PSA: That customer who said 'just check the oil' almost cost me my license

Had a guy come in last month at the Shell station off I-35, wanted a simple oil check on his old F-150, but when I popped the hood I found the brake line was rubbing bare against the frame and about to blow. He got real quiet when I showed him the metal shining through, then admitted he'd been ignoring a soft pedal for weeks.

3 comments

3 Comments

susanb341mo ago

Hold on, didn't you overstep your job description here? You were asked to check the oil, not do a full safety inspection of the whole truck. If you touched that brake line or gave him advice on it, you opened yourself up to liability if something went wrong later. I get you were trying to help, but messing with a customer's brakes when they just wanted a simple oil check is a good way to get sued. Stick to what you're paid to do and let them take their truck to a real mechanic for the complicated stuff.

finley_gonzalez491mo ago

So, susan, are you saying that even if you see something that could kill someone, you just look the other way because it's not in your job description?

betty_wells1mo ago

Exactly, you're spot on Finley. That's the part that gets me - if you see a brake line about to snap and just walk away because "it's not your job," you're still responsible if that truck kills someone tomorrow.