Originally Posted by
big john
A good thing about being a dealer tech is the lack of customer contact. Sometimes, though, it's helpful for me to talk to them because the service writers don't know the right questions, etc.
I get the hierarchy of diagnosis going and ask questions that some customers don't understand why I'm asking and for some reason they take offence. I had a young guy with a diesel truck which had some code for the DPF or regen and so many things are involved. I got a few questions in before he became pissed off. "I don't need this song and dance" as if I was trying to fleece him somehow. OK Buddy, figure it out yourself. I went back to work and the writer calmed him down and convinced him I could fix it. Turned out to be an air leak on the intercooler pipe.
Part of my job running a research group is troubleshooting when something doesn't work. I always preface my questions with, "Some of the questions I'm going to ask might make
you think that
I think you're an idiot, but that's not it. I just have to ask them to make sure I understand everything." After that, they're not offended.
It does, however, remind me of a friend in IT at a previous company, who, when confronted with "My computer stopped working", always started by asking "What color is the power cord?", rather than "Is it plugged in?", because he'd get them to look without offending them.