"Best" disaster

"Best" disaster

Postby drapp » Tue Aug 23, 2005 10:11 am

Okay here's another one, probably better than the first one.

Years ago we used to provide brake rotor and drum turning services to the many independant service shops that used to be near us. Sam was a constant customer of this service so he would just pull up out front and walk in with his rotors. This day was no different except Sam was driving one of his customer's old cars. Killing two birds with one stone he said, test driving and picking up parts. Since the old car had a problem warmed up he left the car running out front on fast idle. We were at the back of the shop when suddenly there was a VERY large crash and glass came flying through the shop. We looked toward the front of the shop and saw Sam's customer's car slammed into the front of the building partially through the closed overhead door. Nobody was in the car and the doors were still closed. We could not figure out what happened until a guy came across the street from the motorcyle shop yelling "FAR OUT MAN" He then told us that the car backed out from in front of our shop and he thought the car was going to crash into the light pole. About that time it did crash into the pole, crushing the rear of the car. The car had an automatic transmission with a worn out floor shifter. The vibration of the high idle caused the shifter to drop into reverse and the car flew across two lanes of traffic slamming into a light pole. The impact of the reverse crash caused the shifter to smartly move into drive and back across the street it came slamming into the front of our service department. All the time not a sole in the car. Sam had to explain this to his customer, no one was driving your car and but it wrecked itself both front and rear in two separate accidents. Oh and by the way your car damaged the new car dealer's building and destroyed the dealer's overhead door.

[This message has been edited by drapp (edited 08-23-2005).]

drapp
 

"Best" disaster

Postby PaulWilding » Tue Aug 23, 2005 2:51 pm

Also mid-70's; Tech used chain hoist to remove Jaguar 3.8S cylinder head. Necessary because of the long studs holding it down. He forgot that there was an external oil line up the back of the engine. It was 3" too long to reuse, also rather thin.

Same tech finished the engine work and re-installed the front suspension assembly. After testing to see that the engine ran properly, he put it in gear (automatic) to stall test it and tried to go through the file room door! He forgot that the brake lines need to be reconnected and bled after the suspension goes back on. A few thousand dollars in the body shop and the Jag was on the road (and so was the Tech)
PaulWilding
 

"Best" disaster

Postby fburrows » Tue Aug 23, 2005 6:24 pm

Old Chevy Blazer came in for LOF. Young tech did the work and forgot to put oil in. Customer burns up engine on the way home. Several problems with this tech so I tell him he can fix the engine for no labor or hit the road. He wants to keep his job. As he is finishing up the engine job he raises the Blazer all the way up on a lift with sprinkler head in the middle. The sprinkler head punctures the fiberglass top and it fills the interior of the Blazer with water. By the time we get the sprinkler system shut down, the Blazer has water up to the windows. When we open the door a wall of water comes out. Looked like something in a movie.

I fire the tech on the spot and then call the owner and tell them that we have run into a couple of other issues and to make up for it we are going to redo the interior. Remember this thing only came in for a LOF!! Have to admit it looked pretty good when it left with a new engine and new interior.


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Frank Burrows ABS
fburrows@absdata.com
fburrows
 

"Best" disaster

Postby DRCROMER » Wed Aug 24, 2005 2:30 pm

Another one...We had a tech who was around 250-270 lbs...He liked to raise a car up on the lift and sit in it and take a nap...(his nickname was germ)..one day while hewas doing his thing another tec got on the pager and yelled out.."Germ..This is God..Wake up..Wake up Germ.." It startled germ so bad he woke up and opened the door to get out ..forgetting he was 10 to 12 foot off the ground...another tech was inside a car in the stall next to germ when the roof caved in... no one was hurt but we had to tell the customer that his car was smashed in by a germ...He didnt think it was too funny.
DRCROMER
 

"Best" disaster

Postby homesleym » Thu Aug 25, 2005 7:27 am

Disaster Averted

Walked into the dealership one Sat morning and the smell of lacquer thinner about knocked me over. Turns out a tech did not like the oil and grease around his rack and used about 3 gallons of thinner to wash off 3 racks and stall floors. (about 30 feet away from a gas water heater.)Surprised it didn't blow!!

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homesleym
 

"Best" disaster

Postby ScottM » Thu Aug 25, 2005 5:43 pm

I was a Service Manger at a Volvo dealership and a regular retired customer would come in and have mirrors, bumpers and tailights that were broken and happily pay us to fix her "driving by brail" accidents. She often brought us cookies and fruit baskets and tipped the porters and courtesy drivers.

