A few weeks ago my wife’s car need the oil changed so I decided to take it to a local place nearby to get it done quickly. I usually take it somewhere else, but due to time constraints I decided to take it there to get it done quickly. In addition to that this establishment had banners up for
$19.99 oil changes all day long.
Ok, so no big deal I took it there and when I pulled up I was promptly greeted and they told me that they would get the oil change taken care of right away. Now the mistake I made was to just assume that I was getting the $19.99 oil change without having to ask for it. Man I don’t know why I would think that, could it be because there were only like 4 huge banners all over the building advertising this price. So about 15 minutes later they told me my car was ready to go and I went to pay. I was surprised to find out that a $19.99 oil change turned into almost $40. The reasoning for this is that they put the premium synthetic oil in without asking me if I even wanted it. They assumed that I wanted this because I was driving a newer car.
How can you assume that a customer wants something when you don’t even ask them? I did not request the special $19.99 price, because I didn’t think that I had to considering the heavy promotion of it all over the building. Basically it’s just another way to nickel and dime customers for extra money, for services they probably don’t want anyway. Oh and by the way how do I even know if they put in the “special synthetic blend oil” and not just the regular oil.
Ultimately I should have specified what I wanted from the beginning, but I was under the impression that at least some people were still honest. I guess in the end that is the way they like to run their business. Now is it really worth the extra money to potentially sacrifice the overall value of a possible lifetime customer? The answer to that is no, but they did get their extra $20 out of me that day so I hope they enjoy it. One thing is for sure though, no matter how convenient or cheap it is, I will never go there again nor will I instruct anyone that I know to go to this establishment either.
3 comments ↓
Dude, that is really lame of them. Unfortunately, many companies do stuff like that nowadays. They advertise cheap to get you there. I think you handled it with class, you paid your bill, and learned where not to go from now on.
In the land of the free, I thought that you would be suing them for a stunt like that.
That is what we are lead to believe over here in the UK anyhow.
Good luck next time you go in to have your car serviced.
Yeah, I was not going to just lose my temper and make a scene. I learned my lesson and I think the best thing I can do is to not take my car to them anymore and also offer them so great referrals!
Suing them would probably be a little overboard, for the extra $20 I had to spend..
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