jiffy lube caught red handed !

[ScottAR]

Been sick a couple days...

My main issue with the "pay here" car dealers is most of the cars are totals or severly damaged in my area. Put back together with gum and string and sold as a reliable car. Since some people going there are fairly clueless as long as the paint is shiny, they are paying a premium for low quality. I do not fault the car dealers entirely, No one made the buyers come in and sign on the line. You cannot save people from themselves.

Funny about the big TV talk. I have a friend who worked a deal on a big TV awhile back at a regular electronic store. Big as a house with same as cash payments for about $2k. This was the baddest thing you could get in it's size at the time. He's a techie sorta guy and really wanted it. Paid it off, no worries.

Fast forward a couple years. Different friend buys the exact same TV
for $3k in payments at the rent to own joint. It is no longer the baddest thing you can get. Still paying I guess...

I'm watching a $300 on sale special and I'm still as happy as the first
guy and probably happier than the second. A deal is not always a deal.

 

[LBrown59]

As a youngster when we traveled on vacations from Ohio to South Carolina via Tennessee and Kentucky seeing the Great Smokey Mountains and the Cumberland gap and such along the way I recall my mother's comments about shanty after shanty in view of the highway with big TV antennas.

Living in squalor but with selected certain accoutrements of higher class living is not a new phenomenon as these observations were from the early 1950's.

Pat

Back in the 1950s when I was a kid we would vacation about every summer in the Smokey Mountains and Tennessee and North Carolina and my parents made the same comments about the shantys and the TV antennas.
I've seen the Cumberland Gap and been across the Blue Ridge Parkway several times.

 

[patrick_g]

Back in the 1950s when I was a kid we would vacation about every summer in the Smokey Mountains and Tennessee and North Carolina and my parents made the same comments about the shantys and the TV antennas.
I've seen the Cumberland Gap and been across the Blue Ridge Parkway several times.

LB, then you remember the forest fires, bear jams, and other such.

I can still recall the first time we spent the night at lodgings with a view of the gap in the distance. I liked watching the headlights of travelers as they came through the gap.

Pat

 

[crabjoe]

Like other's have pointed out, this story is OLD. I remember seeing it on 20/20 or a similar TV new show.

With that said, I will tell you I worked at a Jiffy Lube as a teen. And when I worked on a vehicle, I did exactly what the customer paid for. Didn't make any difference whether it was a tranny fuild change or just an air filter. I didn't even think about not doing, if it was on the work order.

Fast forward a few years later... I was over a friends house, that had worked with me, and noticed he had a bunch of tools and what not from Jiffy Lube. When I asked him about it, I was told it was a fringe benefit of working there. He then went on to tell me of how he and another coworker didn't change oil or tranny fluids at time. He told me they would just pop the hood and pretend as if they were doing it.

To say the least, I was shocked. Not because they were paid, but did nothing at times, but because I was working right next to them and never noticed it.

If manager of that store (This was a franchise) would have known what was happening, he would have fired them on the spot. He was the type of guy that would flush the oil at times, at no additional charge. He, the manager now owns a couple stores now.

BTW, while I was there, a new Camaro came in for an oil change and the filter ended up with a double gasket. The car owner was on his way to the beach and half way there, the car just died. He had it towed to a Chevy dealer, that told him the reason was the doubled gasket. My manager (A gear head with friends at a few different local dealerships) went to the dealership to look at the motor, but the dealer had already pulled the motor. So he couldn't really check the motor to see what might have been wrong. He took the dealers word for the problem, then called the store owner for a new motor.

Once the new motor authoriztion was given, the mechanic at the dealership wanted to keep the motor. After a few checking with the dealership's service manager about a core charge, the motor came back with him as our store's property. To make a long story short, there was nothing wrong with the motor, but a sensor. We also couldn't tell if the motor even had been double gasketed because the dealer had removed the filter.

Basically it looked to us that the dealership mechanic was the one committing fraud; and blaming a motor issue on us. It also looked like the mechanic was trying to get himself a new motor (Had less then 2000 miles) for free.

Bottomline is that I doubt the issues in this report was the fault of Corporate Jiffy Lube, or even the owner of the store.

 

[patrick_g]

CrabJoe, Your loyalty after all these years is admirable but as there is a wide range in employees (you and your friend for example) there is also a wide range in store owners and managers. Some are just good people making an honest buck providing a service we the public want and some are slime of varying degrees.

I have seen guys with pretty good initial morality get turned to the dark side by the lower elements of the customer base. Some guys can only take so much whining and cheating by customers before they have to get even or just don't care anymore.

Pat

 

[frank_miller]

I guess someone built a time machine! old vid

 

[TPS]

Well guys all these stories make me want to share these stories with you. It really does not matter where you go unless you really know the people and trust them you better be able to see the work being done!

1. I took my wife's car to a FORD Dealerfor a front end alignment. After the mechanic had it off the machine he readjusted to get the steering wheel straight. About 1000 miles later the inside of the tires were slick and these were almost new tires. I took it back and told them what I saw and the mechanic said yes he did adjust them while off the machine. They gave me two new tires. I give the mechanic a big hand for his honesty and wrote a letter too.

2. I went to DODGE Dealer for an oil filter and lube special. They changed the fluids but as I was able to see through the window they never lubed the truck. When he drove it around I told the service manager and he said yes they did. I said ask him. When he asked the tech. he said oh I forgot. He drove it back in and lubed it.

3. My Father in law went to a GM Dealer for a transmission service fluid and filter change. When we got home we saw that only the front of the pan had been loosened to allow the fluid out but not taken off. There was no way a filter and screen cleaning could have been done.

4. At one of the fast lube places I can't remember if it was a Jiffy Lube or one like it a guy I know went in for a transmission fluid change. When he left he drove just a few miles before the transmission went out. The young guy at the place had filled the transmission with 10w30 oil. They did replace the transmission.
These are the experiences I have known and it just goes to show it can happen anywhere so try to be where you can see the work being done. They don't like for you to do that and I can see why.
Take care guys,
TPS

 

[patrick_g]

TPS, Not to get too philosophical but... The techs don't "FORGET", ...they have no morality, their characters are flawed, and they think whatever they can get away with is OK.

If you can find an honest shop where the pervasive attitude is quality, then you should be willing to pay extra for known good service. If you shop the discount coupons at Wal*Mart, Jiffy Lube, or xxx don't be surprised if the quality of service you get is flawed. Not saying you can't get good service from WallyWorld or JiffyLube or dealer X but WHEREVER you find competent techs and demanding supervision you stand a better chance than the average quickie joint.

Pat