Having just experienced the "exit ramp window cleaner game" on a somewhat more inclusive scale (automotively speaking), I felt compelled to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). Wait...what is the "exit ramp window cleaner game" you ask??? To take part in this "game" you need an exit ramp, a crackhead, a car with an intact windshield, a brick, and a damp rag (spray bottle optional).
The game is pretty simple. A crackhead approaches your car with a brick in one hand, and a rag in the other. The choice is given to the driver of either paying the crackhead to "clean" your window, or face the brick through the aforementioned intact windshield. The end result is that either way the driver gets a clean windshield. It is probably not a very fun game for the driver, but the crackhead makes a profit while appearing to do hard work.
My experience in dealing with my own insurance company, and a local auto shop has left me feeling like the driver in the "exit ramp window cleaner game". My car was held hostage while the shop, and my insurance company played games. Two weeks of them going back and forth, an attempt by the shop to see if they could get any cash out of me, and an absent insurance adjuster had me frustrated beyond belief. I decided to pick up my jeep.
Faced with the possibility of losing the insurance companies deep pockets, the auto shop decided to make it hard by coming up with a magic "vehicle storage fee" number. They assured me that the owner had done me a favor and cut the number in half. But, if I wanted to pick up my jeep I would have to come out of pocket with 390 bucks. So my options were pay 390 dollars for "storage", or get the work done despite the fact that I never received an estimate.
Long story short, I was leveraged into getting the work done. The work was awful, the part was not even for my jeep. The shop jammed it on anyway, telling me that I needed to take it up with my insurance company. My insurance company told me to take it up with the shop. So while those guys use each others policies to absolve themselves of any responsibility, I sit with a broken jeep, a vague sense of being violated, and frustration that's rapidly diminishing as I type.
I don't like being scammed. I don't like it when the company that is supposed to be watching out for me assists in the scamming. Being an honest, and reputable business person is not that hard. I cancelled my insurance, went with a new agent, and I won't be taking my car back to that shop.
To the shop owner...
Being intentionally misleading,dodging direct questions, and performing horrible work all while touting yourself as the champion of the little guy is deplorable. So here is the little guy taking power back. You got me...no doubt. But, you only get me once. Is it really worth it?
Had you been an honest business person you would have me, my family, and my friends for life...what do you think would have put more money in your pocket? You played checkers in a chess world. Not very smart.
The images depict random holes that were not in my old tailgate, a rip in the window that I was charged 200 dollars to replace (no new window yet), and stripped/unpainted screws for the tailgate hinge. I was charged to replace those as well. Additionally, they seemed to drill random holes to route wires...wires which were hidden in my old tailgate.
My tailgate looked better immediately after the accident.
No comments:
Post a Comment