Edited to correct whatever that was...
Jiffy Lube can officially go pound sand and find someone else to get money from. $80 for an oil change because of "increased oil prices" is gorram obscene and they will not get anymore business from me, no matter how convenient they are.
I'll make the effort to work around the corner garage's schedule and keep them open.
Jiffy Lube, may you be sodomized by a rabid yak.
12 comments:
Either the Cat figured out how to activate your blog, a child was having fun acting like Dad...
Or you should probably change your blogger password.
Ah.
I don't think Jiffylubes prices are that outragious in my part of the country - but I do my own oil changes.
Many a year ago I was lazy, and didn't have all my tools in one place so I took my crusty old S-10 (4 banger with a five speed transmission and rear wheel drive) to Jiffy Lube to get an oil change beause I didn't want to haul myself back to the folks place to drop the oil.
I pull in, park the truck and wait. 20 minutes later they're done, and I watch the kid who had changed my oil fail to get my truck out of the bay six times before a manager with some sense came over and drove my truck out. (People should be forced to use a manual transmission for a few years because its a useful skill) This should have been a warning to me. Next, the guy at the counter starts going through his laundry list of things they could be doing for me (replacing this light or that, a fuse change, etc) and happens to mention that my truck is low on automatic transmission fluid.
I look at him kinda funny and I'm like, "Really? Huh. Well, why didn't you top that off then?"
He blinks looks at it again, and wanders out to ask the Manager dude that very question.
Comes back in looking rather sheepish. "Uh, well I guess you have a manual transmission."
These things should have been indicators. About four or five months later I was home visiting family and Dad and I decided to do some maintenance on the old blue bomb, including changing the oil.
We took the oil plug out with our fingers. I was lucky it was still in the engine block. They have never again had one cent of my business, and never will.
Five quarts of the finest synthetic oil on the market retails at $36.
I'm guessing you got caught up in their 'upsell' scams.
Hey, they can charge whatever they wish! $1000 oil change? Go for it! That doesn't mean anyone has to be their customer...
Find a local full service repair shop, make friendly ($$) with their best mechanic, be loyal to their business as long as they treat you right.
Right on, Carteach0! My local foreign auto guy is a minor deity. I've lost count of how many times he's dropped what he was doing to come to the library and handle a bookmobile emergency. Of course, it might have something to do with the fact that my boss is a loyal customer who routinely brings him homemade cookies!
Bloody well right, Suz. Mechanics are people too, most often dealing with people who are unhappy long before they arrive at the shop. Amidst that, a simple act of human kindness and decency from a customer stands out like a supernova in a dark nebula.
We have a good local mechanic - unfortunately, because they are good (and reasonable) they are usually swamped. Thus I try to save my work with them for the bigger stuff. The Jiffy Lube thing was a case of "Overdue for an oil change, no time or place to do myself, money in the account & a free hour" - which combined to end as discussed.
Captain Tightpants....
Something I learned from a major car maker during an instructor training session:
The train-the-trainer guy was talking with us after class, and mentioned he does a dual job. He trains instructors like us, and also is a company rep for parts to large buyers. He explained that his single biggest buyer of major parts units (Crate engines and transmissions)is Jiffy-Lube. It seems they destroy so many engines and transmissions through incompetence and lack of training, they have to spend millions each year buying said parts on a wholesale basis.
His explanation.... when a store screws up and munches a $5k engine or three, they fire the (untrained)manager and advance someone else (untrained) to the position, therefor making sure to get rid of the one person who now knows not to make that mistake.
You can guess how this company rep chucked at the situation, as it assured healthy bonus checks for him.
I used to work for another competing oil change shop chain, and some of my coworkers had worked at jiffy lube in the past. They told me exactly the same story about buying engines all the time for people because of idiots working at jiffy lube doing something wrong.
In the two years I worked there (the other shop, never worked for jiffy lube) my shop bought 2 motors, an oil pan, a mass airflow sensor, and a grille for people. The tech whose blatant and continued disregard of training resulted in the two dead motors was summarily fired, the oil pan was an honest mistake (aluminum pan, bit too much torque on the drain plug, stripped it out), and the grille and mass airflow sensor were my fault.
Go to any chain except jiffy lube. They are also well known for scamming people by selling them services and then not performing them. Plenty of videos and news articles on it.
Wow. Our local dealership does oil changes (with fluids top-off / vehicle safety inspection) for about $30, and they can often get us in for same-day service. They'll also pick up and drop off the vehicle for folks who are at work, at no extra charge. AND we can trust them to do it right!
A friend of mine took his Camry to Jiffy Lube. He got home and the engine seized. Turns out that they put the wrong oil filter on and all the oil blew out.
They refused to fix it and unfortunately my friend tried to cheap out by using a lawyer who offered to take the case as "a favor".
As a result, his perfectly good Camry got scrapped and he ended up buying a new car. Never got a penny from Jiffy Lube.
The few times I went there (before his experience) they always tried to upsell me some crap I didn't need.
They suck.
I actually tend to get my oil changed at the local Walmart. They do a good job, and they actually put in the oil that I ask for instead of trying to be smart and putting their own blend in. Invaluable when you've got an ancient Cavalier wagon that you're keeping on the road by upping the oil weight to make the leaks happen more slowly.
I don't actually have a way to contact you off here. Btw!
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