag hours. I do have the advantage of a good military retirement so thankfully my wages were not what put food on the table. While a student I was able to take advantage of the Snap-On student discount to purchase a great toolbox and a fine set of mechanics tools.
I did like the GM training and learned a lot, both online and at the training center (now closed) but for most techs this was time not turning a wrench or getting paid so they avoided it. I was able to finish all my ASE certs (of some value), GM master electronics and HVAC certifications which added about $.50 to my hourly wage. It was also expected that we test to obtain our state inspector license and keep it current. Inspections paid .3 hours, yea 18 minutes; to retrieve the vehicle, scrape off the sticker, check the wipers, glass, lights, find the wheel lock key, raise it and remove one wheel to inspect brakes, wheel bearings, steering gear, tires and ball joints. Then, if it passed, we had to type all the info into the computer, print out the inspection sheet, fill out the sticker, attach it to the windshield and return it to the service lane. If it did not pass a different sticker was filled out and the customer had 10 days to fix it and bring it back for a reinspection of what failed. No additional pay for the tech… Not worth it…
With my electronics training and understanding of networks I became proficient using the GM scan tool and was able to use it, along with other electronic tools, for those hard to diagnose problems. Of course this meant much of my work was on vehicles under warranty which means the flat-rate hours was about 1/3 less than customer pay and trying to get any additional diagnostic time was very difficult. Like he said in the video, many of the mechanics would purposely avoid this work by staying ignorant of new systems and would pursue education on electronics so the tickets would come to me while they did the much of the gravy work. Recalls worked much the same, I became particularly adept at a dash airbag replacement because of my attention to detail (from my many years on aircrew) and careful work on the dashes.
What really caused my break with auto repair was not the work, it was getting paid for it. It was always a battle to justify the need for that extra diagnostic time. I did not mind spending the sometimes hours to find that pushed-in or corroded terminal in a connector it was that my next job was an oil change and inspection on a used car with lifetime oil changes and inspections for .5 hours. Many times I was on the phone with the GM TAC (technical assistance center) with issues in the infotainment system, airbags, HVAC - oh yea, not part of flat-rate. We were also required to work every third Saturday which was a small crew of two or three mainly doing oil changes and state inspections. Not a fun nor profitable way to spend a Saturday. One of the phrases I heard a few times was that the service department paid the bills and sales was the profit for the dealership.
All in all I enjoyed the work which at time was very gratifying when you found that elusive problem and shared it with the other mechanics and sometimes GM or you had some customers who specifically requested you to work on their cars. I left on good terms and visit the few mechanics left from my time periodically and the true parts guy who still gives me the employee discount
