Meter's fuse failure may foment dissatisfaction

The lack of a spare fuse may hamper your business' ability to meet — let alone exceed — customers' expectations during every visit.

Here's what you need to know.

At first glance, fuses for common meters and test gear don't appear to be a boss' concern, but my field experience has shown that fuse failures can and do occur in every kind of automotive service facility.

Furthermore, the fuse may pop on a meter or tester that is absolutely essential to diagnosing the job at hand.

To make matters worse, the blown fuse often happens at inopportune times. For instance, the fuse may blow at 15 minutes to closing time on a diagnostic job that is already hours behind schedule.

To complicate matters, this car owner may be the least tolerant, least sympathetic person in your customer base. He or she already may be steamed that the job's running late.

Experience also shows that many otherwise-capable and reliable technicians may be lackadaisical about fuses in general.

Namely, they never think twice about a meter's or tester's fuse until that fuse fails. Now we're all human; we all make mistakes. (No, don't ask your faithful columnist about his own fuse follies — been there, done it, have the blown fuses to prove it.)

Imagine that one of your techs is using a meter. He or she makes a mistake and pops the meter's fuse.

The first thing the tech may realize is that the meter manufacturer didn't include a spare fuse with the device. Or if there was a spare fuse inside its storage case, that fuse is long gone.

Then he or she discovers that the required fuse is a bit of an oddball item; the local electronics vendors don't have it nor does the mobile tool dealer that sold him the meter.

Eventually, the tech has to order the replacement via telephone or the Internet.

If you and the tech are lucky, another employee has a suitable meter for loan. At the same time, many techs understandably loathe loaning anything to anyone.

Consider this stance: Give each technician a notepad with instructions to inventory every battery-powered meter and tester he or she owns.

Next to each device, the tech lists the required fuse. Collect and organize these inventories at the next team meeting.

Then make a one-time gift of a spare fuse for each device your techs own. Then make it shop policy that each tech orders a new fuse immediately after a fuse failure.