Car Toys — Attraction in Olympia

I went there because I wanted to upgrade the sound system in my vehicle. Wendy, the Assistant Store Manager was a pleasure to deal with, as she showed me their inventory and helped me to pick out the right system for my car. $1700.00 later I'm scheduled for install the following morning at 9:00 am. Due to a work-related emergency I find myself running late for the installation appointment and figured I'll place a call to the store and let them know I'm on my way. That's where the pleasant experience comes to a screeching halt and I'm left wondering how a store can have a manager with no customer service skills whatsoever. Upon, calling the store I'm immediately put on hold by (Steve the manager) who never gets back to me and I hang up 19 minutes later. I then try calling back and I get an answering machine asking me to leave a message. Though I leave a message, nobody at the store bothers to listen to it, as I learn upon arrival. Running late and in a hurry, I forgot my mask in the car. Visually scanning the store upon entry I notice 3 people behind the counter and a few customers looking at the displays. Though everyone in the store are sporting masks, I'm immediately accosted by the enforcer (Steve the manager) who demands I get out of the store and put on a mask. I on the other hand, feel I'm no threat to the health and safety of the occupants in the store, because they all had masks on. He steps outside with me and I proceed to tell him who I am and explain to him that I called twice but was unable to speak with anyone there letting them know I was on my way. His reply was, "He was busy with a customer"... Now, it's all starting to make sense. I may be a customer too, but less important, because he's already got my money. Against my better judgment, I leave the vehicle there for them to install the equipment I purchased from them. 6 hours later I call to find out if my vehicle is ready for pickup and I'm told it is. I DIDN'T RECEIVE A CALL FROM THEM UPON COMPLETING THE INSTALLATION LIKE THEY SAID THEY WOULD, THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE EXPERTISE TO CONNECT MY STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS TO THE NEW STEREO, and just before I leave there, I find out why. THE STAFF THERE CONSISTS OF 5 MANAGERS AND 2 INSTALLERS. BACKWARDS! EVERYBODY THERE WANTS TO TELL EVERYBODY WHAT TO DO, AND NOBODY THERE TO DO IT! I'VE NEVER BEEN DEMEANED AND DISRESPECTED AS I WAS THERE AND WILL NOT BE GOING BACK. If I was the owner of that establishment, I would terminate (Steve the Enforcer/Manager) reign of terror there, and would ask Wendy (Assistant Manager) to train the rest in...

I came in to get a new head unit. I bought an Alpine head unit and it was to be installed the next day. I took my car in to have the item installed, and several hours later I was called and told that my front speakers were blown. I thought it was weird because they worked just fine, albeit not the best quality, but worked just fine when I brought them in. I asked the rep if they were blown or not working, and they said blown. I then paid several hundred more dollars to replace the "blown" front speakers, and hung up. I was called at the end of the day and was told that nothing worked. Not the new radio, new speakers, nothing. They said that there would be a Subaru expert coming the next day and they would look at it. I asked the rep is they had reinstalled the starlink module with the radio and they said that wasnt the problem. I restated that if the starlink module isnt reinstalled, then the radio, front speakers, usb ports and microphone wont work at all. I then reasked if the speakers they said were blown were really blown or just not working, and they said again it wasnt the starlink, it was something else, and they would call me the next day. I had to rent a car for work the next day, and after a few hours I went down to the store to see what was going on and they said they couldnt get it to work at all. I asked them to show me the starlink module and that it was reinstalled, and they said it wasnt needed. I again told them it was, and they showed it to me in the old head unit that at this point had been chopped up. I asked them to install the starlink module, and see if it worked, and lo and behold, it did. I thought we would be ok after that but when I again asked them if the speakers were blown they stated they had to cut them up and use the old housing so they couldnt show me them, but they wouldnt turn on. I spent hundreds of dollars on speakers i did not need because a bunch of radio installers thought an old woman didnt know anything about her car. I wasted two days without my car because they wouldnt listen to me. My head unit will intermittently turn bright green on the screen, the backup camera rarely works, and the speakers are the same as I had before quality wise. After complaining I was given a discount on the speakers, that i never needed in the first place but couldnt return because they had ruined my old ones. I have a half working head unit and will never shop at car toys or recommend car toys to anyone i know, or any of the several car clubs...

"Free" isn't free at all.

I asked for an in-person estimate on a 2007 4runner SR5 without JBL to install a deck that came with "free" installation and a "free" backup camera. As part of that bid, there was, among several other miscellaneous charges, a $15 charge for what the guy said was "miscellaneous screws" and then $120 labor "to remove the trim to access the stereo and remove the mounting brackets from your old stereo, mount them to the new head unit and attach the necessary trim kit." I've watched the videos...it only takes about 5-10 minutes to remove the trim, 5 minutes or less for the brackets, and another 5 minutes for the trim. Do the math... that's $120 for less than 30 minutes of work or $240+/hour.

When I asked the guy what "free installation" includes his answer was, "that's only if we just have to pull out the old head unit, disconnect the wiring harnesses, reconnect them, and slide the unit back in." WHAT??!! How is that even possible? Not one newer car out there doesn't require some trim removal to access the mounting screws. Maybe an old 19-something year car might be that easy, but not 2000 or newer.

The quote to install a $550 Kenwood head unit, $25 USB port (which simply snaps into an empty accessory slot I had), and $130 backup camera (they will upsell you from the free camera that is currently being offered with select Kenwood units) was $1,500!!

I asked for a printout of the estimate, which they refused to provide; they simply won't do it. They will only show you the screen with everything on it and talk a whole bunch of nonsense while explaining their nickel and dime pricing.

Total racket, bait and switch, upsell, etc.

Just be straight with your customers and don't say you offer "free" installation. It's as simple as that. More appropriate advertising would be, "Come in today for your free, no obligation quote!" Otherwise, you're just full of sh*t, even if it is in the fine print that there will, most likely, be extra charges.

If you are at all handy and have patience, check out YouTube, contact Crutchfield and save some money. I mean, a...