On Monday, July 12, after working earlier in the day, I drove my car to the PepBoys in Queens, NY 11428 to change a flat tire on the left rear of my car. After driving the car into the garage, I specified that I needed to have my tire fixed and the service person told me to park my car along the wall of the garage and leave the key in the driver side keyhole. He then escorted me to the service area and made me wait about 15 minutes before asking me again what was wrong with the car. I stated again that I needed to have the tire fixed and he then he told me to wait in the waiting area, he will have a mechanic look at it for me. Ten minutes, later the same service person came back into the service area to inform me that the flat tire was unfixable and that I needed a new tire.
I eventually agreed to get the tire replaced and the service person then told me the price of the new tire then informed me to wait again in the waiting area until the mechanic changes my tire. After watching television for about 30 minutes, I heard my car alarm go off for about 20 seconds and then it stopped. A minute later, one of the mechanics came into the waiting area to tell me that the car will not start. We both went into the garage and attempted to start the car to no avail. After attempting to start the car several more times, the mechanic decided to take a look under the hood and had me attempted to start the car again for naught. Then he suggested that we (he, myself and another service person) try to kick start the car by having us push it as he tried to start the car while it was moving.
However, that didn't work as well. We then pushed the car into one of the bays and then popped the hood again. The mechanic then connected a device to the battery of the car and informed me that the problem was not because of the battery. Two service persons then started fidgeting some more with the components under the hood. One of them took an object and started banging away recklessly at the inner components of the car. He then continuously disconnected and reconnected the battery to demonstrate that the battery worked; as he instructed me to try and start the car. After about another 5 minutes of this, they quit and advised me to leave the car and assured me a mechanic would look at it in the morning.
The next day, I got a call at work from a mechanic at PepBoys. He told me that they were not able to determine why my car wasn't starting and that they needed to install a new battery and starter in my car to conduct a diagnostic. After giving an estimate of what that would cost, I agreed to let them install the parts in order to help find what the problem was. I called back two hours later to check on the status of the diagnostic and I eventually spoke to the same mechanic I spoke to earlier. He informed me that they changed the battery and the starter, the car still wouldn't start. He then told me that the problem was with the ignition and assured me that they can fix it quickly because they actually had the part that needed to be replaced within the store. I agreed to let them attempt to fix the problem as long as they were certain that they could fix it.
(Friday, July 16) Since I hadn't received anymore phone calls since Tuesday, I decided to walk to PepBoys expecting my car to be fixed. As I walked into the service area, I saw the hood of my car up and the Service Manager sitting there. She explained to me that the car was still not working and that they needed to have a locksmith determine what the problem was. She also stated that he was on his way and implied that I would be paying for this visit. The Service Manager then instructed a mechanic to show me the car. I briefly examined the car and then the mechanic drew my attention to the interior of the car. With a screwdriver in hand, he demonstrated how my car can now only be cranked with a screwdriver. It wouldn't even start running now. Figuring they would just put the ignition back together, I asked him if they did this just to get the car to start but he shook his head.
I then asked him if they intended to put it back together but he gave me no response. Without hesitation, I stormed into the service area and informed the Service Manager to call the locksmith and tell him not to come, but she stated it was too late. I informed her that I was not paying for the visit and that I also wanted to have all parts they installed on my car removed, including the brand new tire. She informed me that they couldn't do that because I agreed to have them put the parts into the car and couldn't change my mind even though the car was still not working. I explained to her that the only reason that the new parts were placed into the car was because the mechanic who called me on Tuesday told me this was part of the diagnostic. I again stated that I wanted the parts out of the car and I planned to be back on Sunday, July 25 to have the car towed out of there. At first she agreed, but then she advised me to give them more time to try and fix the car. I still told her that I intended to have the car towed out of there on Sunday if the car was not fixed by then.
Sunday, July 18, I again walked to PepBoys and still saw the car in the same position with the hood up. However, this time, I spoke to Assistant Service Manager. I asked him for the Service Manager, but she was not there that day. Frustratingly, I explained the entire story to him after I told him my cell phone number. He told to me he didn't know what was going on as he read notes in the computer. He then excused himself to confer with another mechanic in the garage. As he spoke to the mechanic, I asked him if the car was fixed and if it's not, I intended to have the car towed out of there. He stated that the car was not fixed and that I could tow it. I then asked what was wrong with the car and how much was it going to cost to fix it, but he stated that he didn't know. I then asked for documentation about what occurred earlier in the week because I noticed he was able to find information on it in the system. He also declined to give that to me. I agreed to have the car towed on the condition that PepBoys pay for the towing and he also declined that.
Since that was refused, I then stated that I wanted to complain about what occurred and he gave me the 1-800-PepBoys phone number. I called this number from my cell phone and spoke to a Customer Service Agent named Bruce. After I explained what happened, Bruce asked me to put the Assistant Service Manager on the phone. I gave the phone him and then he spoke to Bruce about what happened and what notes in his system stated about what happened. Then he gave me the phone back and Bruce started telling that it wasn't their (PepBoys) fault. As we argued, he mentioned that I wanted to get the car towed out of there. I agreed but told him that I expected PepBoys to pay for it. He also refused this offer. He then transferred me over to the Towing Department before I could ask anymore questions.
However, I called back abruptly hoping to speak back to Bruce but reached Laura in Customer Service instead. She asked me for information as if she was looking for something in the system and eventually told me there was nothing in the system regarding the previous conversation I had with Bruce. She assured me that the phone calls were recorded and that Bruce would be giving me a call back in 30 minutes. About 45 minutes later, I still received no return call. I then called back and luckily, I was able to speak with Bruce again. I briefly reminded him of myself, my situation and expressed my displeasure with being blind transferred to the Towing Department. I also asked him why there was no documentation of our prior conversation.
