E-Z Way Parking
901 Spring St
Elizabeth, NJ 07201
(908) 994-1999
Below is the timeline for a nasty experience with EZ Way Parking, who also run Vista Parking at Newark Airport in Elizabeth, NJ.
August 23rd.
At around 9:00am on I dropped my vehicle off at EZ-Way parking in Elizabeth, New Jersey before heading to the airport. I had used EZ-Way parking services in the past without any incidents.
August 27th.
At midnight I returned to the lot to find my vehicle in a damaged state. The front bumper was badly scraped, the license plate and mounting bracket were ripped off, and the right side molding of the car was scraped. I was immediately angered and questioned the attendant, Lisa, about my vehicle. Lisa was unable to neither explain the damage nor take responsibility. She gave me the number of a claims person to call, Christie Brisco (973-465-7401 jmavista AT aol.com), who would handle this matter. Adding insult to injury, EZ-Way parking refused to return my key to the vehicle without paying for their services. Before leaving the lot, I had two attendants verify the damage and I took photographs documenting it. I also had called the Elizabeth police department to have an officer file a report, but the police station said they would be unable to visit the facility.
August 28th.
The first thing the next morning, I called Christie and left a message on her voicemail. After getting in contact, she informed me that incidents do occur and that they would schedule a repair at their auto body shop, Tecnaut. Her exact language was:
"We have been doing business with them for 15 years, we send all our repairs to them & the work is guaranteed 100%. The car will be returned to you fully repaired in the condition you brought it to EZ Way"
We then tried to setup a date when the repairs could be done. All my trips out of Newark Airport are on weekends only, and never more than 3 days. To my dismay, Tecnaut auto body does not work on weekends, and EZ-Way parking does not have a backup auto-body shop to perform the repairs. The next most logical action would be to schedule a repair at a repair shop that did work during the weekend I was gone. EZ-Way then informed me that they would only reimburse 50% of the estimate since they found other body shops to be crooks. I later found this statement incredibly ironic.
This obviously would not work for me, according to EZ-Way operating procedure, they would fix my vehicle, but only on their terms. Which meant, during the week, and at their auto body shop only. Leaving myself, a once loyal customer, to either foot half the repair bill at a repair shop I trusted or pay for a rental car without reimbursement while using their repair shop. Neither of these options were fair considering that EZ-Way was the negligent party. Adding a financial burden in additional personal inconvenience was not acceptable. I informed Christie that this was not sufficient, and she responded with that's all that she could do. On Friday August 31st, she gave me the name of someone who could approve actions outside of EZ Way unfriendly operating procedure. She gave me the number and email of Tom Wilson (973-465-4117 and T1000W AT aol.com). I immediately left voicemails and emails for Mr. Wilson. For two weeks of numerous attempts, he never returned a call.
September 11th.
I alerted Christie of Mr. Wilson's failure to be responsive and she informed me that she doesn't work with him and can't get a hold on him either despite him being her supervisor. This was the first on many organizational mishandlings by EZ Way. It wasn't until September 13th that I received a call from Tom Wilson. Ironically, one day before my scheduled weekend trip. Mr. Wilson was unapologetic and insisted that he was doing me a huge favor and that I would have to get a very cheap rental car. I complied, even though, I should have been able to rent the same size vehicle as the one I had. I even went extra lengths to reserve a low price via Hotwire instead of paying full retail rental rates. I also declined extra insurance on the vehicle to help keep the cost low.
September 14th.
I dropped off my car at EZ Way parking in the morning. I spoke with the manager there and left a detailed document thoroughly explaining what needed to be repaired. I even attached an email correspondence from Christie and an estimate from another auto-body shop in case they needed information on parts or paint color. I did not want to be accused of not specifically detailing what needed to be fixed beforehand or making things up after the repairs were done. I asked that they call me with any questions or complications.
September 18th.
