The Ethics of Doing the Right Thing
Christy, from Christy’s Coffee Break is having a contest about Random Acts of Kindness. This is not something I did recently, it was several years ago. However, this incident is true and merits being told. It’s a day I’ll never forget and it changed me as a person. So, this isn’t an official entry. I simply dedicate this post to her and all the great people who are participating…a gift from me to all of you!
Working in many different types of sales jobs, I have learned first hand what money does and means to people. We all need money to live, unless of course we choose to live in the wilderness. I wanted to share an incident that happened to me that we can all relate to. It is my hope that we learn something from this! Lets get right into the subject at hand.
One of the highest paying jobs I had was being the manager of an AAMCO transmissions shop. For those of you not from America, AAMCO is a national chain of automotive transmission repair shops.
I know nothing about transmissions and at the time, knew nothing about sales; this is why they hired me, I was a blank slate - the unshaped clay from which they could carve a cut throat salesman. All stores in the chain pay the manager the same way, twice a week.
I was paid $500.00 every Friday (base salary) and then paid my commission check every Monday, which was usually around $1500.00 - great pay for such an easy job. I raised the store’s weekly gross from $7,500.00 per week to over $28,000.00 per week in the first two months. This wasn’t enough for the two owners, they wanted more.
I received several death threats from irate customers but the owners said it was normal and I needed to toughen up! It took me a little while to realize what was really going on; they were ripping people off.
Doing The Right Thing
A woman came in with seven children, I knew she was stressed and could sense that she had serious financial problems. She told me that her husband had left her and she was working two full time jobs to take care of her children.
It just so happened that this was the 1st time my boss let me run the shop completely by myself. Her vehicle had been towed to the shop and I made it a priority to get this woman’s vehicle repaired quickly. The head mechanic told me that she had a broken clutch cable! I was really happy that I could go relieve her stress telling her the good news.
A transmission repair is expensive, between $1200.00 - 3000.00 on average. To repair a broken clutch cable is less than $100.00 - big difference! I had a big smile ready to tell her the good news, when the owner stopped me and took me in his office.
He asked me if I had told her the diagnosis, I told him no. He looked at me and said, “Bobby, you go tell that woman that she has an internal transmission problem and we need to open it up to find out what’s wrong with it.”
I said, “I cannot do that…it’s a broken clutch cable, there’s nothing wrong with her transmission. That woman is working two full time jobs and is taking care of seven kids!”
He became irritated with me, “Everybody has seven kids and two jobs, she’s playing you like a violin. That woman has money…NOW GO GET THAT MONEY!!!!!”
I walked back into my office and the children were complaining they were hungry, some of them were crying. The woman was crying, her hands were trembling as she expected bad news…I could sense that she was used to getting bad news.
I smiled and said, “GOOD NEWS! It’s a broken clutch cable…$79.00! It’ll be ready in an hour.”
She ran behind my desk and hugged me, tears streaming down her face. I felt so good that I had been honest with her…I actually cried too. The head mechanic smiled at me. He never liked me before that day. He walked over and said, “Thank God we have someone here with the guts to do the right thing.” and shook my hand. I knew I had won the guys in the shop over as I had earned their respect.
The owner called me into his office, I could feel his fury before I opened the door. He said, “You are fired. I thought you would be great manager, but you are weak and we need a winner in here.”
I was glad he fired me. I did the right thing and am proud of myself for doing it.
How They Rip You Off
AAMCO transmissions (and most all automotive repair shops) charge what is known as shop labor on every repair. This is not based on the actual work done. It’s based on a chart in the AAMCO sales book. We charged 11 hours of shop labor at $49.00 per hour just to remove the transmission and determine the problem. This is separate from the cost and mark up of all parts!
One mechanic could remove a transmission from a Toyota Camry in 15 minutes! In many cases, the entire process of removal, disassembly and diagnosis could be done in two hours. We still charged the customer for 11 hours!!!!!
This is what greed can do to people and businesses. There is no automotive repair shop in America that will charge you for the actual work done, they will always overcharge you. This is yet another reason I see money in a responsible way. People count, not money.
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Ha ha, great post Bobby. One of the luckiest things I’ve had in my life is a family friend who’s a mechanic! He’s worth more than his weight in gold. (#):)
Bush Mackel’s last blog post..Wii - The Legend of Zelda : Twilight Princess Review
Me too Bush!!!! I am lucky to know some people who do charge fair prices. I think family or personally owned automotive repair shops are usually more honest than a big corporation. I noticed an AAMCO google ad on this post…hahahahahaha
Similar experiences: I went to a local shop when the dashboard “amp” light came on. They wanted to charge me $19.99 for the diagnostic. They quoted an additional $299 “if it was the alternator.” One of the shop’s “grease monkeys” talked to me aside after the clerk had gone to the back for something. He told me about another shop that would test my car for free.
