Blain's Farm & Fleet - Verona, Wisconsin — Attraction in Verona

UPDATE from 12/10/14: I recieved a call from the store manager last night, Dennis. He was very understanding, and couldn't believe that this was going on in his store. He appologized for the problems I had with the service center and was appauled that his assistant manager did not come talk to me that night. He said he would speak with them.

Also, he is refunding me the price of my alignment because of all the hassle, and said he will be using this situation as a training experience for everyone. I was very pleased with how professional he was, and he thanked me for bringing this situation to his attention!

Original:

The Verona, WI F&F Service Center has some serious issues. I dropped my car off last Monday night for an appointment to get 4 tires mounted and balanced, as well as an alignment. And I did not get my car back until Wednesday night once all work had FINALLY been completed.

Simple request, however, it was messed up every step of the way. I paid for the tires and the alignment during their "buy 3 get 1 free sale". The records were in the computer.

When I made the appointment I specified this, gave them the name and phone number to find the information under, and told the person I needed the tires mounted and balanced, as well as an alignment done. They verified, and set everything up told me it would take about 2 hours, 6:30-7:30pm for the Mount and Balance, and 7:30-8:30pm for the alignment.

When I showed up at 8:45pm, 15 minutes before close, to pick up my car, my tires hadn't even been mounted and balanced yet! They were still removing the old tires from the rims. When I asked whether they would have everything done for me that evening, the Technicians didn't even know that my car needed an alignment! At this point, they looked swamped, and I told them that I could pick my car up the next day instead. The Technicians assured me that my alignment would be done first thing when the shop opened the next morning.

I made plans to pick up my car over my lunch hour the next day, and I called around 11:30am to confirm my car was finished, as I had not received a phone call yet. The person who answered the phone said that they had no idea my car needed an alignment, and it had not been done. He said he was left no information regarding my vehicle. I WAS IRATE! They hadn’t even bothered to call and let me know that the tires were done! They had now had my car from open to close Tuesday, and half a day on Wednesday, and my 2 hour job had not been completed!!! The technician assured me that my alignment would be completed by 5pm, and that I could pick up my car then.

I went to pick up my car that evening and asked to speak with a store manager, as this entire process was completely unacceptable. The store manager was paged, and called the shop back, several minutes later, and the front desk person told the manager he had someone that would like to speak with them, and then stepped out of the front desk into the shop. He then came back in and said that the auto shop supervisor could come talk to me instead. THE STORE MANAGER COULDN’T BOTHER TO WALK 200 FEET from their office to come talk about a serious problem! The shop supervisor apologized for the all the problems I had, but said there was nothing he could do really since I had pre-paid for everything except my TPMS sensors.

Moral: Make sure your paperwork is correct, and follow-up with the process, they DO NOT know what they are doing there, and DO NOT know how to communicate properly! Also, the store managers are not responsive, and therefore, do not seem to care about the problems the service...

I’m an idiot. I bought a Stihl chainsaw at Blaine’s in Verona last year and burned it up within a few months of use. First time saw user and paid the price for my ignorance. Anyway I took it in for repair, and I was told by one of engine repair guys that it was possibly past the point of repair and they would pull it apart and get back to me in a day or two. Weeks went by, a made a call and was told they hadn’t even looked at it yet. I then waited some days longer with still no follow up. I finally called again prepared to get some resolution. I spoke to a manager who promised to address the situation. Over the next day or two I received multiple calls from different people at Blaine’s apologizing and offering a rapid response. I eventually spoke with the store manager, Kyle, and the situation could not have been handled better. He patiently heard me out and presented an atmosphere of wanting to make it right. After considering the totality of the experience, he offered a substantial discount on a new saw, which I had already decided to purchase. It was amounted to more than what I expected or thought would be fair enough. Clearly he wanted to not only resolve the matter, but he also demonstrated professionalism in ensuring that the relationship is stronger going forward rather than weaker. It was a pleasure dealing with a team of people who demonstrate high level customer service. We shop there for a variety of things for our property, pets and vehicles. I was previously impressed with the experience of buying my original saw there. The guys in back, Tyler the engine shop manager, and Taylor the other excellent mechanic, both have been very informative and helpful. I believe my case was a simple organizational error with work orders etc, and it’s important to state that I have only had positive interactions with all staff members before and during this process. And the manner in which it was handled once I sounded the alarms was nothing short of exemplary. I truly appreciate the commitment of individuals in maintaining high standards, as they are the ones who either achieve or not the mission goals of the company. As a former restaurant owner and long time customer service pro myself, I always attempt to shift my purchasing power toward those who actually value it and away from those who show little or no appreciation for the privilege of earning my loyalty. Blaine’s has shown that the old model still works—take care of your customers and they will take care of you. Always worked for me in the restaurant...

I took my car in for a brake repair and it took three visits and a tow truck ride to complete.

After a full inspection of my brakes I needed front and rear brakes, which I was expecting. The 1st service was fast and fair. But when I went to pickup my car I could push my brake petal all the way to the floor. I was told by the mechanic this was normal... before bringing my car in it has never done this. He was adamant this was normal, but id never experienced this in my car before. After some back and forth it was agreed to have my car looked at again, free of charge, but a few days way. After my car was looked at again, I was satisfied with the repair. However, after this second repair my fiancee noticed a baning sound coming from the car. After my own inspection I found that all 5 of my lug nuts were lose on one tire and 2/5 had broken off. I then tightened the remaining three and called requesting to talk to a store manager. He was very helpful and paid to for a tow truck to pick up my car and have the car repaired again, at no charge to me. It's important to note the 2 broken lugs had clear beach marking. (Meaning the tire had been loose for somw time). After taking again to the "certified' mechanic he reported to me that it's not clear if the broken lugs were there fullt or or not and that the lugs "broke like they were cross threaded and it's un clear if it was there fult or not". Regardless of this they did not charge me for this 3rd repair. After this 3rd repair I have had no need to return, but will not go back.

Ultimately the higher management was helpful but the shop management and mechanics gave me factually incorrect information, whether they knew it or not. I'm glad no one got hurt in this but I'm hoping to save others...