I had used Jigsaw before to get a bearing pressed out and a new one pressed in. I think they charged about $40 or so, which seemed about right to me. Fast forward to now and I need a balljoint pressed out and a new one pressed in. I figured Jigsaw would be good for this too as they're close and I previously had a good experience with them. So I call at 8am and the owner answers. I tell him what I need done (balljoint out/in, I bring in the arm) and says it's something he can probably do.
Me: "Great, well can you do it today? Because I need it today."
"Sure," he says, "shouldn't be a problem."
So I bring it over, getting there at 8:15am. The owner looks at it, confirms it shouldn't be an issue but may be tricky and if he has any problems will let me know. We reiterate that it will be done today, so great, all seems good.
About 1:30 I call the shop to see how it's going.
Guy on phone (not owner): "Oh yeah, that's going to take a couple hours, we weren't sure if you wanted it done or not so we were waiting."
I found that kind of odd. Waiting for what? If you're going to do it today, and it's already 1:30pm, you close at 5pm, you haven't started, it's going to take a couple hours, and you haven't called the customer to inform them.
"Ok" I said, "do it, but if you can't do it, let me know so I have time to take it somewhere else. I need this today."
"We'll have it done today, we don't want to break the arm."
Fine. So I wait. I do other things. A couple of hours go by. It's now 4:00 pm and I call back. A woman answers, presumably the counter person. I ask how it's going and hear someone yelling in the background.
Receptionist: "It'll be a couple hours, they are just getting to it now."
Me: "Uh, don't you close at 5pm? That's only an hour..."
Receptionist: "Yes, we close at 5"
Me: "And it will be done by then?"
Receptionist: "Oh he's saying something about not wanting to break it. It will be done by then."
So 4pm and they're just getting to it. They have an hour before they close. 5pm rolls around and I get a call. "It's done" he says. Sounded like the same guy from when I called at 1:30.
Great, it's done, I can get back to work! So I go pick it up.
It's $150. To press a ball joint out and a new one in. $150 and they started at 4pm and it's now 5pm.
Me: "$150? Are you serious?"
Large guy from the phone: "Yeah buddy, I got 2 hours into this and the owner wouldn't let me charge for 2 hours so I charged an hour and a half."
Me: "To press a ball joint out and a new one in? Seriously?"
Large guy: "Yeah, I told you it'd be a couple hours and you said go for it, so that's what it is."
At this point I was pissed and he was pissed. We exchanged some more. I pointed out that at 1:30 when I called and found them to 'waiting to tell me', I then had time to take it to Reno and get it done far cheaper. I can get 4 new ball joints already installed in arms for $160 (plus core of course). He pointed out that the world doesn't revolve around me and he didn't get in until later. Great. So I asked if he had to make a jig, figuring perhaps some of that insane charge went to making a part (I didn't ask this in a pissed way, nor a derogatory way, simply in a normal manner as I knew at that point being mad made nothing better). I thought he was going to take a swing at me. "I had one guy work on this for 2 hours, that's what it took. We can press it back out if you want." In retrospect, I should have taken him up on it. But there was no reasoning with this guy. Especially not the part about starting at 4pm and it being 5pm, and although Carson can be a timewarp, that is really only 1 hour. I paid it and I left.
I will never, ever, use Jigsaw again for anything. The owner genuinely seemed like a nice guy and he probably is. But this guy I dealt with was a joke.
Bottom line: If you want to get ripped off and treated like crap, use Jigsaw, otherwise go elsewhere. read more