I used to compare programmers to mechanics but I wonder if that comparison is still valid. At work it is expected from me to solve problems. They are categorized too and I can tell the difference if they’re critical or not so critical. Sometimes I prioritize them and can even tell a time how long it will take to get it ironed out. I log my hours. I log my changes. I log everything so that at the end I can tell where I made my changes. And users are allowed to see in those comments too: they’re actually funny.
Nowadays, if you bring your car to a mechanic they cannot even tell you what might be wrong. They charge you too much dollars for an hour service and at the end of the day it’s your guess if they have really fixed things or that you have been ripped off. Not to mention the scarce looking bill and the ‘Thank you for doing business with us’. If it’s expected from me to give exact numbers when fixing things, why can’t they?