'A Cry For Help:' Subaru Tech Films Ad Saying He Always Gets Parts on Time. Why Doesn’t Anyone Believe Him?
"Blink twice if you need help."
A Subaru technician films a glowing ad about the dealership where he works, in particular, the parts department. But something about his demeanor is tipping off viewers that his testimonial may not be completely genuine.
Sierra Subaru of Monrovia posted the lighthearted Reel to Facebook two weeks ago. In the video, a technician named Louis sits in a chair surrounded by hands threatening him with a drill, a screwdriver, a can of WD-40, and a fire extinguisher.
“Hi, my name is Louis,” he says. “I’m a technician here at Sierra Subaru.”
The hand holding the drill twitches. In response, Louis says, “And I love my service manager.” The hand holding the WD-40 jerks a rag placed around Louis’s neck. “Parts is awesome and always gets my parts on time,” he says.
Finally, the hands holding the screwdriver and fire extinguisher knock the two together menacingly. “I really love my job,” Louis concludes.
Viewers React to the Subaru Ad
In the comments section, viewers expressed good-natured concern about Louis’s safety.
“As soon as he said parts gets his stuff on time we knew it was a cry for help,” joked one viewer.
“Blink twice if you need help,” cracked a second.
“The little ‘zzt’ from the drill had me dying,” wrote a third person.
Someone else upped the ante. “You forgot to mention how much you love warranty work,” they wrote.
“OMG nobody wants to be squired with WD-40 in the ear,” said another person.
However, one mechanic said no amount of torture would get them to admit this. “Not even at gunpoint,” they wrote.
And one viewer actually defended the parts crew. “Guys would get parts even faster if you ordered the right [expletive] the first time,” they said.
Behinds the Scenes at the Dealership
A typical car dealership is made up of a sales team that sells new cars, a finance department that closes the deals, and a service department that repairs and maintains the vehicles both before and after purchase.
Technicians often need various components when completing repairs. That’s where the parts department comes in. It’s not difficult to imagine how the mechanic side and parts side of the operation might clash.
The technician is likely waiting on those parts to be able to complete a job, and they likely have to contend with impatient customers. On the other hand, parts employees could be dealing with acquisition or shipping logistics issues that are outside of their control.
Seven years ago, a Reddit user posted to r/MechanicAdvice asking for advice on a career in parts. Surprisingly, the advice did not include holding your technicians hostage with WD-40.
“Be friendly to the techs and customers, stay busy and always try to verify the parts with the tech or customer,” wrote one person. “Plenty of parts may be named something similar or have similar words so make sure you do your part to get the right part and everyone will be happy.”
Motor1 reached out to Sierra Subaru of Monrovia via website contact form for comment.
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