Complaint Review: Tuffy Auto Service Center

  That tuffy may have been bad...as many might be....but not all tuffy's are the same...speaking from experience as some are actually very good with excellent customer service--it all depends on the shop.....if you find the right one you might be able to get some really good service and work as many people have....

OK, Chris in AZ--You have totally missed my point, but that is okay, Actually I realize in a BIG Busy shop that would be SO true..but ,,lol,, as I think I stated before: There was NO ONE else in that so called "shop"..NO ONE.. and dust bunnies were going by,lol,,, and STILL do-to this day. As I work by this so called business-I rarely see cars in the bays or in the parking lot, aww... so sad too bad! I only use my GM dealership now and have NEVER had a problem. Then again, when I have used Jiffylube-They did a AWESOME job too. Way to go-to ALL the HONEST and Professional Garages out there who do Right by their customers!

Not entirely true. GM does use an Oil life monitor, however the one you are referring to was only installed on cadillacs until a few years ago ('03ish i believe) Before that it was a three pump gas pedal reset or the switch in the fuse panel inside the door. And both of those resets are timed resets, which you unfortunately cannot reset unless the light is on.

Yes getting your oil changed sooner is better than getting it changed later than your Due date / mileage but if you go too soon and that light isnt on when vehicle is serviced. you cant reset it until it illuminates. It's an easy 5 second fix that every shop will more than likely oblige even if they didnt perform the service on your vehicle granting your oil sticker reflects a recent change. and as for having problems with automotive service of any sort.

if you experience bad service from any other form of business do you just repeatedly call them and tell them they were wrong but never return the actual product as proof or for a refund of some sort? Unless you returned the vehicle to the shop it is very difficult for anyone to actually DO anything about solving these problems.

Oh yeah and as for being short on the phone, in the quick lube industry, when you have a good shop that is nice and busy (my shop averages about 500 to 550 oil changes each week) and customers are screaming for you in the shop lobby, and the phone is ringing off the hook, and the whole crew is running around screaming and yelling, and your trying to get 3 seconds to just get a bite of a sandwich or something, the customer on the phone does often get the short (VERY short) version or explanation.

simply because the larger threat is posed by the guy at the counter slamming his fist repeatedly because he wanted his tire pressure at 45 instead of the 40 that they were placed at and this happens everytime i come here.

you guys always (ALWAYS note that this shows repeat visits to establishment) screw something up. Unfortunately he never says anything, knowing what is goin to happen when he pulls up for service, until you've ruined his whole day for the 10th oil change in a row. But the funny thing is, he swears he will never be back, we are a bunch of imbeciles and his monkey could do a better job, yet in 3000 or some cases 6000 or 12000 miles, i greet him with a smile and say ,"Hello sir, what can we do for you today???".

So in closing, a mechanic is to your car what your pediatrician is to your child....so develop a similar relationship and you will be much more satisfied with the entire experience everytime. And please cut us a break cause we are human, we do make mistakes, but allow us an actual opprotunity to fix it before screaming your gonna sue our pants off cause the valve cap is missing off one of your tires.

I must be missing something, or you are missing something in your rebuttal.

I can't say without a doubt without knowing exactly what vehicle she has... But the Grand am does use the "service indicator light" however it does not come on at a "preset interval"! It is based on driving conditions during that time and could be 3 months or 10 months before it comes on again.

Besides any of that- don't you reset the indicator light when you change the oil???

Susan is right, at least about the fact that you lack customer service skills (again obvious by your poorly written rebuttal above) and that you are ignorant. You are probably better suited to work as a telemarketer, no one likes them anyhow and we HOPE they will hang up on us.

As the consumers can tell by your "TONE" you acted this way in person also. A second opinion was not needed on a oil change..lol.. I let the evidence speak for its self-clearly and precisley.As far as rectifying the problem I did contact the Fl.Better Business and had a wonderful response. As far as mud slinging,it seems I may have hit a nerve, as you are really upset-did you type in TUFFY on ripoff.com? did you SEE how many franchises had complaints? If I were you maybe I would brush-up on my public relation skills and the grease monkey ones too-Oh thats right you were the one sitting behind the desk GREETING the customers in such a professional way. Good Day and hopefully youv'e learned not to treat the public in such a mismanaged way and also to provide better customer service because eventually its catches up with you.Constructive criticism should be a learning tool for you; take it and learn from it.

I would like to address the change oil light first. This light comes on at a preset interval from the last time the light was reset. NOT the last time the oil was changed.

