Dealing with your mechanic/shop

Sometimes people just don't click.  You ever have that happen?  You try to deal with a jewelry clerk or a shoe clerk or a hair dresser, or, a mechanic.
The funny thing is:  you're usually not dealing with a mechanic or a service writer by choice.  It's usually because something's happened.  When something happens and you don't have wheels, you're screwed.  Right?  I know it, been there.  After many, many years and advances in technology I don't go anywhere, especially for a test drive without my cell phone.  I've broken down in customer's cars without it and it sucks.
To the point though.  If you're having an issue with the way your car runs, shifts, handles, PAY ATTENTION!  When does it do it?  Only on the highway?  When you start it first thing.  Being a mechanic is sometimes like being a detective.  I'll get a car to work on that says on the work order:  "check leak."  Ok, what kind of leak?  Are you adding oil?  Is it red?  A tire?  The more information you can give the people who will eventually get you back on the road, the quicker and more efficiently they can fix it.
We all get that car that only does (whatever it does) on the second Tuesday of the week and if the sun's out.  I've chased my tail on many of these types of cars, so be patient.  Your mechanic/shop should be willing to communicate where they are in the process, even if they aren't anywhere because they haven't gotten it to act up.
True story:  I was working at a dealership and the owner stated that whenever his wife drove the truck and turned left it shut off.  I was the third guy to look at it and of course after driving around for what seemed like hours, I never did get it to shut off.  I asked the owner to come down and drive it with me.  Sometimes people drive a little easier or more aggressively or whatever.  There obviously had to be a problem because the customer was giving us his brand-new truck for the time it took to figure it out.  He and I drove around a big parking lot doing left circles.  We were just shooting the breeze when the truck shut off.  He hit the brakes and held his hands up saying "I didn't touch anything."  I looked at the dash and all the gauges were off.  I reached over and turned the key and "click" every thing turned on and the truck started right up.
The next group of circles I watched the ignition key/switch.  Sure enough after a few minutes you see it creeping backwards and eventually:  "Click!"  The ignition switch was bad and once we replaced it the customer never had another problem.  But, what a weird problem that without really putting in the time and effort and involving the customer did we find it.