A few weeks ago, I found a coupon in my snail mail mailbox
offering discounts for car services. One of them was an oil change for $14.95
plus a free tire rotation, which was a very good deal. Other coupons I’ve seen
were offering it for $29.99. A few days later, I went to the shop and requested
the oil change while I presented the coupon. The service advisor proceeded to
tell me that I needed to fill out an application form for a new credit card and
membership to Goodyear. I told him, I didn’t need any more credit cards so I
walked out of the deal.
I went for a run and when I returned home, I decided to call
the phone number listed on the coupon. The person who answered said she was new
so she didn’t know the answer, and that someone who knew will call me back. A
few minutes later, a gentleman who identified himself as the regional manager
informed me that the service advisor was mistaken and that I wasn’t required to
fill out an application. He said he would be happy to set up an appointment for
me because they wanted to retain me as a customer. I told him I was no longer
available that day and that I might return in a few days.
A few days later, I went back at 7:30 a.m. because the store’s
website said that they were open at that time. It took another 30 minutes
before somebody showed up to open the shop even though another guy who was
apparently one of their mechanics was also waiting for the guy who had the keys.
That was another strike against them.
After a few minutes of getting set up, they were finally
ready to help me. The service advisor whom I talked with a few days earlier was
the same person I talked with that day and I told him about my communication
with the regional manager. He said he remembered me and that he was aware of it
and he apologized for his mistake. I thought I heard him say that the oil change
and tire rotation were going to be done for free, but being hard of hearing at
times, I thought I just misheard him.
So I went for a run while the service was being done and
near the end of the run, my cell phone rang and the call was from the shop.
Unfortunately, I was not in a good signal area so call couldn’t connect. When I
finished my run and went back to the shop, the advisor met me and talked about
a list of repair recommendations. I pointed out to me what needed to be done,
because apparently, they also did a complete inspection of the car.
Certified Tire Mechanic Recommendations:Leaking cooling system hoses. Parts 69 + 8 + labor 70 = 147
Fuel filter = 94
Fuel system tune up = 150
Rear brakes = 60 + 110 = 170
Trailing arm bush broken. Parts 94 x2 = 188 + 420 (for what?) = 608
Grand Total = $1169
I declined their offer to have the repairs done then and there.
They finished the paperwork, had me sign it, and I was soon out of there. But
not before I learned that there really was no charge! It was their way of
making up for the mistake they made a few days before. In customer service
parlance, this is called a “service recovery”. So for that, good job Certified
Tire Center! Incidentally, I had an oil change done there 2 years ago and I
gave them 5 stars on their website for not giving any recommendations and just
did the oil change I requested. This time though there was a little bit of
gentle pressure to have the repairs done, which I of course declined. Because
of their service recovery, I again gave them 5 stars on their website with a
more detailed explanation on why. In the meantime, I shall be taking their
recommendations to my own mechanic for him to check out to see if they were
really warranted. If so, my mechanic charges lesser than the chain stores. But
thanks for the free oil change, tire rotation, and overall inspection.
Two weeks hence, I opened up my car hood (I had to open the manual
to find out, LOL!), inspected the fluid levels, which seemed ok, checked the
hoses and belts, also ok, but of course with an untrained eye. I also looked up
on the internet what a trailing arm bush is and how to repair it. The parts
were much lesser than what the mechanic quoted and I’m sure my mechanic doesn’t
charge $420 for the labor. I may wait until after I return from my vacation in
June to have that done, and in the meantime, I hope my car doesn’t fall apart.
Considering it is 19 years old, it hasn’t given me any major problems and I’ve
been lucky so far.
I just finished pricing the car on the Kelly Blue Book website and
it said that if I sell to a private party, I may be able to get $1633 for it
because it’s in good condition. If I trade it in for a new car, I may get from
$769 to $1164 for it. Oh my, those amounts are pretty close to what my repair
costs would have been! However I cannot afford to buy a new car so repairs it
is, and hopefully my mechanic doesn’t charge an arm and a leg.