When they tested my car, the battery was okay, the alternator was charging. The kid who ran the test told me to go home, disconnect the positive cable to the battery while the car was running. If there was anything wrong, the engine would stop. If it was a stuck switch or loose wire, the warning light would reset. The car turned out to be just fine!
Dave Lucas’s last blog post..Racism 2008
Agree that “We all need money to live, unless of course we choose to live in the wilderness.” The same reason that prompts me to write my current “Using Law of Attraction to Increase your Wealth Creating Opportunity in Forex Trading”.
forexdiscover’s last blog post..Using Law of Attraction to Increase your Wealth Creating Opportunity in Forex Trading
Good for you! I am also glad we have a friend that is a mechanic. He doesn’t discount, but he is fair.
Square1’s last blog post..15 Minutes or More
Hi Bobby, you have so many interesting stories, thanks for sharing this one. I enjoyed reading this post. It’s okay that u got fired cause it was for a noble reason. This would have made a wonderful entry for Christy’s contest btw!
Genie Princess’s last blog post..Reconnected!
Bobby, GOOD FOR YOU!!! That was such a sweet and honest thing to do…. I was once ripped off by a mechanics shop for 600$ for a simple tune up. My Husband was furious and I was a push over…. It’s so refreshing to know that even if the big dogs are crooks, the people working for them can be honest…. Of course you don’t always have honest people so sometimes we still get rooked! I wish I had some sort of award for honest people….
I so love you for being an honest and truthful man…
Laying the sugar on ya one grain at a time…..
Judy
Judy’s last blog post..It’s a beautiful world….
Sadly my father worked in a transmission shop (not AAMCO), for over 40 years. When he retired he was one of the best in the shop at rebuilding transmissions yet he only made around $10/hour. Yet the owners were pulling in several thousand for the job. I know there is business overhead, but when they take so much from the customer can’t at least more trickle down to their employees?
Excellent Bobby! You did the right thing. My husband works in the auto industry as well so I know how people get ripped off. Sometimes he’ll tell someone to come to the house and he’ll fix something small for free for them so they don’t have to pay thousands of dollars.
If you let me post your story on my blog than it will be an official entry! Come on….you may even win a free t-shirt…lol…just let me know OK because I’d love to post it.
You’re a good guy Bobby, we need more people like you in the world!
Christy’s last blog post..The Tree Man - Rare Medical Disorder Plagues Indonesian Man
Thanks for sharing such a personal experience, as I was reading I realized I had become completely sucked in by your story and just couldn’t read fast enough. Thanks for using such a cool story from your life to portray such a good moral.
MAN! What scams! I’m so happy you chose to do the right thing and make her life better Bobby!!
Bobo’s last blog post..Officially Mute.
Doing the right thing. That is probably the most important thenk that anyone can do. I find myself doing it more and more all the time.
A simple example, I was at the grocery store the other day and was getting change. In that change was a $10 bill, however, there were actually 2 $10 bills stuck together. I gave one back. That act was worth far more than $10.00. It was worth the best night’s sleep I have had in weeks.
Always seek to DO THE RIGHT THING.
Great post Bobby!!
Mel’s last blog post..Band Meme Participants
Before I moved to Las Vegas I found a Tuneup Masters that was golden! My SO and I were regular customers and they treated us wonderfully. Never overcharged, marked down services sometimes, if they did something and it went wrong they fixed it correctly no extra charge.
I miss those guys terribly, they are the standard by which all others should be held.
I had a great experience with a Big O Tires there and here for that matter, these are the exceptions unfortunately but they do exist.
menopauseprincess’s last blog post..The Coin Purse
It’s always good to find someone honest in a repair shop…especially if you’re not knowledgeable of what fair prices actually are in that environment. They depend and hope to make an extra buck from their customers!
