They opened a case file, and are going to get back to me. Hopefully
they catch the guy and get rid of him. Who knows, maybe they'll give
me a future discount on something, but even if they don't, if they
bring down the guy who tried to steal from me, that's plenty.
I tried to leave a complaint on the website, but it said that I'd
exceeded the 1,000 character limit, so I called and talked to a live
person. She assured me that they will investigate so that this doesn't happen again. Here's what I had written.
*****
This is in regards to the <brand of car service stores> at XXXX XXXXXXX,
St. Louis, MO XXXXX.
They opened a case file, and are going to get back to me. Hopefully they catch the guy and get rid of him. Who knows, maybe they'll give me a
future discount on something, but even if they don't, if they bring down
the guy who tried to steal from me, that's plenty.
On Thu, 29 Jan 2026 14:15:42 -0600
Bryan Simmons <bryangsimmons@gmail.com> wrote:
They opened a case file, and are going to get back to me. Hopefully
they catch the guy and get rid of him. Who knows, maybe they'll give
me a future discount on something, but even if they don't, if they
bring down the guy who tried to steal from me, that's plenty.
Steal from YOU to make money for THEM.
Expect a show of nothing much and he gets a pat on the bask...
On 1/29/2026 2:27 PM, Tal Yessen wrote:
On Thu, 29 Jan 2026 14:15:42 -0600
Bryan Simmons <bryangsimmons@gmail.com> wrote:
They opened a case file, and are going to get back to me. Hopefully
they catch the guy and get rid of him. Who knows, maybe they'll
give me a future discount on something, but even if they don't, if
they bring down the guy who tried to steal from me, that's plenty.
Steal from YOU to make money for THEM.
Expect a show of nothing much and he gets a pat on the bask...Most of the locations are franchised. Companies regularly pull
franchises that they feel reflect poorly on their brand. There was a Save-a-Lot grocery store that was forced out of business because the
owner couldn't afford to do a remodel to bring the store to a newer
look. That sucked for me because we used to stop there on the way to
camping to buy provisions. In sales, the company lost wholesale
sales, but they, I guess, felt that the Pacific, MO store cheapened
their brand. Of course, franchisers vary in the degree of
institutional control they exert. I've noticed that especially in hospitality, but this is a major brand with name recognition in the
high nineties.
Also, bad publicity is very bad. https://www.serviceskills.com/the-cost-of-losing-just-one-customer-why-retention-beats-acquisition/
I was very articulate in my conversation with the customer service
person. The kind of person who is likely to go to the trouble that I
did, without requesting anything tangible is the one smart marketers
know to be concerned about. I made no threats like going on social
media or contacting the BBB, but I fit the type that would. People
who seem principled are the ones likely to do damage.
*****
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
-- W.B. Yeats
*****
On Thu, 29 Jan 2026 17:08:37 -0600
Bryan Simmons <bryangsimmons@gmail.com> wrote:
Most of the locations are franchised. Companies regularly pull
franchises that they feel reflect poorly on their brand. There was a
Save-a-Lot grocery store that was forced out of business because the
owner couldn't afford to do a remodel to bring the store to a newer
look. That sucked for me because we used to stop there on the way to
camping to buy provisions. In sales, the company lost wholesale
sales, but they, I guess, felt that the Pacific, MO store cheapened
their brand. Of course, franchisers vary in the degree of
institutional control they exert. I've noticed that especially in
hospitality, but this is a major brand with name recognition in the
high nineties.
Also, bad publicity is very bad.
https://www.serviceskills.com/the-cost-of-losing-just-one-customer-why-retention-beats-acquisition/
I was very articulate in my conversation with the customer service
person. The kind of person who is likely to go to the trouble that I
did, without requesting anything tangible is the one smart marketers
know to be concerned about. I made no threats like going on social
media or contacting the BBB, but I fit the type that would. People
who seem principled are the ones likely to do damage.
*****
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
-- W.B. Yeats
*****
You get an A+ for tact and restraint regardless.
I tried to leave a complaint on the website, but it said that I'd
exceeded the 1,000 character limit, so I called and talked to a live
person. She assured me that they will investigate so that this doesn't happen again. Here's what I had written.
*****
This is in regards to the <brand of car service stores> at XXXX XXXXXXX,
St. Louis, MO XXXXX. Last year, we took two of our cars to that shop to
get new brake pads installed. The gentleman working there was very
polite, and we were very happy with the service and the cost. I have a regular mechanic, but their policy is to replace rotors every time they replace pads, and I didn't want to waste money. A few weeks ago, we took
our third car into <brand of car service stores> because the front
brakes seemed to be squeaking slightly. My intention was to just get
front pads. The guy from <brand of car service stores> called and told
me that I needed pads, but I also needed rotors because the pads had
worn down so much that they scarred the rotors, and that I also needed
rear shoes and new drums for the same reason.
