On Saturday, January 26, my husband and I took our car to Midas, located at 2995 Central Avenue, Columbus, Indiana to have our lifetime warranty brakes replaced. The brakes were installed by Midas a little over a year ago. Midas was replacing them according to the warranty guarantee. This complaint is not because of the brakes needing to be replaced, but because of the very poor customer service my husband and I received during this ordeal.
To list the unpleasant events that we were faced with, let me begin with our scheduled appointment that was at 10:00 A.M. On January 26. After the inspection of our car by Midas and receiving the estimate of $219.00 work that was supposed to be done on our car for replacing our brakes, the manager of Midas stated to us that our car would be completed in one hour. Since we live 30 miles away, my husband and I were planning on waiting until the car was finished. After an hour had passed, the manager informed us that a Midas employee broke a pin that held the caliper in place, and was not sure if they could get a new part on this same day. (Now, keep in mind, that we live 30 minutes away, and had no intentions of having to find a way home since Midas told us our car would be finished in one hour.) At any rate, after waiting another 30 minutes for the Midas manager to check on getting a new part, he told us he could not get the new pin until Monday. Naturally, expecting the car to be finished in one hour, my husband and I did not have a backup vehicle with us; therefore, we did not plan on any transportation in getting us back home which was a 30-minute drive. We explained this to the manager, and he simply stated "he could not go that far." He did not offer any type of assistance in getting us home, nor was he apologetic for the inconvenience.
I find this very frustrating that a company of Midas's stature would not have a process in place to assist their customers when the delay in the customer getting the car back is at the fault of Midas. With no other options and with no help from Midas, my husband and I proceeded to call all family members to try and find us a way home. We are not from the Columbus area, and it was very difficult for us to find someone that was available to pick us up. Finally, we were fortunate enough to have a family member willing to leave work 3 hours early, and drive an hour out of her way to pick us up. However, we still had to wait several hours to be picked up, and on this extremely cold day, we both walked quite a distance to the local mall until our ride was available.
So, seeing that Midas could not get the part on this date, Midas again promised us that our car would be finished and ready to be picked up by 10:00 A.M. On Monday, January 28. We gave the manager our cell phone number; and informed him that we needed to take off work that morning to pick up our car. Before we left, the manager stated that he would call us if our car would not be ready for pickup at the promised time. Therefore, on Monday at 10:00 A.M., my husband and I showed up at the Columbus Midas to pick up our car. After us both taking a half day off work and driving the distance to Midas, we arrive only to find out that Midas did not even have the part nor the car fixed as promised! Apparently, the Midas manager cannot keep his promise in having our car completed by 10:00 A.M., nor can he keep his promise in calling us if our car would not be completed by the promised time. When the manager was questioned by us on why he did not call us, no sufficient answer was given. You would certainly think a manager of a business would have an answer as to why a simple courtesy phone call was not made as promised. Again, due to this delay, we both had to work late to make up for lost time, and we also had to make another one hour trip back to Columbus later on in the evening on Monday to finally pick up our car.
Both, my husband and I have wasted a great deal of time and our family's time due to lack of customer service and lack of professionalism we have received at Midas. It is also exasperating that we are being charged an additional $25.00 for a part that the Midas mechanic broke. Substantial additional costs were incurred to me and my family due to travel time, lost wages and added fuel expense. This was all a direct result of the actions of Midas employees and the manager. To make matters worse, neither of us received an apology.
I found the service pledge and advertising in the Midas lobby to be false and extremely humorous: "We will always do right by you and your car" There has not been any "right" done by Midas in the case. Midas needs to stand behind their advertising, "We will always do right by you and your car"
I have talked to the area manager and was only offered 3 free oil changes. I feel like I have been treated extremely unfairly by Midas and their employees. I have incurred many expenses, including time and travel and was not even offered an apology by the store manager.
Kim
North Vernon, Indiana
U.S.A.
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