Took my car to a local garage and they took it for a spin...

[Atebit]

The tech negatively impacted the owner's business reputation, and he got fired (golf clap for the owner).

Maybe after a few years of flipping burgers or cross-threading oil drain plugs at Jiffy Change he'll have learned his lesson. More likely he'll be caught in the BSG "what's happened before will happen again" loop.

Individual integrity and consequences for one's actions are severely lacking these days.

 

[InTheShadows]

The tech negatively impacted the owner's business reputation, and he got fired (golf clap for the owner).

Maybe after a few years of flipping burgers or cross-threading oil drain plugs at Jiffy Change he'll have learned his lesson. More likely he'll be caught in the BSG "what's happened before will happen again" loop.

Individual integrity and consequences for one's actions are severely lacking these days.

Did you put it in valet mode before you left it with them?

I do that and let them know I can track it's every move.

 

[hiroshiy]

Just 2 cents - no judgement to the OP and other people involved please. I'm glad the OP offered to show his video. Thank you. It gave me some insights on what we should expect when dealing with these outlets.

Preventing this from happening in the future would be the best for both parties.

 

[Canuck]

Covert recording is not welcome in any place in Australia, not sure of the US laws... The general public in Australia tends to agree that the covert recordings are objectionable anywhere, not just at work.

This is what you said. I have pointed out several times, by reference to links, that covert recordings in Australia are allowed. You can try to nitpick my links as to what can, and what cannot be "published" but that's not what you said, and not what I challenged. I challenged your statement about "covert" recordings being objectionable "anywhere" in Australia. My links showed that an employer can covertly record employees in Australia, and vice-versa, but publishing that recording, or using it in Court, can be met with objections pursuant to your Privacy Act and Surveillance Act. We have similar laws in Canada and the States. But that is not what I challenged. Remember this was not an employee publishing the video. It was a customer. Once again, the same video, if it happened in Australia, can legally be put on the internet.

Can you please answer my question about Private Investigators in Australia. If covertly recording people "anywhere, not just at work" is objectionable is Australia, how come they are allowed to do it?

 

[Krugerrand]

I wonder how is the guy supposed to find another job if a simple google search spits out his misdemeanor to a future potential employer.

While I understand your point/s, strongly advocate for fairness (punishment fits the crime), and am all for 'second chances', I don't for a second believe this is a 'first offense' and I'm very firm on my thought that people need to be held responsible for their actions. There's not a chance this person doesn't know they did 'wrong', camera or not. And I also think all the 'others' (because there's more than one involved) need to also be held responsible - not one other person said 'knock if off'. There's a palpable ease and confidence by the employees that all is well and right in the world.

How is this guy suppose to get another job...probably should have thought of that before goofing off at his last job. But he's not going to be affected by Googling attempts.

You're in support of camera wearing employees and overt recording. I'm not. I'm okay with trusting someone until they prove otherwise, even though that will sometimes bite me. It's a risk I'm willing to take because I just think that's a better way to view people and live life, and goes to attracting others of like mind. Always being distrustful of others and their motives is stressful and frankly, I think, ugly.

Had I been the Model S owner going to a car shop I was unfamiliar with, I'd have probably made a joke when dropping off my car and quoted Days Of Thunder: 'If you bend this bitch, I'll tear your balls off.' Then smiled sweetly while giving the evil eye. That pretty much would have gotten the message across without causing anyone to get their hackles up.

 

[Auzie]

This is what you said. I have pointed out several times, by reference to links, that covert recordings in Australia are allowed. You can try to nitpick my links as to what can, and what cannot be "published" but that's not what you said, and not what I challenged. I challenged your statement about "covert" recordings being objectionable "anywhere" in Australia. My links showed that an employer can covertly record employees in Australia, and vice-versa, but publishing that recording, or using it in Court, can be met with objections pursuant to your Privacy Act and Surveillance Act. We have similar laws in Canada and the States. But that is not what I challenged. Remember this was not an employee publishing the video. It was a customer. Once again, the same video, if it happened in Australia, can legally be put on the internet.

Can you please answer my question about Private Investigators in Australia. If covertly recording people "anywhere, not just at work" is objectionable is Australia, how come they are allowed to do it?

Covert recordings are allowed in some rare circumstances. Otherwise they are not allowed. Courts parse each case on its merit. The shop owner would have had very difficult time sacking an employee based on such evidence here.

That may be off topic, the event happened in the US and what happened is clearly legal in US.

Even if something is legal it can still be objectionable. Recording people without their consent and awareness at work and then using it against them, I find that objectionable. It might not be objectionable in US.

My comments are based on what informs me, and it seems that what informs me is very different to what informs some other posters.

