Atlantic Tractor

It looks like the service manager has no regard for the customer from the letter above. I just had an absolutely horrible experience at Atlantic Tractor..I have done business with Atlantic Tractor and it was only buying parts..but this time I had no one that could perform..mechanical work for me so I came in and scheduled a time for them to pick up my tractor..They made the appointment..and charged me 190 dollars..100 to pick up the tractor and 90 for diagnosis..I waited and waited to hear from them..No call of any kind for several days..I finally called them..I got an answering machine a number of times and finally got someone..They said well we have 7 others ahead of you so I will have to call you back..I waited and didn't get a call so..left a message...They finally called me back..The lady on the phone said..The tech said the tractor started and there is nothing wrong with the tractor..I said yes there is.It is sluggish and it backfires..She said well it didn't do it so we can't diagnose if it isn't doing what you said..I said it has to run for a while for it to happen..She started laughing and I mean laughing and said..well we can't make diagnosis if it doesn't do anything..Again I said there is something wrong with the mower..I had the guy who picked it up struggling to get it up the ramp because it was hesitating an sluggish..I had someone who works with tractors say it as well..I used it and I am not stupid..I know when something is not running right..But she continued to laugh..insulting me..with her attitude that I had no clue..It was a really bad experience and myself as a manager for way over 30 years..knew his woman did not belong on a phone answering customer calls..But the long story short..The tech.finally got it to "duplicate" the problem..I talked to the person answering the phone and she was actually nice and said she would check with the tech..Then I talked to Colleen who was the one who treated me so horribly and she said that it was the carburater and they said it would cost me 800 dollars for service and carburater..So why did I have to go through this insulting horrible experience when this did not have to happen..Now I am paying almost a thousand dollars altogether...to be treated like they were doing me a favor..What has happened to customer service there?..There is an issue there that needs to be fixed..because gas engines are not going to be around much longer..You need to treat people..with courtesy not insult them..

DDerewicz.

Review: The concern is expressed for work done at the Atlantic Tractor in Clayton, DE. I clicked on THAT Clayton location and the next screen showed up as the New Castle, DE facility.

The following entirely copied email was sent on the morning of Sept 25, 2013, and no acknowledgement or response has been received. Photos referenced were also sent but I can't see how I can include these here. Photos clearly support the facts included in the email that the carb was not cleaned:

"I recently brought my LX288 for repair to your location. The problem was a rolling idle which persisted up about ½ throttle. I was told that the carburetor needed to be replaced and the part cost was about $260 with a total cost of over $400. I was also told that the air filter needed replacement and the belts were near breaking, both of which were true. I had just installed the old belts on the machine since I was intending to do some real heavy work and did not want to break the nearly new ones that were on there. I had purchased a new air filter already. I was also told that the fuel filter was dirty and needed to be replaced. Not more than two thimblefuls of gas had gone thru that filter. Only enough fuel to get the mower on and off my trailer when I brought it to you was passed thru the filter.

I went to your location to retrieve the mower and was told I was subject to a $70 diagnosis charge. I was told that the carb was cleaned and it made no difference and needed to be replaced. As you can see from the attached photos taken today, the carb was definitely NOT cleaned, not even on the outside. The dirt was all over the carb and the junction between the carb and the block. We cleaned the outside with brake cleaner only and checked the needle, seat and float and it was fine. I have two other photos if these do not convey the fact that it was not cleaned.

Your people diagnosed the problem incorrectly. The governor was out of adjustment. That was the only problem. It runs now even better than it did before I began to have a problem.

This is to formally request a refund of the diagnosis charge which was totally incorrect. I suspect I would have had to pay again for something else when it was found that the new carb was NOT the problem, and that assumes that I would have ever known what the actual corrective action really was.

Please inform me of how and when you will refund the $70 charge that was improperly assessed."Desired Settlement: Acknowledgement of email for a beginning, and an agreement that work claimed to be done, i.e. cleaning the carb, was not done based on the photos provided, and that even if it was done, the carb was not the problem. Atlantic Tractor has not seen the tractor since the real problem was corrected, but I will certify that it runs even better now than before I started experiencing the problem for which it was brought for repair.

Business

Response:

October 4, 2013

I received a letter from the Revdex.com on 10/2/2013, along with a statement from you regarding some work done at our service department. I have taken the time to review your complaint and also talk to my service manager along with our techs and service writer to in effort to resolve this issue.

I have found that your mower was brought in for a rough running condition. Our responsibility was to diagnose the problem and report to you with a quote to fix what we found in the diagnoses, provided you agreed to the quote when we were done. The quote had a $70.00 fee that you were made aware of when you dropped off your mower.

From everything that I see, the service staff at Atlantic Tractor performed the duties that was agreed on when you dropped your mower off. The agreement was not an agreement to repair, but to diagnose the problem. You were not charged an excessive amount, it is our normal diagnoses fee that applies to everyone.

I am truly sorry that you are not happy with the results, however we need to be paid for our techs time to perform such duties as diagnoses and repair for the equipment that we represent. In the future, should you decide to visit our facility again, please come to see me so we can compensate you with a gift card to help with any future purchases that you may need for your mower, toys or John Deere sportswear. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at [redacted]

Atlantic Tractor, Clayton Branch

Consumer

Response: