One Sixth Warriors Forum banner

I need to vent . . . I despise Jiffy Lube/Heartland Automotive

3K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  dimedrop 
#1 · (Edited)
See subject.

My father brought in his 2011 GMC Sierra truck for a routine oil change on 1/27/2016 at the Jiffy Lube location near his home.

The technician servicing the truck broke/damaged the ATF dipstick tube assembly due to carelessness when it pulled out. My father observed/witnessed it.

The technician feigned ignorance and attempted to blame my father for the damage. The technician told my father to take his truck to the dealership for repair/replacement. The technician refused to take any responsibility for his own carelessness in breaking/damaging the dipstick tube.

My father had the dipstick tube repaired/replaced at the dealership and brought the invoice back to this location. He spoke with another employee. My father presented the employee with the invoice and asked what they will do to compensate the amount for the repair/replacement. The employee became irate and told my father he’ll need to call corporate with no additional details or information on how and when the follow up will occur.

My father asked the employee for his name. The employee angrily told my father he is not obligated to provide him with his name and told him to get the hell off the premises or he’ll call the police. My father was not being abusive or confrontational in any way during the interaction.

The area district manager became aware of the issue on 1/30/2016, but declined to contact me after a couple of follow up calls from me. I called Jiffy Lube corporate in Texas and was informed they would follow up with Leyon and me. Jiffy Lube corporate told me the very rude customer service by the employee and broken/damaged component will be addressed.

I took the initiative and finally reached the district area manager on the morning of 2/3/2016. He sounded as if he was not interested in the situation and stated up front that he will not compensate the broken/damaged dipstick tube and claimed they break all the time due a faulty design and quality. He stated he’ll deny and refuse any compensation by claiming it’s not their fault regardless of the technician’s recklessness.

Furthermore, he claimed the employee in question stated that my father was being abusive and combative and that is why he responded the way he did and the employee was supposedly put on final notice. His demeanor and voice on the phone clearly indicated he didn’t care about any of the issues.

The area district manager initially refused to provide me with the contact information for his manager (regional manager) until I had to press the issue.

My father has been a loyal Jiffy Lube customer for more 20 years going through at least three vehicles. My father is 70 years old. The absolute rude and unprofessional treatment by the employee who told him to leave with the threat of calling the policemen is shameful. I asked him if the audio and video recording of the interaction from the security cameras in the office can be pulled. He refused to address that.

The dismissive attitude and lack of respect towards the issue along with his cavalier responses clearly shows he doesn’t give a damn and nor does Jiffy Lube corporate.

I went up the corporate chain and spoke with the area district manager's boss. He too was equally if not more dismissive and stated without hesitation they own no responsibility for a defective and inferior part regardless of the damage caused by their technician and my father needs to take it up with the dealership.

I replied that he's refusing to any ownership of the issue regarding the damage and the rude employee. He then stated that he considers that response a personal attack and ended the call.

Don't you just appreciate good old fashioned American corporate customer service?
 
See less See more
#4 · (Edited)
Did the employee break the part by using it incorrectly? Or did the part break due to wear, tear and design flaw? I work in Auto Service and Repair and sometimes stuff breaks. It happens. I'm not going to replace a broken part for free unless my technician actually broke it as opposed to the part breaking when my technician used the part the way it was meant to be used. Removing a dipstick is kind of hard to do incorrectly. That said, if I were interested in continuing to service your father's vehicle, I'd try and work out some kind of happy compromise that might allow the relationship to continue.

In general, car owners should try to avoid corporate auto service franchises that tend to focus on the value of a one-time transaction. Find an independent after-market service location that is focused on building a relationship with you, your family and their vehicles. Pop in unannounced one day and ask to speak to the owner. How the location handles that request will likely tell you whether or not you should be bringing your vehicle there.

My shop is in Canada, but I know good shops throughout North America. If you wanted to PM me your address, I might be able to recommend someone.

BTW, try Googling "2011 GMC Sierra ATF Dipstick Tube broken". You will see that this is known issue and GM did open a recall campaign. You might be better off trying to get the Dealer to credit back the work they did as it was probably covered under an open recall.
 
#5 ·
Did the employee break the part by using it incorrectly? Or did the part break due to wear, tear and design flaw? I work in Auto Service and Repair and sometimes stuff breaks. It happens. I'm not going to replace a broken part for free unless my technician actually broke it as opposed to the part breaking when my technician used the part the way it was meant to be used. Removing a dipstick is kind of hard to do incorrectly. That said, if I were interested in continuing to service your father's vehicle, I'd try and work out some kind of happy compromise that might allow the relationship to continue.

In general, car owners should try to avoid corporate auto service franchises that tend to focus on the value of a one-time transaction. Find an independent after-market service location that is focused on building a relationship with you, your family and their vehicles. Pop in unannounced one day and ask to speak to the owner. How the location handles that request will likely tell you whether or not you should be bringing your vehicle there.

My shop is in Canada, but I know good shops throughout North America. If you wanted to PM me your address, I might be able to recommend someone.

BTW, try Googling "2011 GMC Sierra ATF Dipstick Tube broken". You will see that this is known issue and GM did open a recall campaign. You might be better off trying to get the Dealer to credit back the work they did as it was probably covered under an open recall.
--

The Jiffy Lube technician was supposed to turn it a bit and then remove it, but he just haphazardly pulled it out resulting in breakage.

I did find out about the recall, but here is the hilarious part.

The GMC service department manager told me the open recall was in 2014, but it has since closed and they're under no obligation to repair/replace it at their cost regardless of what GMC corporate may tell them. The service department manager was very adamant about it. He was polite, but adamant. He further stated my father brought the 2011 Sierra in for service only once to their dealership and no other GMC dealership based on the VIN and that was when he came to get the ATF dip stick assembly replaced/repaired. He told me to contact GMC, but went out of his way to tell me they have no obligation to follow what GMC will tell them to do.

OK.

I called GMC Customer Assistance and explained the situation completely and thoroughly.

After a few calls and some annoying representatives, a case was opened and all details and documentation were provided.

Initially, GMC CA stated they didn't have to compensate my father because according to the Sierra's VIN, the record shows the dip stick assembly was previously replaced as part of the open recall.

I then explained how can that be when the vehicle was purchased back in 2010/2011 and brought to the dealership for the very first time to replace the dip stick tube at my father's expense in 2016 considering the open recall was in 2014 and the recall was closed? My father never took the truck to any other GMC dealership since purchase.

The representative/case manager I spoke with had no response to that.

After a few more calls, GMC will be refunding my father the full cost of repair/replacement based on what I was informed last week.

One thing is for certain, Jiffy Lube/Heartland Automotive and GMC are god damn crooks and liars.

My father will never patronize a Jiffy Lube again and at this juncture he told me he'll likely never buy another GMC truck after experiencing such idiocy and poor customer service.

Brand loyalty don't mean jack anymore.

I've had much better experiences with my Hyundai Santa Fe, Subaru Forester, and Subaru Outback because I personally known the dealership's General Manager (long time family friend since the late 70s).

My father is glad the issue is now behind, but he does lament the sad fact that there is no build or trust of customer relationship and service anymore that has been the new reality for many years for virtually all businesses.

I appreciate you chiming in dimedrop.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top