Damn Beggars Wasting Money

My charity goes to charity organizations. It doesn’t go to beggars on the street. Reason being is that I don’t trust the people on the street. If I give them a dollar, how do I know they’ll use it for their needs (food, shelter, ect…) and not their wants (alcohol, drugs, etc…). With charity organizations, my money (hopefully) goes to people who will use the money in the most beneficial way.

I bring this up because I came across two distinct examples of beggars wasting money today. The first comes from the auto industry who begged Congress today for some of the bailout money that is being handed out. Apparently, the company CEOs flew to Washington in their corporate jet. According to the Consumerist post, a first-class flight would have cost $800 while the private jet for GM alone costed $20,000. The gaul of these CEOs who have messed up the American auto industry to flaunt their wasteful spending is almost comical.

The other example came from my friend Joseph who pointed me to this article. I had heard that the Triborough Bridge in New York City was being renamed to the RFK Bridge after Robert Kennedy. With New York City asking the federal government for financial aid and the rumors about putting tolls on ALL the bridges to reduce the deficit, I would expect Bloomberg (New York’s mayor) to be pretty tight on what the city is spending money on. Renaming the bridge isn’t a big deal. It’s a name. Apparently, it’s more than a name. It’s a $4M cost to change all the signs. Couldn’t we wait to rename this bridge?

Why can’t we sell the name of the bridge? The Google Triborough Bridge. Sounds good, and profitable, to me.

Consumers Need Better Representation at the Mechanic

A few months ago I went to a local car repair shop to get my oil changed. I don’t drive my car that often because I’m usually taking public transportation to school and work. About two weeks ago I noticed my oil light had gone on and I started hearing a strange noise from the engine. I had not even driven 1500 miles from my last oil change so I knew something was wrong. I didn’t have time right then to go, but I knew I had to take it back to the shop very soon.

My friend Avi, who, unlike me, is quite knowledgeable about cars, asked to take a look at it before I take it to the shop. Apparently, the mechanic forgot to put the cap back on the engine. Oil has been sputtering out of the engine causing me to be extremely low on oil. Yes, I know I should have opened the hood myself before I went back to the shop.

I went to the mechanic yesterday to complain and they quickly filled up my oil for no fee and replaced my engine cap. Then I mentioned, per Avi’s suggestion, that if I start hearing problems from my engine, I’m coming back.

I hate situations like this. They made a stupid mistake and should be held accountable. If my engine has serious issues, my mechanic should pay for it. And yet, I walked out of there with no guarantee that if I have issues, they’ll fix it without payment (or with a heavy discount). I hate relationship-based commerce. I also hate to haggle. I shouldn’t need to be pushy or have a better relationship with a vendor to get the exact same level of service or price as anyone else. I think the consumer could use a car agent.

A car agent would be someone who would look after the best interests of their clients at the mechanic. A car agent could represent many clients (cars that need servicing), and can negotiate bulk pricing for standard services (regular maintenance). If the mechanic tries to screw over a client, the car agent could threaten to move all his/her clients elsewhere. That would keep mechanics in check.

I’m not saying I’m getting ripped off (even though it would be nice if they remembered to put the cap back on my engine). I just don’t know if I’m getting ripped off and I don’t have someone who is looking out for my best interests. I’ll ask Avi, but I bet I’m not alone in this situation.

The web community has already recognized this problem and have come up with different solutions. MyDealerReport gives car dealerships ratings based on user reviews. RepairPal and DriverSide help you find user reviews and prices for local mechanics. I think these sites are a start but we need something more to represent the consumer’s interests when dealing with mechanics.