Wife took responsibility of servicing our Honda City

nanduchitnis · 29th June 2011, 20:05

My wife is an auto enthusiast. She spends hours watching the cars being serviced. She tries to lean what is under the hood and how things work. In the old days she would stand next to the mechanic and see how he worked and why. But now she has to look through a glass window. They dont allow customers into the service bay.

I am quite lazy and prefer the Service Station driver to pick up and drop the car. Not she.

In my absence at sea she went to the service station and watched the process through the glass window.

She noted that the mechanics had not changed any oils nor done tyre rotation. She raised a storm with the Service Manager. The Mechanic explained to her that she cant see the oil changes from the glass window because it is done through tubes nowadays automatically.

When she saw the bill she told the service station Manager "I will not sign or pay the bill because you have charged me for tyre rotation but it is not done.

The Manager encourged her to lodge a complaint in the book against his own Mechanic. He said the Mechanics need to be taught a lesson !

She did so and tyres were rotated but they found the stepney wheel distorted due to an accident we had in Rajasthan. She said forget the stepney rotate the other tyres.

They did that.

"Next time I will be standing in the Service Bay and see what you do. Even the washing is not done properly!" she said. For good measure she took some pics with her cell phone.

The Service guys washed the car one more time under her supervision and said she was most welcome to the Bay !

I say "What a wife !"

ghpk · 29th June 2011, 20:23

Congrats, not many wife's does this kind of inspection, they are rather more interested in spending (I hope i don't need to have body guards after saying this) :-)

Most A.S.S. mechanic do such stuff, quality control is poor in many cities, Mechanics would casually examine and make a decision(it will work more) or in their language, abhi chalega, kahey ko badalna,
They forget that we pay car manufacturers heavy price to arrange proper training to their service outlets and follow their Service Manual which is designed after thorough examination and strict test condition to solve any issues car may be having.

kaushik_s · 29th June 2011, 20:25

Wow, kudos to your wife and I must ask this, "Why she is not in TBHP?"..
Yes, it's always better to be at the service center and if possible next to the car when you give your car for servicing. I've seen numerous instances of job not being done well, parts getting broken, oil change not done properly etc. Better be there with your car. We don't even let our cars out of sight by giving the car to friends itself ( don't get me wrong, I do let my friends drive my car but I've to be also in the car), then why should we put blind trust on service center people?

dot · 29th June 2011, 21:29

Captain, welcome back, long time no see.

Last time mdsaab posted about his dad's presence at Honda Service Station and its effects, half the folks here wanted his dad.

Nevertheless, it is a very rare sight to see a owner to tend to his car during service, leave alone the Lady of the House.
Kudos.

shajufx · 29th June 2011, 21:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by nanduchitnis

......I say "What a wife !"

Captain saab, thats what we call a perfect 'Mrs.Chitnis' ! Its very very rare to find a lady hanging around the service bay these days. I dont remember dropping or picking up my car for service since 2 years. We use that time for many other creative things.

When is your next Ladakh trip ? Now we have a common friend : Adv.Sejpal

pjbiju · 29th June 2011, 22:09

Great work by Mrs. Chitnis. I still remember talking to her during our Lavasa trip - she was so unassuming that I could have never expected her to be so strong and give the Honda guys a much needed scrubbing down!

mdsaab · 30th June 2011, 10:15

what a Wife indeed!
Hats off to your wife, she really gave it to them good.
I use to spend hours at the service center earlier or with the mechanic.
but nowadays due to time constraints it just isn't possible anymore.
I still do not allow pick up and drop facility. and i make sure that i drop and collect Chicca myself. or Angel our Matiz.
BTW which service centre was this? i don't think it was the Pimpri one.
as @dot mentioned during the Chicca rear ended episode, my dad really came to my rescue and sorted things out for me. Left to me it would have been a much more painful episode.
So i hope my wife joins this bandwagon soon. She is really good at ticking such folks off too.

nanduchitnis · 2nd August 2011, 18:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

Wow, kudos to your wife and I must ask this, "Why she is not in TBHP?"..

Ah Kaushik, she is not on Facebook/Orkut nor on Bikenomads. She is a very private person! But yes she joins me for T Bhp meets/ Bikenomads rides.
She has a long history of busting up our cars and never taking responsibility and always blaming the other driver for a bang up!
I let that pass coz she is a good cook :-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by shajufx

Captain saab, thats what we call a perfect 'Mrs.Chitnis' !

When is your next Ladakh trip ? Now we have a common friend : Adv.Sejpal

I am done with Ladakh...BTW how do you know Divs? Tis a small world !!

shajufx · 2nd August 2011, 19:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by nanduchitnis

I am done with Ladakh...BTW how do you know Divs? Tis a small world !!

