Alternative Auto Care

Service Provider Response

We are always glad to hear from our customers – even if they are unhappy with their experience – because it helps us to improve and to give better customer service to our clients. After reading your review – I did a bit of research into what may have gone wrong. It appears to me that the biggest issue was a lack of clear communication on our part and for that I apologize. I did see where there were 2 concerns; one being the ABS/traction light and the second being the sputtering and jerking performance issue. I agree that I do not see those well documented on our repair order. I believe that we did the correct thing in inspecting the brakes – because that is the first step in diagnosing an ABS or traction control light, however that was not communicated to you properly. It seems that the cost of that inspection may not have been clearly explained to you in advance. The 50 point courtesy inspection is complimentary – always. The report that you received shows several items that may have accounted for your sputtering issue. Again the fault seems to lie in our lack of clear communication in explaining that to you. The dirty air filter, worn spark plugs and carbon build up in the plenum could certainly account for your symptoms. There was nothing in our inspection to indicate a bad fuel injector. The age of your vehicle (2010) and the low mileage (79000) make it very unlikely that a fuel injector is failing, but again our failure to explain that these failing maintenance items might account for the symptoms was not explained properly, nor was it properly documented on the work order. We always try to go above and beyond – so little things like replacing a bulb or installing your license plate are things that we do at no charge as a way of saying thank you for your business. We value our customers; we stand behind our work and always honor our warranty. I am sorry that you had to come back a second time to deal with a noise – but I am pleased to see that my staff took care of it promptly and at no additional cost. I recognize that having to come back a second time is inconvenient. Again I apologize – my technicians are human and as such they do occasionally make mistakes – but we are committed to addressing them quickly and completely. I believe that how a business addresses those occasional mistakes makes all the difference in the world. I am always striving to improve my business and to improve the effectiveness of my staff, in particular their communication skills. I want to thank you again for pointing out the problems that you experienced, as it allows me to make positive changes so that we can deliver better service in the future. I would be happy to discuss this with your further if you so desire. Feel free to call the shop and ask to speak to me. I hope you will consider giving us a second chance to provide you with the kind of service experience that you deserve and that we try hard to deliver. Chris Cozad, Owner Alternative Auto Care

Service Provider Response

Hi Member- glad you had a great experience - we strive for that with every customer. I am making the leap that you mean " I have used this auto repair shop three time..." not I have "sued" three times! Hope to see you again (but not too soon) Chris

Service Provider Response

I just recently came across this report and wanted to take time to respond. It took some digging in my records to locate this customer / vehicle as the dates / customer name did not match-up exactly. I was finally able to match based on both the description of work and the street address. I pride myself on being able to work with customers to ensure that they are happy with their experience at Alternative Auto Care - Iit truly is part of the alternative! I encourage anyone who has an issue with a repair shop in general and Alternative Auto Care in particular, to talk to the owner or manager. We can not correct / address problems if we do not know that they exist. Our employees are human and they do make mistakes. It is very much a part of our philosophy that it is how you address mistakes is what actually sticks with people. According to my records we did give estimates on several other recommends services - however there is not a good description of exactly what the customer originally requested - so I can not say if the list was complete or not. I continually remind my staff of the importance of good detail on repair orders - so that - if we need to go back and look we can tell what happened. Clearly they fell short of the mark in this particular case. I am sorry that this customer was unhappy with their experience. We are a relatively small shop and as such sometimes do get behind schedule - and occasionally we don't "get" to a car because the job ahead of that one ran long. I try to impress on my staff the importance of keeping the customer informed about progress ( or lack of it) in those situations. It is unacceptable that something like this would happen twice, and I apologize for that and for the lack of good communication. Doing work without authorization is completely unacceptable. Based on the repair order (although it is incomplete) it does not reflect our having given these folks an estimate. I assure you that is not our normal and usual practice - in fact it is considered a very serious offense and potentially can result in disciplinary action. All I can say that it rarely happens although it appears to have happened here - again had management know there were things that could have been done at the time. I invite you to give us another try - I guarantee you will have a different (positive) experience the second time around. It is never too late to apologize and try to make a customer happy - give us a call and ask to speak to me - (the owner Chris) I would be happy to discuss this with you.