| | So, my car broke. Yeah, I was surprised too. In all the time I've owned my vehicle, I've only had to do simple repairs on it, like oil changes and to replace the tires, little things like that. So I was shocked when I was in the Walmart parking lot, I turned on my car, drove six feet and the engine suddenly sounded like a Mac truck barreling down the highway. My exhaust had fallen off the manifold and was dragging along the ground. Since I was at Walmart, the closest repair shop was Canadian Tire, which has a cute nickname a lot of people might not know: Crappy Tire. But I was in a bind and my vehicle is important to me, so I decided to leave my car in their care and get it fixed.
I was called the next day and told my car needed a new exhaust pipe and catalytic converter. That's some expensive stuff, but I was prepared for it. I was also prepared to walk to work for the next couple of days. That's not so bad. I wasn't actually too depressed about my car being in the shop, since the weather was nice for walking and I didn't need to go anywhere but work. I rather liked the walks. They reminded me I'm not totally dependent on a machine after all.
After a few days, I got a call saying that my car was done! I was thrilled, so I walked up to Canadian Tire as soon as I got the call. It's nice to walk and be healthy and good to the environment for a while, but, dammit, I want my car. It was like 6 in the evening, so the guy at the parts desk was leaving for the day and had to drop my key off at the customer service desk. When I got there, they were training a new girl on the cash register. These should have all been clues. But I ignored the signs and got my key and hopped into my newly repaired car. As soon as I turned the ignition, I realized just why it's nicknamed Crappy Tire.
The exhaust clunked against the frame, like it was loose. I was concerned. But the auto service desk was closed and my car was a hell of a lot quieter than it was when I brought it in. So I drove home. Every time I made a left turn, it clunked again. If I idled in gear, it rattled. Whatever they had fixed, they had fixed it wrong. I paid $700 for them to do a sub par job repairing my vehicle. I was pissed.
I needed my car for the next few days, so I kept it, knocking noises and all, until I was through with my errands. I let my rage simmer for a while. Today, I went back to Crappy Tire and found the guy I had first talked to about fixing my car. He just works behind the desk, he's a nice guy and not at fault. I was still pissed, though. I have this quiet anger thing about me and people always think I look angry anyway, so I just narrowed my eyes a bit more than usual, spoke in a very distinct tone and let him know that I was not pleased with the repair job that had been performed. He looked a little nervous, actually, probably because I had asked how my car had gotten out of the repair bay and into the parking lot if the noise I'm hearing is so obvious. No doubt he wondered that too, so he went out to the repair bay and talked to the guy who had fixed my car...a kid near my age. They let some apprentice fix my car? What crap! This kid probably thought I wouldn't care if my car clunked a bit now and then. Man, was he wrong.
When the guy, Walter, came back, he asked if it would be okay if I brought my car back later to get it looked at. I sighed and looked even more pissed. They were obviously busy and I had expected this, but I decided to make them feel guilty. I explained my situation, that I work nights and I have to walk all over town without my car, so when should I bring back my car? Tomorrow at around 8 would be good...but, oh wait, Matt, the douche idiot who couldn't fix my car in the first place isn't working. How about Thursday? Fine. I will drop my car off and then sit in the waiting room for as long as it takes to fix and while I'm waiting, I'll talk to the manager about his shit employees and total lack of quality control. I mean, I paid $700 for this. I paid $700. Seven hundred dollars. And for what? Bonus repair work? I didn't realize there was a deal of buy one repair, get one free.
The funny thing is, that Canadian Tire calls for an automatic followup to see how pleased you are with their work. So I rated them a 1 out of 5 and left a brief message about how shitty they are. During my rant, the computer voice interrupted and said "Thank you" and then quit. I was so shocked, I just yelled "FUCK YOU!" and hung up. I wasn't done ranting! They need to understand how angry I am! I'll make them understand on Thursday. If I have to speak to the fucking company president or sit in at a board meeting, I don't care, I'll make them understand. If I have to make my point by asking to buy a gun on my way out, they'll get the hint.
So I don't recommend Canadian Tire for your auto service needs. Not at all.
~N°©†u®n€
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| | Posted 9/22/2009 12:24 PM - 1 View - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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