Average Joe
I would like to start this off, by telling a little about myself. I'm in Albany NY, about 200 miles north of NYC. I own and operate a mobile programming/diagnostics business. I am the sole employee. I own/operate every OEM scantool, with the exception of the super cars. I go in a lot of shops, and new and used dealers. I've observed several points over the years.
- Most shops are honest, hard working, and try to fix the cars properly.
- Auto techs can be a fragile bunch. If we think someone is more knowledgeable, we can get defensive, real defensive. It may just be human nature.
- A little humbleness and empathy goes a long way, and it doesn't take much.
I am going to keep this short so people don't get bored.
When this network started I thought, wow this is it. It was told to me to be the anti drama network. No judging, no drama, just techs who genuinely give a crud about helping other techs and fixing cars.
However. I've observed, the lack of the average Joe posting on here, myself included.
What I mean by average Joe is, no major corporate diagnostic groups, no training group, no educational facility, just an average Joe wrenching on cars, I'm an average Joe and proud of it. I am in the shops everyday, hands on, fixing cars, loving it!
I am posting this in hopes of getting those of us who are just as intimidated as me, to post, contribute and ask or answer questions. Nobody I know, wants this to be adversarial. I don't think it has to be. I think this could be a great network. I've also learned that networking is everything!! Nobody can fix everything, Nobody.
In full disclosure I have talked several times with the owner of this network regarding the intimidation issue and the reasons why the majority of the posts are from a handful of people/corporations/groups. I must also tell you, I am posting this on my own accord. Nobody prompted me. If I did not care about fixing cars and this cause, I would not stick my neck out like this.
This post is for the average Joe. If you want to post, post! As long as it's appropriate, professional and legal, You have my support. I have also promised myself, and Mr Brown, I will push past the intimidation factor, and contribute.
This profession needs more camaraderie, a greater sense of brotherhood and I'm on board for it, even though I'm just an average Joe.
I feel this had to be said.
In hopes of spreading some good karma, my phone number is … My phone is on all the time. Literally! If I don't answer, I always call back. If I can help someone, It is my pleasure, because at some point, I guarantee, I will need help and probably sometime real soon.
Thanks for reading, Dean
Awsome post Dean! From one Average Joe to another: thanks!
Hi Dean, Thank you for the awesome post! There have been a few of us average every day techs posting on here. Everyone in the trained by techs group works on cars every day just like you, some of us mobile and some still working in a shop. We are doing our best to encourage others to post any questions they may have so we can all learn together. We are hoping to help make this network a great
Tanner, Thanks for the kind words. Believe me, I am average. Humbleness and empathy, humbleness and empathy. But I appreciate it just the same, good looking out! P.S. Mrs … grew up and went to college in Oswego.
Thanks Dean, that is very encouraging. I joined this network to make an effort to get back into this car repair business. I did it for a lot of years, then had to get out for awhile, so I am like the babe in the woods , so to speak, I am a one man shop owner, tech and diagnostician...it has not been easy and perhaps I should just get back out again. I don't have much to contribute, but take
Dean, I'm an average Joe myself, I just signed up a few days ago and I'm hoping to be able to apply some of my own case studys here in the next few days. I hear your message and I hope that I maybe able to comply sooner than later. I've just got my hands full on a 12 hr work schedule. Need to keep time for the family. Personally I've enjoyed what I've seen so far and am hoping to
My pleasure Michael, thanks for taking the time to read and respond.
Nice post Dean. I have been wanting to post for some time but have been backlogged with work which is a good thing. Plus, I have stepped away from posting for various personal reasons. I have been more in "lurking" mode. You bring up some good points on camaraderie and such. I hope to see DN turn into that vision.
Well said! I want to encourage the intimidated by admitting that I, as a writer, and others like me aren't 'all-knowing experts'. Remember, as a full time tech you fix more cars than we do! People in my corner of the industry build the best curriculum when we ask people like YOU the right questions. I have a circle of techs that I regularly consult, and then I tell our collective story about
Nice post Dean and I truly hope to see more of yours. Im a everyday tech and agree nobody knows it all. By the way do you have a suzuki scan tool I could borrow lol. In all seriousness I wanna encourage everyone to make posts here and want this to grow into something great. I know there is a ton of hidden talent out there and I support bringing everyone up with no judgement. My overall goal is
Mike, Good lookin out, thanks for the post. Suzuki programming is a dumpster fire, I agree.
Good evening Dean. Thanks for posting. I know there has been a lot of activity as of late, maybe some of it advanced. I can speak for myself and probably all of the Trained by Techs guys in saying we are excited for this new platform. We are all in the thick of it fighting to get these vehicles repaired (Not so much me anymore, I mostly ride a desk). We all share the desire to pass on the
I would agree. This venue in my opinion was not designed to be the "Once in a lifetime" case study type discussion network. Topics relevant to the endeavors we face on a daily basis should also be included in the discussion. This venue is also a great choice for discussion for training events, management tips and tricks, team work building ideas etc. All things professional automotive repair is
WELL SAID! Truth be told, I've been a little timid of posting on here. I guess it's the fact there so much talent/knowledge here. I've been doing this a long time but am FAR from being on the level of the educators sharing their knowledge on here. Well, I guess you may have broke the ice....
