Home Service?

We get this question a lot. "Do you do home service?" and our answer to this is usually.. "depends." But we prefer not to do home service for our clients. Why is that so while there are some mechanics out there who can offer home service for their clients?

Here are the reasons why we don't necessarily cater to a home service:

1. Safety
At the shop we follow a lot of safety protocols to make sure our workers and the cars they work on are safe. Our shop is equipped with fire preventive devices, our equipment and lifters have safety guides and locks that help prevent accidents. Aside from these tools that we use in the shop, our managers are hard at work reminding our workers to follow protocols and also to serve as "bantay" to make sure everything is alright. Despite our best efforts, there are some cases that we still get accidents and we are also equipped to deal with them immediately. Imagine if we worked outside the shop and go to our client's garage and get into trouble? Working on cars actually require tremendous safety from fires, explosions, heavy objects, hazards and corrosive materials. So we need all the tools accessible to us to make sure everything is safe.

2. Efficiency
When our technicians work at the shop, it is where they are most efficient. They have helpers who can work with them to assist them in diagnostics and working on the vehicles. Tools are also within the area for their disposal (especially the heavy ones like lifters and jacks). Parts are readily available at the shop as well vs when being on the field. Imagine if we were to send our mechanics to our client's house for diagnostics. It's either they bring all the parts in our catalogue and then go back another day to service the client after finding out what they need. It's definitely faster if they just diagnose while at the safety of the shop and grab the parts they need in our parts bin. Home service just takes a way a lot of time rather than getting the job finished immediately.

This is why we rather have the cars towed to the shop, because it is still faster to work on them versus sending our mechanics out in the field. Also  We've been booked a lot lately, so imagine if the mechanics can only go back to your residence the week after due to our booking schedules.

3. Don't under estimate Trouble. Expect the unexpected
This reason I love for it being absurd, but at the same time true. I remind our mechanics all the time never to underestimate trouble. Sometimes they think that a certain job is just an easy fix. Like for example changing a flat tire. Theoretically it's just an easy job of removing bolt then changing out the spare. But honestly anything can happen. Countless of times we suddenly find ourselves having a hard time on a very "Easy" problem. In the case of the flat tire we get problems like, stuck bolts, broken bolts, lose thread bolts, wheel bolt locks that are broken, tire rims that wont just break off, etc etc.. so imagine what more problems can arise on more complex jobs. These unexpected problems are things we would never want to get outside the shop for the reason that tools and specialists would be needed to get the problem fixed. So yes, expect the unexpected.

4. Two Heads are better than 1
Honestly, we have limited number of technicians available at our small shop. And we definitely can't send the whole team to fix one problem. And most of the time, diagnostics will need not just one technician to figure things out but rather the perspective and inputs of the whole team at the shop. We get a lot of unique problems at Silverstern and usually it takes the whole team working together to get the job done. Customers are not just paying for the services of one mechanic, but rather the whole team working together to get their car fixed.

5. Warranty
Yes home service is convenient sometimes (but honestly it's a hassle as well) and a lot of clients are swayed by on the call mechanics thinking it's so convenient to just wait at home to get your car fixed. But what if you need to claim warranty? Home service mechanics can just disappear and you can't do anything about it when they run from you. We hear a lot of horror stories saying the mechanic just took the money and never came back.

This is why going to an established shop is better as you know you can claim warranties. And you don't need to feed the mechanics or give them mirienda, or let them use your bathroom when on breaks. 

6. Health Protocols
Now with the problems with covid19, we can't really risk our clients and worker's health. Just like the safety issue, we now have health protocols to ensure everyone is safe and that we stop the spread of the virus. Home service is just not going to help our community in the long run. 

But I did say earlier that "it depends" if we'll allow to do home service. So when do we allow home service? Well we only send someone on-site if the towing needs our help to figure out how to load the car. sometimes gear shifters stay locked and we help the towing out. But at the end of the day, we'd still work on the cars inside our shop. Hope this helps shed light as to why we don't do home service. Drive safe everyone!

-Ed