Complaint Review: SuperStation Car Wash

This is a letter that I wrote to the General Partner of this company. I have not even received a telephone call regarding this issue. I am contacting an attorney for advice on the best avenue to use to sue for the damage to my vehicle.


September 30, 2003

General Partner
Super Station Carwash
1560 S. Gilbert Rd.
Mesa, AZ 85204-6008


Dear General Partner:

My name is Nicole. I am writing to inform you that I will never patronize one of your establishments again. I will also make sure that everyone I know is aware of how customers are treated in your stores.

On Saturday, September 27, 2003, I went to your Super Station Car Wash, located at 7700 Auto Plex Loop, Tempe, AZ 85284, to have my oil changed and my vehicle cleaned. The first half of my visit was quite pleasant. Your oil and lube department employees are very polite and their customer service exceeds expectations. However, the last half of my visit was extremely unpleasant. The following is what I experienced.

At about 11:50 AM Saturday following my oil change and $35.44 payment, I walked out of Super Station Car Wash convenience store to wait for my car to be cleaned. As I was sitting at one of the tables I saw my car come out of the automatic car wash and noticed that my right front bumper had been damaged. The right corner of the bumper and the valance were hanging off.

I brought this to the attention of the manager Mario. He asked me This wasn't here before? I said absolutely not. I pointed out that the cut in the silver trim was there but my bumper was not hanging off my vehicle. He then inspected the damage. I asked him if this would be fixed and he said yes. He then said Give me a minute I have to fill out a claim. I said No problem.

He went in to the store and was gone about 5 minutes. He walked back out to my car looked at it some more then walked over to me. He asked for my name and my telephone number, which I gave him. He then stated what he was going to put on the claim form. He said that it was only the upper bumper piece that was damaged. I said no, the bottom piece is broken. He said Let's go look. I showed him the screw hole where the valance attaches to the bumper. He said that they would just put a screw in there to replace it. I explained to him that since the screw hole itself was broken, that just putting a screw in it would not hold. He then told me that he was sure that they could fix it. I asked him Who are they? He said whoever we send it to. I explained to him that you cannot repair plastic you can only replace it. He then said Okay, I'll put that on the claim. I said Fine. I followed him to the rear of the store where he entered a door marked employees only.

I waited for him outside for about 3 minutes then entered the store to ask the cashier, Fred, if there was a general manager or district manager. Upon entering the store I saw Mario leaving through the front of the store with another gentleman. Before I could speak with Fred, Mario came into the store and asked to see me outside. While walking over to my car he told me that he was not trying to be hard but he just can't replace the bottom part. He also said that there was another manager that had looked at the damage and the other manager said it was existing damage. I said no it wasn't. Mario then told me that the other manager would not be as nice as he is.

While approaching the rear of my car with Mario, the other gentleman walked out to the rear and introduced himself as Dennis, the site manager. He told me that some screws had just come out and he had sent one of his guys to get some screws to put it back on. I then attempted to explain to him the same thing I had explained to Mario. He very rudely talked over me and interrupted me while I was trying to explain that the plastic was broken and simply putting in another screw would not fix it. He then stated that it was existing damage and that putting new screws in it was all he was going to do. I said to him no you're not just going to put a screw in it. He asked me if I wanted him to fix it. I said yes but I wanted it fixed properly. He then said "I can have one of my guys put a couple of screws in it but that is it." He told me flat out that he was not going to pay to have the bumper piece replaced. He then asked again if I wanted him to have one of his guys put some screws in it. I said no I do not want you to touch my vehicle again. I asked for a business card and a copy of the claim he was writing. He said fine. I then told him that he would be hearing from my attorney.

I accompanied him back into the store where he gave me a business card with a printed name scratched out and just his first name written and a copy of the claim. (Please note, that on the claim form, Mario did indicate the lower bumper. It appears that Dennis added a statement below Mario's that I really could not understand as the writing is illegible.) He (Dennis) then left the store.

I then bought a camera ($9.72) and asked the other cashier on duty if there was a general manager or district manager. She seemed a bit confused about what I was asking for so I asked for the corporate office. She indicated to me that the number printed on the bag for the Gilbert location was the corporate office.

