Complaint Review: Midas

i would not want to work for your a*s--you sacrifice your employees feelings to make your customers happy--i as a mechanic do not like to be watched when working--it is equivalant to being a go go dancer in a nudy bar, having guys stare at you,but what makes it worse. i don't get paid to have someone watch me--an auto shop is not a freakin home movie theater--your right-mistakes do happen--and it is better not to make those mistakes infront of these people(98% of people are dicks and lack understanding)(some people are alright)--most people if they want to stare at you do not come up and engage in conversation-they choose to stand there like jerk offs and stare at you with there arms folded--would you like this?--i do not--there is other ways to make customers happy without sacrificing your employees feelings--but hey-there just your employees-who gives a s**t what they feel-as long as the customer is happy right?------------------this is where a good shop comes to play in my view--employees that do GOOD work and know what's up and are left alone to do there jobs without being eye f**ked-if that employee makes a mistake and breaks something(these things happen in this field) he should not have to worry about being fired for breaking something, especially inexpensive!-i have been fired from a job for something like this-but it was easier for the manger to explain i broke something and he fired me to keep mr customer happy and off his a*s!--but managers don't want to take there little hit to there check as well for mistakes--again-a manger willing to take a hit is a good shop/being an honest manager---------------------------in terms of the report itself concerning the belt and tensioner--first off-as another person here stated-you cannot just break a tensioner-some are spring loaded others hydraulic and wear in time--plus this may have been a cover there a*s thing--by the way--did changing just the belt work??-she never mentioned that--also you speak in future,past and present--you say they wanted you to replace the belt and tensioner before they started work for $400-you said just do the belt which cost 180$(which i will admit is a high price)-then they broke the tensioner while putting the belt on and wanted to charge you 220$ more-so i am guessing after you just put the belt on it didn't work--does this mean they knew they would break the tensioner that cannot be broken--it sounds your just pissed off cause you had to buy a tensioner with it--but i will admit, $400 does seem high-so i give you that--in terms of the cruise control to fix your brake lights-it sounds like you had no brake lights working-the fix is a brake light switch which is on the brake pedal--it may have been installed incorrectly for the cruise control to not work--in terms of the brakes for $500--what exactly did this include--pads,new rotors,brake flush for it to be $500--it sounds like you just go to an expensive midas--in terms of the air bag light--you said when the belt broke ou did not drive the car after and had it towed--it may have been possible that when the belt broke it hit a sensor or somehow they unplugged a sensor--get the code checked by another shop and see what they say--if they tell you x sensor is bad-ask to look at it physically-even i would be happy to show you what is up(just as long as you don;t stare at me doing the work unless your going to talk and hang out with me)--and by the way--being a woman doesn't make you stupid-being stupid is what makes you stupid(not to say you are)-but men get overcharged and ripped off just like woman-and you do make a point that you paid for more than was necessary-this happens-but i don't think this happened in your case-based on everything written here-again-i just think you did get overcharged

well it was probably a good thing that you didn't drive your vehical any further because depending on the year, make, model, and the engine size you could have done more damage to your engine, if the water pump is ran off of the serpentine you would have over heated your car and some vehical such as a caravan can have a tensioner with no visual sign of being bad and throw belts, because it lost some of its tension from the sping, and i am very curious what your vehical is and how many miles on it. you do know that nothing on your car and i do mean nothing will last forever expectually a moving componant or a spring 

In response to "Katie" who "knows" the tensioner was bad. The tensioner wasn't bad. My friend is a mechanic and had looked at it previously... showed me the bar of soap trick to stop the squealing and told me I would need to replace the belt soon, as it was dry/brittle. The day it broke, he would have replaced the belt for me if he had been available... but he was at work. Anyway, there wasn't anything wrong with the tensioner. The belt wasn't frayed or anything... yet when they put the new belt on, all of the sudden it's fraying and throwing off pieces because the tensioner was broke by them! They broke it to pad the bill. Plain and simple. I haven't been back since and I will never go there again. They took advantage of me before but this time I was positive of it. They rip you off at this shop... no doubt in my mind.

I agree with the New York Midas employee that you went to the wrong shop. Because I had excellent service at the Midas shop in Novato, California, I went to the Nampa Midas when I was visiting Boise, Idaho. They did a lot of unnecessary and expensive work on my car and did not even fix the original problem. (It had to do with cold weather.) When I contacted Corporate Midas about it, they were no help at all.

I believe the difference in the 2 shops has more to do with the state LAWS than the speed of travel. California has very strict mechanic licensing guidelines and follows up on consumer complaints. Idaho has virtually NO consumer protections. In future, I recommend only going to shops with good referrals from friends or having small jobs, like oil changes, done to get a feel for the shop before something major is required. A franchise name is NOT a guarentee.

I work in the automotive industry. I get so tired of people that are uneducated about cars making statements like this. It is clear to me that the tensioner was bad to begin with and that is why the belt was making noise and broke. It is almost impossible to purposely break a tensioner. I suppose if you took a sludge hammer to it or ran it over with car it might not work then. Most tensioners have internal springs in them. So all I have to say is before you slander buisnesses get a second opinion by some one else (not your babys mamas half sister on her dads side) but by a automotive tech. Dont tell them who did the work so you get an honest answer.

For those of you that have had poor experinces with Midas Auto Service you have been to the wrong Midas. Midas has the reputation they have had for over 50 years due to the service expectations of their employees. As an Assistant Manager at a Midas Auto Service, I can assure those of you that have such a low opinion of Midas must never have visited our store. First off, we have an open door policy. We have nothing hide, we will perform no service that your mode of transportation does not require, and that said offer you to watch while FREE inspections, yes free, are performed. And we invite you to watch us while we perform the services you, as the customer, authorize. Secondly, As an assistant manager I have taken the hit in profits to be sure that my customers are treated with the fairness and satisfaction they expect and deserve. I emplore you that if ever in the area to come into our store and see what the Midas Touch is really about. Lastly, we are not perfect. We make mistakes. We will own up to those mistakes. And I assure you that we will stand behind them 100% and do what ever is needed to ensure you have had the best possible experience in our store. We want you to come see us again. And if we must perform a FREE service to ensure your satisfaction? Trust the Midas Touch when I say we will.

All of the complaints against Midas have mostly come from areas such as Florida, California, coastal areas where everyone is in such a hurry to go nowhere and is rude because of it. Come to the countries heartland and receive the services you ask for at a fair price, the best possible service your money can buy, a warranty backed by Midas upheld by us, and all wrapped in the country charm the midwest has never lost. I invite you, please.