Yes, some motorists do repeat costly mistakes

Tire dealers and service shop operators cannot be responsible for some customers' costly calamities.

The reason is that some motorists are and always will be clueless about proper vehicle care.

To me, recognizing and coping with this cold, hard fact is the first step toward reducing stress at your business.

I don't mean to sound uncaring or unprofessional. But some motorists are simply users and abusers of machinery — period.

Over the years, I have crisscrossed the country reporting on and working with various automotive service facilities.

This includes tire dealerships, new-car dealerships, general repair shops and automotive specialty shops.

One challenge common to all of these businesses has been the devil-may-care car owner. This breed of customer ignores all manner of professional advice about proper vehicle care and maintenance.

Or, they may appear to listen and absorb the counsel of capable pros like you. But your advice actually goes into one of their ears and out the other.

The bottom line is that when these careless car owners leave your business, they don't respect or appreciate the value of sensible auto care any more than when they arrived.

This person arrived, of course, with his or her vehicle on the end of a tow truck.

What's more, never be shocked or upset with their penchant for whining after the damage is done.

I have been in some of your customer lounges when a motorist is venting his anger over another blown head gasket. (Your service records confirm that this is the second time within three years that the fellow has run his car out of coolant, overheating the engine.)

Mind you, your technicians patiently checked and/or fixed all the potential leak points on this car.

However, leaks can and do occur on this man-made machine. You explained that fact and took time to coach the man personally on checking coolant when the engine was cold.

You briefed him on watching for coolant stains on the driveway and parking space, but apparently these lessons didn't stick.

Realistically, how much can you coach a customer about avoiding car trouble?

Meantime, other calamity-prone car owners may maintain a calm, almost indifferent demeanor as they describe driving a damaged vehicle until it literally stopped dead in its tracks. (Obviously, this was another tow-in situation.)

The person nearly pleads temporary insanity. When the warning light on the instrument panel turned on, the person floored the gas pedal in hopes of reaching the nearest interstate exit some 15 miles away.

Doggone it, your instructions to pull off the road at the first safe opportunity and call for road service were simply too complex to remember — let alone execute correctly.

Another maddening, frustrating aspect of these breakdowns is the fact that the customer is not a simpleton by any means.

Rather, they're bright people who seem capable of mastering mountains of minutiae at work or regurgitating reams of data about topics that interest them.

But that said, learning and remembering car care rules don't seem to interest these folks. Their personal rules amount to, turn the key, drop it into gear and floor the gas pedal.

Like it or not, actions have consequences. For example, that careless customer may blow past a stop sign at an intersection.

There's a chance that he or she may talk the cop out of writing a ticket, but the odds are that a citation's coming, isn't it?

Similarly, some people neglect or abuse a vehicle and somehow get away with it.

But akin to pedaling excuses to a cop, neglecting a car is almost always a losing proposition. Getting away with neglect is very much the exception to the rule.

Last but not least, keep a clear perspective here.

Years of experience confirm that maintenance and upkeep always are the cheapest expenditures you make to a vehicle.