I then went back to the oil and lube part and spoke with the manager, Jeff Zazzo and the tech that did my oil change, Matt Bowman. I asked them if they had a business card. Jeff said he was out so I asked if I could get their names. Jeff asked very politely what this was about. I asked him and Matt if my right front bumper was hanging off when they changed my oil and inspected my vehicle. They both said that the fog light was broken and I said yes it was but my bumper was not hanging off. They both agreed with me and said when it left their area the bumper was intact. They both offered any assistance they could. I thanked them but said no I will take care of it.

I then went back out to my car to take photos of the damage. Dennis was there, next to my car, arguing with another customer that said his car (a black Jeep Grand Cherokee) had been damaged as well. While standing in front of my car, I noticed a black plastic piece just sitting on the curb. It appeared to have been removed from the area of my vehicle where the right piece of my bumper attaches. I took 2 pictures of that part sitting on the curb and then asked Dennis if this was a part of my car. He said yes and leaned over and picked it up. He then reached over and pushed on the area where it attaches. I asked him again to please not touch my vehicle. He mumbled something that I could not understand. That indicated that one of the employees had taken the part off of my vehicle sometime between the times that I followed Dennis into the store and when I went back to my vehicle to take photographs. Upon taking the Piece from Dennis, I saw that someone had forced larger screws onto the piece, damaging it further.

The owner of the other vehicle asked What is this? I said to the man My bumper was broken by the car wash. At the same time Dennis commented to the other vehicle owner This is just somebody trying to get something for nothing. I then turned to Dennis and told him that I have worked my behind off for everything that I have and I do not try to get something for nothing. He then said That's obvious. I asked What's obvious? He then said That it is preexisting damage, nodding his head toward the front of my vehicle. I said no it is not. I did state to both Mario and Dennis that the cut in the silver trim and the broken fog light was existing damage but my bumper was not broken and falling off. He then walked off back toward the store.

I got in my car but my keys were not in it. I had to yell to him across the parking lot Can I please have my keys sir? He indicated with a flip of his hand toward the drying area that they were over there. As I approached the drying area Mario tried to give me a set of keys to someone else's Ford vehicle. I said No I do not have a Ford I have a Chevrolet. After getting the correct set of keys, I left.

On my way home I noticed that the interior had not been cleaned. Only the front and back seat floorboards had been vacuumed not the back hatch area. The leather and vinyl areas of the interior do not appear to have been touched at all.

Not only did your machines damage my vehicle, your employees did not do their jobs and complete the cleaning of my vehicle. Neither of your managers attempted to be polite and Dennis essentially called me a liar. I do not appreciate being treated this way. I have worked with the public for 11 years in a variety of situations. I am appalled at the way this situation was NOT handled. Enclosed you will find photographs of the damage and estimates to repair the damage. Also included is a copy of the claim form given to me by Dennis as well as copies of my receipts.

I am requesting that the damage to my vehicle be repaired in the proper fashion and that I be provided a rental car. It was indicated to me that it will take up to two days at Kale's Collision Center to repair my vehicle. I have only the one vehicle and cannot afford to be without transportation. Additionally, I believe reimbursement for the $35.44 that I paid to your establishment would be appropriate. I would appreciate being compensated for the additional expenses I have incurred to notify you of this incident, namely, the $9.72 for the camera that I had to purchase as well as the $12.39 for developing the film. I feel this is only fair.

Having been a business owner myself, I am familiar with those that attempt to defraud and can appreciate the need to limit damage claims to only those that are legitimate. However, I would be absolutely infuriated to have my employees treat a customer as I was treated.

Accordingly, if this situation has not been rectified to my satisfaction within 30 days from the date of this letter, I will be forced to pursue legal action. I truly hope we can both avoid the costliness of litigation.

Please feel free to contact me should you need any further information or would like to discuss this matter. I would be happy to bring my vehicle to you for a personal inspection as opposed to just photographs.
Respectfully,
Nicole

Nikki
Tempe, Arizona
U.S.A.