What do we all think about this? Legitimate concern or dodgy work practice?

parisienne on 23/03/2015 - 11:25

So fellow Ozbargainers,what do you all think about this ? https://www.facebook.com/DashCamOwnersAustralia/photos/pb.52… .

Now,we have all seen reports on current affairs shows about car dealers and their ,well ,lets say "shady" practices for years…but is this just a way to avoid being caught doing it,or a real privacy concern for employees going about their day ?

I think that if you have nothing to hide,nothing you wouldn't want your customers to know about,then you don't have an issue.If,however,you are in the business of shady work,using a customers car for a quick Maccas run,a hoon around the block (yeah,yeah…it's a Toyota,so not a lot of chance to there ) or not doing the complete service that you state you have on the invoice when it comes time to pay your few hundred $ for a scheduled servicing then,as customers,don't you have a right to know that what you have paid for (or that the trust you have placed in these service providers) is warranted ? Would you continue to frequent such a place if they put these same messages up….or suspect somethings amiss and go elsewhere ?

Automotive

Comments

  • Mikinoz on 23/03/2015 - 11:32
    +5

    To me its a dodgy work practice, after having car serviced i found food wrappings/bag in my car. When the customer service asked for feedback, i mentioned that i found rubbish in the car. The service manager denied that would happen. They blantanly called me a liar and argued the point. Although the dash cam proved otherwise.

  • Findo on 23/03/2015 - 11:53
    +3

    I got flamed so hard for suggesting if people have nothing to hide, they have nothing to fear. It seems that people just don't want to be recorded in case something goes wrong. I would never take my car to a place like that.

    • blitz on 23/03/2015 - 12:23
      +2

      if people have nothing to hide, they have nothing to fear

      This is a flawed understanding of privacy, because its natural extension is for everybody to reveal everything lest they be seen to have something to hide. Is "Niggard" your real name? If not, what is it? And where do you live? Who do you bank with? Your phone provider? Please tell us everything about yourself. If you don't, we will assume that you have something to hide.

      • ukmark on 23/03/2015 - 12:55
        +3

        But this is different. You are recording in your property.

        I have cams in most living areas in my home, should I have to turn them off when a workman comes around to fit a carpet or do some painting etc?

        • blitz on 23/03/2015 - 15:40

          I agree, umark - I should have been clearer that I was commenting directly on the mistaken notion that nothing to hide = nothing to fear. OP's case may be justified, but the above argument doesn't justify it.

  • Davo1111 on 23/03/2015 - 13:02
    +2

    Depends if they know they're being recorded. Fulltime recording fair enough, recording when the ignition is on, fair game imo.

    If i saw that sign, i'd be going elsewhere, even if I didnt have a dashcam. But private property, their rules.

  • tonyjzx on 23/03/2015 - 14:20
    +3

    this will backfire on them in the worst way

    • Davo1111 on 23/03/2015 - 14:40
      +1

      nah it wont. Toyota Aus will over-power them and make them take the sign down. In the meantime they'll just "accidentally" knock the wires out of the dashcam on every vehicle that goes in.

      Everyone will forget by tomorrow, and people will who were go there for a service will still go.

      todays news, tomorrows chip paper

      • skillet on 24/03/2015 - 09:18
        -2

        Serve those right who bring their car to dealers. Those draining their money with dealers why care so much what they do since they don't even bother to look for a good honest mechanic.

        • tonyjzx on 24/03/2015 - 10:02

          https://www.google.com.au/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=S5sQVbDpM7Hu8weLw4DI…

          lel

          no backfire at all

          google is pretty brutal in that regard

          now in future 'nowra toyota' will be known for this

        • shadowarrior on 24/03/2015 - 13:17

          Honest mechanic….as if they walk around the streets with a tattoo on their forehead. You get bitten gazillions of times till you find someone half decent who doesn't want to change your headlight fluids.

          Also, some new cars come with extended warranty on top of the manufacturer's warranty with the condition being its taken back to the dealer. And a lot of people fall for it and bring it back for the fixed price servicing deal from any of their authorized service center.

