TONY
REDDING,#2UPDATE Employee
Sat, December 01, 2012
I am the manager of the A-1 Smog & Repair on Market St. The reason for the years of delay in response is, we were advised to ignore posts like this a long time ago. I disagreed then and now it is time to set the record straight. I am the advisor you were talking to. I rebuilt my first V-8 engine at the age of 18 years old and rebuilt my first automatic transmission at the age of 17 years old. I am now 52 years old. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but i definitely have a clue.
The facts are as follows, (and can be proven for anybody who wants to see the paper work) you came in for a smog on july 14th and we had to abort out of the test due to high idle, (which is not our option, it is the way the machines work) and you were charged only $15.00. Even though we could not finish the test, we let you know the timing was off. It was advanced which will cause a faster idle. We are not required to tell you this information. I tried to explain to you about the timing but obviously YOU did not get it because you attempted to set the timing and it was still incorrect (or according to you all of our ASE certified technicians, do not know what timing is! *****No I am going to go with you did not understand).
We offered to set the timing and you refused & stated you would do it yourself. When you came back on the 15th you had set the timing incorrectly again (there is a procedure to set the timing on this vehicle). We DID NOT FAIL YOU for it, we told you before testing. That was the issue the day before. (we could have legally tested you & failed you at that time COSTING, you MORE MONEY but we did not) I did tell you all the timing lights were the same, but i did not ignore you, I took you into the shop & showed you with two different timing lights & EXPLAINED THE PROCEDURE. At that time you told us to set the timing, which we did.
At that time YOUR VEHICLE PASSED. Was the idle off? YES because all you did was lower the idle instead of the retarding back the timing like we explained to you. So when we set the timing properly, of course the idle is off but it is now to low!!!!!! Did we charge you for this adjustment NO did fail you for it NO we did not. (THIS MUST BE THE OBVIOUS ACTIONS OF AN UNSCRUPULOUS & CROOKED SHOP, NOT CHARGING FOR THINGS THAT WE COULD HAVE). We NEVER EVEN FAILED YOUR Metro!!!!!!!!
I am looking at the State of California web site right now. We did fail your truck ONCE in 2007 & have not tested it since. it is not our fault your vehicles can not pass an emissions test. OOHH I am sorry, as I forgot you were ONCE a SMOG TECHNICIAN. SO why can't your vehicles pass an emissions test. I guess thats enough said!!!!!!!!!!! we have never failed you all the time as you stated. We did three test for you, one fail, one aborted test & one passed test. The wonders of computers, they keep all the records (proof).
Now to address your costs, the total you paid on both visits was $86.00, NOT $200.00 LIKE YOU CLAIMED. Did we set your timing wrong? NO YOU DID. Do I I have to pay people to do the work yes. Just like you expect to get paid when you do work. Did we overcharge you NO, you cost yourself money by not knowing what you were doing and that is not our fault. We work very hard to take care of our customers and maintain a positive reputation so they will return again, they are the life blood of this business. What I have a hard time following is WHY, Derek would you post such untruths. I treated you with respect the whole time & for you to fabricate this long story is beyond me.
As I said in the beginning I am the Manager I Have no reason to hide behind a made up web name, Metromadness08 (Derek) because We have nothing to hide!!!! My name is Tony & I have no problem showing proof of the facts of what I have written!!!!!!!! In closing let me state we test over 10,000 vehicle a year at this facility alone. To have a few complaints in this number of people, by most standards is pretty good. Which should show that we work extremely hard to keep our customers happy. Our hope is you will come and see us with your vehicle needs!!!!! THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ OUR POSTED RESPONSE.