Northern Air & Auto Inc.

I booked appointment for Thursday Shane told me I could drop it off anytime, trailered vehicle in Tuesday eveningPhoned Wednesday morning to tell where the key was, they said they might be able to diagnose it that morning, by 1:that day they phoned said it was done I was really impressed with the serviceI showed up today at noon with another truck to work on he did a quick diagnoses of what I thought was wrong, truck wouldn't start for us, told Shane to work on it when he can, but I know when he is done it will be a great running truck again

Complaint[redacted] I went to the business in person to make an appointment for a free quote, and I told them the issue with my SUV. The receptionist [redacted] noted that, and made the appointment for a few days later. I went to the appointment and spoke with the co-owner/tech, [redacted] and told him I was here for a free quote and what the issue was with my SUV. [redacted]. They said it would take 30-60min, so I sat at the shop [redacted]. [redacted] did not work at my SUV the entire time [redacted]. When finished, [redacted] came out and said what the issue was, told me a price for a part and labor to fix it, and then said I was being charged for today. I asked why, as they knew I was here for a free quote. He said, "Well, we had to take a panel off, and that took time to find the issue". Well, yes, but I was here for a FREE quote (in which they never gave me a written quote for service on what they felt needed to be done, only verbal). [redacted]. [redacted] then was ringing me in and I again said I was here for a FREE quote and should not be charged. She said, "Well, we knew you were here for a free quote, but where they took time to find the problem, we decided to only charge you 1/2 for a diagnostic". [redacted]. I tried to argue the bill, too. I called my spouse at work and he then called the business, [redacted]. He spoke to a man who said, "Yes, she should not have paid as there was no work order, she didn't sign anything, but you can take it up with small claims". [redacted]. I tried to rectify the situation after calling back to speak with [redacted] and again, asked for a refund. She said my spouse never called [redacted], and she said [redacted] would call me back that afternoon or the next day. 3 days passed with no call. I called again and spoke with [redacted]. She said, "Sorry, we've been busy and we placed your issue on the back burner". [redacted]. She said the only way I could have received a free quote was to book back for work and to order the new part. They did NOT tell me this at any point. Not during the initial booking, nor the day of the appointment. [redacted] called back that afternoon. He said he never heard me say I wanted a free quote, and that they don't so free quotes anymore. [redacted]. I said, when it came to the point that they had to do "work" on my SUV, they should have come out from the bay to let me know they had to dig deeper to find the issue, and then I would be charged their time, but they did not. [redacted]. He said we could have worked out something that day, but because I complained publicly, they would not give me a refund. My spouse went on the phone as well, but they would not help us. [redacted] I want a refund. They admitted they KNEW I was there for a free quote, as they said that, yet they charged me for a half price diagnostic. [redacted]Desired SettlementI am merely seeking my refund of the "Diagnostic" that was unfairly charged. The total was $52.26.Business Response The situation to our understanding is as the following... The customer in this case came into our business the week before to make an appointment for the following week she said she had taken her vehicle to another establishment and and they were going to over charge her to fix it, so she would like an appointment for her vehicle to be looked at as the gas cap door would not open and a quote as to how much it will cost for repairs. We did not here the word *free*. The following week (March 23rd, 2015) she arrived for her appointment and explained again the issue with the vehicle to the technician still not mentioning any free work, he took the keys and pulled the vehicle into the first bay and started to work alongside a second technician. The two technicians agreed they would need to pull off a panel to follow the line in which the door (problem) was attached, after they located the problem, the owner/technician proceeded to research the parts and labor costs required to fix her issue as the second technician put the paneling back together. This process took roughly one hour and fifteen minutes. We then proceeded to make an invoice for the diagnosis time both technicians spent on the vehicle. The invoice stated we only charged her half an hour (.5) for the time that was taken and did not charge her shop supplies. As the technician backed the vehicle out of the first bay and the receptionist explained the bill and read the quote saying the problem was with your "fuel door switch" and that would be what needed to be replaced. The owner and technician explained how they came to that conclusion and broke down the costs it would be to fix it. The customer paused and responded asking why it wasn't free, the technician explained that the quote was free but the diagnosis ( his as well as another technician) needed to be paid for the time they spent figuring out the problem and explained that she was only being charged for half an hours work and we waved the rest of the fees, he also explained that if she would like to book another appointment for the work to be done he would give her a discount, and again explained that with a quote you need to be able to tell a customer what the problem is and to do that you need to diagnose a problem which will take a technicians time and they deserved to be paid for that time. At this time she paid the bill and would not like to re-book till she spoke to her spouse. [redacted], she had called the business at a later time and demanded to be reimbursed, she was told that it would have to be discussed with the owner and we would call her back in a few days. [redacted] Then the owner called his lawyer, his lawyer informed him to dismiss and keep the payment. When she phoned again, it was again explained that technicians need to be paid for their time and she did in fact receive a quote and diagnosis at a reduced cost. [redacted] The owner told the couple he understood their feelings and once again explained the situation and that no employee or owner heard the word *free* at the beginning of the appointment or while she booked it, [redacted] We do have a signed work order with her signature as well as are in the process of attaining phone records of the two week period around the date of the issue. Our repeating customers that have built relationships with our business know that we do not work on vehicles without previous authorization or consent. [redacted]

I booked appointment for Thursday Shane told me I could drop it off anytime, trailered vehicle in Tuesday evening. Phoned Wednesday morning to tell where the key was, they said they might be able to diagnose it that morning, by 1:30 that day they phoned said it was done. I was really impressed with the service. I showed up today at noon with another truck to work on he did a quick diagnoses of what I thought was wrong, truck wouldn't start for us, told Shane to work on it when he can, but I know when he is done it will be a great running truck again. ","pos-1