Pocono Transmission Center

May 7, 2015The car was brought to Pocono Transmission Center on March 30, At that time we were very busy and five days out on appointmentsI told the customer we would check out the car and get back to himWe road tested the car and it had no 3rd or 4th gearWe ran a scan test on April 7, near the end of the business dayMy employees got the car on a lift on April 8, and did a pan drop and found debris in the transmission panI was not at the shop on April 8, in the afternoon due to a necessary doctor's appointmentI had a conversation with the customer and explained to him I was having medical problems (extremely elevated blood pressure) and that we were behind due to the volume of work at the shopHe said it was not a problem because he likes riding his bicycle when the weather is nice.I told the customer we had to remove the transmission and disassemble it to see what parts were damagedIf it was limited to the 3rd and 4th clutch pack that would be his best case scenario and it would cost about $to repair if nothing else was damagedThis car is an out of service police interceptor which is exposed to hard useThe odometer is not working so we didn't know the mileageI told him if he decided not to repair it he would not be obligated to fix it but would be responsible for the three hours of labor to remove, disassemble and inspect the transmissionThe customer agreed on April 9, at 11:am, to three hours labor to remove, disassemble and inspect the transmission to give him an exact priceUpon our inspection the transmission had much more damage than the 3rd and 4th clutchI discounted the labor and the parts to bring the price down to $plus taxHe had told one of my employees he had been given a price of $by another transmission shop before bringing the car to Pocono Transmission Center and said he felt he was being ripped off at that price.There had been no problem with this customer about the time it took to get the car apart until gave him the price.At that point he complained about the time it took and that I wasn't at the shop when he calledI reminded him that all along he said the time wasn't a problem as he enjoyed riding his bicycleI apologized five times for not being at the shop when he called because of health issuesAfter the fifth apology told him we needed to move on and I wasn't going to apologize againWhen the Conversation ended he told me he would call me backHe came in about a week later and paid $plus tax for the three hours of labor to remove and disassemble the transmission to See the extent of the damage to give a price to repair the transmission, which he had agreed to before we went aheadHe said he needed his car immediately, ready to towI had his car towed around to the front parking lot so it could be picked upMy employees boxed up his parts as fast as they could as to not have any more problems with the customerHe called me on May 1, and said one part was wrong and one part was missingThe part that was wrong was the transmission case, I found the correct one and personally delivered it to the other shop he brought his car to on Saturday May 2, The part that was missing was a torque converterI ordered a new one and delivered it to the other shop on Wednesday May 6, The torque converter is about a $partI gave that to him at no charge, we pride ourselves in excellent customer serviceMy employee said his bad torque converter was in the box with his other parts that was given to him when his car was picked upWe could not find the bad torque converter in the shop and did have other similar bad torque converters but we do mark all parts with the repair order number, his repair order number was ***I gave him that new part as a sort of peace offering at no chargeThe torque converter is worth more than the labor charges he paidAt my shop I do not want any unhappy customersI have spoken with the customer since and things are greatly improvedWe have been in business for years and customer satisfaction is our most important concern.Tom O

May 7, 2015The car was brought to Pocono Transmission Center on March 30, At that time we were very busy and five days out on appointmentsI told the customer we would check out the car and get back to himWe road tested the car and it had no 3rd or 4th gearWe ran a scan test on April 7,
near the end of the business dayMy employees got the car on a lift on April 8, and did a pan drop and found debris in the transmission panI was not at the shop on April 8, in the afternoon due to a necessary doctor's appointmentI had a conversation with the customer and explained to him I was having medical problems (extremely elevated blood pressure) and that we were behind due to the volume of work at the shopHe said it was not a problem because he likes riding his bicycle when the weather is nice.I told the customer we had to remove the transmission and disassemble it to see what parts were damagedIf it was limited to the 3rd and 4th clutch pack that would be his best case scenario and it would cost about $to repair if nothing else was damagedThis car is an out of service police interceptor which is exposed to hard useThe odometer is not working so we didn't know the mileageI told him if he decided not to repair it he would not be obligated to fix it but would be responsible for the three hours of labor to remove, disassemble and inspect the transmissionThe customer agreed on April 9, at 11:am, to three hours labor to remove, disassemble and inspect the transmission to give him an exact priceUpon our inspection the transmission had much more damage than the 3rd and 4th clutchI discounted the labor and the parts to bring the price down to $plus taxHe had told one of my employees he had been given a price of $by another transmission shop before bringing the car to Pocono Transmission Center and said he felt he was being ripped off at that price.There had been no problem with this customer about the time it took to get the car apart until gave him the price.At that point he complained about the time it took and that I wasn't at the shop when he calledI reminded him that all along he said the time wasn't a problem as he enjoyed riding his bicycleI apologized five times for not being at the shop when he called because of health issuesAfter the fifth apology told him we needed to move on and I wasn't going to apologize againWhen the Conversation ended he told me he would call me backHe came in about a week later and paid $plus tax for the three hours of labor to remove and disassemble the transmission to See the extent of the damage to give a price to repair the transmission, which he had agreed to before we went aheadHe said he needed his car immediately, ready to towI had his car towed around to the front parking lot so it could be picked upMy employees boxed up his parts as fast as they could as to not have any more problems with the customer.He called me on May 1, and said one part was wrong and one part was missingThe part that was wrong was the transmission case, I found the correct one and personally delivered it to the other shop he brought his car to on Saturday May 2, The part that was missing was a torque converterI ordered a new one and delivered it to the other shop on Wednesday May 6, The torque converter is about a $partI gave that to him at no charge, we pride ourselves in excellent customer serviceMy employee said his bad torque converter was in the box with his other parts that was given to him when his car was picked upWe could not find the bad torque converter in the shop and did have other similar bad torque converters but we do mark all parts with the repair order number, his repair order number was ***.I gave him that new part as a sort of peace offering at no chargeThe torque converter is worth more than the labor charges he paidAt my shop I do not want any unhappy customersI have spoken with the customer since and things are greatly improved.We have been in business for years and customer satisfaction is our most important concern.Tom O

