All too often we hear the phrase, "I've been ripped off," spoken by consumers. The media constantly bombard us with stories about unscrupulous repair shops that take advantage of innocent consumers, but rarely do they mention there are unscrupulous consumers that can rip off shops too!

As I was closing the shop for the day not too long ago, a car pulled into our lot on the end of a tow rope. Being the owner of the shop, I am almost always the last to leave. That day was no exception since all of my employees had gone home and I was turning off the lights and closing up for the night. I was already late for dinner, after all.

I turned the lights back on in the office and greeted the person with the broken car. She told me her car wouldn't start. She had already replaced the fuel pump and fuel filter and it still wouldn't start. This was her first time to visit my shop, so I got her name and phone number, jotted down a few notes on the work order about the repairs already done, agreed to call her in the morning when the problem was found, and went home for the night.

The next morning, one of my technicians performed the necessary diagnostic tests and found a defective fuel pump relay. I called the customer to explain what was wrong and what it would cost to fix. I stated the charge for diagnosis and the total for the part and labor necessary to fix her car. That was when the real problem began. She yelled, "You didn't tell me there would be a charge for 'looking' at my car!"

Normally, I go into great detail about what we charge for diagnostics when a car is left for service. In this case, being in a hurry the night before, I had only briefly mentioned what we would do to find the problem with her car and how much it would cost. I thought she understood. She had said, "Go ahead, but call me when you find the problem," which I took as her approval.

So, when she started yelling that next morning, I explained the diagnostic procedure was more than "looking" at her car and a diagnostic charge, in addition to repairs, is necessary and customary. I reminded her of our conversation the night before and mentioned the money she had wasted replacing the fuel pump and fuel filter because the problem had not been properly diagnosed. I further explained that the time spent by an ASE-certified technician to find her problem is not free and is billed in addition to the repair. She again yelled, "You didn't tell me about any diagnostic charge! If I had known I was going to be charged for 'looking' at my car, I wouldn't have left it!" I reminded her that, in addition to her verbal approval during our conversation, there was a sign in our office stating our minimum charge for diagnostics. "I didn't see any sign in your office, I didn't sign anything and I'm not paying anything! I'm sending a tow truck to pick up my car and tow it away," she concluded, as she slammed down the phone.

When she mentioned not signing the work order, I knew I had been had. I've been ripped off! Being eager to get home to dinner the night before, I hadn't taken the time to get a signature on the work order. Without that signature, nothing that was said would hold up.

This woman has played this game before, I believe. Maybe she knew to bring her car in at closing time so I would be in a hurry. She just wanted someone to tell her what was wrong with her car so she could fix it herself. She knew she could cheat us out of our time because she didn't sign the work order.

We wasted a lot of time on that car. I wasted a lot of time talking to that person, but I learned something. There are people out there who are not as honest as we are. These people will take advantage of you and steal your time if you let them.

Don't get in a hurry, like I did, and forget the signature on the work order. You could get ripped off too!

Dan Waskow, AAM, is the owner of Superior Auto Service Inc., in Bryan, Texas.

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