CASO??? Really? I think not!

[Dads Baby]

Carey,
Nice looking Packard Hawk. My 76 Avanti was parked next to a twin of your car last Thursday night at a cruise in Frankfort IL. That car was equally as nice as yours.

Thanks Paul! I like hearing about other PH's out and about!

Deco: I guess my thoughts are just a bit different. If a shop charges $50/hour, you can't really believe the employee doing the work gets the whole $50. The shop has rent, utilities, supplies, payroll... the list goes on. Like others have said, "what goes around." I know that when Ray sees me or my car again he will get a smile on his face and be willing to take care of my car again. I bet after I told him the meaning of "CASO," he probably came up with "CAFO" or similar!

[JimC]

I agree with much of the sentiment here, that tipping is ok, even in this industry. It's not seen as a requirement, such as it it's a for servers or barbers, but it is a nice gesture. I remember once I was in Florida visiting my aunt and uncle who make custom kitchen cabinets. They had a lawyer friend in Omaha that needed one single cabinet door resurfaced. I offered to bring the door with me to save shipping costs, and they all agreed. A few days after I delivered the door, I got a letter from a law office. Inside the envelope was a check for $20 and a note saying "Jim, thanks for the help. Have a couple on me". It was a small gift, but let me tell you, he made a friend that day with that little tip. Tipping, especially when unexpected, builds relationships.

[deco_droid]

I'm really not trying to argue -- I guess my past experiences with auto repair places have been, let's just say, less than stellar. Anywhere I have gone, they charge up the wazoo! Seems like the last time I had any work done by a shop, it was $700 or $800 to change out a flippin' distributor, because I didn't know how to do it myself. That was years ago, and the last time for me. I have since become more knowledgeable, have started doing my own repairs when they come up, as well as finding some friends who know more than I that can help out on occasion.

Maybe where you guys are, they don't charge as much or whatever, but it seems to me when they are getting almost a grand out of me for just one repair, I get the sinking feeling these guys aren't hurting for money, so I would never think of giving them a tip. I'm glad you guys have had better luck.

Oh, one more thing -- I think part of it may be I'm a younger guy with an old car, and maybe that puts more of a target on my head than for others -- like I don't know anything. I recently went to a body shop for an estimate to see what it would cost to fix a couple of door dings and I could not believe these jokers tried to tell me they couldn't blend the color -- they would have to virtually repaint the whole car. I found that awful funny because I had a small dent fixed in another vintage car back in the 80s, and they repaired and blended it perfectly. Charged me maybe $70 --- and guess what, that was the SAME BODY SHOP. So in 25 years they went from being able to fix a small dent, to having to repaint the whole car. I was told the same thing at another shop as well. Anyway, like I said, I'm glad you guys have had better luck finding good shops, but that is by no means a widespread phenomenon.

[raprice]

I have to agree with Carey. Obviously, he was extremely pleased with the work that was done on his car. One of the things that I've observed over the years, is that people, who worked for tips, usually tip much better than most folks. My older son, when he was in college, waited on tables at a Benigan's Restaurant near his school. He always appreciated tips from happy customers. Today, he tips very generously when he's provided with good service.
Rog

[9echo]

Back about 1948 I worked in my father's garage, in addition to mechanical work, we also sold gasoline. One afternoon a gentleman pulled up to the pumps and requested fill-up of Ethyl. I knew he was driving his girl friend's Packard but never thought that she would be paying for the the gas. He got out of the car and paid with a $5 bill. I took it into the office to get change and brought it out to him. He gave me a ten cent tip and I thanked him. He got into the driver's seat and there was some conversation between the two. Before I could walk back to the office she was in front of me demanding that I give her the ten cent tip.
She was a real CAPO. I often wondered how the relationship progressed after that.