Just had my first negative experience with one of those Quicky Lube-type places. Was reading that thread about changing the filter from above just yesterday because I knew I'd need an oil change today.

Took it to a place in El Jebel, Colorado (in the Roaring Fork valley, about 15 miles from Aspen). I've had them do two previous changes, no problems. They would even mention something about having to remove and replace the skid plate. I use Mobil 1 synthetic and always supply my own, so they charge me for the labor and a filter, usually about $25. Nothing's inexpensive in this valley.

Should have known when the visit started off by them wanting to charge $49 even with my own oil. The credit they gave was $3/quart for the synthetic--the crap costs way more than that. I said something about the puny credit and told them that the previous changes with my oil have been about $25. Of note, the regular price for synthetic change is $79, was on sale for $69. Everything here is a rip-off in this valley. Probably would have come out ahead if I just went for the $69 change with their synthetic and kept mine.

So we agree on $25 with my oil. I thought the change was a lot quicker than the previous ones, but they weren't very busy and didn't make too much of it.

They bring the vehicle around and I get in after a quick look at the outside. First thing I notice are the oily fingerprints on the B pillar and the rear window, then the ones on the driver's armrest, the steering wheel, and the greasy marks on the rocker panel cover.

I had to go over to the Napa parts store literally across the street for some spark plugs for the old Norton motorcycle. I drive about 200 yards, pick a spot where I can pop the hood and check under the hood and see if everything looks cool. Well, the filler cap seemed to be on securely, not really any spilled oil. Okay. So I look down at the filter and it looks just like one that's been on for the last 6 months since the last change. It's uniformly dirty with dry road grime, not a speck of any fresh smudgy oil or fingerprints, just a white filter with bone-dry road grime on all sides and the end. You could reach down and wipe you fingers on it and get that light gray road grime dust on your fingers, but absolutely no oil. It's a white filter and wasn't with some oily fingerprints or smudges that would be wiped off to reveal the pristine white paint on the filter. I've done enough oil/filter changes to know that if you want to be neat, you've gotta wipe off the oil/fingerprints that invariably get on the filter, especially a bright white filter. So I go inside, buy my stuff, and ask the guy at the counter if he's heard of any problems over at the oil change place. He says something like, "they've fired some guys recently for sloppy work".

So I drive back immediately to the oil change place (remember, it's like 200 yards away), probably hadn't been 10 minutes since I left. Tell them my concern, the guy at the counter who took my money says the filter was changed, but them proceeds to march over to the Napa place, comes back and says something about them "slandering" the place, and says he'll give my money back even though he swears the filter was changed. I invite him to look at the thing and he says that's what they look like (dirty) and reiterates that it was changed. Claims it was changed from above, but he was the "top" guy and says the other guy "in the pit" was the one that changed it. Even admits that the skid plate wasn't taken off because it was changed from the top after I say something about "didn't you have to remove the skid plate". There's not a drop of fresh oil around that filter or on top of the skid plate, and we all know how impossible it is to not make a single spot especially if you did it from the top. That filter is at an angle and there is always some oil that escapes.

He gives me the phone number of the owner, but he's conveniently not available when I call. The waiting room has a few customers and they overhear this conversation, so the guy claims I'm slandering the place and now won't give my money back. He needs to look up the legal definition of "slander". It's not slanderous if it's true--that's called "fact".

I ask to see the old filter as proof and he claims it's been crushed (apparently beyond recognition of the large letters on the side "V-025" that are on the old filter) in the 10 or 15 minutes since I left and can't produce it. Once again, he claims he saw the other guy do it, who can apparently change the filter from the top while he's below the vehicle. Total bullshit.

I get the owner's number and leave, go back over to the Napa and have they guy I talk with look at it. He didn't think it had been changed either. So I go back over the to oil change place, and demand my money back. The guy says "No" and claims I received a service and had slandered them in front of other customers. I again say the filter was bone dry on the outside with gray road film that could be rubbed off with your fingers, not some sloppy oily fingerprint smudge filter. Even invite him to join me laying on my back in the front of the vehicle to get the best view of the old filter, which he refuses.

He then goes out to the service area and I follow him. He jumps down into the bay and there is a container of several old oil filters in the same bay where mine was done (likely from the vehicles before mine today). Looks through those, doesn't find my filter (big surprise), then disappears under the other two bays, comes back and says, "it's down there, but it's been crushed". Still doesn't produce the body for proof. Funny, but those 6-10 other filters in the waste container in the same bay weren't crushed and they hadn't done that many changes between my visit and my return (not enough time to account for all those old filters). So apparently my filter was singled out for special attention and promptly crushed beyond any recognition.

He claims that it's a new filter, just dirty because the rack of filters sets in the pit and they get oil splatters on them. He grabs a filter from that rack to show me and it's got greasy smudges all over it that you could smear around and wipe off to reveal shiny paint below. I said that's what I'd expect a new filter to look like, some greasy fingerprints, etc, but the one on my vehicle is covered with dry road grime that you can't smear or wipe off.

Then, funny thing, he's all nice to me and wants to refund my money (before he was flatly refusing). So I get my money back, but have my 6 quarts of Mobil 1 (for which they credited only $3/quart), and an old filter with 6K on it. Hell, I'm not even sure they put my oil in at this point.

So what do you think I should do? I'm definitely calling the owner, but my guess is that he'll be "out". I think they should change the oil and filter at no expense, reimburse me for my Mobil 1 that I had purchased, but what else should they pay in restitution? There's been a lot of bad press about these places, especially in California, pulling this shit. My vehicle's just a year old and I'd be driving around with an old filter for another 6K. Only reason I looked is because I used to do all my own maintenance and repair work and even worked as a BMW mechanic in a previous life, but don't really have a place to do it here and I'm totally suspicious of anybody (dealer, quicky lube, etc) doing any work exactly for the reason described above. Very few people would check or know the difference, but I'm one of them.

