This could happen to you...
About two weeks ago in Bellingham Washington I accompanied my grandmother to the Cornwall Jiffy Lube where she paid for a full synthetic oil change and engine flush on her 1991 Suzuki Vitara. It was a slow Thursday for the shop, so much in fact that one of the 'lube techs' was out on the corner holding a sign that advertised 10% off of the next car that drove in.
We had come up to Whatcom County that day from south King County, which is at least a two hour drive, to visit my grandmothers sister and after the oil change was complete we continued on to Custer, another hour north.
It wasn't until late in the night on a dark country road that something went terribly wrong.
My grandmother and her sister were coming back from the casino when black smoke erupted from the hood of the car.in a panic the ladies shut off the engine and evacuated the vehicle. Shocked and stranded they stood on the dark road side. They were later accompanied by a police officer and then a toe truck which took them to her sisters home in Custer.
The next morning after hearing about the incident I went back to the Cornwall Jiffy Lube to discuss the situation. Kevin, the store manager, was quick to act. He explained that he would need to look at the car to determine whether or not the engine trouble was due to their negligence or a separate occurrence. So he and I drove up to Custer.
After a short inspection Kevin claimed responsibility saying that the filter was not tight on the engine which caused the oil to run out and burn up. He was confidant that the motor was not harmed. At this point he offered to pay a portion of the toe bill. He then tightened the filter and went off to buy more synthetic oil so that he could replace the oil that had spilled out.
Lube technicians are NOT mechanics.
After a long while he returned with oil, topped off the engine and attempted to start the car. The battery had died after the lights were on all night so we enlisted the help of the neighbor who had a car battery charger. Once the car was charged and the engine started up the neighbor looked underneath the car to find oil spewing out of the engine again. The car was turned off and the neighbor discovered that the manager of the Jiffy Lube store manager had actually put THE WRONG FILTER on the car. (How hard is it to do an oil change???!!!)
The car had to be toed three hours south. It needs a new motor (which apparently they'll pay for) my grandmother has been paying out of pocket for all necessary expenses and the corporation has done nothing to compensate though they said that they would. We've been calling and waiting.
What would your life be like if you were $700 or more short on your monthly income???
My grandmother is on a set monthly income, her house payment is late because of the negligence of this company and all they can do is point the finger at 'corporate' who is unreachable.
Think twice before trusting a money hungry corporation.
0 comments