3 months, 1544 dollars, and no operable vehicle. But, hey I've got no right to complain, because Eagle spent way more than that trying to make good on their 3 attempts to honor their service and parts warranty. So we're both victims when you think about it! Plus, the tech said it was working fine when he test-drove it. So obviously I must have done something to the gearbox when I backed it out of the parking space! Damn idiot customers. Don't even got no transmission repair certifications and they think they know whether a car's been fixed or not.
This has been typical of Tim Kilpatrick's (Service manager at Eagle Transmission in Mesquite TX) reaction to my one-sided notion of customer satisfaction — one that focuses on results, not "making a good effort".
I knew I needed major transmission repairs, so I put my car into Eagle for diagnosis. As I expected, they quoted a price of around 1800 dollars for a rebuild. Being unemployed, I needed to save a few bucks, so I also inquired if they would install a used transmission. Nope. Well, at least until I informed them that I had found a shop that would. Then it was a whole different story. Mr. Kilpatrick offered to locate and install a used transmission with a 30-day warranty for $1544.
After this replacement started leaking, I had it towed back to the shop and they offered to honor the warranty and replace the previously installed unit. But this replacement unit didn't seem to work once I showed up at the shop... Nor did the next "replacement replacement"... Or the one after that. Funny, they all seemed to be working earlier that afternoon... Gee, anyone think that maybe they were trying to get me to shuck out some more money for a rebuild?
Mr. Kilpatrick's answer to every inquiry or complaint was something along the line of "That's why I hate installing use... I mean JUNKYARD... Transmissions! You don't seem to understand that I tried to do you a favor... Hey, I'm way over budget on this already, so you're not the only one who's making a sacrifice here!" After the last failed effort, he simply decided that the only thing to do would be for me to remove the vehicle from the shop, with this little pearl of wisdom:
"And we'll just call it even."
Huh? No offer of a refund. Hey, they worked on it right? Apparently Mr. Kilpatrick feels that transmission repair is a "journey", not a destination.
So apparently, Eagle Transmission in Mesquite, TX isn't just a transmission repair facility: it's also a think tank forum for some revolutionary economic theories:
1. Customers need to realize that without businesses, there would be no place to shop for goods and services, hence no consumers.
2. Customers should realize that their obsession wih "satisfaction", refunds, warranty repairs and other bottom-line threatening demands threatens the very lifeblood of commerce: the business.
3. Customers and businesses must work together for the greater good. For example, while I, as an individual customer, may have lost 1544 dollars, Eagle Transmission — which provides services to many, many customers — lost much more than that in parts and labor costs attempting to satisfy my irrational obsession with "satisfaction".
Stay away from these clowns and give your money to someone else.
Anthony
Dallas, Texas
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