The low oil light comes on when the oil level is low in the oil pan. Oil level in the pan can be low for reasons such as leaks and engine consuming oil from wearing of internal parts.

I would like to sress the point that during all Susan's mud slinging that we were never given the opportunity to rectify her issues, nor recieved verification from any source other than the customer that we did not perform the oil change service correctly. I as a consumer
would have sought out a second opionion on such a serious matter

today is 3/18/06--the sticker Tuffy gave me said to change the oil at 69,193 miles,,, I am only at 68,000 AND....Guess what!-- my change oil light came on today AND something else happened too--my Low oil light came on--now,this is my second grand Am GT and this never happened before NEVERRRR-- so I am thinking that this happened because all along I suspected that the fluids were not even touched! d**n them ..so I called to tell kevin this and he again brushed me off and told me it was my car's sensors malfunctioning--so now its the cars fault...hmmmm ,,, As my husband said Never take your car to a place called TUFFY,,,lol,,,,I laugh because its all I can do and I laugh because with some justice in the world,,maybe one day they will close down UNTIL then ,,I will steer all my fellow friends,coworkers and even strangers away from that wickham rd driveway!! Beware!

Just this week a friend of mine paid $368 dollars for "shop suppies" at a body shop and he was madder than a wet hen because he only had them straighten a car frame. I do a lot of business with them and talked to the owner about it, turned out they charged the money for a couple of wooden 2x4's they used as dunnage while pulling the frame. He got his money back but lesson learned, and I'm looking for another frame shop.

"Shop Suppies" is used to cover all the little crap that cannot be reasonably itemized. This includes various lubricants, cleaners, sealants, dressings, dry sweep, rags, zip ties, electrical connectors, nuts and bolts, cotter pins, screws, etc. It is usually a percentage of the ticket, with a predetermined maximum. I charge 3% of the ticket, up to $25. Some are as high as 10% of the labor, parts, or both.

Waste disposal fees are in some cases regulated by the State. In FL, Batteries and Tires are assigned a specific amount. The parts stores take the batteries back as a core, but it costs money to get rid of tires. The State collects $1.50 per battery from the retailer. The customer pays this, not the retailer. It costs about $2.50 to get rid of a tire. This is in addition to the $1.00 the State collects. Again, the customer pays this. Oil filters cost $50.00 per drum, as does used coolant. The oil itself, is collected up for FREE. The recycler cleans and resells the oil for industrial and commercial use. The solvent in the parts washer is collected by a solvent company for a hefty fee. The State also gets their piece of that action. I use a water based solvent so nobody gets anything from me for that. When it gets too contaminated, it can go right into the waste oil.

In case you are wondering, "shop supplies" came about because everyone wants CHEAP. The CHEAP shops started adding in "SS" to help offset their CHEAP price. The more expensive shops didn't charge "SS". They reduced the parts and labor prices, and added "SS". Customers fell for it immediately. People wanted to save $5 on the repair and went to the CHEAP guy. They still paid the extra $5, but didn't think about it.

I was one of the last of the die-hards to not charge "SS", seeing it as a scam. But, reality set in, along with basic economics. The funny part is, customers would complain if I charged them $5 for the cans of brake cleaner. When I called it "SS", they were happy and didn't say a thing.

Go figure.

Why didn't the "Manager" Kevin Perry say so-- see I come from a occupation where you need to know the JOB you are hired for-I was very clear when I asked him What that charge was for -maybe if he was'nt so d**n rude and short with me he could have shared his "expertise",,but he didn't, he was ignorant.I am the consumer-I should have been treated fairly and politly regardless.

Why didn't the "Manager" Kevin Perry say so-- see I come from a occupation where you need to know the JOB you are hired for-I was very clear when I asked him What that charge was for -maybe if he was'nt so d**n rude and short with me he could have shared his "expertise",,but he didn't, he was ignorant.I am the consumer-I should have been treated fairly and politly regardless.

Why didn't the "Manager" Kevin Perry say so-- see I come from a occupation where you need to know the JOB you are hired for-I was very clear when I asked him What that charge was for -maybe if he was'nt so d**n rude and short with me he could have shared his "expertise",,but he didn't, he was ignorant.I am the consumer-I should have been treated fairly and politly regardless.

That 'shop charge' is unavoidable. It is a taxed imposed by the government for all repair shops. Any shop you go to will have this charge on your bill. It's a Hazardous Waste Disposal charge.