I have a complaint against this shop. I was treated with disrespect, rudeness, and ultimately made to feel unimportant and worthless by the owner of this shop, Bob and his wife Debbie. I am not sure of their last names. The lack of professionalism was appalling. More importantly, the customer service was atrocious.
Here are the events leading up to this:
On Wednesday, January 11, I brought my 1996 Dodge Neon into the shop at around 4:00pm to be painted the color Phantom Gray (one of the Effect colors) and have body work done on my bumper and hood per the quote I received on December 17. I had requested that the mirrors, side molding, door handles, and a steel strip above the driver and passenger side windows be painted as well. I was quoted $666.60 for everything.
On Tuesday, January 17, I made a phone call to Maaco at around 8:15am to inquire about the status of my car. I spoke to Debbie. I was told that it would not be ready for pickup until the next day. I was also told that a message had been left on my fiance's cell phone informing me of this. I explained to Debbie that I had not received any messages due to the fact that my fiance's cell phone had been damaged over the weekend. I, then, gave her my cell phone number and my direct line at work to contact me at. Nothing more was said.
On Wednesday, January 18, I made a phone call to Maaco at around 8:15am and confirmed with Debbie that my car would be ready for pickup that morning at 10:30am. I informed Debbie that I was not able to take off work until 1:30pm and would be there soon after.
I arrived at Maaco at around 3:00pm to pick up my car. Upon arriving, I noticed a seaweed green colored Dodge Neon parked in front of the store. As I got closer to the vehicle, I noticed my license plates and realized it was my car.
I entered the store and promptly informed the receptionist, Becky, of the mistake. She was obviously infuriated at the mistake and promptly informed Debbie. Debbie and Becky both checked the formula submitted for the paint mixture and were unable to confirm if it was the right mixture.
Becky then went out into the shop area and asked the employee responsible for painting my car to mix the paint, in a cup, based on the formula he had been given previously so that she could verify if it was the right mixture. Sure enough, the mixture in the cup was the color I had requested confirming that the employee responsible for painting my car had indeed, made a mistake in mixing the paint.
Upon further inspection of the car, I noticed that the steel strip above my driver and passenger side windows were not painted as I had requested. I had also noticed that some of the paint had splashed onto the rubber casing (where the door meets the window) on the passenger side. I confirmed that the body work was to standard by appearance.
At this time, Debbie proceeded to tell me that she had her employee take a look at the vehicle. Upon noticing his mistake he apologized to her repeatedly. I had not seen or heard any or this. Debbie then informed me that they would repaint the car first thing in the morning and that it would be done by Friday. Then, in a very un-empathetic tone, she said, Sorry and walked back into the store without even so much as a good bye or have a nice day.
My fiance and I then, left both of us at this time infuriated and disappointed. I had expected my car this day and because I did not have my vehicle, I missed my first day of college, and would be forced to take of another half day of work off to pick up my car on Friday. Not to mention the gas it will cost us to drive up there and back as they are the only Maaco in town and are about 26 miles away from me.
At around 3:30pm the same day I placed a call to the store. I asked Becky, who had answered, what kind of compensation I would receive for the incredible inconvenience they had caused me due to their mistake. She placed me on hold and a few minutes later, my call was answered by Bob, who identified himself as the owner, later in the conversation.
As I cannot remember word for word the entire conversation, the summary of it was this:
O I was told that I did not deserve any compensation for their mistake.
O I was told that everybody makes mistakes and that I should just deal with it, as Bob put it verbatim.
O I was told that my inconvenience was not a big deal.
O I was told, I don't owe you anything, and I don't know what you think I can do for you.
O I asked for a discount of some sort and he responded with, I ain't givin' you no discount. I'll give you 10 bucks for gas but that's about it.
O Upon informing him that I missed work and school because of this, he responded with, so?
O When asked, So you are telling me that, you make a mistake and inconvenience me beyond belief, and you are not going to do anything to compensate me, as a dissatisfied customer? He responded with, Yeah that's what I'm telling you.
O Then when asked, So this is how you treat your customers? He responded with, Yeah.
O Then, I proceeded to tell him that I would report him to the Better Business Bureau, contact the news agencies, and inform anyone I came across who was planning on getting work done on their car, of the way I was treated and advise them not to go to Maaco for their needs.
At that point I hung up.
On Friday, January 20, I called and spoke to Larry and confirmed that my car was completed and I would be able to pick it up on Saturday, January 21.
On Saturday, January 21, I arrived at around 9:30am to pick up my car. I inspected my vehicle and verified that it was to my standard. My fianc and I then went to the counter to pay. At this point we were told that the quoted $666.60 had been raised to $696.72 due to the purchase of brackets that were needed to fix my bumper. I was irritated that I had not been informed of this at the time of purchase. I was told by the gentlemen who had quoted us that he had called and left a message for us on the 17th. He verified that the message was left on my fianc's cell phone which I had informed the owner's wife on the 18th was not working. As I mentioned earlier, I had also given her new numbers to reach me at.
Despite all of this, I was willing to pay the new amount. My fianc, however, was so fed up with the treatment we had been given that he demanded that they give us my vehicle at the formerly quoted price. The gentlemen who had quoted us, (I don't have his name at this time) argued back and informed my fianc that the car would not be released unless the full price was paid.
At that time, he said, You told us there were brackets in your trunk or we wouldn't have had to order them in the first place.
I responded with, That is a bold-faced lie. We never told you anything of the sort. We know nothing about body work, let alone fixing a bumper, thus we never would have known what parts were needed to fix it and most certainly would not have had those parts in our possession. That is why we came to you guys. So please, do not lie to my face, when you and I both know that was never said.
He didn't say another word to me regarding that made-up conversation.
My fianc continued to argue with them regarding the price. Once again, the gentlemen replied with another lie. He said, The owner said he spoke with you (my fianc) about the new price and you agreed to it over the phone. I responded to him with, Again, we never said that. You, yourself just said that you left a message. You even have it documented on our quote. Yet, now you say the owner actually spoke with us? I am tired of your lies and I am done speaking with you. At that point, he did not say another word to us at all. Eventually, he left the room.
We paid the new amount of $696.72 and left with out car. I did, however, sign the receipt stating that I was satisfied with the work done as this is true. I am NOT satisfied with the way I was treated. Thus, I am filing a complaint against them with you in regards to the malicious way I was handled as a customer.
Again, I am utterly offended, deeply hurt, and thoroughly disgusted by the showmanship of low class customer service I received from this Maaco store. I have never in my life felt so abused and mistreated by a business.
Christina
las vegas, Nevada
U.S.A.
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