While I understand your point/s, strongly advocate for fairness (punishment fits the crime), and am all for 'second chances', I don't for a second believe this is a 'first offense' and I'm very firm on my thought that people need to be held responsible for their actions. There's not a chance this person doesn't know they did 'wrong', camera or not. And I also think all the 'others' (because there's more than one involved) need to also be held responsible - not one other person said 'knock if off'. There's a palpable ease and confidence by the employees that all is well and right in the world.

How is this guy suppose to get another job...probably should have thought of that before goofing off at his last job. But he's not going to be affected by Googling attempts.

You're in support of camera wearing employees and overt recording. I'm not. I'm okay with trusting someone until they prove otherwise, even though that will sometimes bite me. It's a risk I'm willing to take because I just think that's a better way to view people and live life, and goes to attracting others of like mind. Always being distrustful of others and their motives is stressful and frankly, I think, ugly.

Had I been the Model S owner going to a car shop I was unfamiliar with, I'd have probably made a joke when dropping off my car and quoted Days Of Thunder: 'If you bend this bitch, I'll tear your balls off.' Then smiled sweetly while giving the evil eye. That pretty much would have gotten the message across without causing anyone to get their hackles up.

Googling might not reveal person's identity in this case. My comment about publishing videos of unsuspecting individuals caught in compromising situations was general in nature.

Good for you to be so trusting, I am glad it works for you. People do what works for them.

My preference is to set expectations beforehand and to put checks in place before any transactions, perhaps I am not trusting people, but that is what works for me. I am a believer in and a fan of transparency, it is the most powerful shaper of people's behaviour. No one speeds when there are speed cameras on the road.

It could be that different environments and different people may require different approaches to the same issue. We have a diverse world, I am glad about that.

 

[Krugerrand]

Googling might not reveal person's identity in this case. My comment about publishing videos of unsuspecting individuals caught in compromising situations was general in nature.

I don't generally support publishing videos of unsuspecting individuals either, and I would not have done as the OP did. I'd have handled it in the shop, face to face, in the moment. I've been very consistent with that view in other threads. So we agree, but you made a big leap that the employee in question was now going to have a hard time getting a job because this video could be Googled. One, I have no idea this person's name, two, I don't even know what he looks like, and three, just what would I Google search on? If I was an owner of this type of business, looking to hire a general mechanic, I don't think there's any chance I could find this video and link it to the specific person. But hey, maybe I'm just not trying hard enough.

My preference is to set expectations beforehand and to put checks in place before any transactions, perhaps I am not trusting people, but that is what works for me.

I said nothing about not setting expectations beforehand. Indeed, I mentioned further up thread in comment to Bonaire what a diligent customer would do, which was all about putting checks in place, blah, blah, blah. I also said clearly that I'd have included a 'warning' in my interaction. So we are still in agreement. The difference appears to be that after all that, I'm content to trust, you aren't.

I am a believer in and a fan of transparency, it is the most powerful shaper of people's behaviour. No one speeds when there are speed cameras on the road.

I'm not looking to shape or change anyone's behavior. That started as their parent's job and then became theirs when they became adults. People will do what people will do. I'm okay with that, but I will require them to be responsible for their actions. I'm funny that way.

It could be that different environments and different people may require different approaches to the same issue. We have a diverse world, I am glad about that.

The situation just isn't that complicated. Professionals are to act professional, and employees are paid to do a job to the best of their ability. That's universally understood and has nothing to do with a diverse world.

 

[brucet999]

US employment laws seem to be different. Regardless of the laws, I find the outcome of sacking the guy to be disproportionate to the offense as described. My view may be not fitting into US work culture and I am ok with that.

What nobody here knows is whether that employee had a history of workplace misbehavior, making this incident a last straw before dismissal. Certainly it would be a rare employer who fired a good worker for a single minor infraction. It is simply too costly a process to replace a good mechanic.

 

[Footbag]

It's pretty apparent from watching the video that if they had managed to open the frunk, they would have had no idea how to close it correctly, so there's a pretty good chance you'd also have a frunk crease now.

That indeed occurred to me when reviewing the footage. While I had talked to them prior to getting the work done, both a couple of days in advance, and again when I dropped off the car, asking that they life on the provided spots <I left a printout showing them> (which it seems like they did), and generally asking them to be careful, I never would have thought to talk to them about the frunk. Not being a huge car guy, it didn't occur to me that, be it out of curiosity, or out of good will (checking fluids), they would open the frunk for a quick wheel dismount/remount.

