Fool Me Once...

Below is an e-mail I sent to Midas headquarters today. I had to do good on my promise.

To whom it may concern,

I came into the Ithaca Midas today (7/14) and told the man behind the desk my car needed an oil change and that my service engine light was on. I sat and waited, never having signed a contract, until a man name Dave emerged to tell me what was wrong with my car.

Dave said in addition to the oil change I needed to replace my front sway bar ($437.77), new oxygen sensors ($571.98), a smoke leak detection service ($39.99), and a fuel system cleaning ($69.99). I told him I’d like to consider it and called my mechanic at home (in New Jersey – I am a student at Ithaca College). The mechanic said he could replace the sway bar for $250, well below Dave’s price. He would like to look personally at the other things.

I came back in, but Dave was running an errand. When he returned, I told him I did not want any service done on my car – that a mechanic back home would do it for cheaper. He made a snide comment that I “didn’t have to wait,” and I told him I though he should know I can get it done for cheaper elsewhere. Dave told the mechanics in the shop to “ship it” and as I stepped in my car I was informed that I still needed to pay for the oil change. Having not signed for the oil change, I was surprised, but I figured my car needed it anyway.

Upon re-entering the store, I was informed I would have to pay $97.18 for the “service” done to my vehicle. Dave said the oil change came to $27.99 and that diagnostics (on the bill as “Diagnose Engine with Scan Tool”) came to $69.99. I told Dave I would not be paying, as I had not signed a work authorization contract and was never informed of the expense of the work done on my car. After a bit of discussion, Dave agreed to only have me pay for the oil change (which I also did not sign for). I almost did not pay, but Dave threatened to report me to the police, so I paid $22 in cash, using a $6 discount coupon, and told Dave to keep the change. On the way out Dave made snide remarks toward me and my mechanic at home, informed me of the “40 satisfied customers” he currently had, and otherwise acted in a very unprofessional manner.

I have poured nearly $1,000 into the Ithaca Midas, and feel I have been used. Perhaps I am being used because I am an out-of-state college student. Perhaps their shop overcharges on everything. In any case, I got my tires replaced for nearly half of the Ithaca Midas’s estimated price at another shop. I feel that Ithaca Midas, and Dave in particular, has taken advantage of me. I have no idea how much money I have wasted using that location’s services, but any amount is too much.

Dave must be reprimanded for his actions – his rudeness, his shady dealing, his blatant disregard for obligatory contracts and work authorizations. While I understand that compensation might not be possible for me, I want to ensure that others are not taken advantage of in the same manner. You have lost a customer for life, and this is a story that I will share with my friends and family so that they too will be protected. I will try my hardest to ensure they and I will never enter and therefore never be taken advantage of at any Midas shop ever again.

Sincerely,

_____


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Haha, I was originally planning on posting a discussion on this yesterday, but the real-life situation just makes for a much better story and will raise, I think, better responses.