Meineke Car Care Center #2233

Once again, this is another classic example of "bait and switch"A price was advertised and sent to me personally, then upon arrival I was told that the service was not available at the advertised priceMakes no difference where the solicitation was sent fromI'm sure most people would just say ok and accept the higher price, but I will stand on principle even if the dealer will notThe amount of money that I have spent in their establishment in the past has no bearing whatsoever in this matterI am frankly quite puzzled as to why they felt the need to mention itIf I had spent thousands of dollars over the years would that have made a difference? It sounds as if that is what they are trying to sayIn retrospect, I guess there is a reason I didn't have more work done at their establishmentI had a sense that they were a bit on the "shady" side with their business practices and now I know that I was right to listen to my intuitionIt's a shame and not too intelligent to lose any customer over $I will be getting oil changes elsewhere moving forward, long after their business has been shuttered due to poor customer service and bad business decision making

Attached is the copy of the postcard that customer sent to you
Which clearly states on the copy “at participating locations” - circled
Since January 1, 2014, the sign has been in front of the,building (a 3’ by 4.5’ sign) which is stating Oil
Change $and there is also a sign on the front counter stating this price (right in front of
customer)NO DECEPTION
**Both of these signs were and have been in place since January 1, and not just placed
when this customer arrived
Attached is the copy of the email from Meineke corporate to this customer (which was given to you
before)It states each shop is individually owned and operated, prices are fixed by the free market that
exists in each areaSince the corporate headquarters does not regulate pricing, each shop can opt out of
of participating special or coupon offering
There will be no change in the price of our oil changes that are currently on our signsThe basic oil
change starts at $plus tax and disposal fee
Should this particular customer wish not to pay the current price, then that is their personal choice in
the matterThis customer has been to our facility only times with a total spent of $(oil change
$23.68, oil change $and oil change $16.21)
In regards to the matter, There is no difference from one customer to the next and this coupon will not
be accepted at our facility by any one consumer
Thisacustomer has been removed from the corporate mailing list to avoid any further confrontations
This is faxed to you 3/27/and will also be mailed
Thanks
Meineke

Greetings. Attached please find the opposing side of the postcard that the Meineke dealership chose to exclude from their response to your inquiry. As you can see, it clearly displays their name and location in the return address portion of the card. I feel very strongly that to ask for an...

additional $5.00 or 25% increase in the advertised price upon arrival is highly deceptive. If you need any additional information, please let me know. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Regards, [redacted].

Review: I received a postcard reminder that my vehicle was due for an oil change. The card had the name, address and telephone number of the nearest Meineke location printed in upper right hand corner and listed basic oil changes at a cost of $19.95. Upon driving the 6 miles to the service center, we were informed that they were not participating in the $19.95 promotion and that their oil changes start at $24.95. When we questioned their address being on the card, they stated that the cards are sent from the corporate office in South Carolina and they have nothing to do with the sending of the cards. After several minutes of debate, they still refused to honor the advertised price so we left. I feel that this was a deceptive situation and the dealer should honor the advertised price or be taken off of the mailing list which they say they have no control over.Desired Settlement: I feel that this was a deceptive situation and the dealer should honor the advertised price or be taken off of the mailing list which they say they have no control over.

Consumer

Response:

Greetings. Attached please find the opposing side of the postcard that the Meineke dealership chose to exclude from their response to your inquiry. As you can see, it clearly displays their name and location in the return address portion of the card. I feel very strongly that to ask for an additional $5.00 or 25% increase in the advertised price upon arrival is highly deceptive. If you need any additional information, please let me know. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Regards, [redacted].

Consumer

Response:

Once again, this is another classic example of "bait and switch". A price was advertised and sent to me personally, then upon arrival I was told that the service was not available at the advertised price. Makes no difference where the solicitation was sent from. I'm sure most people would just say ok and accept the higher price, but I will stand on principle even if the dealer will not. The amount of money that I have spent in their establishment in the past has no bearing whatsoever in this matter. I am frankly quite puzzled as to why they felt the need to mention it. If I had spent thousands of dollars over the years would that have made a difference? It sounds as if that is what they are trying to say. In retrospect, I guess there is a reason I didn't have more work done at their establishment. I had a sense that they were a bit on the "shady" side with their business practices and now I know that I was right to listen to my intuition. It's a shame and not too intelligent to lose any customer over $5.00. I will be getting oil changes elsewhere moving forward, long after their business has been shuttered due to poor customer service and bad business decision making.

Business

Response:

Attached is the copy of the postcard that customer sent to you.

Which clearly states on the copy “at participating locations” - circled

Since January 1, 2014, the sign has been in front of the,building (a 3’ by 4.5’ sign) which is stating Oil

Change $24.95 and there is also a sign on the front counter stating this price (right in front of

customer). NO DECEPTION.

**Both of these signs were and have been in place since January 1, 2014 and not just placed

when this customer arrived.

Attached is the copy of the email from Meineke corporate to this customer (which was given to you

before). It states each shop is individually owned and operated, prices are fixed by the free market that

exists in each area. Since the corporate headquarters does not regulate pricing, each shop can opt out of

of participating special or coupon offering.

There will be no change in the price of our oil changes that are currently on our signs. The basic oil

change starts at $24.95 plus tax and disposal fee.

Should this particular customer wish not to pay the current price, then that is their personal choice in

the matter. This customer has been to our facility only 3 times with a total spent of $63.57 (1 oil change

$23.68, 1 oil change $23.68 and 1 oil change $16.21)

In regards to the matter, There is no difference from one customer to the next and this coupon will not

be accepted at our facility by any one consumer.

Thisacustomer has been removed from the corporate mailing list to avoid any further confrontations.

This is faxed to you 3/27/20 14 and will also be mailed.

Thanks

Meineke