What price experience?? #OldSkoolFord

[Vista]

Over the years I have seen many comments on here observing that the cost of engaging experts to help them fix things on their cars is very expensive, you know, stuff you can't do yourself, be that mechanics, electrics, welding, suspension geometry etc.

 

In my own industry (shipbuilding, or more specifically very large yacht building) I often see similar comments. These can be from pretty much anyone, Owners, Captains, Technical Managers, and sometimes even shipyards themselves. It strikes me that the story below therefore is applicable to just about anything where you have to hire someone in to help you do something you can't sort yourself.This story demonstrates why the experts need to be paid more for their services and how the power of knowledge is important.

 

There are probably many variations of this story from different industries, but this is the one I like the most.

 

 

 

A giant cargo ship's engine failed. The ship’s owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine. They were losing many thousands of pounds daily as the ship stood idle.

 

Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom. He checked all the maintenance records and the performance data, analysed samples of the engine oil and checked the logs for details of any new parts fitted.

 

 

Two of the ship’s owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed!

 

A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand pounds.

 

“What?!” the owners exclaimed. “He hardly did anything!” So they wrote the old man a note saying, “Please send us an itemized bill.”

 

The man sent a bill that read:

• Tapping with a hammer………………….. £ 2.00
• Knowing where to tap……………………..£ 9,998.00

And the moral of the story? 

• Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort makes all the difference so never underestimate the value of experience!

 

 

 

[colr6]

Priceless !

[khanlad]

Like it

[mk1del]

I'm sure we've all been in similar situations, head scratching, then someone sheds some light onto the problem, usually something simple,

[2512pf]

That's an old tale

[Tackleberry]

It seems to work on my cars too, although I generally use an 8lb sledge...!!

[2512pf]

If in doubt get the hammer out

[Cortina ken]

Anyone got a 2 pound hammer ? Lol . Good one vista