  • pebee47 on 23/03/2015 - 15:26

    They seem a bit too paranoid don't they?
    Probably had some irate customer screw THEM out of paying after recording a "hooning" or "shopping" trip. (funny how people act when roles are reversed.)
    I'd say they have the right to demand this, so long as clients* are told at point of bookng a service, and not as they walk in to drop their keys off. After all, nowadays "Logbook" servicing can be signed of by non-dealer mechanics.
    *clients rather than customers, due to the fact that they charge about as much per hour as a doctor or lawyer, LoL)

  • sammiz194 on 23/03/2015 - 20:49
    +1

    That's why I buy private and get my cars serviced by the same mechanic I have for the last 10 years and make sure I take him out for the hoon once he's done the repairs!! :) :) :)

  • BortTheMan on 24/03/2015 - 08:29
    +2

    While mechanics do their jobs, they are entitled to the right to have private conversations with their workmates. I don't see the problem here.

  • backpaqer on 24/03/2015 - 09:08
    +1

    I took my Nissan to a dealership for a service once (and last time I ever did). I'd forgiven them charging me for spark plugs on the major service when they didn't replace them. I had changed them myself and they did take the cost off when challenged over it (but probably left the labour charge component in).

    Then I had a minor service done. I have the factory service manual. It states that the air filter is an inspection item on every service. First thing I double-checked when I picked the car up was the air filter. It was filthy. Pressing the filter holder back into position showed one very neat thumb print on the greasy housing…mine. They hadn't even done the 5-second inspect. Never taken it back since then. K-Mart does all the stuff I can't (be bothered with) now.

  • [Deactivated] on 24/03/2015 - 09:29
    +1

    Every day our privacy is eroded bit by bit. We are constantly filmed everywhere we go, but we are just not aware of it.
    I would not like to be filmed doing my job, not because I have "something to fear" but because I value my privacy.
    If someone had said thirty years ago, "OK we are going to start filming everything you do at work" there would have been an outcry.
    Now we have become desensitized to it, so we think it's OK that someone should be filmed whilst they are service our car.
    Do people really fit dashcams under the bonnet??
    And just to add-it is illegal to film someone without there knowledge in some States, even if you are a registered security agent.

    • tonyjzx on 24/03/2015 - 10:06

      here's the problem with that

      do you go to the shopping centre? post office? walk around the cbd? banks? schools?

      i agree with you but the ship has sailed on that, like 20+ years ago when terrorism etc. started to get noticed

      2ndly check your employment contract… you'll be surprised that you are subject to video in many instances just like how your PC and email is subject to scrutiny

      my advice? dont do anything on camera that is potentially embarrassing, even if you are sure theres no cameras, dont do or say anything terrible

      dont use employers resources for dubious personal things

      pretty simple

      • [Deactivated] on 24/03/2015 - 12:24

        "i agree with you but the ship has sailed on that, like 20+ years ago when terrorism etc. started to get noticed" - Ha. Haha. Hahahaha. Yeah. That's why we should accept constant surveillance and invasion of privacy. "Terrorism".

        I thought it was only legal to record without permission in a public place?

  • thefreelunch on 24/03/2015 - 11:03
    +1

    Any business that refers to its customers as perpetrators isn't worth doing business with.

  • parisienne on 24/03/2015 - 11:03

    I agree that "Big Brother" has become a bit like the KGB or the FBI in our daily lives…everything we do,say or have (blitz,all the things you mentioned…bank details,phone provider,tax file number etc,etc are already very well known to many,many people.It is info that can be easily obtained by anyone with some tech knowledge and a computer,and IS available to many departments from the ATO to Woolies).

    Whilst i admit,it is sad,and a reflection on humanity,but CCTV,mobile phones,dashcams and even such (once)unthinkable things like spypens are a reality today,and used by pros and the public alike.With car dealers being a very close second to pollies on the public's "least likely to trust" radar (and if the likes of Today Tonight etc have taught us anything),it is that in some cases,this is a warranted concern.Add to that,the fact that with most people,the family car is the second biggest asset they have…behind their home, we want to make sure that it is being treated with as much respect as such a possession deserves by those we trust with it.I believe it is also a safety concern….if you pay to have your brakes done,and they are not completing the job as needed,do you really want to do the school run with unsafe brakes ? If the motor has an issue,and they stuff it up or don't fix it,do you want to be going on holidays to Queensland and suffer a major break down in the middle of no where at night with the family in the back ?

    Now,i know that all the above points sound paranoid perhaps,but as someone who has had exactly those things happen (not the driving to QLD thing…replace that with work and that did happen),but not all are as honest as us lot here (seen by the mobile phone poll) and if a dashcam can ensure that what we pay for,with an item as vital as our cars,is treated as we would want,it may be a good thing to think about.

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