I received a phone call from Christie stating that the repairs had been completed. I informed her that I would pick up the car after work that evening. Later that day I dropped off my rental car and headed over to EZ Way. Upon entering the lot, I saw the vehicle and immediately could tell it had not been fixed. The license plate was still in a crumpled state on the inside of the car, the license plate mount had not been attached to the vehicle, nor could it be since the holes drilled into the bumper were stripped, and the side molding had not been touched. Clearly upset, I spoke with the on-site manager, who of course, could not do anything for me. I drove the car off the lot and immediately called Tom and Christie. Tom never returned my call, and I was able to reach Christie the next day.
September 21st.
I received a phone call from Christie in the morning. She had spoken with the owner and told me that the full repair was authorized and a rental vehicle would be reimbursed. I called the owner of the auto-body shop and setup a time for me to drop off the vehicle. I would have preferred to drop off the vehicle on Sunday, but the auto-body shop is not open and would not accept.
Around 2pm, I dropped off my car at Technaut and spoke directly with the auto-body shop manager. I explained to him explicitly what needed to be repaired, and gave him the exact copy I gave EZ-Way one week earlier regarding the damage, repairs, and estimate from another auto-body shop. I then head over to Enterprise to pick up a rental car. Within 10 minutes of arriving at Enterprise I received a threatening call from someone at EZ Way parking. I couldn't make out the name, but I suspect it was Pat. This person suspected I went around everyone and directly went to the repair shop without consent. I told this person that I spoke with Christie and he needed to speak with her to clear up the issue. I then emailed Christie to inform her of this conversation and to sort out the mess. She wrote back later that weekend and said she left a message with someone, I assumed the miscommunication on their part was resolved. I should have learned by now, that this company is completely dysfunctional and this would be mishandled.
September 26th.
1 month after EZ-Way parking damaged my car, I called the Tecnaut auto body to get an update on the vehicle. David told me that no parts have been ordered and no progress has been made since the last information he received was that this repair was not scheduled. You can imagine my displeasure with this information. Once again, EZ Way parking's organizational dysfunction managed to screw up even a simple task, and when informed about the mix up, failed to correct it.
I later received this email:
Mr. K*,
I just spoke with Mr. Wilson & I was misinformed with the information that I gave you, it was Mr. Wilson who you spoke with the other day who is my supervisor & who I answer to. After authorizing me to have you call David at Technaut & fix the damage again, David called Mr. Wilson once you brought the vehicle in to him questioning why you were dissatisfied with the repair. Mr. Wilson feels that the job done by Technaut was more than adequate & that we made every effort to repair the damage done to your vehicle & that the car does not need its bumper replaced. We have dealt with Technaut for 20 years & feel they repair relative to industry standards & have never had any complaints after a vehicle sent to them was repaired. Unfortunately, there is nothing further I can do for you at this point, Mr. Wilson will not pay to have the bumper replaced unnecessarily.
Cristie
September 28th
I picked up my vehicle from Technaut for the second time. The license plate was mounted, but in a jerry-rigged fashion, the front bumper was not replaced. The side molding was also not replaced. David did his best to work under the parameters of what Tom, the owner, had given him. Those directives were, "Do Not Order Parts" for this repair. So my vehicle was returned to me in a state that was worse than I dropped it off. The front bumper still has shredded holes where a license plate mount should go, and the side molding is very blurred, a mild upgrade from its scratched state.
I am neither a complainer nor someone who looks for faults. I have never filed a formal complaint against someone or any organization. This incident stands out as the only time I truly felt a company mishandled my property, exhibiting negligence in there business practices, and treating their customer with contempt and without respect.in my professional line of work, I perform consulting services for many people and organizations. I know the value of customers and the basic treatment they deserve. If I treated my customers the same way EZ Way treated me, I would not have a job. I feel obligated to document my experience and make available to other who want know beforehand what they are getting into.
Information regarding the entities described here:
EZ Way Parking
901 Spring St, Elizabeth, NJ
Phone: (908) 994-1999
Tom Wilson
EZ Way Owner
Phone: 973-465-4117
Email: T1000W AT aol.com
Christie Brisco
EZ Way Claims personnel
Phone: 973-465-7401
Email: jmavista AT aol.com
David
Tecnaut Autobody
903 E Grand St, Elizabeth, NJ
Phone: 908-352-2451
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