need opinions

I need some unbiased opinions that i may print out and use further down the road, we all know i rebuild transmissions for a living, upwards of 100 or more per year,
Well, a local guy, towboat Captain, had his wife pick-up the tranmission and he had his mechanic install the transmission, long and behold it locked up on the first tow and what they found was no oil in the unit. our policy is we dont ship transmissions with oil and he is looking to me because the unit did not have oil in it, But it has a clearly marked dipstick on the case. now this is a mechanical transmission which does not operate on hydraulic pressure and will operate without oil until something locks.
Any comments?

His mechanic is an idiot. The only thing you can do, if you want to, is attached a big warning label in red that says "NO OIL". That's what my lawn power equipment comes with. Use one of those labels that have a a metal wire and attach it where is obvious. Maybe you may want to include a quart of your "Recommended Oil" in your shipment, just kidding. Honestly, they should know better. Maybe you might give this guy a little break but I would definetly do the label so next time you tell them "ARE YOU BLIND? NO OIL!"

Was it made clear to the customer the trans would be shipped with no oil? I would put some kind of bright colored tag on the unit somewhere and also have it printed on the invoice. Have you done work for this captain before without any issues? History with the customer may justify getting more involved with fixing this repair.

David

Seems like his mechanic knows he screwed up and isn't man enough to own the mistake, and instead is cowardly passing blame off to someone else.

Only you know if you did wrong in this case. If you did do something wrong, make it right. If you didn't....hold your ground.

Eric
If you let the trans go with oil and it leaked all over her car, it WOULD be her falt but you would get the blame! The trans failed due to lack of lubracation because of the INSTALLER.

Riley wrote: What kind of mechanic would install a transmission and then not check the oil before he fired it up?

Maybe JoeNY can fill us inn with some opinions on running w/o oil

    We put "No oil" tags on everything we drain at the shop.The tags stay on until after the oil is refilled. If you can't read, you don't need to work for me. Draining something without tagging(if not immediately refilling) is a cardinal sin at my place. You never know who may end up finishing the job.

    I coud tell you the stories that prompted this policy, but you already know how they ended.

    Unfortunately Eric, you have to treat your customers like they are idiots because most of them are. Believe me, it's no different in the bike biz. Not everyone is as mechanically inclined or has as much attention to detail as the people who frequent this site. CYA, it always ends up being cheaper in the end. I'd put 2 stickers on it, one on the shipping container and one on the trans. I had my boat serviced once and the tech taped the hull plug to the steering wheel. I thought that was dumb, till I actually stopped to think about it. He was no fool.

    Mike

     

Eric. This is not your fault but it is an educational opportunity. Make sure your paperwork covers your butt, and use tags, visual reminders, and installer check lists. I would ship bubble wrapped containers of fluids as both a reminder and good customer service. As a buisness person I would let the customer know that while this incident was not your responsibility you value them and offer to go the extra mile and maybe a discount to get them back in service. You could also offer phone consultaions for installers to reduce the likelyhood of problems occuring. Maybe even educational brochures or web site to help customers choose installers and oversee the work done on transmissions after they have left your shop.Its definitly extra work but most everyone is looking for a hero, in my buisness that is what I try to be.
I think a weekend at green lake would make all this seem better.
Dave.

Sometime you need to loose customers that are not worth having. It cost you less in the long run. Tags, and labels are for first timers. Mechanics, hell, they don't need instructions, they have done this dozens of times and often overlook the obvious.

Hard to make things idiot proof,cause someone will just build a better idiot.

i still think it's his mechanics fault...but, i'm also thinking stickers that say "NO OIL" would be pretty cheap insurance...

the dipstick is a no oil tag, lol
one of these days someone is going to walk in this shop and shoot me,
im going to start my own column, the daily things that happen in everyday life. here is the one for today, cash deal local guy i met at the lunch spot, ABS light on, scanned truck, ft sensors faulty, pull wheels clean sensors, replace rt ft harness down to wheel, being the nice guy i threw in 36 ounces of freon into the AC, picks up truck and ....walks in you mfer i want half my cash back cause of the ac is not working anymore, he has his 40 year old kid with him, I actually walked over and grabbed my bat, and said get the fc out here right now before you push my button any farther...they boogied.
now I chrged him 200 bucks cash, the wheel sensor was 59.00, 36 ounces of freon 24.00 and about 2.5 hours in labor
it was a favor, ive talked to the guy a hundred times anyone else i wouldve banged them for 350.00
wtf, is wrong with this world, or is it me...dont forget i waved the scan charge which is a 4500.00 tool

i think you cant ship legally with oil in it right?

you cant ship with oil they will bounce them back or put thme in haz-mat container.
Dave, i take everything with a grain of salt, people are on short fuses lately because of the economy, moreso than ever

volvo md, cone shift transmission, very pricey