May 7, 2015The car was brought to Pocono Transmission Center on March 30, 2015. At that time we were very busy and five days out on appointments. I told the customer we would check out the car and get back to him. We road tested the car and it had no 3rd or 4th gear. We ran a scan test on...

April 7, 2015 near the end of the business day. My employees got the car on a lift on April 8, 2015 and did a pan drop and found debris in the transmission pan. I was not at the shop on April 8, 2015 in the afternoon due to a necessary doctor's appointment. I had a conversation with the customer and explained to him I was having medical problems (extremely elevated blood pressure) and that we were behind due to the volume of work at the shop. He said it was not a problem because he likes riding his bicycle when the weather is nice.I told the customer we had to remove the transmission and disassemble it to see what parts were damaged. If it was limited to the 3rd and 4th clutch pack that would be his best case scenario and it would cost about $1000.00 to repair if nothing else was damaged. This car is an out of service police interceptor which is exposed to hard use. The odometer is not working so we didn't know the mileage. I told him if he decided not to repair it he would not be obligated to fix it but would be responsible for the three hours of labor to remove, disassemble and inspect the transmission. The customer agreed on April 9, 2015 at 11:29 am, to three hours labor to remove, disassemble and inspect the transmission to give him an exact price. Upon our inspection the transmission had much more damage than the 3rd and 4th clutch. I discounted the labor and the parts to bring the price down to $1868.00 plus tax. He had told one of my employees he had been given a price of $2495.00 by another transmission shop before bringing the car to Pocono Transmission Center and said he felt he was being ripped off at that price.There had been no problem with this customer about the time it took to get the car apart until gave him the price.At that point he complained about the time it took and that I wasn't at the shop when he called. I reminded him that all along he said the time wasn't a problem as he enjoyed riding his bicycle. I apologized five times for not being at the shop when he called because of health issues. After the fifth apology told him we needed to move on and I wasn't going to apologize again. When the Conversation ended he told me he would call me back. He came in about a week later and paid $225.00 plus tax for the three hours of labor to remove and disassemble the transmission to See the extent of the damage to give a price to repair the transmission, which he had agreed to before we went ahead. He said he needed his car immediately, ready to tow. I had his car towed around to the front parking lot so it could be picked up. My employees boxed up his parts as fast as they could as to not have any more problems with the customer.
He called me on May 1, 2015 and said one part was wrong and one part was missing. The part that was wrong was the transmission case, I found the correct one and personally delivered it to the other shop he brought his car to on Saturday May 2, 2015. The part that was missing was a torque converter. I ordered a new one and delivered it to the other shop on Wednesday May 6, 2015. The torque converter is about a $400.00 part. I gave that to him at no charge, we pride ourselves in excellent customer service. My employee said his bad torque converter was in the box with his other parts that was given to him when his car was picked up. We could not find the bad torque converter in the shop and did have other similar bad torque converters but we do mark all parts with the repair order number, his repair order number was [redacted].
I gave him that new part as a sort of peace offering at no charge. The torque converter is worth more than the labor charges he paid. At my shop I do not want any unhappy customers. I have spoken with the customer since and things are greatly improved.
We have been in business for 35 years and customer satisfaction is our most important concern.Tom O

