As a field tech working for the dealerships I always felt that it was my DUTY to save the customer from the "Dealership". Later- in product support sales, I also felt that the labor charged and the parts mark-up was not fair to the customer. These days our parts department (my wife) has to be encouraged to give the customer a break. Fixing a forklift is EXPENSIVE! Our office manager ( my wife) is quick to remind me that we will not be able to give anyone a break if we are not around next year. Good point. I make an effort to keep common wear items, a thorough selection of hardware and anything tooling wise that I can stock on my service van. I try to make informed decisions about repairs and attempt to bring with me the necessary parts if feasable. These are the ways that I can help my customer. It is encouraging to see so much "pro customer" attitude on this forum.
Steve