She had bought the first Volvo 940 when they first came out. The sales dept. high grossed her (being well to do and as nice as could be) and we had her car all all prepped and prettied up parked in the first stall pointed towards the parts department.

When she came to pick her new car up I was outside and heard and engine rev up like someone was power braking. I turned my head just in time to watch her jump the 8" curb and punch through the building. I ran over to her and she was screaming that the car was on fire but was only the discharge from the deflating airbag. We gave her her trade back and fixed the $10,000 worth of damage to her new car.

I have never felt more sorry for a customer in my life.

[This message has been edited by ScottM (edited 08-25-2005).]

ScottM
 

"Best" disaster

Postby Number 65 » Thu Sep 08, 2005 9:22 am

Back in the late '70s I worked at a Goodyear store in Pittsburgh. I was tuning up a '71 Chevelle station wagon one cold winter day. I had the Sun Scope in front of the car and was proceeding to check the secondary ignition using the scope patterns.

Being meticulous to make sure all wiring was out of the way of the fan, I threaded all of the scope leads through the hood spring, out of the way and over my head.

This particular shop had a bad habit of allowing customers to wander around in the shop and the customer who owned the car I was working on was watching me intently.

Since this was a carbureted car, I intentionally did not pump the throttle as I cranked the engine. I did this to make sure no wires were caught in the fan or belts.

The customer saw that the engine was cranking but not starting, so he decided to reach under the hood and give it some gas.

What we didn't know was that the transmission linkage was out of adjustment, so that "neutral" was actually "drive".

Remember, this is Pittsburgh in winter. Cold air + fast idle + misadjusted trans linkage = BAD DAY!!!

As soon as the customer hit the throttle, the car started and the back tires lit up, due to the fast idle. I didn't have time to get my arm out of the car from cranking the engine when the "B" pillar of the car caught my elbow and spun me around. By the time I turned back around, the taillights were passing me by.

The car plowed into the Sun Scope, blasted the scope into a tech's toolbox, smashed the toolbox thru the wall into the air compressors and shut the whole shop down.

The service manager came over and verified the linkage misadjustment and commented that he had never seen a face as white as mine. The customer climbed over the wreckage and said to me:"What the h*** did you do that for???"

The best part was the tech who had his tool box demolished took a prybar and peeled open his top drawer to retrieve his lunch. His comment: "Well whadya know.... pressed ham!!!"

True story.......

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My friends call me Wikid.


Number 65
 

"Best" disaster

Postby dodgeboy » Wed Sep 28, 2005 11:53 am

Hi all! As I've sat here and read your posts with amusement and horror, I could'nt thing of a shop disaster worthy of posting...until yesterday!!

I came back from lunch to a crowd of technicians standing outside the rear service door talking. As I got out of my car my lead tech comes over and takes me aside and says "now don't panic, nobody got hurt" well, I didn't panic, but heres what happened.
Apparently one of my techs just did a 4 wheel brake job on a Dodge Caravan. when he finished he asked the wash bay guy to take the car to clean-up for detailing. the wash guy gets in the car and puts it in reverse, and had to give it a little gas to get over the "bump" that runs between the two lift uprights. Well, wash guy didn't know that tech guy forgot to pump the brakes after he finished the brake job. This Caravan (now with some RPM's built up) careens across the shop, dead center between the lift behind it which had a car up in the air, and slammed into another tech's Snap-on tool box! The damage was severe to car and tool box! Cost of new Snap-On repalcement box is $4800. Damage to car is about $3500. Smashed the rear lift gate, rear window, rear wiper motor and arm, tail lite. And the car on the lift left two gouges in both sides of the roof when it passed underneath. It was very fortunate that no one was under the other vehicle or it would have been messy! I still find it hard to laugh at, although some of the techs find humor in it! Just thought I'd share, this happened 9/27/05.
dodgeboy
 

"Best" disaster

Postby Vince Lyons » Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:32 pm

Back in the early 80s a customer brought a VW Rabbit in for a 15k service and a state inspection, with a broken windshield. The customer already knew the answer but had to ask anyway... "Is the windshiled covered under warranty?" No he was told, he understood.

Well,
Several hour later after Rabbit fell off a lift the advisor called the customer...

"Mr Jones... Good news, we're taking care of that broken windshield for you... but there's one little issue..."

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When in doubt, charge it out !
I'll be right back with it = Bill it to the Shop Ticket
(Enter any name) will bring you the RO = Charge it to my Personal AR
Vince Lyons
 

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