My daughter and husband went in for an alignment that I had purchased a voucher from Groupon for. Upon getting there, Chuck said they would take a look at it. Pulled the vehicle up on the wheel alignment lift and 3 different mechanics, Chuck included, looked under the vehicle and inspected struts. While the inspection was being done, Shelley redeemed the voucher and my daughter and husband were told that if they found something preventing the alignment from being performed, Shelley would help get the voucher refunded. They came in and said "Everything looks tight, what makes you think you need an alignment?". My husband told him about the tire wear and that the vehicle was pulling. After that, my daughter and husband were told that they were going to road test the vehicle so they went to the waiting room. About 30 minutes later Chuck comes in and says "The front end is sagging, you need to replace the struts before we can do the alignment". My daughter being a trade mechanic herself and having her in-laws own a repair shop for the past 22 years, knows that an alignment can be done on a vehicle with bad struts, however the alignment wouldn't last as long. Chuck told her the vehicle had 264,xxx miles and that struts are to be replaced every 80,000 miles. My daughter corrected him and said 254,xxx miles to which he replied "It's a moot point". (moot point - an issue open for debate or a matter of no value or importance because it's hypothetical). Chuck starts raising his voice at my daughter when she asked to speak with the owner (Patrick). She had just seen the owner but was told "HE JUST LEFT" to which my daughter reiterated that she just saw him. Again Chuck got louder and said "HIS TRUCK ISN'T EVEN HERE". My daughter can handle herself but decided to ask about the Groupon help that Shelley offered. Chuck was still loud with my daughter and said "WE HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH GROUPON, SHE MISS-SPOKE". My daughter and husband followed Chuck up to the front where they witnessed Chuck yelling at Shelley in front of 2 more customers that had just walked in and telling her "WE DO NOT DEAL WITH GROUPON, YOU WERE WRONG IN TELLING HER THAT, SHE HAS TO ASK FOR A REFUND" At this point, my daughter and husband were told that the keys were in the car and my daughter decided to leave with the $1,250 I gave her for any unexpected repairs. The part that my daughter said really upset her was that Chuck conducted himself this way in front of another female customer and was so disrespectful. My daughter and husband set out to her in-laws shop, in which they "made it right" by completing the wheel alignment and setting up an appointment to do the struts. We will never consider revisiting Pals Ocala Auto Repair for anything we need done, nor will we recommend them to anyone.
Wow, I guess that you had to be there! So much to respond to here that I think it is best to say that we apologize for your perception of our shop and our employees. Pals Ocala Auto Repair strives for good customer relationships and that fact is witnessed by many favorable reviews on our website. Obviously we missed the benchmark with you and your car. Please accept our apologies.
- PALS Ocala Auto Repair