Hawaii Auto Outlet LLC

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2014/06/04) */
June 3, 2014

Re: Case [redacted]

This complaint is so unbelievable it's humorous (and laughable) and I just have to respond.

This customer only provides you with what they want you to think happened ...but it's actually far...

from reality. (and all the "good" parts are omitted.) First some history: Whenever the [redacted] had anything happen with the vehicle they would just show up and expect us to address their concerns immediately. They did not call to make an appointment (which is clearly delineated in our policy, which they signed).

When we had their vehicle in the shop Mr. [redacted] would "harass" the mechanics and make demands. (Just his personality I guess). Previously when the vehicle had issues we even provided them with a loaner vehicle (which our policy clearly stated we do not do) to assist them because they needed their vehicle for the business. Of course those things are not mentioned in the "complaint."

The incident to which they refer, once again the simply showed up and "demanded that we fix it asap." Of course there were other customers who had made appointments and therefore had priority over the [redacted]'s vehicle. So, if we had the mechanics working on other vehicles rather than theirs it's because the other customers came in first (with an appointment).

They list all of the things that were wrong with the van. All things that were NOT associated with a blown head gasket. When we talk to customers at the time of sale and we explain our appointment policy we explain to them that we have set aside Monday and Friday for customer vehicles. But we also tell them that if the vehicle overheats we don't want them to wait for a Monday of a Friday but to call us right away and that we don't want them driving the vehicle because it can cause major damage. Their complaint clearly states that they were driving the vehicle while it was overheating "for 3 days."

When someone has a blown head we have to take them off (a couple day job) and send them out to a machine shop. We have no control over how many days the outside machine shop takes to complete the necessary work. They also clearly state that some of the delay in completing their job was because we were "looking for parts." Sometimes parts have to be ordered from the mainland and that just adds more time.


When Mrs. [redacted] came into the office demanding to know EXACTLY when the vehicle would be done. I told her I didn't know and could not give her an exact date. She became angry, and very "caustic." I finally told her that that when we were done - this would be the last time we'd fix their vehicle. I then responded by telling her she could leave. So she did and sent in Mr. [redacted]. That's when things heated up even more. When Mr. [redacted] refused to leave I walked outside he followed. I tried to step back inside and close the door. But he refused to move out of the door way, so I pushed him aside and closed the door.

That's when he decided I "assaulted" him and he called the police. They came and spoke with the [redacted]and myself and left. Then the language from Mr. [redacted] got so nasty that it was unbelievable. He was even saying things about my wife and every other word was a 4-syllable word.

At that point I told them that "I was done working on their vehicle." I said that I would give it back to them along with the parts once they paid me for what I had already purchased and I handed them copies of all of the receipts. Then Mr. [redacted] approached my mechanic and offered him money to finish it for him. The mechanic denied. He then told me he's pay me money to finish, and I refused as well. At that point all work on their vehicle had stopped. So with many, many more curse words they that said they would go get the money.

I told my mechanics to put all of the parts inside the vehicle and move it out of the way. They made a big mistake and actually pushed the vehicle off the lot. When I realized what had been done I got a tow truck and parked it in front of the [redacted] vehicle. As I had suspected Mr. [redacted] had already called a tow truck to come get his vehicle and made it clear that he was NOT going to pay me. He said now that the vehicle was off my property I could not touch it. When his tow truck arrived he could not get to the [redacted] vehicle because I refused to move my tow truck . [redacted] screamed at his tow truck driver telling him to come around and tow his vehicle from behind. His tow truck driver said he couldn't do that, and the driver left.

Then after what seemed like hundreds of curse words Mr. [redacted] stood behind my tow truck as I started to back up. He started screaming at his wife "get the camera, get the camera...he's going to knock me down with his truck." Then when Mrs. [redacted] was "in place" he pushed himself away from the back of my truck, fell to the ground and yelled to her "He knocked me down...he knocked me down...did you get it on camera?" He then yelled: "Call the police, call the police..." So she did and we all waited for them to arrive.

There were witnesses to the entire thing so when the police arrived (it was the same two officers that had previously came) They took statements, both written and oral from all parties involved. Then Mr. [redacted] told the police that he had already paid me. I told the officers that was not true. I asked Mr. [redacted] to produce a receipt.
When he couldn't he next told them that he didn't have any money and he wasn't going to pay me. The police who had seen me give [redacted] all of the receipts previously explained to him that up to that point I had purchased parts for the repair of his vehicle and that he wasn't going to get it back unless he paid me. Then miraculously Mrs. [redacted] pulled the money out that she had gotten from the bank. The police officers asked that I write Mr. [redacted] a receipt, which I did.

The [redacted]refused to pay me directly and gave the money to the police officers who then gave it to me.

The the last sentence of his complaint about my "Breach of Contract" is the funniest part of the whole thing. Concerning our Free Labor Policy he writes: ...the following is our policy and as deemed as such that at any time we may change, modify or discontinue this policy without notice...".

So, after the [redacted] acted as they did I simply chose to exercise my right to "discontinue their policy".

If the [redacted]would have been reasonable we would have fixed their vehicle in as timely a fashion as possible. All the Labor would have been free and all they would have paid is the wholesale cost of the parts, (a policy unheard of in the auto industry.) However, after the way they acted I don't think there's a businessman anywhere that would want to keep people like Mr. and Mrs. [redacted] as their customers.

So, regarding his "Desired Resolution"...all I can say is "Really???"

And concerning a "letter of apology" I guess HE OWES US ONE for acting like he did and trying to make you think he was the party wronged in all of this. He chose to act as he did I responded within my rights as outlined in our policy.

Now that you know the rest of the story I would appreciate you forwarding my response to the [redacted]s, and would not like to hear from you again regarding this matter ...other than to tell me the file is closed.

I also hope if you post the "complaint" on your web site for the public to see that you'll also post this response, so people get the "whole story."

Thank You.

[redacted], Vice President