It is good to know someone honest! When I find someone like that…I remember them and they have earned my business the old fashioned way
Some of my friends thought I was a fool for losing such a good paycheck…but I like to sleep at night! Thanks Marzie
I think most people are pushovers when it comes to this stuff…that’s all the more reason the business should be honest! A clear conscious is priceless…thanks Judy
That’s the same situation at the shop I worked in. The mechanics didn’t make even half the amount of money I did, and that was extremely unfair. They are really the most valuable employees there
Thanks Christy…I’m so happy you like it! I’ve been wanting to tell this story for a long time, it’s something I’ll never forget! Okay…I’ll enter it! I’ll be by shortly
Thanks Jed! I am glad you see the moral. I don’t believe everyone would risk their paycheck to do the right thing, but it’s wrong to be a dishonest businessman
Thanks Bobo…I could never feel good about the money I earned by deceiving innocent, unknowing people
I’ve done the same thing Mel, it sure is great to be honest! I had a guy leave his wallet at a place I worked at containing $350.00 and several credit cards. I couldn’t find his phone number. Five months later, the same guy walked in…I handed him his wallet!!!! He almost passed out. I was so happy he finally got it back
Yes they do exist MP! It’s just not easy to find places like that. When you do…you never forget!!!!
I used to take great pleasure in announcing a fix cost a few pence or was covered in the service agreement when I used to fix sat tv installations, my supervisor used to go mental!
good for you for telling the truth.
Andy Bailey’s last blog post..My New Album Artwork
The law of attraction is just repackaged scientology and dianetics. I could repackage positive thinking and projection calling it “Revellianism” but it would just be a marketing gimmick. It may help some people who aren’t schooled in theosophy and the history of religions. Belief in the self, purely and simply is much more powerful than any repackaged school of thought
I’ve lost several jobs because of stuff like this. I’d rather be poor than to be dishonest
EXCELLENT post Bobby! And might I mention that I hate AAMCO with a passion! They screwed me over big time with a transmission repair…to the tune of close to $3,000. This was right after I had graduated from college and had just started my job teaching, so money was EXTREMELY tight.
The first transmission replacement lasted only until ONE (1) month after the 90 day warranty. Got it replaced again and had nothing but problems with it for years. When I had it at regular garage for an oil change the mechanics even commented on what a crappy job they had done.
It’s left a bad taste in my mouth ever since. It’s a sad day when you can’t even trust a chain that is well-known nationally. Cudos to for doing the right thing. If only more people had the guts and morals to do things rightly, the world would be a much better place. Good on you for putting it to the man and and saving that woman from such a heavy burden.
Shine on,
Aaron
PS: Thanks for the Stumble!!!
For $3000.00, the guarantee should be for a few years, not 90 days. Rebuilding transmissions correctly is one of the most difficult skills to learn in automotive repairs and the guys doing it make around $10.00 per hour. The owners make millions! Thanks Aaron
Bobby this does not surprise me in the least. Because of your heart that is huge. It is always so refreshing to find people willing to stick their own necks out to help others. You did the right thing and as they say “What goes around comes around.”
I am sorry you lost your job but I am so glad that you did what you did and that you have shared this story with us.
Blessings to you Bobby,
~Jackie
P.S. never got the button so I went ahead and simply blogrolled you…have a great day
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Hi Jackie! I haven’t forgotten about that button…I’ve just been really busy. You blogrolled me? Thank you so much!!!! I’ll email you the code! Thanks for reading this post
I almost skipped this post…thank God, I didn’t
…Finally, I found a western blogger that have a pure heart and soul…For instance, that man wallet will be long gone with those who don’t have a pure soul of goodness…5 months is a long time man…We need to stand up for our work ethics…Definitely, going to stick around for a long time… 
…GBU! 
nimrodjo’s last blog post..You Have To See This!
My girlfriend left me because of the situation…she thought I should have done what I was told at work. I also quit a great engineering job over something similar
Bobby, I have been in the same boat. I did a few sales jobs in my 20’s and had some gut feelings that the way that I created income was not always respectable. One instance in particular still hits my conscious to this day … I think “earning” your money has more respect than most will give.
I am not the richest man by any means, but my heart is OK with everything that transpires in any given work week.
Eric “Speedcat Hollydale”’s last blog post..Golden Breast Plates of Amore`
How can someone find a “good” honest transmission repair shop? Each town should have some type of ranking system that is stamped on their front door and tells people where this shop is rank on the integrity level.
Cases’s last blog post..Casio Cassiopeia Battery Charger Extender
Eric…I understand! Does a construction worker who works 80 hours per week deserve to make less money than a basketball star? Hahaha…NO!!!!!!!! If the world were filled with Bobbys….sports stars would make $35,000 per year base salary and play for the love of the game
By getting some serious dirt on the owner and using the leverage to get a good deal…hahahahahahahaha
“For $3000.00, the guarantee should be for a few years, not 90 days.”
It was around $3,000 total, for both transmissions. The first one cost around $1,500 and that’s what had the 90-day warranty. For the second one (about 120 days later) I talked them down to $1,200. Still a total rip-off as I had nothing but troubles with that tranny too. No matter how you look at it, AAMCO sucks!