If you’ve ever worked at or even run an aircraft maintenance shop you know customers can be, shall we say, a bit demanding. Rightfully, as airplane owners we expect high quality with an expectation the work will done right the first time. Above all, the focus should always be on a safe final product. But there’s a limit to the demands that should be placed on shops, and an entitled attitude won’t get you far. It might get you a padded invoice, though.
Awhile back I picked up a friend who dropped his plane off for work and while waiting for him to tidy things up, I got a good lesson on how not to score points with the folks who will be wrenching your airplane.
While cooling my heels in the warm sun, a guy with a Cessna 210 taxied up, jockeyed it around at nearly full power—in front of the open work hangar—and hopped out with his logbooks in hand. While the shop manager was talking with my friend, the guy barged in on the discussion: “I’m here—and the plane is over there!” he barked.
After pacing around his plane, he returned not 10 minutes later. “Who’s working on my airplane!” he demanded. I felt sorry for the tech the shop manager sent out to work on it, as the guy hovered over him questioning every turn of the wrench. Apparently, the guy is known for being unreasonable, demanding, and the tough part—a loyal customer. But when I made light of the situation with the shop manager, he matter-of-factly said that loyal customers like that might not be worth keeping. They don’t understand or respect the shop’s tight schedule, don’t understand what it takes to troubleshoot and fix a problem, and their belligerence is simply a distraction to the daily workflow. Eventually, they’ll earn a reputation in the local area and no shop will want to work on their stuff.
The other problem that really shouldn’t be one is collecting money. More than one shop manager told me that there’s a belief among many customers that you can pick up an aircraft after work and fly it away without paying the bill. I don’t know about you, but when the local Acura dealership wrenches my vehicle, I won’t get my keys back until I pony up with the cashier. Yet, some aircraft owners manage to fly away from maintenance shops owing thousands of dollars. “I’ve heard all kinds of excuses—from the customer who forgot the checkbook at home, to promising to send a check when he got home, to waiting for a partner to cut a check for the work, to wanting to make sure everything works first,” one avionics shop owner told me. It’s not always the customer’s fault.
All it takes is one time for a shop to let a customer go without paying and it sets up a pattern of payment abuse. Understand that shops are in the business of making money and plenty of them have tight cash flow. When you pick up your airplane and fly away without paying your bill, it really hurts. I’ve even heard of stories about airplanes crashing on the way home and it took months or longer for the shop to get paid. And the fact that the shop is holding the aircraft maintenance logbooks doesn’t matter—that doesn’t pay bills. Think about your own business or employment where you expect to be paid on time.
Another problem I constantly hear about at shops is flight testing. Lot of shops think it’s far too risky to hop in the plane for a maintenance flight with the owner, so they don’t do it all. Instead, they’ll leave it up to the customer to fly the plane and report back that everything works or doesn’t. And you guessed it … it’s a setup for the customer holding back payment until he makes sure he has a functional aircraft. “As I get older I have far less tolerance for risk, especially since too many customers seem to not take maintenance flying seriously,” one shop manager told me. Understand that not all techs are pilots and there’s a good chance they’ll be apprehensive about strapping in with someone they’ve never flown with. Have a real conversation with the tech and ask them what their comfort level is, how you can help, and no matter what you do—act like a responsible, professional pilot. Don’t joke about crashing and once in the cockpit, conduct the flight as if you are flying with a DPE.
Be courteous by respecting the shop’s schedule and show up on time every time. If the weather tanks or you get sick and can’t fly in, don’t just be a no-show. Give the shop plenty of warning, and even call ahead a couple of days beforehand if you can see that the weather might not cooperate. These days, when shops are tightly scheduled, all it takes is one customer not showing up as expected to screw up the workflow. And for goodness’ sake, empty the aircraft of all your stuff before dropping it off. Shops don’t want to be responsible for caring for your portable electronics, headsets, and all the other stuff we pack into the cabin. Expect that the aircraft might be parked outside, at least some of the time. Bring a cabin cover and inlet plugs and ask the shop to use them. It’s the shop’s responsibility to care for your bird while it’s in their possession, but take the time to walk around the aircraft with someone from the shop before drop-off and point out any flaws in the paint or existing damage. Good shops will do this, anyway.