I was suspicious because the car had passed inspection less than 1100
miles ago. It was a different guy than I had dealt with the last 2
times, and he was wanting to do about $900-$1000 of repairs. I left and drove home. The car sat undriven for a couple of weeks before I took it
in to my regular mechanic. The verdict: My shoes did need to be replaced soon, but the drums are fine, and he's reusing them. The pads would just barely pass inspection, but they hadn't damaged the rotors.
The guy at the <brand of car service stores> on XXXXXXX outright lied to
me. Has there been a management change since last Summer? The guy that
did that damaged the reputation of your company. I know this, I'll never take my car there again, and would hesitate to do business with any
<brand of car service stores>. I have no idea whether that location is company owned or a franchise, but you need to investigate the practices
at that location. The guy is defrauding trusting customers.
*****
They opened a case file, and are going to get back to me. Hopefully they catch the guy and get rid of him. Who knows, maybe they'll give me a
future discount on something, but even if they don't, if they bring down
the guy who tried to steal from me, that's plenty.
Bryan Simmons <bryangsimmons@gmail.com> posted:
I tried to leave a complaint on the website, but it said that I'd
exceeded the 1,000 character limit, so I called and talked to a
live person. She assured me that they will investigate so that this
doesn't happen again. Here's what I had written.
*****
This is in regards to the <brand of car service stores> at XXXX
XXXXXXX, St. Louis, MO XXXXX. Last year, we took two of our cars to
that shop to get new brake pads installed. The gentleman working
there was very polite, and we were very happy with the service and
the cost. I have a regular mechanic, but their policy is to
replace rotors every time they replace pads, and I didn't want to
waste money. A few weeks ago, we took our third car into <brand of
car service stores> because the front brakes seemed to be squeaking slightly. My intention was to just get front pads. The guy from
<brand of car service stores> called and told me that I needed
pads, but I also needed rotors because the pads had worn down so
much that they scarred the rotors, and that I also needed rear
shoes and new drums for the same reason.
I was suspicious because the car had passed inspection less than
1100 miles ago. It was a different guy than I had dealt with the
last 2 times, and he was wanting to do about $900-$1000 of repairs.
I left and drove home. The car sat undriven for a couple of weeks
before I took it in to my regular mechanic. The verdict: My shoes
did need to be replaced soon, but the drums are fine, and he's
reusing them. The pads would just barely pass inspection, but they
hadn't damaged the rotors.
The guy at the <brand of car service stores> on XXXXXXX outright
lied to me. Has there been a management change since last Summer?
The guy that did that damaged the reputation of your company. I
know this, I'll never take my car there again, and would hesitate
to do business with any <brand of car service stores>. I have no
idea whether that location is company owned or a franchise, but you
need to investigate the practices at that location. The guy is
defrauding trusting customers.
*****
They opened a case file, and are going to get back to me. Hopefully
they catch the guy and get rid of him. Who knows, maybe they'll
give me a future discount on something, but even if they don't, if
they bring down the guy who tried to steal from me, that's plenty.
We had the transmission computer malfunction due to water getting
into the housing. The transmission shop down the street gave me an
estimate of about 3 to 4 thousand for the repair which needed a
replacement computer. I got a replacement junkyard box from eBay for
about $100 and plugged it in. Worked like a charm. OTOH, I should
have tried drying out the old box instead. I ended up with two
control boxes. It was the most beautiful station wagon ever but I
don't want to own a car with a turbo ever again.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fHidjMACrvzi9KkFA
On Sun, 01 Feb 2026 22:07:14 GMT
dsi1 <user4746@newsgrouper.org.invalid> wrote:
Bryan Simmons <bryangsimmons@gmail.com> posted:
I tried to leave a complaint on the website, but it said that I'd
exceeded the 1,000 character limit, so I called and talked to a
live person. She assured me that they will investigate so that this
doesn't happen again. Here's what I had written.
*****
This is in regards to the <brand of car service stores> at XXXX
XXXXXXX, St. Louis, MO XXXXX. Last year, we took two of our cars to
that shop to get new brake pads installed. The gentleman working
there was very polite, and we were very happy with the service and
the cost. I have a regular mechanic, but their policy is to
replace rotors every time they replace pads, and I didn't want to
waste money. A few weeks ago, we took our third car into <brand of
car service stores> because the front brakes seemed to be squeaking
slightly. My intention was to just get front pads. The guy from
<brand of car service stores> called and told me that I needed
pads, but I also needed rotors because the pads had worn down so
much that they scarred the rotors, and that I also needed rear
shoes and new drums for the same reason.
