Dan's Auto Repair

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/08/12) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: [redacted]
Contact Email: [redacted]
This was a reservation made by [redacted] via our web site booking engine on [redacted]. The confirmation is attached. The...

confirmation clearly described the 18% resort fee and 15% Harmonized Sales Tax. The policy statements indicates clearly that the 18% is applied to all items on the final invoice. The price of the stay is also clearly stated. It became apparent these guests were on a budget, and at check-out it became clear that [redacted] had not fully explained the price to the other people staying in the cottage, including presumably the complainant. The complaint about the 18% and 15% is therefore unfounded. They advised us after the first day that they did not want the daily maid service or the nightly turn-down service. We cannot provide services that are refused. They refused the twice-daily cleaning and maintenance of the cottage. They also dined once, and then informed us that they would not be taking any more meals with us. Our prices are very clearly stated online at our web site and at the reception desk. Our conclusion is that the group very quickly concluded they were staying somewhere beyond their budget. Refusing maid service does not obviate the 18% fee, however.
It is simply untrue that the property is not in good condition. We are inspected on a regular basis by objective third-party agenices including Canada Select (from whom we have a 5-star rating; 4.5 stars for the cottage). We are also regularly inspected by CAA/AAA (3 diamonds), Select Registry (anonymous inspection including a 2-night stay); Small Luxury Hotels of the World (anonymous inspection including a 2-night stay); and [redacted] (independant inspector). These organizations do not approve or highly rate properties that are in the condition described by this guest. The 18% fee covers use of all recreational facilities and services, incduing kayaks, mountain bikes, canoes, wood-fired riverside hot tub, riverside sauna, nature trails, boardwalks, WiFi, satellite HDTV, free coffee, tea, espresso, fruit, & soft drinks, as well as basic gratuity. All of these services and facilities were available to these guests without additional charge. We are sorry that the guest making this complaint did not see value in her stay, however there was no failure whatsoever on the part of Trout Point Lodge to advise of the 18% fee when the reservations was made, or to provide the services & facilities the fee covers. It should go without saying that we are required by the law to charge 15% Harmonized Sales Tax. The vast majority of Trout Point guests are extremely satisifed by their experience with us, and we have an extremely high rate of guest return.
The fact that the person complaining is not the person who made the reservation may explain some of her dissatisfaction. We do not know what was explained to her by the person who did make the reservation.
In addition, this group tried to leave the property without paying their final bill, which is an offence under Sec. 364(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada. Fortunately, in the end they did settle this valid debt. A copy of the final invoice is also attached.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2016/08/16) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Our group of 4, who travel together often, discussed that this was a bit of a splurge to stay at this property, but were really excited about it, as it got great reviews on the internet. It was not "out of our budget" and we would have been fine with the cost if we had gotten the quality experience that we were led to expect. When we arrived at the property, we were required to sign a waiver that said that we were not allowed to post negative reviews or photos on public sites or we would risk being sued. Is that even legal??? We were visiting Canada, far from our homes, quite a distance from the closest town of any size and we did not have other lodging options. We felt like we were over a barrel. No wonder the reviews on the internet are so high if people are not allowed to leave honest reviews without the fear of a law suit. We only ate dinner at the restaurant once because it was not very good and was very expensive for being so mediocre. Once again, if it had been good, we would have been fine with paying a premium price for it. The dinner that we had consisted of a piece of overcooked salmon (nothing else on the plate), a bowl of okay soup (they were out of the "locally sourced" papaya/mango salad), a few pieces of a sushi roll (not fresh), and a dessert. One of our party had the chicken and he said it was good, and it came with 4 green beans. Another of our party had a pear tart for dessert that was not edible. Our dinner was $[redacted]/person, including tax and gratuity, but not including beverages. For that price, we expected it to be good. We would have liked to have dinner at the restaurant more than once, but after our first experience, we decided that driving 40 minutes each way to [redacted] to purchase groceries was the lesser of two evils. Also, I was specifically told that the massage that I signed up for did NOT include gratuity. I was pleased with the massage therapist and tipped her $** on a $[redacted] massage--only at check out did I discover that the 18% gratuity plus 15% tax on top of the gratuity was charged on the massage, too. We did not try to leave the property without paying, as the owner (who was not present--ever) suggested. We were simply discussing our options as we felt completely ripped off and when we asked for the contact information for the owners, we were given the email address and address of the lodge. I have photos of the lack of maintenance that I would be happy to share with the owners so that they can see for themselves the condition that their property has sunk to. The sad thing is that it could be a great place to stay and I'm sure it was nice at some point in time. The setting is lovely, but neglect has taken its toll. I don't think it is fair that other people will take the 4.9 star reviews from [redacted] as a true reflection of the quality of the resort--simply because people are not allowed to post the truth.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 13, 2016/08/30) */
