Hi AVB,
Although I now work with small engines and outdoor power equipment, I have had the same experience when previously working at agricultural dealerships on tractors and farm machinery.
It is amazing how many qualified tradesmen are incompetent and do not know how to do basic mechanical jobs, which are often just a matter of scale. There is not much difference between a small engine and a larger engine as far as the operating and service principals are concerned.
Even customers think that if you haven't trained on a particular brand or are employed by an authorised dealer of that brand, you must be ignorant of its working principles. For instance, many John Deere mowers and garden tractors are powered by Briggs & Stratton engines with a John Deere sticker over the fan shroud, but I find that, even though I'm a Briggs & Stratton master service technician, a so called mechanic at a John Deere dealership will get the job to service the equipment before I am asked. I only get the equipment that is out of warranty and not worth repairing at an authorised dealer's workshop rate.
