On 5/19/16, this service station replaced a failing starter on my vehicle. During my trip home that evening, the battery light on the dashboard came on. At the time, I believed that my alternator must have failed, but I called this garage to see if the problem might have any connection whatsoever to the repair they performed. Being after hours, I got their answering machine, so I left a message. Half way to my house, my car completely died, and I had to have it towed. Again, believing that it was an issue with the alternator, I had it towed to my usual shop close to home. The next day, Friday, I could not make it to work. My regular mechanic had so many previously scheduled appointments that he was unable to get to my car. Since I needed to get to work on Monday, and the rental car companies are closed on Sunday, I rented a vehicle Saturday afternoon.
On Monday, my mechanic called me to tell me that whoever had replaced the starter neglected to reconnect a fusible link to the solenoid, and therefore my charging circuit wasn't working, which is why the car died. He repaired the problem.
I then returned to Hometown Garage to see what could be done about the expenses I incurred as a result of their mistake. I was reimbursed for the mechanic, and grudgingly for the tow charges. But not for the rental vehicle, since they determined that this "exceeded their warranty coverage". I believe they should ALSO have reimbursed me for that, as it was due to their error that I even NEEDED a rental vehicle. But they refused. To me, their "warranty coverage" is arbitrary and capricious, and is based on how much THEY are willing to pay the customer for their error, and NOT how much the CUSTOMER actually had to pay because of their error. How does this qualify as "warranty coverage"? Not once did I ask for money back on the repair. They bought the part and performed the replacement (poorly), so I didn't ask for that back. I simply wanted reimbursement for the expenses I incurred due to their faulty work. But to this day, they refuse.
Furthermore, after finishing repair work on someone's vehicle, they send an email asking the customer to provide a written review of their work. After a few days, during which it was found that they had botched my repair job and refused to reimburse all my costs resulting from it, I did leave review. A one star review, stating the facts of what had happened in my case. After waiting a few minutes, my review was posted on their website. I printed it with a date and time stamp. A couple hours later I went back, only to find that it had been REMOVED! So I did another print out with a date and time stamp. In my book, removing negative reviews certainly qualifies as a glaringly deceptive business practice. Before taking my car there for service, I did my homework and went to their site, and read some of the reviews. Had I known they remove negative ones, I would NOT have taken my car there.
Deceptive business practices, and shoddy ethics in regard to customer satisfaction.
Hometown Garage Reviews
On 5/19/16, this service station replaced a failing starter on my vehicle. During my trip home that evening, the battery light on the dashboard came on. At the time, I believed that my alternator must have failed, but I called this garage to see if the problem might have any connection whatsoever to the repair they performed. Being after hours, I got their answering machine, so I left a message. Half way to my house, my car completely died, and I had to have it towed. Again, believing that it was an issue with the alternator, I had it towed to my usual shop close to home. The next day, Friday, I could not make it to work. My regular mechanic had so many previously scheduled appointments that he was unable to get to my car. Since I needed to get to work on Monday, and the rental car companies are closed on Sunday, I rented a vehicle Saturday afternoon.
On Monday, my mechanic called me to tell me that whoever had replaced the starter neglected to reconnect a fusible link to the solenoid, and therefore my charging circuit wasn't working, which is why the car died. He repaired the problem.
I then returned to Hometown Garage to see what could be done about the expenses I incurred as a result of their mistake. I was reimbursed for the mechanic, and grudgingly for the tow charges. But not for the rental vehicle, since they determined that this "exceeded their warranty coverage". I believe they should ALSO have reimbursed me for that, as it was due to their error that I even NEEDED a rental vehicle. But they refused. To me, their "warranty coverage" is arbitrary and capricious, and is based on how much THEY are willing to pay the customer for their error, and NOT how much the CUSTOMER actually had to pay because of their error. How does this qualify as "warranty coverage"? Not once did I ask for money back on the repair. They bought the part and performed the replacement (poorly), so I didn't ask for that back. I simply wanted reimbursement for the expenses I incurred due to their faulty work. But to this day, they refuse.
Furthermore, after finishing repair work on someone's vehicle, they send an email asking the customer to provide a written review of their work. After a few days, during which it was found that they had botched my repair job and refused to reimburse all my costs resulting from it, I did leave review. A one star review, stating the facts of what had happened in my case. After waiting a few minutes, my review was posted on their website. I printed it with a date and time stamp. A couple hours later I went back, only to find that it had been REMOVED! So I did another print out with a date and time stamp. In my book, removing negative reviews certainly qualifies as a glaringly deceptive business practice. Before taking my car there for service, I did my homework and went to their site, and read some of the reviews. Had I known they remove negative ones, I would NOT have taken my car there.
Deceptive business practices, and shoddy ethics in regard to customer satisfaction.