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| - They made it good, but ...
I made an on-line appointment for an oil change. I got there a few minutes early. I was told there was one car ahead of me, but I was next. I sat in the waiting room. 20 minutes after my appointment time, my car had not moved. I went to the desk.
"My appointment was for 11, What's happening?"
"Oh, you're next."
"How long will this take? I need to get home soon."
"30-45 minutes."
Another 20 minutes goes by and my car is still sitting where I'd left it. I marched out to the desk and said, "please give me my key back." Of course, this did not make them happy.
I had an appointment! What is the good of an appointment if they do not honor it? Well, here's what they told me -- the appointment system was put in place by "headquarters." It basically means nothing. When I'd gone on-line to make an appointment, the entire day was apparently open from 7 a.m. until closing. Nothing was blocked out. It seems you can make an appointment for anytime your little heart desires. The fact that 10 other people may have made an "appointment" for the very same time does not matter.
Ed, the store manager, apologized up one side and down the other, but the fact was that I had wasted over an hour on what was a busy day for me. That was why I had made an appointment so I could be sure to get home in time. I was peeved -- to say the least. Ed offered me a free oil change and asked me to come back. I did go back a few days later. And yes, they got me in and out in 30 minutes, Why could they have not done that last week?
I mentioned this to a friend and she said the exact same thing had happened to her -- a 2 hour wait even though she had made an appointment.
I promised Ed that I will contact the Pep Boys organization and rant at them. I felt sorta bad for the people in the store because it sounded like they were caught in a situation of someone else's making. Nevertheless I see no reason to go back. There are too many other places to get my car serviced.
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