Hey Perceptor, What’s Shaking?
So Jon’s most recent visit confirmed some suspicions I’d had about some noises the car had been making intermittently. We took the car to the Minit-Tune that made a good impression on Mindi some time ago and I was hoping for a simple, inexpensive, quick repair but far too pragmatic and frankly too much of a worry-wart to expect it to be that easy.
“All right. Cover your receptors Perceptor.” - Blaster
Things started off on the wrong foot for a variety of reasons but what really sent me over the top was how coy the guy was about pricing. He basically said “there’s a problem and we don’t have the part to fix it but we can order it, you’ll have to pay shipping for that though” and then stared at me.
I asked about cost. “It’s a big one” was all he said.
Is this normal? Is this customer service? How about providing some details on the cost or some information as to the time frame or suggesting an alternative or at least giving us an estimate on the remaining lifespan on the car if it isn’t fixed?
I freely admit I know next to nothing about cars and the stupid games people play about them. Buying one was a hell of a dance; apparently repair work has completely different steps.
Growing frustrated as everyone just stood there I turned to Mindi and asked “I’m sorry, is there a decision to be made here? Has he presented us with some options to choose from?” If he had, I missed it.
She asked what the part would cost; I guess maybe thinking he was leery about quoting a final price including labour. He got back on the phone to find out and kept saying things like “Really?!” and “Wow!” or “That’s crazy!” He eventually came back and said they did have the part after all and that it would cost $370 just for the part.
By now this guy already had several things going against him. For one, why was the answer to every question a phone call? He had a computer. Don’t you need a computer to fix any late-model cars anyways? Shouldn’t he have some kind of inventory database or at the very list a price list somewhere to consult? Who exactly was he phoning, a manager who made up prices on the spot or some supplier?
He didn’t think to get a price the first time he called? Did he not think that pertinent information? Did he think we wouldn’t care? Don’t get me wrong, I love our car, but it’s not the kind of car you look at and think money is no object to the owner.
He was vague, reluctant, and frankly non-responsive. He even pointedly challenged my knowledge at one point by asking me if I knew the condition of the part that he claimed needed replacing. What was he expecting me to say? “Well golly, geez you caught me – I already knew what was wrong and came down all this way just for the fun of finding out if you knew”? He was just being suddenly and needlessly confrontational.
And if that wasn’t enough he had either just lied to us or whoever was on the other end of the phone had made a mistake earlier. So being vague, coy on price, and already making a mistake before even beginning the repair process? I was ready to walk but I knew we needed more information like repair time. He said the job would take several hours. We asked when that could happen, he said in a couple of days. If you wanted a question answered you had to be direct and not expect him to volunteer anything. We thanked him for his time and left.
“No way, two can play” - Blaster
We checked some of the things out with another source, the price he quoted for the part was slightly above the retail value but if you factor in a modest profit margin it was forgivable but he either out-and-out lied or was grossly misinformed with regards to the repair time. There is a guide for car repair places to follow when quoting a repair time, and that guide says for this kind of repair for our specific model and year of car that it should only take 36 minutes. He more than quadrupled that. I love Scotty but I wouldn’t trust him to repair anything if I had to pay him by the hour.
I was so disgusted with the whole affair I was literally sick to my stomach.
So this other source of ours recommended a reputable alternative, Fred’s Automotive ltd., to take our business to, a little googling showed us this place has won multiple awards and been frequently ranked #1 in customer service however they are a victim of their own success so we have to wait a week before they have time to look at our car but frankly I would be happy to wait the week and perhaps even pay a little bit more just to be treated with some respect and not have to question the competence or veracity of who I was dealing with. Having to get your car repaired is traumatic enough with having to play stupid games with people. And assuming the assessment of the Minit-Tune guy was accurate we may actually save over $100 just by not paying for 4 times the actual repair time. So instead of well over $500 we’re more likely looking at a little over $400. But that’s assuming the first jerk was correct about what’s wrong, it’s entirely possible that he was not.
Let’s just hope it’s not far worse and therefore far more expensive than we think, hopefully Blaster held together fairly well these last few months.
“Let’s hope so, ’cause if I didn’t we’re all gonna look like burnt out toaster ovens.” - Blaster
I am very much looking forward to this whole process just being over and done with, I’m clearly out of my depth and the stress is a killer.
“We’re really taking a pounding. Don’t know how much longer we can hold out.” - Blaster
However in the meantime we’re limiting the usage of the car which has thus far resulted in cancelling plans to go to Cultus Lake and pretty much putting the kybosh on any Father’s Day plans but hopefully everything will be fixed in time for Mindi’s Birthday. In the meantime I’m left taking the bus or walking pretty much everywhere. In the long run this could actually be a benefit as the repairs should improve fuel efficiency and limiting the use of the car for a week or more obviously cuts down on the fuel usage and therefore expenditure.
All these Blaster quotes are fun but personally I’m hoping Blaster can harness his inner Springer this time…
“I’ve got better things to do tonight than die.” -Springer
