Unfortunately, greed is what motivates some shops. Either that or management's compensation plans and revenue targets are taking over... and making otherwise good people do to some unscrupulous things to RV owners "on the road".
...But when a company culture becomes "predatory" (over a $140 labor charge) this is what can happen:
Problem: My coach has a HWH Active Air system and 60% of the time the RV would list to the right by 1 to 1.5 inches... and I can't correct for that problem using my touch panel like I should be able to.
So I called Freightliner Austin and asked them twice over the phone if they had HWH qualified mechanics -- and more specifically I asked if they had HWH "Active Air" qualified mechanics who can fix my problem? ...And the shop manager said, "We do."
Freightliner Austin Response On Day Of Service: After two techs spent 1.2 hours looking aimlessly under my coach, and after reviewing the HWH schematics I provided, because they never saw an "Active Air" System, the techs scratched their heads and finally admitted they don't know how to fix my problem or where to begin to look for the problem.
Billing: First Freightliner Austin tried to bill be $280. But then I examined the bill and found they listed $140 for "computer diagnostic". So I asked where they hooked up the computer? Answer/Result: First the shop manager tried to get me to accept the charge and began to imply: Everyone pays that fee.
...But after I said that seems excessive given that literally no corrective service was performed on my RV; then manager said, "Oh sorry, the computer automatically adds that charge to every bill and I can remove it."
Conclusion: I wasted my my drive time, my waiting time, and my money, because the shop wouldn't let me go without paying $140 as a minimum fee.
Later that week, I did not feel comfortable being billed for no corrective action, not to mention the misrepresentations Freightliner Austin made; so I contacted Freightliner Austin management and they did their own audit and review of my work order.
Two weeks later, and after 3-4 calls to review everything; management accepted my summary (see above), but also seemed to think I wasn't charged enough.
So I asked Barney if he would refund my credit card $140 since his shop made misrepresentations and no corrective action was preformed, not to mention everyone wasted their time. ...And he said, "No."
I then told him he was forcing me to spend more time on this matter; and that I would be forced to dispute this charge; and that I was an active member of an RV Forum website where I feel compelled to let other RV owners know about this incident. ...And none of that mattered. So know you know why I am writing this post. (Sad to say.)
In closing, I realize a business can't stay in business if they give their service away. And I don't believe they should. On the other hand, I think a "reputable" shop would not charge for services they did not perform.
And in this case, Freightliner Austin not only misrepresented their capabilities; they also tried to over-bill me $140 for computer diagnostics they did not preform; and they insisted on billing me $140 for services to my HWH Active Air System they were not qualified to work on.
So if you are reading this post, I don't know why you would want to rely on Freightliner Austin to work on your RV when now you know they will "hook and/or crook" a buck anyway they can!
Which is a shame, because I really feel like this shop does have excellent service record; and everything else about the way they did business with me was excellent.
So does every customer matter or not? What should Freightliner Austin done? They should have told me they do not know how to work on HWH Active Air Systems. ...And I never would have taken my RV to them. (It's not like I was stranded or couldn't drive my RV.)
In the end, I don't think this shop did right thing.
QUESTIONS: Would I go back to Freightliner Austin? ...Not if I could help it, but for Freightliner repairs... sure!
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