Fellow Triumphers,
Here is a letter I stumbled over while in rec.autos.tech. I then
went to this guy's homepage and he seems to know what he's talking. He
asked that this letter be posted elsewhere, so decided this would be good
place. It's incredible people try and screw others over like this. I'm glad
I read it, or else I probably would have been pulled into it as well.
The Letter:
Today my wife and I encountered the worst case of customer service we have
ever had the
displeasure of receiving. We went to the Econo Lube N' Tune listed above to
have our car's oil
changed. What happened was not a case of my simply disagreeing with a
service suggestion, but a
situation where the assistant manager misrepresented documented facts about
absence of red dye in
transmission lubricants (based on information from my Chevrolet Owners
Manual). On this basis,
and this basis only, he attempted to mislead us into believing our
transmission was on the edge of
collapse.
Here's what happened. Keith, the assistant manager, approached me while my
oil was being
changed. He wanted to show me something about my car, so we followed him to
the service bay
and stood in front of my car's open hood. I knew he was going to suggest
some repair and/or
maintenance work be done on our vehicle since this is how most "quick lube"
shops earn their
revenue and stay in business. I expected him to do it and I have no qualms
with him making
suggestions based on sound mechanical knowledge or obvious indications of
pending mechanical
failure.
As we stood in front of my car he showed me a sort of "chart", a laminated,
white, 8 1/2 by 11
sheet of paper with these words at the top: "Your Car's Transmission Fluid"
on the left side, and
"New Transmission Fluid" on the right hand side. He had dripped a small
amount of each
transmission fluid on the appropriate sides. I am quite familiar with the
sight of new and used
automotive lubricants, having been an employee at a Conoco Lubricants
Distributor for over 10
years.
Keith informed me that because my transmission fluid is brown and the new
transmission fluid is
red, my transmission was on the verge of mechanical failure! He stated in
no uncertain terms that
"he would not trust this car to go another 100 miles. It's (the
transmission) about to fail!". I smelled
the transmission dipstick fluid to check for a burnt odor, which IS an
indicator that the fluid needs
immediate changing. There was no burnt odor or abnormally appearing
discoloration of the
transmission fluid. He also showed me my air filter (it was dirty) and,
peering into my coolant
reservoir, discerned that my cooling system probably needed servicing (not
a bad suggestion).
I thanked Keith for his diagnoses and explained that I didn't have time for
those things now but
would consider them in the future. He again asserted his belief (tried to
scare us) that the
transmission would fail in the next few days if not serviced immediately.
As I was writing out my check to pay the bill, Keith, in an apparent
attempt to belittle me, said
"Boy, I sure hate to see someone treat their Chevy like that...". His
co-worker next to the counter
said "Who?" and Keith pointed at me and said, "This guy won't change his
transmission fluid even
though his tranny's almost shot!". I was shocked into silence. What an
unbelievable lack of
customer service! My wife and I were both simply amazed at his abusive,
arrogant and patronizing
attitude.
Knowing better, I argued "The fluid doesn't smell burnt, the color is
normal, and the tranny isn't
almost shot." Keith replied, "Yes it is! It needs serviced now! Check your
owner's manual."
Feeling very much abused and mistreated, I paid for my oil change and left
the premises.
Enclosed you will find a copy of page 256 of my 1990 Chevrolet Corsica
Owner's Manual. Under
the heading "Automatic Transaxle Fluid - What to Look For" the paragraph
states:
"When new, automatic transaxle fluid is red. Red dye is added so the
factory can
easily tell transaxle fluid from engine oil (brown) or antifreeze
(green). The red dye
doesn't help the automatic transaxle and doesn't show fluid quality.
And the red
dye doesn't last, so as you drive your new Chevrolet, the transaxle
fluid will begin
to darken and may get to be light brown. This does not mean there is
anything
wrong with your transaxle. If you have any questions about your automatic
transaxle, contact your Chevrolet dealership Service Department."
In my opinion, Keith, acting as a representative of Econo Lube N' Tune,
used intentional deception
in an attempt to cause a person (me) to give up property (my money).
My goals for this letter are two-fold: I want to educate as many people as
possible about the
misleading practice that I observed at this location; and I 'm demanding,
as a consumer, that they
cease and desist any and all misleading attempts to generate additional
income. You can be assured
that my wife and I will never utilize the services of ANY Econo Lube N'
Tune in the future and will
encourage others to do the same.
10/1/96 - In a subsequent call to complain to them, Raul Fraguso told me
that they use that
"Transmission Fluid Comparison Chart" with almost all customers. Of course
they do, it makes
them money. Just be cautious if you ever see it.
Mark Hartman - 6773 N. Positano Way
Tucson, AZ 85741 (520) 742-3981
This letter and accompanying photos are available for viewing on the World
Wide Web at:
http://www.rtd.com/~markh/red_dye_fraud.html
Call the Tucson Better Business Bureau if you think they've screwed with
you too!
Tucson Better Business Bureau -
520-888-5454, to file a complaint.
520-888-5353, to inquire about a business.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
That pretty much says it all. He grants permission for you to pass this
letter to other places on the Net. Hope it helps someone. Thanx for
everyone's help on the GT6.
Jeff Stovall
jstovall@earthlink.net
"I'm God's gift to humility."
1966 Triumph GT6 mk1
AKA "Le blanc bombe"
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