Home servicing, is it as good as a workshop service?

[mik]

i don`t open many threads but i thought this was a worthy topic.
One thing that always gets me when people say "i did a service myself", or "i had the car serviced the other day", i have to question in a lot of cases if the home service is as good as a workshop service in many cases.

for a start usually a workshop service is done on hoist or a pit with lights, while up high it`s a very nice way to check for anything out of the ordinary, oil levels/visible oil/water leaks/exhaust problems/ disc rotors/pads/suspension a good visual inspection, up top with a lead light another visual inspection with a lead light/checking all fluids/drive belt/battery terminals for tightness/corrosion, hoses/leaks again,
anything out of the ordinary, the equipment is there you can do it all very easily and quickly.
i have left out computer flashes/chassis lube(grease nipples remember those )
It`s not just a quick jack up and at the front and do the engine oil/filter change and all done, i know some people ramp them or jack them up all round on stands and spend considerable time doing the job as a workshop would, ................but how many just do the oil change/filter and call that a service? and how many abandon the book/manual service because ".......it`s to expensive" (hey i`m gonna sell it in a few years anyway).

So i ask, do you believe the home service generally as good as a competent workshop service? (no dealer bashing please... i said competent)
how many cars run into problems later on because the owners poorly service them? it would be interesting to get a bit of professional feed back on this one.................discuss.