New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-10-01
Patrons, IL Is Said, Will
Not Object to Increase
i'm Fees if Standards
of Efficiency Are Raised
Dealers Are Urged to Act
Better Results Predicted
if Experts Are Employed
so Make Needed Repairs
By II. Clifford Brokaw
Technical Director, West Side Y. NJ
c. A. Automobile School

c. a. Automobile School
The charges made by garages and
service stations cause good deal of
grumbling on the part of their Gus
| toners. These patrons of service
stations Think they are protesting on
account of excessive charges. In real
ity the trouble lies in inefficient work
done by the mechanics. Owners of
repair shops are not getting rich over
night On the contrary most of them
find it difficult to make any profit on
the labor of the men in their employ.
If service stations would double their
fees and employ only we'll trained ex-
perts, man with some car difficulty
wouldd probably not pay any more
for his repair work than formerly and
he would be much better satisfied. One
of the most eXasperatng experiences
a man can haye is to feel he is being
served by one incompetent repair man
AT recent meeting of some service
men feeling of dissatisfaction was
expressed that a certain job btook five
to eight hours to finish, for which the
manufacturers of cars allowed a, sum
that would not cover the cost of doing
the work. But the manager of one
service station pointed out that his
shop was able to do this same job in
three hours and thus without finan-
cial loss. He was able to accomplish
this for two reasons. In the first
place he had carefully worked out a
plan which had included short cuts in
doing the work. in other words, he
had applied gray matter to this prob
lem. In the second place he had hired
trained mechanics and had paid them
better wages. But in spite of the
higher wages paid per hour, he was
ahead because of the faster and more
intelligent labor they performed.
1t is a matter of applying an old
principle which may find difficult to
apply, namely that it is true economy
to pay little more and get better
quallty. When man wants pair Of
shoes II he spends wisely, he is apt to
pay good price for shoes of good
quality and that will outwear two
cheaper pairs. Such buying is real
economy.
When the motion picture people
wanted man who would undertake to
improve the conditions surrounding
their business they realized that no
salary, however large, was too much to
VIZ h4SSHo mali w men IHcS IOu0Q
This man they paid him a large salary
because they knew he would be able to
do the job, and that, on this basis, his
salary was cheap at any price.
The same general principle applies
to folks who patronize automobile serv-
ice stations. If man with car trouble
could go to repair shop and feel con-
i1dent :. that some real intelligent,
trained, expert mechanics were going
to attend to his needs without waste Of
his own time and disposition. this
would represent a tremendous satisfac
ton for which he should be willing to
pay we'll. If the cost per hour we're
more he should realize that it repre-
sented. time economy, as the charge
per- JOB would ordinarily be less.
Workers in many lines Of industry
where the training required is very
limited get much higher wages than
the trained automotive mechanic II
requires considerable education to he.
come expert in auto repairs work. But
the solution Of the service station prob
lem lies in the managers insistence
that all his workers shall be trained
and in his paying them accordingly and
IN the pubic's recognition that such a
policy means a higher cost per hour
but is economy in the long run.