After he apologized, we continued to argue for about 5 minutes about who was to blame for the car not starting until he then started asking me what do I want to do? Then he started telling me that I needed to make choices. I explained to him that first of all, I didn't know what he was talking about and secondly, that I couldn't make the best possible choices without all the necessary information. He stated that I should get that from the service manager and I explained to him that the service manager wasn't there and the assistant service manager referred me to them. He then started getting defensive and implied that things were getting more serious if I kept up at doing what I was doing. I simply agreed. I explained to him that I was just upset seeing the mechanics not do anything, while the hood of my car remained up. Then he started saying weird things like "Now, I find myself behind the eight ball" and "Once I start this, process there is no turning back". He questioned how far I would take things to try to scare me. As we continued to argue, he then asked me what do you want to do, complain? So I thought about it and then said if the mechanics are not going to fix my car, then yes I will complain which is what I thought I was doing.
Then I asked him, now I need you to tell me the best way to go about doing that. At this point, he got agitated and even cursed over the phone which completely shocked me. After realizing this, he then started cooperating and offered to file a complaint. As he was noting the complaint, he kept stating he was only interested in the facts while he continuously offered his opinion. I just kept telling him to make sure that the next time I called, that this was all documented. After he documented the situation, I asked him what the next steps were. He told me that it would take 48 hours for the Service Manager to get the request and investigate it. He also told me that the best thing to do was to not tow the car but leave it in order to have them thoroughly investigate everything. I explained to him that the Service Manager didn't accept fault as well and wanted to charge me for new parts my car actually didn't need.
I expressed my anger with this process and requested someone internal investigation. After I finished speaking with Bruce, I informed the Assistant Service Manager that I would be leaving the car to have it looked at because I filed a complaint. On Monday, early in the morning, I got an irate phone call from the Service Manager. She stated that the complaint was received but there was nothing to investigate. I told her to look into it some more but she refused because she said the investigation was already done. I responded, how could it be done if you just got there? She then continued to argue with me and stated that nothing would evolve of this. However, I assured her that I would get my car fixed or get my car towed out of there and PepBoys would be paying for it. To which she responded, we don't work for free here.
Wednesday of that week, I followed up with Customer Service and spoke with Laura again. She informed me that the investigation was completed and I told her that I was still completely dissatisfied. She offered to escalate the investigation to the Store Director, Sammy, and that he would be contacting me shortly. Much to my surprise, in 10 minutes, I received a phone call from Sammy. I briefly explained the situation to him. He assured me that he understood and stated that he would be giving me a call back after he looked into the matter for me. An hour and a half later, I returned a missed phone call from Sammy. I first reached the Service Manager, who eventually forwarded the call to Sammy.
Sammy told me he finished conducting the investigation and that I needed to get some part fixed. He recommended an off-site garage I could go to, to get it fixed but I balked at the idea and stated why not have the car repaired at PepBoys? He said that was a possibility but stated it would cost me. I assured him that I would not pay for the cost of repair of a problem that they were responsible for. He then insisted I pick up the car since I was unwilling to pay to get the car fixed.
Friday, 7/23/10, I called up PepBoys from my cell phone at 10:08AM to check on the status of my car and again, I reached the Service Manager. I informed her that I intended to pick my car up today. She then placed me on a brief hold and stated that the car was not ready because they were replacing the starter in the car because when the mechanics were removing the original starter (which they claimed was bad), they actually broke it. It explained why the car wouldn't start when the mechanic tried to start it with the screwdriver the Friday before. She explained to me that they would replace it with a new one shortly. About 4 hours later, I decided to walk over there to check on the status of the car. This time when I got there, the car was ironically by the wall I initially parked it by but facing the opposite direction. The Service Manager explained to me that they were still not done with the car and that she would be calling me when they were done.
I asked if the car would work once they replaced the starter and she said no. I left and then returned at 6:30PM to find out that the Service Manager left without giving me a call. The Assistant Service Manager was there and he called her to get a heads up on how to handle the situation. He then informed me that the part (starter) was on the way and that they still intended to replace it. I said to him that I wanted to get the car towed out of there after they were done and I reiterated that I wanted it to be paid for by PepBoys. He stated it was not up to him. Ten minutes later, I suddenly got an automated phone call from PepBoys stating that the complaint I filed was resolved.
After waiting around for about 30 minutes, a gentleman handed the Assistant Service Manager what appeared to be a starter (Pro Start) and then a couple of the mechanics pushed my car over to one of the bays and proceeded to put this starter into the car. When they were done, they then started pushing the car out of the garage towards the parking lot. The Assistant Service Manager then stopped them and called me over to ask me how I intend to get the car towed. I adamantly told him that I wanted PepBoys to tow my car. He stated that even if they could tow the car, they don't tow cars from a PepBoys' garage.
I then watched the Assistant Service Manager and another mechanic push the car to the middle of the parking lot. When they were done, they both dusted off their hands and started walking back towards the garage. I then again asked the Assistant Service Manager what the problem was with the car and he pointed at the dismantled ignition. I then asked for an estimate of how much it would cost to fix it and if I could receive documentation. However, he just shrugged his shoulders and walked away. I was left there to call my insurance company to hope they could find a tow truck company for me. Luckily, they were able to locate one rather quickly and I was able to get the car towed back to my house, which is about 2 minutes away, for only $60.