Last, appreciation and kindness go a long way. If you feel that the tech who worked on your plane went above and beyond, ask the shop manager if you can give him a tip. It certainly isn’t expected or required—you’re already paying big for quality work. But it’s a nice gesture—even if it’s a smile and handshake with a 20-spot—to let staff members know you value the solid relationship they work hard to preserve.
I worked for a long time aviation family years ago and the owner of the business once told me (shortly after I was dealing with a complete jerk of a customer) “It’s the people that make it fun.”
Good tips Larry
I learned to keep their log books locked up until I am paid.
We were fortunate to have a very good client base and managed to avoid most of the examples highlighted in the article. Those we did not truly appreciate were priced away before coming in the door.
The very best customer is one who knows and understands his airplane, and takes an active interest in its maintenance.
Sound advice, Larry. The only thing I’d add is that being a loyal customer is a good thing to add into the respectful behaviors you mention. Just searching for the cheapest mx or install isn’t a route to get some loyalty back when the aircraft owner needs something done quickly. (I’m just hoping I’m never the 210 pilot you mention!)
Most owners are understanding and respectful, but there is still a prevailing mentality of “cheapness” for a lack of better word. We all seek affordability and the balance between cost/quality, yet many will complain about shop rates and charges in the aviation world that wouldn’t garner the same attention at the auto dealer. Not many are getting rich in maintenance shop world
Right on Larry! I think a big problem is that most pilots have no idea what goes into the maintenance of an aircraft and little appreciation for the time and effort it takes to make sure it is done right. Bad behavior by entitled customers doesn’t make it any easier. There are lots of reasons that small maintenance shops are going out of business, aircraft mechanic shortage, wage increases, high fixed costs, insurance costs, etc, but difficult customers make running one even tougher. Nobody likes to work for a difficult and thankless customer and the result is just what you said, people will avoid dealing with them and when they have to, the customer isn’t likely to get their best efforts. It is basic human nature. If someone appreciates what you are doing for them you will go the extra yard for them.
Well,…..
Ya pay BIG bucks for Maintenance that (per FAA) can ONLY be done by LICENSED (or, certified) Mechanics {dunna touchy ifin ya no gots THE certificate!!! – at penalty of death — or similar}; and only use EXPENSIVE parts out of Certified Aviation Aisles of Certified Aviation qualified Suppliers, and expect Long Duration down times (?hello EV owners??).
Yeah, we expect what we pay for since we are declared incompetent to do the same or better work with same or better parts and more quickly.
Yeah, we expect what we are forced to pay for.
Certainly be nice and respectful of those who hold your airworthiness sign off in their hands. But also there needs to be an understanding that if you bring it in because it seems a little out of trim, that they aren’t going to immediately start removing wings or something. There should be some ground rules set and adhered to. Shop owner says ‘These are my rates. I expect payment before releasing it back to you.’ And the owner should clearly define the problem or scope of work, giving some parameters on what he expects to pay, and when to call him if things go sideways. I ask if I can be involved with the project. If the latter is a hard “No”, maybe I’ll go somewhere else because I like to get my hands dirty and learn things. I’ve taken valuable knowledge away every time I’ve worked with an A&P, and a few times gave them a solution or two that saved time on their other projects.
But it’s an agreement between adults who need to go into it with the same expectations. That being a functional aircraft with work done at an agreed upon rate. If those aren’t defined and agreed to up front, there could be misunderstandings or abuse.
I do have one gripe with shops replacing cylinders, and then ignoring my request to NOT ground run the engine more than the bare minimum. The last time I had a cylinder replaced (it’s a past-TBO engine and I was selling the plane, thus no overhaul) I told him not to ground run it. I showed up, he’s already running it without waiting for me, no cowling, and definitely higher power than required. I waited not wanting to be a pain and sure he’d shut down soon, OK, he’s gotta be done now, OK now for SURE he’s done. I imagine he ran it 15 minutes. I’m sure he feels he knows best, but what I wanted was a brief run looking for leaks or obvious problems, cowl it, out then let me do an aborted takeoff at full power and pull the cowl again, and if it looks good then I’m going to break it in. (I have a tug, no reason to taxi it to the runway in my opinion.) But you just can’t tell them anything . . . The new cylinder runs hot now, whereas before it was the coolest. ‘From the poor break in? Who knows, but sometimes the owner should get to run the show. And yes, I am a fairly long time customer and always pay before picking up the logs and airplane.