Repair Order #006

Shop Life #006: It Just Started

Wabbit heard the car before he saw it.

A low grinding noise followed it across the parking lot, stopped briefly, then returned as the driver eased into the bay.

The customer lowered his window.

“Brakes are making a little noise.”

Wabbit set his coffee beside the job clipboard.

“I heard.”

“It just started.”

“When?”

“Yesterday.”

Wabbit wrote that down.

The customer handed over the keys, then added, “Probably caught it early.”

Wabbit looked toward the front wheel.

“We’ll take a look.”

Once the car was safely supported, he removed the wheel and inspected the brakes.

The rotor had deep grooves across its face. One pad had worn through its friction material, leaving the backing plate to handle a job it had never applied for.

Wabbit removed the pad and held it up.

The customer leaned forward from the edge of the bay.

“Is that bad?”

“That part’s supposed to have material on it.”

“It does.”

“That’s the metal.”

“Oh.”

Wabbit turned the pad over in his gloved hand, then looked back at the rotor.

“You said this started yesterday?”

“Yeah.”

He glanced at the grooves again.

“What happened yesterday?”

“I turned the radio down.”

Wabbit lowered the pad.

Somewhere behind him, a ratchet stopped clicking.

The customer continued.

“I usually keep it pretty loud.”

“How loud?”

“Loud enough I didn’t hear that.”

The ratchet started again.

Wabbit took a moment to find a useful place to begin.

He showed the customer the worn pad and damaged rotor, explained what needed replacing, and continued checking the rest of the brake system.

The customer nodded through the explanation.

“So, new pads?”

“Pads and rotors on this axle. I’m checking the rest before I finish the estimate.”

“Right. Do you think the noise will be gone?”

Wabbit looked at the backing plate in his hand.

“That’s the plan.”

He picked up the repair order and wrote:

COMPLAINT: Brake noise.
DIAGNOSIS: Radio no longer covering the problem.
RECOMMENDATION: Replace brakes.
STATUS: Volume is not a repair.

The customer read it.

“I wasn’t using the radio to fix it.”

Wabbit waited.

“I didn’t know there was anything to fix.”

He waited a little longer.

“Because I couldn’t hear it.”

Wabbit clipped the repair order back onto the board.

“Yesterday,” he said.

“Exactly.”

The customer seemed relieved they had finally cleared that up.

Wabbit set the worn pad beside the estimate and reached for his coffee.

From the next bay, Mike called over.

“How long’s it been doing that?”

Wabbit took a sip.

“Depends what station you ask.”

Just another day at Wabbits Garage.

Service Record

Technician: Wabbit

Customer Complaint: “The brakes are making a little noise. It just started yesterday.”

Diagnosis: Radio no longer covering the problem.

Recommendation: Replace brakes.

Status: Volume is not a repair.

Lessons Learned: When a noise was first noticed isn’t always when the problem began. Inspect the brake system to determine the extent and cause of wear.

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Repair Order #007

Another day. Another repair order.