Chapter 1
The Catastrophic Accident
Welcome to The Cross-Check Method! Regardless of your field of expertise or employment, I believe that you will find in this book a great shield against catastrophe in your business. You will also find that these same procedures can be applied in your personal life.
My name is Aaron. I am the co-owner of C&C Automotive in Augusta, Georgia. It is the premier automotive shop in our town. Over the years, I have cultivated great trust from my customers. I care for my customers, their well-being, and their satisfaction. I aim to illustrate that desire and effort through the story of my learning process.
I was at the shop on an already hot Thursday morning in June. This day, in particular, I was excited. An added energy animated my usual course of action. A shop owner's seminar was scheduled for that weekend in Nashville, Tennessee. It was an event held by a training company called Shopfix that I was determined to attend.
I had already planned to begin my road trip that Saturday morning. I eagerly anticipated great training opportunities and seeing some old friends within the automotive industry there.
Even without those exciting plans, I love days like this. As a co-owner, watching a plan come together and function well amazes me. The shop's system was doing just that before my eyes that morning.
Cars and trucks were pulling into the drive-up area where they were written up. During the write-up process, the service advisors greeted the customers as they were trained to do.
The advisors entered the requested items or concerns into the computer and assigned them to a technician to work on the vehicle.
Many customers requested a shuttle ride home, while others requested a loaner car. A few enjoyed the waiting area while our techs tended to their vehicles. I trained the advisors to prioritize waiting customers and get their vehicles serviced quickly. A great service tactic we learned in Shop Fix Academy is that when a customer is waiting, we place a large yellow sticker on the work order that reads "waiting" and leave the hazard lights activated.
The rule of thumb is a battery that dies awaiting service has waited too long. The service advisor is responsible for informing the technicians of the promised completion time. This step ensures that techs can complete all service work at or before those promised completion times.
I stood back and smiled because the workflow in the shop looked like a well-tuned, smooth-running engine.
On this day, Devon, a loyal customer, rolled in at 11:00 a.m. with his lifted Chevy truck and requested an oil change and tire rotation. He wanted to wait on the vehicle, but, as always, he was in a hurry. He had to be in class by 1:00 p.m., which meant he needed to leave before 12:45 p.m. The service advisor said it would be fine, and the techs could complete the work before 12:45 p.m.
As I previously stated, Devon is a great customer. Pat, Devon's father, is also a great customer. Both are always polite and never worry about the price. They trust me to do the right thing every time.
This job was assigned to Bert. Bert had been a technician for about four years. He had worked for this shop for about half of that time. Bert is considered a maintenance tech, sometimes called a C tech. These technicians are skilled in maintenance services but have yet to be trained in other skills.
Bert got a notice of a new vehicle over his phone and got to work.
He pulled the truck into his bay in building three, raised the car on the lift rack, removed the oil drain plug, and started draining the oil.
By then, it was 11:15 a.m. Bert reached for the oil filter and discovered he did not have that specific one in his area. He walked up to the parts department in building one to get the filter. He had to wait for the parts manager to get off the phone. This only took a few minutes, but the parts manager did not have the oil filter. So, he called the parts house and told them he needed an oil filter fast, as a customer was waiting. The employee at the parts house advised him that they would deliver the filter immediately.
Bert looked at the time on his computer and realized it was 11:50 a.m. He still had to rotate the tires and complete the oil change. It would be close, but he could do it.
Bert inserted the plug back into the oil pan and finger-tightened it so that the oil would not leak on the floor. Then, he moved the drain bucket to lower the vehicle. He had to get it down to a lower level to perform the tire rotation. His goal was to have the tires rotated before the oil filter arrived.
Bert removed the lug nuts on each wheel and laid them to the side. He removed the front tires and put them on the rear. Then, he mounted the rear tires on the front.
He began tightening the lug nuts on each wheel and managed to tighten the right front wheel, the right rear, and the left rear. Beep, a message came through on his phone that the oil filter had arrived. Bert walked up front to get the filter, then returned to work. Bert installed the oil filter and snugged it up.
By then, it was 12:20 p.m. Bert was supposed to go to lunch at 12:30 p.m., so he wanted to finish it. He lowered the truck and pumped 6 quarts of fresh, full synthetic oil into the engine. He started the engine and looked at the oil pressure register on the gauge. He turned the engine off and then rechecked the engine oil level. It was good. He smiled as he looked at the time on his phone, knowing the customer would make it to class on time. Bert would also be able to make it to lunch on time. All was good . . . Or was it?
Oh, that's it, he thought to himself. He had forgotten the oil change reminder sticker. Customers get upset if you fail to put on a fresh oil sticker. With that, Bert went to lunch.
Devon was happy that he would make it to his class. He paid the invoice with a smile, jumped in his truck, and drove away. I waved at Devon as he left and thought about how fortunate I was to have such great customers. I love taking care of them.
Unfortunately, the good feeling was short-lived. At 1:00 p.m., I received a call from Devon's dad, Pat. I could tell Pat was trying to be nice, but I could also sense that he was agitated.
Pat spoke evenly over the phone, "Aaron, my son is sitting in the middle of the interstate with no left front wheel. The wheel came off and almost hit another car, almost causing Devon to wreck his truck."
This call brought on one of the worst feelings that I had ever experienced. I knew that this was a dire situation. I asked Pat where the truck was. Pat said it was in the middle of Interstate 20, at exit 199. He added that he was there with his son.
I jumped into my truck and headed toward Pat and Devon.
When I arrived, cars were whizzing around DeVon's disabled vehicle. Even though it might have damaged his truck, I still had to pull it off the road.
So, I fired it up, put it in gear, and let the underside scrape as I steered it toward the emergency lane. The truck was now safely off the road. I thought I had damaged the oil pan while moving the truck because a big puddle of oil was on the interstate. That was a minor concern for now.
The tire was still on the road, and Pat and Devon had to be taken care of. I waited for a break in traffic and ran out. I set the tire upright and rolled it over to the side of the road near the truck. The holes were reamed out, and I could tell the lug nuts had not been tightened, allowing the wheel to fall off. This was a terrible situation-extremely bad!
I hoisted the tire into Devon's truck bed and called for a tow truck to retrieve Devon's damaged vehicle. Then, I apologized profusely to Pat and Devon. I assured them I would cover all the damage and costs and ensured this would never happen to anyone else. I meant it.
Once back at the shop, I had the tow truck driver drop the truck in the alley between the buildings. Leaving it in the open space of the alley would give the techs room to get a tire on the truck. One technician put a floor jack under the truck and raised that side of the truck enough to get the tire on the truck. I ordered some lug nuts to hold the wheel on enough to get the truck on a rack.
As all this happened, Bert walked out of his area and froze. I cautiously uttered the only words that I could say to him.
"Bert, I think it would be better for you to go home and call me in the morning."
Bert started to tear up and responded, "I agree. I am sorry that this happened."
Even though there was now a wheel on the truck, I did not want them to start its engine. I had seen so much oil under the truck that I was positive that something had to be cracked or broken and that the oil level had to be extremely low. I asked some volunteers to help me push the truck onto the rack to raise it on the lift. I needed to see what was leaking and check for other damage.
The reason for the oil leak was apparent once the pickup truck was in the air. The drain plug was loose. I felt the blood rush to my head. Bert had left a wheel, and a drain plug loose on the same vehicle.
How can this happen?
I went from having a wonderful day to one of the worst days of my life. I knew I could fix the truck, but I would never regain the trust Devon and Pat had before the event.
How can that be fixed? What can I do to prevent this from happening again? I did not have those...