 

[Footbag]

Had I been the Model S owner going to a car shop I was unfamiliar with, I'd have probably made a joke when dropping off my car and quoted Days Of Thunder: 'If you bend this bitch, I'll tear your balls off.' Then smiled sweetly while giving the evil eye. That pretty much would have gotten the message across without causing anyone to get their hackles up.

In a sense, I did... I talked to two individuals prior to leaving my car there. Both conversations were pretty basic, but I asked if they felt comfortable doing a basic job on a Tesla... and that there were lift points to use, and not to worry about resetting TPMS (and also if they were ok with Tesla paying the bill). I believe both people I spoke with (one was the manager, the other seems to be assistant manager) were understanding to my concerns and assured me all would be fine. I don't think either of them would have floored it on the test drive, but the issue is sometimes messages aren't shared amongst staff. I was relieved that in the video someone did tell the mechanic/driver to go easy ("easy, easy" I think were the words) at the onset of the test drive.

One item I had not mentioned before, is that I asked Tesla Service during our email exchange about this, if there were any special instructions to lifting the car (knowing from TMC that there were). While they responded to other items in that email, nothing was mentioned about the lift points. I haven't looked, but I suspect they indeed are in the manual, and some would say the owner should know all items in the manual. Be that as it may, when Tesla suggested taking it to any garage, it would have been nice if they provided the warning about the lift points. Honestly, I have no idea if mechanics are always on the lookout for lift points or not? Maybe they are and Tesla assumed lifting the car wouldn't be an issue.

It is unfortunate that the mechanic had to face consequences. For what it is worth, I never once said anything similar to "that mechanic is an idiot / he should be fired"... the discipline he faced was at the discretion of the manager, and as mentioned up thread, perhaps there were other prior issues. If ever I have to deal with a garage again (and given Tesla is a long ways away still, there is a chance I will), I will try to remember to explicitly mention that valet mode is active and request no high speed attempts if a test drive is needed. Also, while I don't feel having the dash cam recording is wrong (and I couldn't find much local law about the issue just now), I will make a point of mentioning it as well.

- - - Updated - - -

To you and OP, any tips of what to get and how to get it installed? Obviously you've done a slick job that a stack of mechanics wouldn't even notice it.

As I now have one, I haven't kept current on dash cam offerings, but mine is a Blackvue 500GW. Installing it is very easy. It comes with a long detachable cord (12V/cigarette adapter on the far end). It comes with double sided tape, so it is just a matter of sticking the unit to the windshield. I have mine pretty much right behind/under the rear view mirror (but still quite visible, it isn't covert by any means). Then you just run the cord up and along the headliner at the top of the glass. In the Model S, I couldn't poke it behind the headliner (it may be possible, just that it wasn't easy so I moved on), so I just used tape to secure it.. it isn't invisible, but also isn't an eye sore. Then around the door pillar it is easy to tuck in under gaps/behind weather stripping. Basically, you continue on poking it behind gaps and whatnot to keep it out of the way. I have it plug into a "12V socket expander" (can't think of a better term), which I have sitting under the passengers seat, so I have another 12V outlet available as well. As previously mentioned, there are devices and wires you can connect to that allows recording even when the power is off. If you had a dash cam that also had a rear camera, I could see that being more relevant for parking lot hit and runs, but as I only have it pointed forward, if I was hit in the back, there wouldn't be anything captured, so I haven't bothered.

 

[Ben W]

You don't really need any device like that, just run the dashcam on an unswitched 12v source. I used the OBDII port for my 2 channel dashcam, and it runs just fine 24x7. There are also several other unswitched tap points inside the car you can use without running a line to the fuse box.

My dashcam runs off 5v / 1000ma, so I think I'd have to step it down from the 12v source. My Model S is an early VIN with an accessible 12v source in the headliner, but I'm not sure which components/adapters I would need to make this work. I don't want to have a big ugly cigarette adapter dangling from my rear view mirror! :scared: Any advice?

 

[Jacina]

I guess OP's car has a "floor counter" so after 100 times being floored the bottom falls off or something, oh and it wasn't floored, valet mode ftw.

Recording without someone's knowledge is being a conniving little (expletive) which is where I have the issue.

He probably has the "recording" light taped, after which there is no way to know if it is recording or not, also no way of knowing if its part of a Tesla, since they didn't know anything at all about Teslas

Asking for the guy to get sacked, yeah now if its a garage you regularly visit you may may maaaaaybe have a cause, if not.... well why the heck do you care?

 

[HankLloydRight]

My dashcam runs off 5v / 1000ma, so I think I'd have to step it down from the 12v source. My Model S is an early VIN with an accessible 12v source in the headliner, but I'm not sure which components/adapters I would need to make this work. I don't want to have a big ugly cigarette adapter dangling from my rear view mirror! :scared: Any advice?

