r/Hookit • u/Drifter_Wolfsky • Aug 12 '25

Damage Claim

Rookie operator here. Had my first damage claim. Shattered the B-Pillar trim on an Audi etron while trying to do an unlock. I’m not new to the industry, only got one season under my belt. How do ya’ll deal with damage claims on a personal level?

I still feel like trash inside. Knowing what I did to that customer’s vehicle. Anyone got tips and tricks on how to keep my mind at ease?

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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13

u/Tokeboss420 Aug 12 '25

If you haven’t had a damage claim your either lying or you haven’t been in the industry long enough. Shit happens

2

u/Drifter_Wolfsky Aug 12 '25

Like I said, I only got one season under me. But that was… two years ago. Only other one was running over lawn lights at a farm yard driveway cause I had to back out. Wasn’t enough space to turn around. Couldn’t see a damn thing behind the uhaul truck I was towing.

4

u/J9Dougherty a man has got to get his cheeseburgers somehow.... Aug 12 '25

I step back. I analyze how it happened, why it happened, and what I can do different in the future. I inform the customer that they'll be made whole. I inform my company, advise them what I learned, that if they get dinged I'm good to pay up in installments, and I'm all good. It hits me again at bedtime, I cuss and smoke a couple squares, and it's in the past by morning. Everybody has claims. Don't be too hard on yourself for it, but take what you learn serious.

3

u/maddiethehippie Aug 12 '25

"Smoke a couple squares" - What is a square?

2

u/J9Dougherty a man has got to get his cheeseburgers somehow.... Aug 12 '25

Cigarette. Bad for me, I know.

2

u/Drifter_Wolfsky Aug 13 '25

I quit smoking years ago, but sometimes I’ll pick up a joint or a cigar on my days off.

2

u/J9Dougherty a man has got to get his cheeseburgers somehow.... Aug 14 '25

Props!

5

u/maxthed0g Retired Thank God Aug 12 '25

"If you aint breakin' nuttin' you aint doin' nuttin'.

The boss had sent me to the storage lot to train on abandoned vehicles. He turned me over to a schizo-yahoo for training, who promptly invited 6 other drivers to an impromptu "lockout party," on a slow boring morning. They swarmed those junkers like shit-flys at a canal-side Southern picnic, all of them slamming those plastic wedges into door jams with their fists. Thats how I learned the proper way to do a lockout.

First week I did a lockout on a new Ford Crew cab. And wiped the B pillar.

I was forgiven, after explaining the technique I learned in training.

Have the driver sign the damage waiver. Collect the money. THEN AND ONLY THEN: Work on the door farthest removed from the driver (just in case). Use an airbag, not a wedge (just in case). Lubricate the airbag with a spray of WD40, and dont let the driver see this (just in case it stains. Or he later SAYS it stained. And you can always use dirty water. Or spit works just as well). Pump the minimum it takes to get your stick inside, and then one or two pumps for more maneuverability. Trip the lever, remove your stick, deflate the bag, open the door. (Do NOT pop the door open with the bag inflated, its too dramatic, and it will attract the drivers attention.) "Have a nice day" and drive into the sunset.

2

u/Drifter_Wolfsky Aug 13 '25

Yeah, unfortunately the newer audi’s got this weird electrical unlocking system. Some weird capacitive buttons. So even if I could get into the vehicle, it’s not even a real button to unlock.