Sears Auto Center Mgr.
Hahira,#2UPDATE Employee
Wed, November 14, 2012
We react quickly when presented with accusations of this nature. Both so we can take action to satisfy the customer and also to find out if there's a training issue with any of our associates. An impact wrench is never used during an oil change. The 19mm and 21mm impact sockets provided by the company are too large to fit an oil drain plug.
Three months had passed since the service. The vehicle was towed to the facility where the only thing that could be determined with certainty was that the starter would not turn over. Being primarily a tire and battery shop the customer was advised to have the dealership make an un-biased third party decision as to whether or not the engine was locked up and whether or not it could be attributed to service done 3 months prior. They must have disagreed with the customer as well because the customer then notified the corporate office.
Next a third party insurance and liability investigator (neither an employee of Sears nor the dealership) was dispatched to the dealership to conduct an investigation. Thereby removing the option of a simple denial on the part of the service center. These individuals are trained to identify attempts to cover up mistakes by auto centers. It was found that there was no evidence of related repairs.
Every resource was afforded this customer and no expense was spared in an attempt to find fault with this shop at no cost to him. Unfortunately, the outcome was not in his favor so no money exchanged hands.
Regrettable to hear of the personal insults and accusations directed at the Asst. Manager. He is not a technician in the facility and does not perform service on vehicles but he seemed to be a definite target of the report. It can only be hoped that this whole affair was not propelled by personal motives.