No excuse for treating a customer's car like that.

 

A great idea.

 

I remember when I was younger and single and just starting to afford nice sports cars. I had a mint IROC Z28 Camaro and I then bought a well-used, but well-maintained Jeep Grand Cherokee. There is an incredible freedom in driving a vehicle that you don't worry about. It drove great and I proudly displayed its battle scars. Even though I would squeeze it into any close parking spot I could find, I always took the time not to touch or bump the vehicle parked next to me. Call me a "car guy" I guess...

I'm not upset over the accident, just the fact that some scumbag has to know what he/she did when backing out. I mean you can't partially rip off someones rear quarter panel without knowing it!

 

Sorry to hear about your issue. Most shops/dealers note the mileage on the work sheets (re- joy ride issue). I always tell the tech/service mgr "NO FREE WASH"! This job is usually given to the car jockeys (I've seen them drop the drying towels on the ground, pick them up & continue drying whatever car there cleaning). My vette gets hand washed by me only!

 

This "joy-ride" issue....is it a joy ride or a road test? Many times, I'd even go so far as to say most times, either the tech or one of the guys at the counter will take the car out before and after a service.....not to joy-ride but to make sure what the issue is and after if it is resolved.

How many miles are we talking about? There have been times (always with the customer's approval and consent), we'll have the tech drive the car when he goes to lunch.

We always make sure that they have washed their hands and arms and that they use disposable carpet savers. If their clothes are exceptionally dirty - they don't even move the car, one of us does it for them.

I am not defending the actions of the shop - I wasn't there. I have not seen before and after pics of the car. And - most importantly, we are only hearing one side of the story. I am not either calling the OP a liar. I am merely attempting to explain how it works at least in our shop. I refer back to my original post in this thread. The OP needs to have a serious non-confrontational conversation with the owner of the shop to explain and resolve the issue. If that doesn't happen - then there really isn't much further to discuss.

We take a great deal of pride in the work we perform, from simple tasks like oil changes to engine swaps. If there is an issue with anything that we've done - give us a chance to resolve it without being the judge, jury and executioner on an open forum.

 

Like you I tend to "move on" from any orginization or business who treat me as you've been treated. However shop owners, gm's and/or service managers cant make it right if they don't know about it. Normally that's my parting shot...
Unlike crappy restaurant service or food, where you make your unspoken displeasure apparent by the size of the tip. One bad mechanic can do a lot more long term damage than just the condition of how they return your car....


Exactly how I was treated Randy...

 

I've been thru too many bad service issues recently; my patience is gone and my fuse too short to explain to these type people why I'm seeing red. I have a friend who is a semi-retired attorney and he is more than happy to straighten out these types of problems for me.

 

I will not mention names because i did not give them the chance to correct the problem, after speaking on the phone with the shop manager i ended up even more upset... But i will leave it alone and move on, this post served its purpose which was for me to vent.. Thanks for all the replies...