Exxon Pit Stop Refused refund for broken car wash Virginia Beach, Virginia
I have several complaints about Pit Stop store #565 in Virginia Beach, managed by Joel Chambron. This store is poorly managed in general. Today, I filled up my car with 11 gals of gas and added the Deluxe Car Wash for an additional $8. The receipt that printed out was completely blank and I had to walk in to get the car wash code. The girl at the counter was unfriendly, and barely said a word. Her name was Michelle. I drove through the car wash and noticed that no soap at all came out during the foaming wash cycle. After I pulled out of the car wash, I got out and looked at the car and saw that there was still loose dirt all over it. I walked back into the store and this time talked to a clerk named Meagan. I explained that I thought the car wash had run out of soap. She told me that they'd been having problems with the car wash and walked out to look at the car wash. When she returned, I showed her the dirt still on my car. She phoned the manager, Joel Chambron, and explained to him that there was no soap coming out of the car wash and that my car was still dirty. He told her that she could only give me another car wash.
I asked what good another car wash was going to do me if there was no soap. I told her I wanted my $8 refunded and she said that her manager wouldn't allow it. I asked to speak to him on the phone and she said he wouldn't talk to me. She took my name and told me he would get in contact with me at some future time. I asked when, and she said she didn't know.
This location is near my house and I would like to use it as my regular gas station, but my wife and I have been poorly treated there on several occasions. They are often out of stock on many items (soda's out of syrup, receipt printers out of ink, no ice, no water in the window washer tanks in the trash cans, etc), and the staff is unfriendly and bordering on flat out rude. Now I am refused a refund even though the clerk verified that the car wash wasn't working.
I can say that I rarely take the time to lodge a complaint, but in this case I am pretty angry about how I have been treated by this location. I am going to boycott this location and make sure all my friends and neighbors hear about my experience.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Shawn
Virginia Beach,Virginia,
United States of America
Refund received
#4Author of original report
Fri, June 22, 2012
Speaking to the manager in person this morning, he issued a refund and apologized.
Shawn
Virginia Beach,Virginia,
United States of America
It was a touch less car wash
#4Author of original report
Fri, June 22, 2012
No, this car wash did not have brushes. It is a touchless car wash, it was just out of soap and did nothing more than spray my car with freshwater. And it only made one pass at that even. I get that soap runs out, or that things break. But when that happens you give a refund and an apology. You don't offer another trip through a useless car wash.
I mean seriously, it's only $8. Why on Earth would you not refund $8 when there's not even an argument over the fact that the car wash is clearly not working. It's absurd. With today's unemployment rate, I can't believe companies continue to pay such ineffective people to run a business. Everyone Ive seen there is aweful.
Cory
San Antonio,Texas,
U.S.A.
FYI
#4Consumer Comment
Thu, June 21, 2012
Those gas station "car washes" are probably the worst places you can take your car to get washed. Most of them, have those "brushes" with hard plastic bristles, that are never cleaned and grind all the dirt, sand and other debris(crap) that comes off the last thousand or more cars that got "washed" before yours and grinding it into the paint surface of your car. The quickest way in the world to screw your paint over. I can always tell when someone has gone to one of those places by all the "swirl" marks on their paint. That's like paying 8 dollars to f**k your car up. Try taking it to a real car wash or at least one of those "touchless" car washes without brushes. It sounds like a lousy station with no upkeep and poor management. I hit different stations all over town and it's amazing what a difference there is between a well run and managed station and a s**thole, even among the national chains. There was an interesting article in the Sunday paper a couple of weeks ago giving the results of the testing of the accuracy of the pumps and one particular station had the highest failure rate IN THE CITY AND ONE CHAIN had the highest failure rate IN THE CITY throughout a whole year.