Many people are Intimidated. Its unfortunate. I try to ask questions or answer questions when I see something arise that I feel others want to know. I feel people should worry less about what others think. Really good topic Dean.
Dean, I expect after talking with Scott that he is the expert in creating and maintaining social learning environments. (It all started with is phone dial BBS.) Another aspect that I believe is very important, Scott is a tech and a shop owner. And he has a vast unique level of experience within many aspects of the industry. Simply put, he understands the needs from the shop floor up. And of
Welcome, Dean! I really appreciate this post. Thank you. I have been teaching and developing courses for ten years. (Automotive) Until recently I was doing it in conjunction with a small business like yours. I was fixing cars, sometimes until mid afternoon, getting cleaned up and driving to class. I would teach until ten at night, drive home and start again in the morning. Later, I was
Well said Dean. This is my 50th year in the trade, with a 38 year GM association after 12 years independent/Mazda and owning my own shop. The longer that I am associated with the trade, the more I find it a daunting prospect and challenge for technicians to grasp some of the advances in new technologies. Now, while I served my time in the bays performing most every type of "line" and technical
Great post Dean! I agree with you 100%. I’m a fleet tech doing repairs and diags. Im looking forward to learning and growing amongst all of you. Some posts are over my head but that’s alright because it’s a learning process. I thank you for starting this post.
Great post, Dean. I think the people you may be referring to are experts in what they are posting, but overall very open minded and humble people. I agree, this place will increase in value as more people participate. For anyone that feels intimidated about posting, think about this, you are one of the top techs in the industry. By dedicating your free time to come on here and read you have
Dean, I have been a one man show, mobile tech for over 35 years. For most that time I thought I was just "gutting it out" doing with what little knowledge I thought I had. Turns out, after all that time in the trenches, I have a wealth of knowledge and experiences that some don't have. My calls to other shops and the advice I am giving to younger techs has increased over the last few years. My
Hi David, Great points ! I totally agree. Over the years we not only gain knowledge but hopefully wisdom. Wisdom will help us make good judgments based on our past experiences.
I am an average joe, and I have posted a couple of questions here, like you would at Scott's previous site. Both times, I got no real help, because they were both things that nobody had seen before, and couldn't really help with. The second post I made got downvoted so that it was -1, and that made me a little upset, because I thought this site was supposed to be a collaborating, and not just
Sean, From one Average Joe to another I feel your pain the struggle is real. I also had the same concerns with the voting system and had the same thing happen to me. I am not sure but I believe they have some things in the works for the voting system. I think this network is going to be a great Network and that's what it is, a network not a forum. If you ever need anything please don't
Hi Sean, I'm sorry to hear you state that you didn't get any real help. With the Rover post, one thing I noticed is that it appears that you tried to ID the vehicle with the VIN decoder and that apparently didn't work at the time for which I apologize. (There is a way to ID the vehicle without the VIN though.) Since we now have editing, I just added the VIN to that post so now the vehicle is
The post that had -1 was my post on the sprinter. within an hour of me posting it, it had -1. By the time I posted my last update on it, it was back to zero, so I figured that someone must have upvoted it. What I mean by "shotgun diagnosis", is that some users will search for an issue, come across the case study, and wind up trying the repair in the case study, rather than actually diagnosing
Well, then start the discussion. The case studies are presented and if there is information you dont understand or want to know more about,get into it. I dont worry about what some "users" will do with the information. I think this site is more of a critical thinking site than a silver bullet site,IMO.....
I've also seen some posts with negative votes that didn't make any sense to me why anyone would down vote them. They were just normal posts and I didn't see anything out of the ordinary that would cause someone to down vote it. I did notice that on mobile devices the up and down arrows are small and close to each other, so maybe sometimes its a "fat finger" issue. I think once you accidentally
Hi Steve, It’s possible that this could be a fat-finger issue or I suspect that some may think that the arrows might be the previous and next button. Not sure on the why but we certainly plan on asking those that downvote for their reason why. You can change your vote at anytime. One of the things we’ve discussed internally is creating a budget around your votes which in turn would make one
I dunno. I like the content being presented. The case studies have a tremendous amount of information and are far more than silver bullets,IMO. Personally,Im here to learn rather than ask for help. Im not "intimidated" by any of the presenters here, I just genuinely enjoy the information they are providing. If I have questions,I ask. Id really hate to see this site become some sort of social
Great post Dean, we’re all Joes in this profession. Every day is a school day. I’m no different than you except that I spin the social media and YouTube wheels. I Diag cars each day and I scratch my head frequently. That’s why I’m here, to learn and to share. Be awesome and post some more. Cheers, Steve.
Hi Dean, I look at it this way. We are all just average Joes. Some of us just have more experience and training than others. This trade is very humbling to say the least. Every time someone (myself included) thinks he's the hotshot, he gets a vehicle in that he has trouble with. I keep myself grounded by knowing the next vehicle that comes in may be the one that kicks my butt! Keeps my head
Thanks for posting. I agree. When it comes to experience and traning, I've learned, some are more humble than others.
As some others have mentioned, the average Joe can be pretty busy both at work with expectations of getting jobs done, and at home with family. That's how it is with me anyway. I think about case studies all the time at work, but I haven't developed a routine yet that will allow me to collect data and info, and then later put it all together into something presentable. This could be part of the