Useless rant.....

[Rule3]

I have gone to Auto Zone many times for my Wife's car and Mine to get a new battery. Installed, no problem at all
Twice under warranty and no charge for a new one. Yes the commuter and radio has to reset take a few miles as they do not put in a trickle charger.

If ever have a problem I can just go to another one Riley's right next store in the same parking lot or Advance across the street!

 

[Smoke]

The last 15 years of my work life I was a security guard. So, that's kind of the industry that I keep tabs on. I can get on a forum for Allied Universal, my last employer, and over half of the new posters are asking the same question How do you beat Allied's drug test. Somebody's folks want to get high at work and walk around with a gun and see nothing wrong with that.

Or they ask questions like I no called, no showed three times last week. Now the manager wants to see me. Do you think they're going to fire me?

Or I quit with no notice 3 months ago do you think they'll rehire me?

I mean I realize that contract security is pretty much bottom of the barrel but those are the people in our Workforce.

I also monitor a couple other work forums and people come in to the Forum looking for a good job and people tell them to go into the trades and the most common response is "Oh God no, I don't want to actually work for a living."

These people expect to get out of college with $120,000 in student loan debt and go right into an $80,000 a year job.

One of the dietitians at the VA was telling us the other day I think she's within 10 years of my age I think she's in her early 50s. She went to college in the late seventies early eighties. She worked her way through college and paid less than $10,000. Grad school might have been a little bit more.

And I'm sorry to say that we did that to them

 

[Chuck24]

Why is the parts store obligated to install your battery?
Parts stores sell parts.
Garages install them.

Because they advertise that they install them

 

[steelslaver]

To Steelslaver's point, people don't want to work because they get paid too much. Follow my logic. The more you pay someone the more it costs other people for what they do. If they work at a restaurant, the people working there are getting paid more, the elusive "Living Wage." The restaurant has to charge more and the meal costs more. Same for the people that deliver the food and booze. Same for the people that grow the food and brew/distill the beer/alcohol.



What I am finding, specifically with restaurants, is that the service is not as good as it was. If you have to work harder to make more money, you either work harder or go find a job that doesn't require a person to bust their butt. The wait staff around here are making a much better hourly wage so they are less concerned about tips. If you are making $15/hour, do you care about getting another $5 from a table at lunch? That $5 from that 1 table make bump the person up $1-2 per hours depending on how long that table sits and how many tables they deal with.

If you think someone waiting tables for $15 an hour won't worry about a $5 tip because "they are making to much" your logic is really flawed. But restaurants are a poor business example as they are one of the very toughest business to make a profit at. Lets talk about those business like the insurance industry, banking etc where the CEOs and board members rake in millions and get more millions in bonuses while the tellers are getting $20. Only the top 10% of households are knocking down over $160,000. If you want to live decent own a home invest in a 401 or the like you need to be approching that.

Fact since 1979 the top 1% increased their in income by 200% and the top. 1% by over 465% while the bottom 90% only went up 28% WHICH DID NOT EVEN KEEP UP WITH INFLATION, But you state they are getting paid to much. Sure OK

 

[LVSteve]

Bought a new battery at NAPA 2 weeks ago. Called to see if they would install it thus saving me a 2nd trip to bring the core back ($18) They don't do that any more. Not a big deal. (Yes, I could have done the swap in their parking lot) Never heard needing to use a scanner when installing a new battery. Never seen it done. Modern car computers are perfectly capable of reading a battery's output and just because a battery is new does not mean it's operating as specified.

Agree that USPS MO's should be cashed at a bank.

Battery fitment requiring a scanner to inform the computer has been a thing on many makes of car since the 2010s.

 

[IAM Rand]

Knew somebody would do the "Facts" game. The insurance industry is a bad example. Insurance rates go up when more claims happen. LA fires hurricanes in FL, NC and elsewhere, and anytime there is some natural or somewhat un-natural disaster. Most companies are responsible to share holders. Those share holders and vote out CEO, CFO and others if the company is not performing. Just because a CEO makes 10 million doesn't mean that they are taking money away from someone selling the insurance or providing estimates. If anyone should be hacked at a CEO making big bucks, it should be the share holders. The other big thing about insurance is that they are skinflints. Unfortunately the insurance industry tries to get out of paying claims or low balls them. It is a double edged sword or if you prefer the necessary evil. You have to pay for something that you hope you never use. When you do you and other policy holders get penalized.