Wow, a response after a month !! We need to be in touch through FB or Flickr ! I bought his D700 and 20mm lens in May 2011. Its through another reference and he delivered it by hand when he came to Bangalore, so we met.

nanduchitnis · 2nd August 2011, 19:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by shajufx

Wow, a response after a month !!

I was away at sea for 3 months !!

29th June 2011, 20:05	#1
nanduchitnis BHPian Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Pune Posts: 494 Thanked: 301 Times	Wife took responsibility of servicing our Honda City My wife is an auto enthusiast. She spends hours watching the cars being serviced. She tries to lean what is under the hood and how things work. In the old days she would stand next to the mechanic and see how he worked and why. But now she has to look through a glass window. They dont allow customers into the service bay. I am quite lazy and prefer the Service Station driver to pick up and drop the car. Not she. In my absence at sea she went to the service station and watched the process through the glass window. She noted that the mechanics had not changed any oils nor done tyre rotation. She raised a storm with the Service Manager. The Mechanic explained to her that she cant see the oil changes from the glass window because it is done through tubes nowadays automatically. When she saw the bill she told the service station Manager "I will not sign or pay the bill because you have charged me for tyre rotation but it is not done. The Manager encourged her to lodge a complaint in the book against his own Mechanic. He said the Mechanics need to be taught a lesson ! She did so and tyres were rotated but they found the stepney wheel distorted due to an accident we had in Rajasthan. She said forget the stepney rotate the other tyres. They did that. "Next time I will be standing in the Service Bay and see what you do. Even the washing is not done properly!" she said. For good measure she took some pics with her cell phone. The Service guys washed the car one more time under her supervision and said she was most welcome to the Bay ! I say "What a wife !" Last edited by nanduchitnis : 29th June 2011 at 20:08.
	(1) Thanks

29th June 2011, 20:23	#2
ghpk BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ghaziabad Posts: 870 Thanked: 211 Times	re: Wife took responsibility of servicing our Honda City Congrats, not many wife's does this kind of inspection, they are rather more interested in spending (I hope i don't need to have body guards after saying this) :-) Most A.S.S. mechanic do such stuff, quality control is poor in many cities, Mechanics would casually examine and make a decision(it will work more) or in their language, abhi chalega, kahey ko badalna, They forget that we pay car manufacturers heavy price to arrange proper training to their service outlets and follow their Service Manual which is designed after thorough examination and strict test condition to solve any issues car may be having.
	(1) Thanks

29th June 2011, 20:25	#3
kaushik_s Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,088 Thanked: 164 Times View My Garage	re: Wife took responsibility of servicing our Honda City Wow, kudos to your wife and I must ask this, "Why she is not in TBHP?".. Yes, it's always better to be at the service center and if possible next to the car when you give your car for servicing. I've seen numerous instances of job not being done well, parts getting broken, oil change not done properly etc. Better be there with your car. We don't even let our cars out of sight by giving the car to friends itself ( don't get me wrong, I do let my friends drive my car but I've to be also in the car), then why should we put blind trust on service center people?
	(1) Thanks

29th June 2011, 21:29	#4
dot Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Ban Chang Posts: 1,681 Thanked: 732 Times	re: Wife took responsibility of servicing our Honda City Captain, welcome back, long time no see. Last time mdsaab posted about his dad's presence at Honda Service Station and its effects, half the folks here wanted his dad. Nevertheless, it is a very rare sight to see a owner to tend to his car during service, leave alone the Lady of the House. Kudos.
	(1) Thanks

29th June 2011, 22:09	#6
pjbiju Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 1,357 Thanked: 1,092 Times	re: Wife took responsibility of servicing our Honda City Great work by Mrs. Chitnis. I still remember talking to her during our Lavasa trip - she was so unassuming that I could have never expected her to be so strong and give the Honda guys a much needed scrubbing down!
	(1) Thanks

30th June 2011, 10:15	#7
mdsaab Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 1,624 Thanked: 453 Times	re: Wife took responsibility of servicing our Honda City what a Wife indeed! Hats off to your wife, she really gave it to them good. I use to spend hours at the service center earlier or with the mechanic. but nowadays due to time constraints it just isn't possible anymore. I still do not allow pick up and drop facility. and i make sure that i drop and collect Chicca myself. or Angel our Matiz. BTW which service centre was this? i don't think it was the Pimpri one. as @dot mentioned during the Chicca rear ended episode, my dad really came to my rescue and sorted things out for me. Left to me it would have been a much more painful episode. So i hope my wife joins this bandwagon soon. She is really good at ticking such folks off too.
	(1) Thanks