Sometimes alligator arms and deep pockets at the bar when workers get together after a shift mean some people “lose” wallets.
“I’ll get you next time. Thanks.”
Radio DJ in Detroit said he worked at an auto plant before making it in radio. He said the tradition was, as a matter of honor, a worker had to place a hidden item such as a beer can somewhere inside the panels of every vehicle leaving the line. Joke was the customer would complain of the mystery rattling sound inside the doors or behind the glove compartment.
Big laughs. He worked when the US auto industry was failing and we lost Pontiac (my favorite), Oldsmobile, Plymouth and others to Japanese and German competition gains.
One of the funnier books I have read on the auto industry is Rivethead by Ben Hamper. It goes a long way towards explaining some of the defects and easter eggs you find in a vehicle.
https://www.amazon.com/Rivethead-Tales-Assembly-Ben-Hamper/dp/0446394009
“..He said the tradition was, as a matter of honor, a worker had to place a hidden item such as a beer can somewhere inside the panels of every vehicle leaving the line....”
When I was a little kid, my dad purchased a brand-new 1959 Chevy Impala.
Every single time that he made a hard right turn, there was this “thud” noise somewhere in the back....he looked and looked and could never find anything wrong. He finally took it back to the dealer’s service center. He got a call the next day and was asked to come to the center. Inside the the inner fender well, they had found where someone had tied a string to the upper frame with a big nut tied onto the other end. Inside the nut, was a rolled up piece of paper that when unrolled was written: “Ha, ha, ha...you finally found it.” Every time, he made a hard right turn, it would swing that nut up against the inner fender.
IIRC, I believe that was the last GM product he ever bought.
Some joke.
No wonder the American car market was failing.
Local story.
Owner had problems with a gutter company. The pitch wasn’t set for correct drainage, causing stagnant water, mosquitos and leaks at the wrong ends so they had to come back and redo most of the job.
Later, owner found the downspouts were obstructed.
Gutter employees jammed plastic water bottles in them.
#neversendthefoodbacktothekitchen
My father owned a service station when I was growing up...back when they were truly “service” stations. His head mechanic, actually a pretty mellow guy, would keep cans of sardines in the locker room freezer. Whenever he had a really nasty customer, he would pull out a tin, key it open, and pop up the car’s back seat for a little “bonus” before backing the car out of the bay.
I about took my driver’s area apart one time over an annoying new rattle—glove box, fuse panel, air filter, the works. Turned out to be a tin of Altoids in the console between the front seats.
Or empty pint booze bottles. My dad found them a lot as a mechanic.