1 /5 CottageCritter: TLDR: Owner “lost his temper” on me trying to get clarity on some things and sent me off with bad breaks telling me they were just rusty.
I have been going to SSS since almost opening across 6+ cars and presently 3 going there. So I had my van towed in about a month ago. There was an issue with the oil pan, they fixed it, but then they told me I had to drive it but the inspection was overdue so I told them I do not feel comfortable driving it illegally. To which they had no answer but would call me back. They would not call me back so I’d call in the morning each day to check on the status, same thing. My Fiance got fed up watching this and got involved and suddenly they were able to give me a 10 day temp inspection tag to be able to drive it. Why they couldn’t do that the rest of the week when I asked? No clue. I was told I needed to drive it “until the light turned off” and “if the light doesn’t turn off give them a call back” the only light was the tire pressure sensor. So I waited till Rodney would be back in town because none of this made sense.
So Rodney got back, I gave him a call, and clearly there was some form of miscommunication but instead of listening to me he was being nasty to me that I wasn’t understanding him or able to comprehend when I was:
“The tire light doesn’t affect inspection. I can do the inspection regardless.”
I perfectly understood it didn’t affect the inspection. I had concerns with 1. Why *WE* were told something else because I was GENUINELY confused and 2. If I need to get the light checked otherwise I have to find a ride to and from the place because I don’t have family or friends local enough to do that on a whim and I can’t just miss work.
Over the next 5 minutes I tried to tell him I DO understand and communicate these 2 points but he just kept yelling at me. It was beyond degrading. I told him flat out “Sir. I’m not comfortable with the way you are speaking to me right now” to which I was told I was “blowing things out of proportion.” At this point I gave up and asked for a refund for the inspection they charged us for but didn’t do yet and I was told no. We spent over $1000 this visit alone. They couldn’t give $26 credit? Sure. So I told him that’s fine, money lost, we’re going to a different shop from now on and to take care, and hung up. He called back and at this point I’m crying after being berated for almost 10 minutes so I say “sir I have a communication disability, I am diagnosed autistic and I was trying to get clarity. I am communicating the best I can and the way you’re treating me is not appropriate.” to which he continued to just repeatedly yell “you’re fine!”
As you can imagine, I was not fine.
No one routine calls a business they know and trust and prepares to be yelled at. So I again, hung up.
At this point he finds my mom’s phone on file and calls her, and tells her he’s sorry he lost his temper but then started making excuses that were quite frankly not even true. He told her again I wasn’t understanding him - I was. He also implied it wasn’t his fault because he only ever works with my mom. Blatantly not true. He then tells her he’ll finish the work for just $11 more if I bring it in. It’s like a sick joke.
I’d still like to believe humans make mistakes, and that’s why originally I wasn’t going to give it an awful review. I believed they did good work on cars and we trusted them for years for a reason.
However I then brought it to a shop my Fiance trusts and found out the breaks were shot. Dangerously shot, metal on metal. Rodney’s shop told me and my mother and my Fiance that the breaks were just rusty from sitting and after some driving they would be fine. They sent me off with something that was genuinely dangerous.
This entire situation on every level is out of control. I trusted them for years and if you asked me a month ago I’d argue SSS was the best on the entire east coast. Clearly that’s not the standard they’re holding anymore though. Genuinely sad to find a different shop but no part of me feels safe continuing to use them.
