Beer or no beer?—that is the question.
When you hand over your car to a mechanic or tire shop worker, you want to think that you can trust them to handle your vehicle with care.
But it doesn’t instill much confidence when the people working on your vehicle are also drinking on the job. Some commenters argue that it’s the exact opposite, and they’d trust the worker even more.
Mechanics Drinking On The Job: Is This Normal?
In a viral video with more than 3.5 million views, content creator Tiffany (@itsalways_tiffany) shared the odd experience she had at the tire shop.
"I don't know if I want y'all to put my tire on. Everybody that work here got a beer. Is we working or drinking? I'm nervous," she says.
When she turns her camera, you can see three tire shop workers gathered around a tire, seemingly inspecting it.
The odd part is all three seem to have canned beers (what look to be Miller Lites) wrapped in brown paper bags.
Having a beer at a company happy hour is different from drinking while doing a potentially dangerous job. The Motley Fool reported that 45% of companies host parties where alcohol is served. Another 12% sponsored happy hours, while more than 13% allowed drinking during meetings with customers or clients.
But not everyone is on board with drinking culture being part of the job. Thirty-five percent said they preferred not to drink at company events, while nearly 14% deliberately avoided work functions where alcohol would be served. Among employees who did drink at those events, more than a quarter said they felt pressured to do so.
Then there’s the liability of it all. Alcohol at work functions could expose a company to risks like injuries, sexual harassment, and employees driving home intoxicated.
A Bob Is The Oil Guy forum debated whether it’s OK for a mechanic to occasionally drink a few beers while working, especially if they’re lite.
Some participants saw no gray area.
"Unprofessional. Do it at home all you want," one person wrote.
"Just way too much of a risk wrenching and drinking," another said.
Others drew a line between drinking while completing paid customer work and having a beer while tinkering with a personal vehicle or diagnosing something after the shop had closed. A few argued that one or two beers wouldn't necessarily affect an experienced mechanic's work.
“Nothing wrong with a beer or two. Just don't get carried away,” a commenter wrote.
Gallery: Beer-Transporting Vehicles From The Past
‘They Don’t Tell You How To Work At Your Job’
People in the comments section seemed to egg on the workers, saying they didn’t find anything wrong with having a few beers at the shop.
“You at the right shop,” a top comment read.
“If u flirt a lil bit, you’ll definitely get a discount,” a person said.
“Oh baby , them tios been changing tires since they were 7 . You’ll be fine,” another wrote.
“My crazy [expletive] would've ask[ed] for one,” a commenter joked.
Motor1 reached out to Tiffany via TikTok direct message and comment. We’ll be sure to update if she responds.
