Why Some of You Hate Me. And Trust Me, You Do.
- For over 15 years, Doug has reached millions with his auto advice.
I am many things. A business owner, a small time TV personality, a great friend, and an incredibly loving and grateful father. But if you were to ask me for a spontaneous self-description, I most likely would scream I'm a mechanic. And the latter causes some of you to recoil. To dislike me intensely. To disavow yourself of anything having to do with me. And I think you know who you are.
Dion is a great guy who manages my flagship auto repair shop here in Sacramento. And it was maybe his third day on the job when he broke the silence of our office by speaking what I've always suspected was the truth.
"You know they hate you, right?"
He said this without a hint of the possible repercussions that accompany this type of question when it's posed to the guy who signs your paychecks.
I took a deep breath.
"Who hates me?" I asked trying to pretend that I really didn't already know the answer to the question.
"Mechanics. Shop owners. And I'll admit, I hated you too".
Let me tell you something. It's one thing to think you might not actually be the best thing since sliced bread. But when an employee tells it to your face, straight up, the almost ALL of your professional peers literally hate you, well, it makes you take a deep breath and lean back in your chair.
"So why did you take this job?", I asked sincerely.
"Because I needed it...and I had a feeling you were actually a good guy".
"So, I have to asked…" I said. "What did I ever do to all those guys out there who have decided to hate me? I mean, I know SOME of them, but not nearly all of them. What exactly is there problem?".
Dion went on to explain that I made it seem too easy…too simple. He told me that answers that I often gave to viewers, while entirely accurate, often lacked nuance and depth. Gee, I wondered…ya think? I mean I have all of 3 minutes typically to take several live calls when I'm on TV.
I admit it's not the first time I've heard this criticism. And I am entirely sure that Dr. Phil, Julia Child, and a whole bunch guys who "crash" homes for a living get or have gotten the same feedback from their peer group. Trust me, we are doing the best we can within the confines of the medium we are using…and live TV is a bit, well, constraining.
So here it is, an official apology: not to the 99 percent of you reading this who are actually realizing some serious value from watching my work, but I am sorry to the 1 percent of you who are mechanics who are pissed at me for trying to help the very folks that YOU yourselves should be helping. On second thought, never mind. I'm not sorry one bit and I'm actually pretty sure I don't like my peers either.
Doug Brauner is a nationally recognized automotive expert and journalist. He also owns and operates The Car Czar Auto Repair shops in Sacramento and Citrus Heights, CA and is the host of "The Car Czar Show" which airs every Sunday morning at 10:00am on CW31.
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