WOW....not in a good way
I sought this place out because I have never seen such poor reviews for a business in my life. How can so many people have the same, high pressure, dissatisfied, " guilt trip" experience and the business not change its ways. It was only fair I give them a fair trial..
I printed out my $20 coupon for the social marketing dealer and rolled into my "no appointment required" oil change. Before arriving however, a meticulous inspection of everything under the hood from fluids to dust in the corners.
Right off the get go, maybe 30 seconds after opening the hood, a well dressed worker in charge of moving the cars in and out of the bays informed me that I needed a new headgasket( for those new to the car industry, this is the one of the biggest repair bills out there). There was an awkward exchange of my nodding and him going on about it, I thanked him for communicating the issue to me and that I would deal with it.
A few minutes go by and the gentleman responsible for pouring in the new fluids comes in and also informs me of my head gasket issue. He also wanted me to know that the oil I was putting in was not up to the quality level that the establishment recommends and that I should put in the premium synthetic oil they have available. I declined, but was interrupted by a story of how he didn't put in the right oil and his high end vehicle needed a $3000 repair. After declining a second time, he returned to service my vehicle.
Not sure if the gentleman was aware, but the glass in the waiting area was neither soundproof nor magical, and I had the pleasant experience of hearing him say, "just put in the conventional, the guy doesn't care" among other things I will leave unsaid. I kept my cool for the purpose of this exercise.
A few more minutes past and the last worker (3 of 3) came in to show me my shiny new oil level on the dipstick. I approved and as the worker was leaving, asked me who I was going to take my vehicle to for the head gasket repair. Anticipating what was coming next, I played along and said, "Well I have a few places in mind, but nobody in particular. Before I could even get the words out, the employee lit up with excitement. To my surprise, this particular store has someone THEY RECOMMEND, someone that "I can trust and is an economical choice". Well was I ever grateful for the referral, I accepted the business card and said thank you. ( I think this referred company will be my next service audit)
After paying my environmental fee, I drove down the road out of sight and looked under my hood. Oil was at an acceptable level, washer fluid full, coolant level was untouched, and the battery cover was unattached. I drove back in and asked the worker responsible for the fluids if the coupon included a fluid top up. He assured me yes and that he topped everything up. I showed him and he said he added some, but could add more if I wanted. Needless to say not a drop was added throughout the service, so after I was assured everything was topped up, the fluid worker told me he could add a little more, how generous.
I asked him to send out the manager. I was told there wasn't a manager but the owner was here (turns out it was the well dressed gentleman), I said that was even better. I explained to the owner why I was there and had given him the stack of reviews I printed out that led me to the establishment in the first place. He told me they never offer anything that isn't required, and that the people on these review sites are crazy. I explained that sometimes a business can get a couple of bad reviews, but when 87% of reviewers are giving the exact same negative response from an experience similar to the one I received, it may not be the reviewers that are the problem.
If I hadn't been on the inside track and counting on this experience going exactly as it did, as a customer I would never know I was being completely taken advantage of, a completely unacceptable business model. It won't matter how many coupons are printed, pulling a stunt like this is a recipe for 1 time customers (if that). read more
