TA Truck Service — Local services in Laredo

I almost always have good things to say about TA and Petro services. (I'm a Landstar owner operator.) However today was not one of those days.

My trailer ABS light came on so I pulled in here on the way to my receiver to get it checked out and repaired.... A lot of DOT in area and I didn't want to get pulled over and put out of service.

I checked in at 8:45 in the morning, and got out into a service bay right away.... So far so good.

at 10:30 in the morning I got a call saying that they had only one technician and he would not be available until about 12:30. I had a little extra time before delivery so I said that'll be fine.

At 13:00 I went back inside to find out why no one was there working on my truck yet. They said they were expecting another technician to arrive soon and would be able to get to me in a few minutes.

Now I didn't note the the exact time but it was about a half hour later before technician actually started to work on my truck.

Around 14:30 I noticed nobody was working on my truck. I figured they had diagnose the problem and we're looking for parts and approval from my company to do the repairs.

Around 15:00 I want inside to check the status of the work. They said they were waiting for the report from the technician so they could submit it to my company for approval.

Around 15:40 I noticed the technician was by my trailer so I went back to talk with him. He said the bearings were bad causing ABS sensors to not function properly, and he needed to take more pictures for the work request. He also said he was going home at 4 pm and somebody else would be coming in to do the work.

Around 16:30 I went back in to check on things.... They said they had to send in some additional pictures along with the diagnosis before my company would approve it.

Around 17:00 I went back in again to check on the status of the job. Again they said they we're waiting for approval.

At this time I called my company to find out what the holdup was. They said they had no record of a request for work on my trailer.

So.... Come to find out they had typed in the wrong trailer when they submitted the request for work. That was a simple fix just change the number and resubmit. However the wrong trailer number did not cause any delay in approval for work request. The company would have approved the work regardless of the trailer number.

Long story..long day.

At 21:00 ...still no one working on my trailer.

When the technician did get a chance to work on my trailer.... He said that he suspected that the problem was misdiagnosed and he was waiting for the lead tech to return from a road call.

The techs (being generous here) were fumbling around with a dial indicator. I thought about showing them how to use it but decided it was a lost cause and let them grope in the dark.

Sometime later it was finally determined that the bearings are fine and it was probably just a sensor problem.

At 23:00 I finally got out of there after they had changed both of the ABS speed sensors on rear tlr axle.

In short I spent the whole day (close to 14 hours) listening to excuses. I was angry enough to just leave with my trailer and go somewhere else, but since I had already reported an ABS issue my company placed my trailer out of service until it was repaired.

I don't blame the technicians for what happened..this is a management problem!!!

At what point does a manager step up, take charge, solve the problem, and stop making excuses.

After waiting in my truck for 14 hours: no apologies, no concerns about my schedule, no attempt to make amends, and missed my delivery window for today.

I'll be sending emails to corporate customer service about this.

Update: 1-18-2020 I submitted my contact information to TA customer service as requested. Haven't heard anything back from them yet. I'm sure they'll get back with me after they've had time to look into it.

Update 8/25/2020 No response from TA. I suspect they already know they got major issues with this...

It’s very rare that I write reviews but if you see this please avoid using their services! We decided that after parking here and having a little downtime that we would go ahead and get a preventative maintenance service done on our truck. We waited six plus hours, he told us it would be one more hour and it ended up being three. They finally did the services on our truck and immediately after we had issues starting the truck. The tech said meet me inside in 10 minutes and I’ll have you square away….another hour and half went by. Immediately after the service our truck was making a really loud squeaking sound. I went back inside and informed them as they all stood around on their phones and acted as if they didn’t know what I was talking about. They literally had just finished our truck, eventually they find the paperwork and ask us to pull back in. By this time our engine light comes on and now the truck won’t even start. He then says you need to take it to Freightliner we could have made a mistake but there is something wrong with your engine. I explained that before they touched the truck it was perfectly fine as the truck is a 2022 and shouldn’t have any issues. At this moment everyone kinda disappears, I go back inside and here they are again standing around on their phones. The young lady looks at me and says I’ve already talk to your company and we need to hook your truck up to the computer. I’m confused because it’s our truck and nobody informed me of anything. After hours of frustration we wait until the morning and take the truck to Freightliner. Once they look at the truck they informed us that the PM services weren’t done properly. The wrong filters were used, they didn’t prime the fuel pump properly and the squeaking was coming from the fact that the technician also didn’t replace the oil properly. I called TA to inform them and they stated that a service manager would call me, I’m still waiting...

Absolutely terrible experience. 11:30 pm Starts off with there is 4 employees behind the counter of the fuel desk. A Woman's security guard, a woman. Cashier sitting in a chair behind the counter where you can't see her But you can hear her And two male employees, A service writer and a mechanic. I stand there waiting To purchase a shower. The service writer and the mechanic are on the phone, talking to a customer about parts. The security guard and the other woman are deep in conversation. I stand there for a few minutes Thinking. One of them is going to go. Hey, there's a customer. Maybe we should help them. But of course that doesn't happen. So I walked to the convenience store Counter to see about getting my shower. She tell me I have to get it from the fuel desk. I Walk back to the fuel desk. I had to literally interrupt the The two women's conversation to get someone to help me spend my money. It gets better after I take my shower. I come out and I'm going to purchase some truck supplies. I put it on the counter. The service writer tells me. Oh I can't check you out She will. I tell him Well, where's she at? She'll be back in a few minutes. apparently the girl That was deep in conversation Before my shower has now went somewhere else. Stood there for a few minutes. Why I listened to the service rider & the mechanic chat back and forth. Left my things on the counter and I will take my money elsewhere. Wow, truck stops have been taken...