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  • #1

    Almost funny

    /background About a month ago, I took Boyfriend's car to his mechanic shop. Car was randomly dying and the battery light was on. I'm not a mechanic, but this suggests a couple of possibilities immediately to me- battery and/or alternator. /end background

    So take the car in, they tell me the battery tests bad. Fine, replace it. And did you check the alternator? Yep, and it's fine. So... then why is my battery light still on? Well, because the car needs time to register the new battery. Just drive it around some, it'll be fine.

    Uh huh. About that... So I left them a negative review for that crappy service. Get a call from the store manager (who was standing right freaking there when his employee laid that bullshit line on me). As soon as he found out who the car's owner was, and that Boyfriend was, in fact, an actual long-time customer who really had spent thousands of dollars with this particular shop he was suddenly oh, so eager to 'look into this and find out what happened, because (Boyfriend) is a really good customer and this isn't right'. Ya think?

    That's where the almost funny bit comes in. His sudden concern into looking into what happened and all. That didn't even start until he knew who the car belonged to, instead of when he found out what had happened. Yea, we need a new mechanic...
    You're only delaying the inevitable, you run at your own expense. The repo man gets paid to chase you. ~Argabarga
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  • #2
    So this guy only makes a genuine effort for existing customers who spend lots of $$ at his place ... ? I'm sorry for the people who are first-timers looking for a good mechanic. Hopefully not too many of them have their vehicles die within the following week.
    Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
    ~ Mr Hero

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    • #3
      Yep. He made some comment along the lines of "I know he'd have gotten the alternator fixed at the same time, we lost money because of this." Real concern there for the safety and well-being of his customers.
      You're only delaying the inevitable, you run at your own expense. The repo man gets paid to chase you. ~Argabarga

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      • #4
        ARRGH!!! This sort of story just makes me so angry. It could be because they don't care unless someone spends a bunch of money at that shop, or more likely was because the OP presents female. Due to my experiences, I tend to think that its the latter.

        I am also female and it just really ticks me off that I have to have a man with me when I am shopping for parts or talking to a mechanic to be sure that I am heard.

        Way back when I owned my beloved 1974 Triumph Spitfire, I restored it from a junker to a beautiful road machine. That was the last year they were produced, so a lot of the parts were not standard AND it had that oh so reliable Lucas electrical system* jury rigged over the non standard parts.

        I knew that car upside down.

        One day, the battery died and couldn't be recharged. OK, thank you Lucas, lets start with a new battery to power the car while I track down the problem.

        I asked the man I was dating at the time (who did end up becoming my husband of 30+ years) to take me to get a battery

        The clerk looked my car up in his book and brought out a battery that I knew wouldn't fit. I said so. The clerk smiled at me condescendingly and said that it was the right battery. I disagreed and offered up the information from the old battery (which we were keeping for some reason that made sense at the time). My friend told me that it was the one the book called for, so we bought it and took it home.

        Of course it didn't fit. We went back, my friend dropped the battery on the counter and told the clerk that they were both idiots because they had misjudged me because I had great boobs and that I knew my car better than the part book.

        Things haven't gotten any better for us women folk when it comes to parts and service in the last 40 years and it sucks.

        *Does anyone know why British bikers drink warm beer? Its because Lucas made refrigerators too.

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        • #5
          I think it's likely a combination of both those factors, Slave to the Phone. Far as they knew, I was a one-off customer they'd never see again (ironically, they did get that never see again part right), plus I'm female and present as female. I really wish I'd had time to stick around and argue with the mechanic, but I was on the verge of running late at that point and it would have taken at LEAST another hour to get the car back into a bay and actually looked at.

          Kind of tying into that... anyone ever noticed that "everyone knows" that women are worse drivers than men? But no one ever talks about the fact that car insurance rates are lower for women than men, for all age ranges.
          You're only delaying the inevitable, you run at your own expense. The repo man gets paid to chase you. ~Argabarga

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          • #6
            I agree, time to find a new mechanic and avoid this place like the plague!

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            • #7
              Quoth Slave to the Phone View Post

              Of course it didn't fit. We went back, my friend dropped the battery on the counter and told the clerk that they were both idiots because they had misjudged me because I had great boobs and that I knew my car better than the part book.
              That's great! I hope he dropped it right in front of the idiot who first insisted that it was the right battery.

              I'm of no use at all when a vehicle decides to die, but luckily I have a great mechanic (referred to me by a female friend) who knows what he's doing, does what's needed, BUT doesn't encourage you to spend money unnecessarily. If your vehicle is no longer worth putting money into, he'll tell you so. If you say, "Should I do X or Y?" and there's really no point in it, he'll tell you so.
              Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
              ~ Mr Hero

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              • #8
                If this is a chain, they may have called you because your review went to corporate and that's what triggered the call-back. I can't speak for other regions, but emailing corporate about an issue at local *big box retail* will catch management's attention. This is a retailer that gets a bad rep, however contacting corporate really does work.
                A lion however, will only devour your corpse, whereas an SC is not sated until they have destroyed your soul. (Quote per infinitemonkies)

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                • #9
                  You may have the tools and expertise to unscrew a nut, but you don't get to unscrew the pooch.
                  I am not an a**hole. I am a hemorrhoid. I irritate a**holes!
                  Procrastination: Forward planning to insure there is something to do tomorrow.
                  Derails threads faster than a pocket nuke.

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                  • #10
                    I just had my STRUTS done anyways I called the dealer and they were like we quoted you for shocks so I call the place back and there like no for that price its the struts. So I have to take my car to the other place to find out weather they are struts or shocks.... Come to find out they are STRUTS there is a difference and struts are more labor intensive and cost more money then shocks more along the lines of 400 more so I need to know!!!

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