This used to be Riverside Mowers - a great shop. I didn't know it had changed hands before going. I figured I'd try them out since I had already made the long trip from Lexington with my push mower in my truck. The problem was my mower sputtered to a stop seconds after cranking. I told they guy I'd like that problem fixed and a general tune-up and blade sharpening for the new season. I left it there and they required a $42 deposit for the labor of diagnosing the problem. I wasn't thrilled with that, but that's reasonable because they'd be spending time on the machine before ever doing anything with it and it would apply to any subsequent bill.
I got a call the next day from their head mechanic, Fernando, and heard I'd need a new carburetor. Thanks ethanol! He told me it would be about $150 total (minus the deposit). It is an old-ish machine and I wasn't sure I wanted to sink that much money into it rather than just biting the bullet and buying a new mower. I told him I'd call back with my decision. I called back the next day, got through their automated phone system (more on that shortly), and was asked to hold by the guy who answered the phone. I held and held and about 5-10 minutes later (not exaggeration) a female answered the line. She hadn't realized I was on hold and told me the guy who answered must have forgotten about me. Great. I told her my name and that I wanted them to do the repairs.
I tried calling back the next week - tried. I got stuck in automated answering service hell. "Enter the extension you want or 0 for assistance." Entering 0 resulted in a message saying the voicemail box was full. I tried again and again for about 15 minutes. No luck. No alternate phone number. It was close to the end of the day so I just gave up. The next day I went through the same routine, but persisted and finally got a guy. I asked if my mower was done. He hemmed and hawed and put Fernando on the line. He checked his paperwork and said no work had been done because they were still waiting for the go-ahead. I was pissed. I told Fernando I had called back and given it the previous week and asked if this meant I was now at the back of the line. He said he'd move it to the front of the line and hoped it could be completed that day. Kudos to Fernando!
The shop closes at 5pm. I began calling at 4:15 to find out if the mower was ready. Again, voicemail hell, but five minutes of calling and re-calling I finally got a human. This guy asked me if I could hold. Damn me for a fool, but I said yes. I began kicking myself immediately and pulled out my cellphone to time the hold. Seven and a half minutes later, I hung up and left work early to go to the shop. If my mower wasn't ready, I was planning on just demanding it back along with my deposit. As I pulled in at 4:45, Fernando called my cell and told me the mower was ready. Again, kudos to Fernando!
I was still ticked. While I waited to pay for my repairs, there were two employees helping other customers. The phone rang and rang and no one paid it any attention. Poor bastards, at least I was getting out. I paid the balance, $92 and change, and left with the mower. When I got home I found the blade had not been sharpened. I wasn't changed for it, but I had asked for that to be done.
My mower works fine. Thanks Fernando! But I will never go back to Howard Brothers. Simply calling them is an exercise in frustration.
Oh yeah, they say on their website that "We also offer a full service small engine shop of any make and model" but that's not true. They told me they don't work on Troy Bilt equipment. read more