response to [redacted] response to my first letter, I offer the following:The letter I submitted was merely a detailed account of what transpired during the lengthy time his truck was at Pocono Transmission Center.  It was in no way focusing on his personal business than the matter at hand.  We normally would not know this much about a customers personal life except they chose to tell us.  Mr.. William's truck was at Pocono Transmission for five months.  That is a very long time so the account I gave in my letter was a timeline of events.  We document phone calls, face to face conversations and authorization to go ahead with fixing a customers vehicle.  His wife was verbally abusive and that is why I chose to not do any new work for [redacted].  As I stated in my letter, I should not be subjected to being spoken to this way.  We never applied for an abandoned vehicle title and we are not slandering this customer.  Just stating what transpired.  Stating that we tried to apply for and abandoned title without notice never happened.  Please check with the state, it should be documented if we did .   We did not replace the transfer case and never told him we did.  My business is being slandered with false accusations and saying that we didn't do the work that is stated on the invoice.It is clearly stated on the invoice under the description of the work that we removed and replaced a 4L60E Transmission and flushed the cooler for the transmission.  On the left side of the invoice the parts used are listed.  A used 4L60E transmission with Torque converter, a transfer case input seal and gasket. (This is what is used to seal the back of the transmission) and fluid.  A new front seal and pan gasket for the transmission.  No where on this invoice does it say we replaced the transfer case. The claims of tire/wheel suspension and brake damage have nothing to do with a transmission being replaced.  We do not take any of those things apart to replace a transmission. Mr. William's first letter complains of the wheel and a leak coming from the transmission.  I addressed all of this in my response letter.His second letter now complains of tire/wheel suspension and brake damage. We did the work that Mr. [redacted] was charged for, which was transmission replacement.  His other complaints have nothing to do with the work we did and I stand firm that the work we performed was done properly and professionally.  I can not be responsible for these issues Mr. [redacted] has with his truck.Sincerely,Tom O'[redacted]Pocono Transmission Center

Review: On 01/19/13, while out of town with my Audi, the clutch of said vehicle broke and disabled the car.

The Car was taken to a local shop which informed me that they did not have experience with Audis so they would rather give the car to some other shop with more/better experience with foreign automobiles.

Pocono Transmission took the car, stating that they had experience with forein cars and that they would have no problem repairing it.

Regrettably it wasn't the case

Pocono transmission quoted me $1800 for parts and labor to repair the vehicle. I Ok'ed said estimate and they guaranteed the car would have been done in the following week.

I then made travel arrangements to go back to [redacted] to pick the car up. At my arrival they informed me that the car was not ready. The never called me to say that the car was not ready on the date they promise to deliver, they informed me of such once I had already traveled there.

The owner of the shop then promised to have the car ready within a week and that I would be able to pick the car up the following weekend.

This time, knowing their track record, I called before making the travel arrangements and I was informed that the car was still not ready.

On week 4 of the ongoing debacle, the owner of the shop calls stating that, albeit not totally repaired, the car is now "drivable" and suggests I take the vehicle to an Audi dealership back in [redacted]

After having the car there for 4 weeks and being basically at the same point where we started. I realize that the shop is unqualified to work on the car and I decide to take the shop owner's advice.

While this option is not the best one (since it entails driving 250miles with a questionable clutch), it is probably my best option since evidently this is as good as service/repair this shop can deliver.

So I decide to get my car out of there and into more qualified and reputable shop.

I make travel arrangements to get to ** again to pick the car up.

Saturday 02/18/13 I get to [redacted] and I drive my car away. Regrettably I travel as far as the first intersection (200 yards) before the clutch of the car breaks again and makes the car inoperable in an intersection.

Yet again I am forced to call on a tow service, at my expense.

The car gets towed back to Pocono transmission where the owner states that he is sorry about the car breaking again "So soon" and that he will get the car towed to an Audi dealer at his expense. Yet refuses to pay for the tow fees I've incurred to tow the car back to him.

I agree with said deal mainly because at that point my only wish and concern was to get the car to a reputable dealer that could repair my clutch.

On 02/21/13 (4 days later) I call the Audi dealership that was supposed to receive my vehicle but they tell me that said car was never delivered to them.

I call the tow company that had my car and inquire about this.

[redacted] towing tells me that the owner of Pocono Transmission never made any arrangements with them to get my car over to the Audi dealership.

I told them that he agreed to get my car towed there but they stated they had no knowledge of such agreement and that the car has been sitting in their lot for 5 days now.

I ask them to tow my Audi to the dealer, they gladly perform said task and charge me accordingly.

I call Pocono Transmission again to tell them that the least they could do at this point is to honor the deal we had and reimburse me of my towing expenses (which they agreed to do).

They reply that they will not pay any towing. The owner was gonna tow me to the dealer "In his spare time, with his own truck". But since I didn't feel like waiting a week for him to have "spare time" and I decided to use the towing company instead, the bill was gonna be on me.

They then added that the car was out of their shop now thus I was no longer "Their problem" and I should not bother contacting them anymore.Desired Settlement: Refund of the towing expenses I incurred due to their inability to repair my vehicle.