If they'd just said they made a mistake, promptly re-did the oil and filter and maybe made some reimbursement for my oil, I'd be cool with it. But when you know they're lying and you've got them coming and going on their bullshit explanation, it totally pisses me off. They should be smart enough to realize that a few letters to the local papers (who just love this kind of crap) in this valley will cost them many times over what just owning up to an oversight (or flat out attempt to cheat you) would have.

Since you have your money back, there is little the owner will do for you. So let's assume you are on your own at this point.

You could change the oil and filter again just to be sure -- definitely the safest route. But if you haven't driven very much, you're probably OK just changing the filter and topping up the oil if needed.

But I'd never set foot in the quickie-lube place again!!

Handling by management of these issues is always amazing. Have none of them every read one article on customer service - seems not. In your community, like the Eagle Valley, it only takes one disatisfied customer to ruin the business, or to make it a great success. Everything should be done over again at no further cost to you. It's up to the shop to not only make you happy but to have practices in place where they could produce your filter knowing that this could be a concern of anyone.

My wife just informed me of a friend of ours who uses a quick lube place locally and he actually sits in his car when they change his oil/filter! I'm using a dealer in Denver tomorrow as I have to be there and your note reminded me to go out and mark my oil filter with a magic marker. I usually do this and then there is no question. I also mark my tires when they do rotations.

Do something nice for someone and they'll tell 3 people. Do something wrong (w/o correcting it) and they'll tell 10 people.

I would first try to contact the owner and have him fire the guy who you spoke with. If you cannot contact the owner, leave a message. If he/she doesn't return your call within 3 days, then go to the local paper and describe your findings. Hopefully it will be printed in the paper. Once it is printed, fax and mail a copy of the article to the store. You'd be doing a service to those that are getting taken advantage of.

The Better Business Bureau might be of some help. Those who run businesses do not want a "bad" rating from them, and the BBB will voluntarily meet to 'mediate' a dispute between parties.

I got screwed by a cell phone carrier about four years ago, and the BBB was very helpful after I sent them a detailed letter and explanation about what happened.

A 'customer service' {term used loosely} person and her supervisor from the cell phone company were absolutely horrible with their treatment of me and stood by a bad decision regarding a contract dispute. After the BBB got involved, they changed their tune and were all kicks & giggles.

Here's text and great video ya need to read/watch if you use any of the quick service places-

NBC4 News Camera at JiffyLube

do search on mechanic investigation to see video - click "play"

I bet your Mobil 1 is in his vehcile and you got the junk from the 50 gallon drum in yours. :gaptooth:

bonedoctor:
I will not rub salt in your wound except to say that this forum is rife with examples of why not to go into those Jiffy Lube and similar places. I doubt it will do much good to contact the owner, since you got your money back, and he most likely knows and condones what's going on in his Jiffy lube. They don't worry about losing you as a customer as there are suckers born every minute. You heard the saying, "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me"

My advice, since I don't trust them at all, is either buy the Mobil 1 and change it and the filter yourself or take it to a Toyota dealer and have them do it. Mark the filter with a sharpie or a scratch before you bring it in. Think of it as a cheap education, and at least you had oil it in when you pulled it out of Jiffy Lube.

Thanks for the ideas. I'll definitely talk with the owner. The two previous visits were without incident, so that's why I went back. Irritates the hell out of me when somebody continues to insist that something was done when clearly it wasn't. And then continues to claim it was done when they can't even produce the filter that was supposedly changed. I was going to put a mark on the old filter before I went, but never got around to it. I wonder how'd they explain that one ("the splattered oil from when the new filter was sitting in the rack must have arranged itself into your initials").

Ahhh. I got some land up upper cattle creek road past fender lane and the resivior. I know that area well.

I saw a friends 2nd gen 4runner a few years back after it was making engine noises. Turns out he had gotten his oil changed at the same place you were at and several quarts leaked out all because the filter was not on tight enough.

Bonedoctor, you got punked by some ass holes and disputing the incident with them will get you nowhere. If anything it'll give you headache down the road. Report them to Better Bureau and forget it; never use them again. If possible change your own oil.

Yeah, I've wondered how much of my time, if any, this is worth and the answer is probably very little. I used to do all my own auto work, major stuff and the minor stuff like oil changes, etc. I'm here temporarily and don't have any place to do anything but the simplest stuff (I installed the JDM headlights, JAOS lamp stay and lights during winter laying on a blanket on the snow!) and brought only a very basic tool kit with me. My two huge rolling tool chests are in storage in another state.

This is exactly why I absolutely hate anybody touching my vehicles. They do sloppy, half-assed crap like this. Amazing how he got friggin' oily handprints all over everything else, even managed to knock one of the JAOS lights out of kilter by leaning on it (not to mention the oil he got on that, too), but he can magically change the filter from above while he's below without removing the skid plate......and didn't get a single drop of oil anywhere.

If I were you I would post the original letter you wrote in the local newspaper in the "letter to editor section"...might not get any money back but I bet their business drops so much they might close down..."justice" Good Luck

do it yourself!!!!!

From a previous post:

Yeah, I've wondered how much of my time, if any, this is worth and the answer is probably very little. I used to do all my own auto work, major stuff and the minor stuff like oil changes, etc. I'm here temporarily and don't have any place to do anything but the simplest stuff (I installed the JDM headlights, JAOS lamp stay and lights during winter laying on a blanket on the snow!) and brought only a very basic tool kit with me. My two huge rolling tool chests are in storage in another state.