Sad to say the problem is almost universal. I'm not sure there's anyone in particular to blame as much as our society in general. We shop for the best prices, dealers deal for the most profit, and many service departments hire for the lowest cost possible. It's a game we all play.
The results are pretty much predictable. Savy consumers, and there really aren't that many, walk away from a major purchase having done pretty well. That is IF any major purchase is really a good deal. Even if financing is involved the seller will be working on a fairly thin margin when dealing with a sharp customer. Then service departments... They're considered a profit center. Maybe more profitable than the sales department. How best to make the numbers required?
It comes down to philosophy. How best to make a buck? Is it best to push through as much service work as possible and accept mediocre (at best) results, or is it better to do high quality work and somehow be properly compensated?
Unfortunately the solution seems to be quite predictable. Charge premium prices, use economy labor, and figure that most consumers won't know the difference. This is the reason that really good techs are seldom found at a dealership.
Of course there's yet another issue in the mix. We've raised a generation of men and women who will always consult a computer rather than using their brain. This is something I've dealt with for decades as I've always worked within the computer industry. The industry attempted to introduce the idea that flow charts and metering equipment could offset marginal techs. Just simply read and follow the charts. How could it fail?
I'd say a limited success overall. Given enough time and parts a marginal tech could get a system back on line... Maybe. Doing so often took time and often resulted in wasted components and excess expense. Unfortunately the tech in question seldom really understood what he or she was doing or how the system really worked for that matter.
Then there were the really good techs. These were the guys that took one look at a problem and somehow knew what it was and how to fix it. Quite often we had a problem resolved before the others had time to open their documentation and flow charts. Just as often we didn't stay with the company very long as our clients would hire us away or we'd get frustrated and go out on our own.
I found out early on that customers or clients weren't so much concerned with the hourly rate as they were with total cost. Hire a really good tech at $150.00 an hour (thirty years ago) and get the job done in an hour, or hire the drone at $60.00 an hour who might possibly get the same job done in the better part of a day. Why would a really good tech stay with a company which made no distinction in compensation between excellence and mediocrity?
So today the flat rate system. Supposedly this levels the field, but it doesn't. All it does is to encourage a tech to cut corners to save a bit of time. Take something as simple as an oil change. Use a cheaper blend of oil or perhaps "forget" to change a filter. Who will ever know? The vehicle will drive away and nobody will be the wiser, and who cares about a potential disaster 10,000 miles down the road?
And this is why nobody touches our vehicles, except family. It's cheaper in the long run to spend more and know that everything has been done properly. I figure when (and if) my car leaves me by the side of the road, I'll know why and who to blame. I realize that not everyone has this luxury but I need to point out that there are good techs out there. Find one, pay what he or she asks, and walk away happy. You may pay more per hour but you'll pay less overall and the job will have been done correctly.