There is no use in responding to complaints that change constantly--a moving target--and do not state the truth. Before the complaint was not receiving housekeeping when in fact the guests told us not to do anymore housekeeping or turn-down service.
Now the complaint is different, focusing on Trout Point's privacy policy, the food, and online reviews, and now the location is a problem. Trout Point is 20 minutes from the nearest store, and ** minutes from a major town with shops and supermarkets--not as described by the complaint. The guests chose to reserve and stay at Trout Point, a wilderness lodge. They had lots of other options for places to reserve and stay in Southwest Nova Scotia. They were not in any way "over a barrell."
The owners are and were present on site everyday, including on the day of departure when the guests, in ear shot of Trout Point employees, said they were going to leave without paying. The owners also cook dinner every night. Dinner is $[redacted] per person, not $[redacted] per person as stated in the complaint. Again, we have thoroughly reviewed this complaint and appreciate the time it has taken for this person to detail the purported problems, however the main issue still seems to be price, not quality.
To resolve this issue, we would be happy to offer a 15% discount off the room rate of any future stay for up to two years from today's date.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 15, 2016/09/03) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The complaint is simple--we did not get what we paid for. We expected good food and well-cared-for lodging. We got neither, but we certainly paid for it! We are not allowed to post anything "objectionable" in print or pictures. If the owners were on site every day, shame on them for allowing their property to fall into such disrepair and for not allowing guests to post honest reviews. My original complaint stands, and the follow up information was in response to specific questions by the Revdex.com, and the accusations of the lodge owners.
We did not leave without paying, now did we? We paid almost $[redacted] for 4 nights stay. It should have been a good experience. We asked to speak to the owners when we were checking out and were told they were not available. We never met the owners in 4 days of being at the property. Our complaint was NOT that we didn't receive housekeeping service--but rather that we were required to pay for quality and services that were not there. I feel like I was quite clear about that in my previous messages. We were NOT on a budget--but we do like to get at least somewhere close to what we pay for.
We have traveled a lot, both internationally and domestically. I can't recall having ever written a complaint about a property or even about a meal. We are not all that hard to please. Your lodge over-promises and under delivers.
And one last note. Dinner was, as you said, $[redacted] plus mandatory 18% gratuity, which equals $[redacted]. Per Person. Not including beverages. So I guess I exaggerated by $[redacted] if you don't count taxes. Sorry about that. But whatever. We did not feel like the dinner that we had was worth that, so we ended up driving to [redacted] to get groceries (40 minutes each way--according to your website) and cooking for ourselves the rest of our stay.
Trust me, we will not be back to stay at your property, so your offer of a discount for a future stay is worthless. That is not customer service. An apology or asking how you could have made our stay better? That might be worth something.

I spoke with you Wednesday,04/19/17,at approximately 10a.m. We talked about a complaint that I filed. At the time I did not know the case number. The case #[redacted]. I was filing against Danv Auto Repair. I talked with [redacted] of the shop and we reached an agreement where as I am dropping the...

complaint. If he do not meet his part, I am filing another complaint and will not drop it. Again, I would like to drop the complaint #[redacted]. Thank you for your assistance. I pray that I will not have to file again.
 
Sincerely,
 
[redacted]
 
 
P.S. If you need any more information you can call me at [redacted]. I tried to text to a [redacted]org, but it do not go thru. That is the person who is representing.

I am rejecting this response because I was informed by others that the battery was not the problem and that it was related to the fuel pump.  I gave the business an opportunity to repair the car a second time, but they failed to do so.  The tragedy in this matter is that I'm out of $1,111.85 and my car has been inoperable for almost 6 months.  My only regret in this experience was to trust this business to fix my car at a reasonable price.  I strongly believe to this day that I was ripped off and the owner has no business ethics or morals.  Moving forward, I will trust the workmanship of my cars to the dealership.