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<center><big><big><b><i><font color="#3333ff">Giammalvo Files</font></i></b></big></big></center>
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<img src="mark3.jpg" alt="Mark Giammalvo"
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<p><i><font color="#000000">Mark Giammalvo specializes in driveability
diagnostics </font><font color="#000000">at his family
business, Sam Giammalvo's Auto Sales & Service,
Inc. in New</font> <font color="#000000">Bedford,
MA. </font> </i> </p>
<p><i><font color="#000000">Mark, who has been with the business for
over 20 years, is an ASE Master
Technician and Parts Specialist. He also holds the ASE L1
certification, and has an associates degree in
business</font> <font color="#000000">management. <br>
Mark is also a writer for Motor Age Magazine
and is the past secretary of the Alliance of Automotive Service
Professionals, (AASP).<br>
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<big><big><big><b>No Fishing Allowed </b></big></big></big>
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<p align="center"><small><i><font color="#000000">(Printed in the Journal
of The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers, AASP) </font></i></small></p>
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Do you look for additional service work when a customer's car is in the
repair bay? Many customers will appreciate a technician that discovers a
small inexpensive problem before it becomes a larger, more expensive one.
In addition, most customers do not want to bring their car back a second
day for additional services.<br>
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What would you say if I told you, not to look for additional work? Well,
not to look for additional warranty work that is. <br>
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I first learned of this concept about 10 years ago. I had sent a Chrysler
to a dealership we use for warranty work. The car was still under factory
warranty and the check engine light was on. The service advisor at the dealership
called me to say that the car was ready. In addition, she mentioned there
may be a problem with the transmission but they could not authorize a repair
at this time. Evidently, the repair technician noticed a transmission shifting
problem while road testing for the check engine light. Although it took
some poking and prodding, I finally got the service advisor to tell me why
they couldn't repair the transmission. Turns out the local Chrysler District
Service Manager, (DSM), advised the dealership not to up-sell additional
warranty work. The policy was plain and simple: "Do not perform or recommend
any corrective warranty repairs that the customer did not mention at write-up."
Seems like Chrysler was looking to reduce warranty claims. What better a
way to do that than to tie the hands of the dealership technicians? How
would you like to be a flat rate technician in that shop? You're not going
to make much money with that policy in place. Worse yet, it's not exactly
the best policy for customer satisfaction and retention. <br>
<br>
I decided to research this topic a bit further. What better person to
ask than a close relative that just happens to be an executive at General
Motors? It seems like Chrysler is not the only one to use this service philosophy.
GM also prohibits the up-selling of warranty work. GM even named the process
of looking for this additional work. The term they use is "fishing."
Other common versions of this are called "warranty fishing" or "fishing for
warranty work." Regardless, at that time it was prohibited.<br>
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I am still left wondering if this policy is still on going. Recently I
sent a 2002 GMC Envoy to the dealer for warranty work. The customer was reporting
an intermittent shudder when the transmission was downshifting on the highway.
In addition, the customer wanted us to check a loud whine noise from the
r/f wheel at highway speeds. Since the customer said the whine noise occurred
after our tire rotation service, I did not bother mentioning it to the dealership
service advisor. All they knew was that the GMC was coming in for a transmission
shudder. Later that day we picked up the Envoy from the dealer. Their repair
order stated that they were unable to duplicate the transmission shudder
complaint. Now, I figured I would test drive the Envoy for the whine noise.
When I got above 40 MPH, the whine noise started. It seemed more like a very
loud screech. Back at the shop, we noticed that the Envoy would not make
the noise with the rear wheels spinning on a lift. We decided to raise the
front wheels as well and put the truck in 4WD. As the front wheels got up
to speed the screech noise pierced through the shop. The noise was found
coming from the differential carrier seal. We found the problem and correction
called out in a GMC technical service bulletin. I told the customer that
I would set up another appointment for him with the dealership so they could
correct the noise under warranty. The customer wanted to know why the dealership
technician did not hear the noise. I told the customer that I had not mentioned
the noise to the service advisor. In addition, I told the customer that either
the noise did not occur on their road test or they decided not to go, fishing.<br>
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