nd examination
will either show the customer that you know your business and know
what should be done, or it will convince him that you are merely
putting up a bluff to hide your ignorance.

What the customer wants to know is how much the repairs will cost,
and how soon lie may have his battery again. Estimate carefully what
the work, will cost, and tell him. If a considerable amount of work is
required and you cannot estimate how much time and material will be
needed, tell the customer that you will let him know the approximate
cost later, when you have gone far enough with the work to be able to
make an estimate. If you find that the battery should be taken off,
take it off without any loss of time and put on a rental battery. If
there is something wrong outside of the battery, however, it will be
necessary to eliminate the trouble before the car leaves the
shop, otherwise the same battery trouble will occur again. If there is
no actual trouble outside the battery, and if the driving conditions
have been such that the battery is not charged sufficiently while on
the car, no actual repairs are necessary on the electrical system. The
customer should be advised to drive in about every two weeks to have
his battery tested, and occasionally taken off and given a bench
charge. It is better to do this than to increase the charging rate to
a value which might damage the generator or battery.

Adopt a standard method of procedure in meeting, a customer and in
determining what is wrong and what should be done. If the customer is
one who brings his car in regularly to have the battery filled and
tested, you will: be able to detect any trouble as soon as it occurs,
and will be able to eliminate it before the battery is seriously
damaged. A change in the charging rate, cleaning of the generator
commutator or cutout contact points, if done in time, will often keep
everything in good shape.

With a new customer who has had his battery for sometime, you must,
however, ask questions and make tests to determine what is wrong.
Before sending the customer away with a new, rental, or repaired
battery, test the electrical system as described on page 276.

The most important transaction and one which will save you
considerable argument and trouble is to get everything down in black
and white. Always try to have the customer wait while you test the
battery. If you find it necessary to open the battery do this in his
presence. When he le