P5errington

I can relate to the OP, Mechanics prey on female customers. My daughter took her vehicle for Inspection to Express Auto in fredericksburg and they fail her for numerous things including front disc and rear drum brakes. I know for a fact they did not even pull the wheels off and check because the Lug nut locks were not with her, because i had them!
So, I took the rejected sticker off, and 2 days later took it in there myself and asked to speak to mech performing Inspection, if theres a problem let me know etc...20 minutes later...PASSED. Shit is getting worse with the economy.

g230sport

i work in alexandria, Automotive Service Garage, if anyone has heard of it.

the way i do it is fix the customers complaint/problem and if i notice something that needs to be done while fixing said problem, we advise the customer. if the customer wants a general check, they get a complete check over, and we let them know everything we find, i mean EVERYTHING, we let them know what NEEDS to be done vs. what SHOULD be done and go from there. plus i can basically guarantee me and my man robs work, very rare to get a comeback from us, and our work is top notch, on point, done correct, clean, and proper.

i think thats how it should be personally being a 3rd generation tech

but ill be honest, due to the economy, everytime i turn a ticket in, i pray that they buy everything so i can have a decent check come friday...

working commision sucks when nobody wants to fix anything...lol

TheLittleRedSRT

This is exactly what I do.

IMSHAKN

FWIW, most of the big chain stores are franchises which means that they are "local" shops.

But with the family-owned shops, I've been there done that, got the same damn treatment. I used to be a regular customer at Buddy South's until the old man passed away. They treated me real good up until then and shit went downhill real quick. It was one little thing after another until they put a rejection sticker on a 2-year old car for ball joints! How the hell do ball joints go bad in 30,000 miles? I couldn't find anything wrong with them so I took it to another shop and they couldn't find anything wrong so they put a sticker on it. I haven't been back since...but I haven't found a shop I could trust like that since either.

Computer_Nerd

Whenever I have a problem with a place, I talk with the manager. If that doesn't work, filing a claim with the BBB gets shit done real quick. That stuff goes on record, no one wants negative BBB reports.

Niburu

I can confirm Chey's shop does goodwork.
The Miata, the Porsche, and the wifes BMW has been there so far - for varying issues.
Oh and Chey I'll have to eventually be down there for my BMW, there is a nice 3" crack in the windshield that started with last snow.

M▲dh▲tter

i wouldnt only report those asstards to the bbb but i would also go tot he extent of calling the news channels. i have no respect for any shop that rips ppl off. /rant.

IMSHAKN

Filing a claim with the BBB does nothing but burn bridges. The BBB has no authority and all they will do is send letters to the company requesting a response. Nobody really cares about BBB reports until they already have a problem.

I did speak with the store manager and he promised me that he would take care of the problem. He claims that the store was short-staffed and that the tech who spoke with my wife does not usually interact with customers.

Unfortunately, it's a trust issue now. After Frost and Woodrow confirmed that it's not an isolated incident then how can I trust that shop anymore? I need a shop that I can depend on to make a real recommendation if I don't have time to do the work. If my wife had gone on a Monday instead of a Saturday then I may have just told her to get the work done because I couldn't get to it until the weekend...if they really were unsafe then I wouldn't want her driving on them all week.

I need to get my truck inspected...any recommendations for a reputable shop on the southside? I need to start building a relationship with another shop.

AdrenalineAuto

We would be glad to treat you right. My tech. Dan Driskill speaks for himself for many years, in doing maintenance and repair for many many customers.

We try to build a long term relationship with our customers. And we have had customers tell us the same stories you are.

Unfortunately many shops operate the way you have described.

HatefulMechanic

This is becoming way too commonplace, and unfortunately it will get worse.

This is the reason why finding, and keeping, a good customer relationship with a repair facility is key to long-term business relations.

I have had a dozen new customers in the last few weeks because of practices described in this thread, and we do not have nowhere near the amount of shady shops around like ya'll do.