There's no way I would have kept my cool like you did....

I'm sure I would have went back there scream'n at those idiots

 

that was an beautiful post

nice to read at the end of a long 12 hour shift

let us know how wed pans out, and how the authentic muffler pleases you

anyone have a 50 series?

 

Couldnt you just choke them a little bit for everyone else theve screwed
over the years?

 

Ok, so I got to the shop just before 8am when they opened, the remarkably friendly shop manager Herb (aka the smartass who robbed me), actually brought the Flowmaster 40 Series Delta Flow box out to me. I opened it, took the stickers, registration, etc and watched as they removed the one that was "just like" a Flowmaster and bent the pipe for and installed the actual Flowmaster. If nothing else, at least since they over charged me for everything and tried to rip me off, they had to do everything twice. Frankly I expected them just to take out the old one and put the new one in it's place, but they actually took out all the pipe and redid it from scratch. That's something I guess.

I'm still not real pleased with the install and how it came out looking. I wanted it flush to the factory heat shield it's not even close, but I wasn't going to open my mouth, because it really was taking quite a bit of restraint not to lay into them before they even started.

It took them all of 20 mins from start to finish including bending the pipe, welding the hanger to my $50 dollar tail pipe (which I'm pretty sure is regular pipe bent at 90degrees, why this is 50 bucks is beyond me, but as I said I wasn't saying jack until it was done.

When it was completed I backed the Jeep off the lift myself and the guy gave me a smug wave as I guess he figured I was just going to go about my day without saying anything. I put the Jeep in park and got out and walked toward him, he took a step back and looked a bit nervous. I think he might have thought I was going to attack him (I did in fact want to and (I'm fairly big, and there's more than one Jiu Jitsu, MMA related item on my Jeep), but I simply got within two feet of him and told him that he really ought to think twice before stealing from people and treating it like it was no big deal. I told him I planned on contacting the BBB and Meineke's national HQ and telling them all about my experience. He just stared at me like he wanted to hit me. Which had he tried would have really pleased me, I'm about 4" taller and 100lbs bigger than he was (and 30 or so years younger). Oh and while juvenile and immature and I probably should have left it out, as I somewhat managed to act like an adult, I finished my rant at him with, "You suck, your shop sucks, and your hair plugs really suck." They were really bad. lol He just stood there as I marched off and got in my Jeep and left.

Oh and the Flowmaster 40 series? Yeah almost forgot to give my initial 20 mile test drive impression. lol It sounds NOTHING like the "just like" a Flowmaster. It's got a mellow tone, doesn't sound like an import. Is unnoticeable while on the highway cruising. Actually, there probably was some sound, but not much and the lack of any noise made me realize that my Airaid can be a bit annoying. lol When driving on the street after I got off the highway, there's a nice little rumble when you give it gas, but I think most of the rumble is actually from the Airaid. So far, I'm really pleased with the 40, just not how it was put in. Soon as my hand's a bit better I plan to get under the Jeep myself remove the tailpipe they installed and put on a brushed one from Flowmaster. I also will probably look into have a better shop see if they can put a few extra bends in a pipe to get it closer to the heat shield. I'm not sure if it's possible to bend a pipe that much, I don't know jack about exhaust or if the bends will restrict it, etc.

My digital camera is AWOL, but I did take some pics with the cell, so I'm going to upload them now and see how they turned out.

EDIT: Ok they didn't turn out too terrible considering I used a cell phone, but how can I upload them. I haven't ever attempted that before. Thanks.

So, there you have it, saga concluded, lesson learned.

 

lol The good thing about a blood choke is I probably could have choked the guy totally unconscious and by the time the police arrived not only would he be awake and alert (maybe have a bit of a light head), but the police would be hard pressed to find a mark on him.

 

 

LOL I hope that you do go through with it and report their asses to the BBB and the Meineke HQ, scary to think that people are actually doing this, I would have never thought to double check if they actually installed a Flowmaster... Thanks to you now I WILL.

 

x2 !!!!

Stick it to them and tell everyone you know not to deal with that shop.

I HATE crooks and that's what they are!!

 

First thing in the morning I'll be making the two calls. I'd have done it today, but time got away from me. I have no intention of just letting it go now that I have the right muffler, which is I'm sure what the shop is hoping. Calling the BBB and Meineke might not make a difference, but at least there will be a record of someone complaining about what they've done and since Flowmaster actually got involved, I can at least pass along the reps name and number so they can confirm it if necessary. I'm also planning to go to the websites for my local news stations and seeing if there's an address to send them an email. Seems like the kind of expose type story news stations love to do.

Thanks for reading all my long winded posts here, and if 1 person out of all this nonsense decides to avoid that shop, then I'll be satisfied and feel like I've at least done a wee bit of good.

 

I will play the Devil's advocate here for a minute. You had specific job done, with specific directions as to the brand of part to be used. The job was done. The job was incorrect, using the wrong brand part. You brought it to the attention of the shop and they redid the entire job, for free.

I agree that the shop should not have substituted another part for the one installed. I agree that they should not have misrepresented the name and brand of the part verbally and in writing. I agree that as a customer you should not have to investigate the job after the fact to find out they substituted another part for the one you asked for.

But they did resolve the problem. While I suspect they did this to save a few $ on parts and increase profit, they may have done it out of ignorance thinking it really was an equivalent part. In their (possibly small) minds, maybe the muffler they installed really was just as good. And they really may not know that "Flowmaster" as a brand means much of anything to a person except a high flow performance muffler.

As a mechanic my heart would have sunk as you came back up, now upset again, after I just redid the job for free thinking I had made you happy. Did he really play a part in the scam? Or did his boss just tell him "its another 'flowmaster', you know the ones I told you to use the last time we sold a 'flowmaster'.

Anyway not trying to take away the fact that you were wronged, but this shop really just needs to change one thing about their business and they have it right. If you sell and represent a brand name you need to use that brand name, not an equivalent.