Insurance companies like all companies get to make a profit. Who is to decide what that should be. What you are not talking about is the more you pay an employee, the more you have to charge a customer. The customer could end up being that employee. Endless cycle, pay more, charge more. If you would prefer that no company makes a profit then this may not be the country for you.

I thank the millionaires and billionaires. They help pay for many things in this country. I want more millionaires and billionaires. The other thing is you shouldn't be paid more just because you do the job. The goal is to expand what your skills are so that you are worth more as an employee. If you do this and still don't get paid what you believe what you are worth then maybe it would be time to go elsewhere to another company that does respect your skills and abilities. Just because you work at the same job for 20 years doesn't mean you should be paid what a CEO does.

Just sayin

 

[TX-Dennis]

Battery fitment requiring a scanner to inform the computer has been a thing on many makes of car since the 2010s.

True, however one has the option of just driving it and let the BMS (battery management system) relearn the battery's status. It takes a bit, but it will reset itself.

 

[greenwellg]

Every shop now tries to sell you a tire rotate and balance every 5 k miles. Total fraud.

Wife bought her 2016 Rogue new. Would have paid cash but they gave her a $500 discount. We made 3 payments and then paid it off (what they required). She told me she saved $500. I said minus the three months interest. At 32k miles I rotated the tires front to rear same side. All grooves on every tire were worn evenly. The fronts were barely worn more than the rears. She is the easiest driver on planet earth. At 65k miles and 7 years her two daughters begged her to replace the original tires. All 4 were worn down to 4/32 inch and NEVER rebalanced. Still passed state inspection. Left rear had a nail in it too close to the sidewall to repair. I left it there (mot leaking) until she got new tires and they now have 17k more miles. Never had any brake work at 82k miles total.

 

[Deke Thornton]

Why is the parts store obligated to install your battery?

Because they advertise that they do. If they don't want to be in the business of installing batteries (and I get why they wouldn't), they shouldn't lie about it.

Ten years ago I went to the auto parts place for a battery, there was one guy working and he said he'd get to me but it'd be a while. I asked if I could just borrow the wrenches and do it myself in the parking lot, which he seemed grateful to let me do.

Five years ago I went to the auto parts place for a battery, the clerk told me that the one guy who knew how to change batteries was off that day. I asked if I could borrow the wrenches and do it myself, and he acted like I asked for the code to the safe. The manager finally agreed to lend me two wrenches "just this once" if I left my license for collateral.

Two months ago I went to the auto parts place for a battery and brought my own wrenches.

 

[greenwellg]

A little law passed around 1946 EXEMPTS insurance companies from being sued for collusion to control rates. I started doing body repair, soon to find that law prevented them from allowing body shop rates to be controlled by the individual businesses. In 1969 when I first started doing bodywork, the labor rate was $8 per hour. Mechanical work was the same rate. Now mechanical is $200 while bodywork is only a fraction of that. Insurance companies don't have to compete.
I solved that issue by eliminating the insurance company from controlling my income. Rebuilding totals was my hobby, mechanical work was my business, then they changed the law and allowed me to build houses for flipping and no taxes, fed or state, no social security. Last house paid me 18 years of living there then $407,176 when I sold it and cashed out. That now provides interest income and the wife bought the condo with the money we did not spend on house payments and car payments for 32 years.

 

[ACORN]

Because they advertise that they do. If they don't want to be in the business of installing batteries (and I get why they wouldn't), they shouldn't lie about it.

Ten years ago I went to the auto parts place for a battery, there was one guy working and he said he'd get to me but it'd be a while. I asked if I could just borrow the wrenches and do it myself in the parking lot, which he seemed grateful to let me do.

Five years ago I went to the auto parts place for a battery, the clerk told me that the one guy who knew how to change batteries was off that day. I asked if I could borrow the wrenches and do it myself, and he acted like I asked for the code to the safe. The manager finally agreed to lend me two wrenches "just this once" if I left my license for collateral.

Two months ago I went to the auto parts place for a battery and brought my own wrenches.

Not ALL stores do that.
In 52 years I’ve been in the business none of my employers offered it.
When you think about it by doing installs we are competing with our garage customers, who like it or not, are the majority of our business.
If the say they do OK.
Some newer vehicles have the battery located in darn difficult places. Some under the computer.