I wrote up an entire post on how I did it here: Yet another hardwired Dashcam install -- 100% reversible/no splicing/no tapping

But the short version is I got one of these 12vdc->5vdc step down transformers: Amazon.com: KEEDOX® DC/DC Converter 12V Step Down to 5V 3A Power Supply Module: Electronics and wired it into the +12v on the OBDII port.

I dumped the dashcam in that post and instead installed a LUKAS 2channel model which I like alot. I'm pretty sure the transformer above will fit into the headliner area, but I don't have that 12v source, so I didn't try it.

 

[bonnie]

Entertaining thread overall ... it's easy to tell who only operates within the norms if they think they might get caught ('oh, you're recording me? Guess I'll behave appropriately) and those who just behave the same way, whether or not they're being recorded.

Which could lead into a whole long discussion on use of anonymous names on a forum, but that would be off-topic so nevermind.

 

[JunesongProvisn]

Damn Kim Jong, you should go after the mechanic's family too. Really teach him a lesson. I'm sure none of you high falutin' Telsa owners make mistakes.

Seriously, they were obviously curious about the fancy new EV they've never seen before. The dude took it for a simple test drive in valet mode - no damage was caused, no harm meant. Instead of getting the dude fired, you COULD have gone to the shop and showed them around the car - teach them how to properly close the frunk, how the charging works, taken them for a spin in insane mode, etc. Since you drive a $100k car and they probably make $40k/year, they'd probably appreciate the lesson.

Instead, you chose to make a video and get a dude fired. Kudos, brah. I guess the stereotypes about the 1% are correct (hey, I'm one of you but I'm not a dick).

 

[mikeash]

Recording without someone's knowledge is being a conniving little (expletive) which is where I have the issue.

If you are literally inside someone else's property, you should just assume you might be recorded.

 

[jeffro01]

I am absolutely stunned that some people have taken issue with this owner and his dash cam. The dash cam is there for this very reason, to record what's going on with the car when it's on. To argue over whether it was covert or not is completely missing the point. Suggesting that the OP did anything "conniving" or otherwise is taking the blame from where it should be focused, on the tech. If the car didn't have valet mode I can see this dude doing full throttle acceleration over and over and over and over again. Valet mode protected the OPs car from unnecessary abuse by a reckless employee and some of you are going after the OP??? What planet are you on? I'd be just as pissed off as the OP was and I'd have taken it further than it was and would have went after that guys shop supervisor as well.

This wasn't a mistake, this was a willful attempt to abuse the trust granted by the OP when they took their car in to have a simple thing done.

Actions have consequences, if you don't like the consequence then don't take the action. It's really not complicated. Trying to turn it into some sort of economic hunger games with the "haves" vs the "have nots" is nothing more than a diversion from reality.

Some people just don't have appreciation for their own things, much less anyone else's, and that lack of appreciation manifested itself here and the employee suffered the consequences for it. End of story.

Jeff

 

[skboston]

The urge to test drive the car is hard to beat, my recent experience with Auto transport provider is much worse, they took the car for a spin around their parking lot before it was loaded on the transporter and to be on it's way to the body shops for repair, while the car had no coolant to keep the battery cool. It was in valet mode, but basically it's like driving a normal car without antifreeze in the radiator.
They opened basically every door, latch they get their hands on, unfortunately I found these things after the fact.

 

[patrick42h]

What's the point of a dash cam if it's just going to violate the right of others to damage or endanger my car in private?

 

[bonnie]

Damn Kim Jong, you should go after the mechanic's family too. Really teach him a lesson. I'm sure none of you high falutin' Telsa owners make mistakes.

Seriously, they were obviously curious about the fancy new EV they've never seen before. The dude took it for a simple test drive in valet mode - no damage was caused, no harm meant. Instead of getting the dude fired, you COULD have gone to the shop and showed them around the car - teach them how to properly close the frunk, how the charging works, taken them for a spin in insane mode, etc. Since you drive a $100k car and they probably make $40k/year, they'd probably appreciate the lesson.

Instead, you chose to make a video and get a dude fired. Kudos, brah. I guess the stereotypes about the 1% are correct (hey, I'm one of you but I'm not a dick).

I've had plenty of curious people just ask me questions & have always been happy to answer. You'll find countless threads on this forum about 'Tesla Time', meaning how much longer it takes to go to the store because inevitably someone who is curious wants to see the car. Tesla owners give tons of personal time to EV events and just random conversations.

But that doesn't mean someone should just take advantage when entrusted with the car. While you're busy blaming the OP, consider that IF the tech had been a valued employee, his boss would have given him a pass on this. It probably was the last straw.