| rev:text
| - Truly awful.
My car was vandalized during a theft, and significant damage was done to the body. I have Progressive insurance, which has a partnership with Gates in the Madison area, so I was required to take my car to Gates.
I dropped my car off at Gates on Thurs., and was told I would be quoted a completion date in 1-2 days. The first estimate was that my car would be finished the following Fri. When they called to give me an update on the status of the repair early the next week, another Gates employee said the repair would be done Thurs. (sweet - a day early) but a follow-up call from my ins. rep. returned the date to Fri. (boo - not early.)
When I went to pick the car up on Fri., I immediately noticed several issues with the repair - the front passenger door was shifted farther forward than the front driver door; a piece of the front grill was not installed correctly, so it was not flush with the side of the car, stuck out, and had a certain amount of give when pressed; there was also bubbling/dimpling to the paint along the front of one door.
I could not leave my car at Gates all weekend, so I noted these issues to a Gates employee, who took pictures and promised to document the complaint.
She also told me that the paint bubbling would "settle" over time (this strange claim was later repeated by a mechanic, who said what the "paint" on the door edge is really a sticker that will flatten "when the sun shines on it" - what?!)
I informed Progressive of the unresolved issues, and they arranged a new appointment at Gates, along with a Gates loaner for the repair of the repair. When I went to drop my car off the second time I was told that I could not get a loaner without presenting a physical copy of my drivers license, which I did not have because it was stolen when my car was vandalized. I offered to show a copy of my temporary license, but the employee declined to look at it, and said it didn't qualify as a license. (I understand this policy, and am not particularly irritated by it, but I mention it because it led to other issues later and was pretty wretchedly inconvenient at the time.) I left Gates without dropping off my car because without a loaner I needed it to drive to/from work.
That Friday, I called Gates to ask about dropping my car off on Saturday morning. Gates keeps Sat. hours, and this seemed like the most convenient way to give them a head start, hopefully decreasing the amount of time during the work week that I would be without a car.
At this time, I was told by a Gates employee that Gates only does "warranty work" Mon-Thurs. It seems to me that if Gates broke it, Gates should fix it, no matter what day of the week it is. Gates should focus on the customers they already have before seeking out new ones, at least until they learn how to get a job right on the first try. I told the employee that it was unacceptable that they would put limits on the time available for "warranty work," and that I really needed this issue resolved ASAP. The Gates employee said they would check with their boss and call me back.
When the Gates rep called back, they said that the earliest anyone could look at my car would be Mon. morning. I restated my concerns about being without a car during the week, and reminded the employee that I could not get a loaner, because my new license had not arrived. At this point, the employee told me that Gates could arrange, and compensate me for rides to and from work.
I then arranged to drop off my car at 7:30 a.m. Mon. morning; Gates asked me what time I wanted to be at work, and said they would have a cab waiting for me at 7:30.
When I arrived at Gates to drop off my car, there was no ride readily available. The employee who checked in my car called a coworker to ask if they could give me a ride; they could not. She then left the desk to go ask in the back of the shop; no one was available. Only at this point did Gates call a cab, which arrived at the shop at around 8 a.m.
On Tues. morning, I called Gates to find out their procedure for comping me a cab ride to work. My first call went unanswered. My second call was answered by the receptionist, who listened to my request, put on me on "hold," and transferred me to a mechanic without explaining the situation. That mechanic told me that it is not Gates's policy to comp rides anywhere except to/from the shop, under any circumstances. I told him what the other employee said, but he just repeated that it isn't their policy, and he would not honor the other employee's word, though he could drop the car off at my work after the last part he needed for the repair was delivered, at some mysterious time later in the day (not super helpful, since I had no ride to work to take delivery of my car.)
My experience with Gates has been so unremittingly awful that I am leaving Progressive (whom I like) just to make sure I never have to experience Gates's shoddy work and terrible customer service ever again. Avoid.
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