I was suspicious because the car had passed inspection less than
1100 miles ago. It was a different guy than I had dealt with the
last 2 times, and he was wanting to do about $900-$1000 of repairs.
I left and drove home. The car sat undriven for a couple of weeks
before I took it in to my regular mechanic. The verdict: My shoes
did need to be replaced soon, but the drums are fine, and he's
reusing them. The pads would just barely pass inspection, but they
hadn't damaged the rotors.
The guy at the <brand of car service stores> on XXXXXXX outright
lied to me. Has there been a management change since last Summer?
The guy that did that damaged the reputation of your company. I
know this, I'll never take my car there again, and would hesitate
to do business with any <brand of car service stores>. I have no
idea whether that location is company owned or a franchise, but you
need to investigate the practices at that location. The guy is
defrauding trusting customers.
*****
They opened a case file, and are going to get back to me. Hopefully
they catch the guy and get rid of him. Who knows, maybe they'll
give me a future discount on something, but even if they don't, if
they bring down the guy who tried to steal from me, that's plenty.
We had the transmission computer malfunction due to water getting
into the housing. The transmission shop down the street gave me an
estimate of about 3 to 4 thousand for the repair which needed a
replacement computer. I got a replacement junkyard box from eBay for
about $100 and plugged it in. Worked like a charm. OTOH, I should
have tried drying out the old box instead. I ended up with two
control boxes. It was the most beautiful station wagon ever but I
don't want to own a car with a turbo ever again.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fHidjMACrvzi9KkFA
Turbo in a Passat wagon?
Sweet.
On Sun, 01 Feb 2026 22:07:14 GMT
dsi1 <user4746@newsgrouper.org.invalid> wrote:
Bryan Simmons <bryangsimmons@gmail.com> posted:
I tried to leave a complaint on the website, but it said that I'd exceeded the 1,000 character limit, so I called and talked to a
live person. She assured me that they will investigate so that this doesn't happen again. Here's what I had written.
*****
This is in regards to the <brand of car service stores> at XXXX
XXXXXXX, St. Louis, MO XXXXX. Last year, we took two of our cars to
that shop to get new brake pads installed. The gentleman working
there was very polite, and we were very happy with the service and
the cost. I have a regular mechanic, but their policy is to
replace rotors every time they replace pads, and I didn't want to
waste money. A few weeks ago, we took our third car into <brand of
car service stores> because the front brakes seemed to be squeaking slightly. My intention was to just get front pads. The guy from
<brand of car service stores> called and told me that I needed
pads, but I also needed rotors because the pads had worn down so
much that they scarred the rotors, and that I also needed rear
shoes and new drums for the same reason.
I was suspicious because the car had passed inspection less than
1100 miles ago. It was a different guy than I had dealt with the
last 2 times, and he was wanting to do about $900-$1000 of repairs.
I left and drove home. The car sat undriven for a couple of weeks
before I took it in to my regular mechanic. The verdict: My shoes
did need to be replaced soon, but the drums are fine, and he's
reusing them. The pads would just barely pass inspection, but they
hadn't damaged the rotors.
The guy at the <brand of car service stores> on XXXXXXX outright
lied to me. Has there been a management change since last Summer?
The guy that did that damaged the reputation of your company. I
know this, I'll never take my car there again, and would hesitate
to do business with any <brand of car service stores>. I have no
idea whether that location is company owned or a franchise, but you
need to investigate the practices at that location. The guy is
defrauding trusting customers.
*****
They opened a case file, and are going to get back to me. Hopefully
they catch the guy and get rid of him. Who knows, maybe they'll
give me a future discount on something, but even if they don't, if
they bring down the guy who tried to steal from me, that's plenty.
We had the transmission computer malfunction due to water getting
into the housing. The transmission shop down the street gave me an
estimate of about 3 to 4 thousand for the repair which needed a
replacement computer. I got a replacement junkyard box from eBay for
about $100 and plugged it in. Worked like a charm. OTOH, I should
have tried drying out the old box instead. I ended up with two
control boxes. It was the most beautiful station wagon ever but I
don't want to own a car with a turbo ever again.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fHidjMACrvzi9KkFA
Turbo in a Passat wagon?
Sweet.
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