Sara Health and Nutrition Center

To whom it may concern, This is a rebuttal to the complaint filed against us by Mr [redacted] Unfortunately, Mr [redacted] ’s account of the situation has many inaccuracies in it that I would like to respond to nowWhen we first met Mr [redacted] , he came to our shop asking if we could repair his boat When we told him we could, he started to give us a rundown of the history of his experience with the boat First he mentioned to us that he had taken the boat to [redacted] in Universal City, and that he was happy with what they had done to his boat, but that it only lasted for about a month then started to operate poorly again So he took the boat to [redacted] , located on the east bound access road of [redacted] *** He said he had to take it to them multiple times, but finally stopped going to them because they were telling him it would need more parts and that it would cost more He took his boat, refused to pay for the services they had done, those that were above the original ticket they charged him for which was rebuilding and cleaning the carburetor All of this story is his own accounting to usSo now we are into the part of the story where he tells me all of the things that he had done to it himself trying to make the boat run without help He told us that he had replaced the whole fuel system, from the tank to the carburetor This included everything, according to his personal accounting I was lead to believe that the fuel line and all components had been replaced including the part in question, which was the quick connect hook up to the motor Also, on his list of things he did himself, was the fuel pump as well as opening the carburetor and flipping the needle valve around thinking that [redacted] had done the work improperly, and adjusting on the air mixture as well as the timing to make it idle “correctly.” According to him, the motor idled well, ran on top end perfectly, but he had a hard time going from a mid-range throttle to wide open throttle, the symptom being that the motor would choke out and die when attempting this common actionSo now that I have all the history and info I need I am ready to begin my work From his accounting, I already know that I will have to fix the carburetor, because when he flipped the needle around inside the carburetor, he caused it to flood, and when he adjusted the idle he adjusted to a flooding situation, which would cause him to have the trouble he is having But, I did the diagnostics anyway, which include, compression testing the motor, checking the electrical system to find out if we have inconsistent or weak spark at certain rpm ranges, as well as inspecting the fuel systems and air intake systems to make sure everything is operating properly Everything but the fuel flow system seemed to be working according the specs provided to us by service manuals that we have acquired over the yearsSo we do the repair and charge him accordingly The bill came to over $That’s labor and all parts, plus tax He was upset, saying that we didn’t warn him of the cost being incurred although it was part of the discussion we had when we gave received the boat for repair We removed the charge of carburetor kits, and settled on a price of $ He said he only had $at the time of completion and asked if we could let him give us that amount of money, use his boat and he would pay us the balance later This is something we usually don’t do, but we allowed it When he returned he seemed pleased with the performance of his boat, but did mention that every time he shut down the motor, he would have to pump his primer bulb to get it to fire back up I immediately know that that symptom is related to a fuel line fitting at the top of the pickup tube of the fuel tank that contains a one way valve This is a one-way check ball system tends to get stuck shut or stuck open, as opposed to moving freely on demand, when the fuel system has been stagnant for a long period of time When they stick open, they allow the fuel to drain back into the fuel tank and cause you to have to pump the bulb in order to deliver fuel to the system This part we did not originally check, since we had been told by Mr [redacted] specifically that this was one of the parts that had been recently replaced Upon inspection, we realized that it was replaced, but with a hose fitting that did not have a check ball in itWe replaced it for him, charged him accordingly and he finished paying the balance of his original ticket, with no penalties, as well as the additional part we put on We forgave labor which would usually be another $90.00, since it is a quick fix and shows our customers some appreciation He paid the balance he owed, plus the additional part, which came to $ He test drove the boat, was pleased with the outcome, and we thought all was well He was so pleased with the work that he told us he contacted [redacted] and told them that we had his boat running properly, and that the work they had done was incorrect, and that he received a refund from them, despite the fact that he had been the one who messed with the work that they had done This is a dishonest thing to do When he mentioned that, we didn’t think too much about it though Mr [redacted] then returned the third time, saying that his motor wasn’t operating properly, the complaint being that he had to keep pumping the primer bulb on the fuel system to keep the engine from dying out This is usually an indication of a failed fuel pump, or large blockage in the fuel system that causes a restrictionMr [redacted] thought maybe that the check ball fitting we put in was causing a restriction When we received his boat, the only thing we experienced was that after idling for to minutes, the motor would sputter out Otherwise, it wasn’t operating poorly as described We spent some time trying to figure out what was causing this issue We finally determined that his quick connect system was not operating properly, but do to the build of the part isn’t one that can be cleaned, but should be replaced This is another part we thought he had replaced before When we told this the customer, he got upset He accused us of trying to sell him more and more without every truly fixing the problem This is where everything went bad, he lost his trust with us thinking we were cheating him, took his boat from us without the fix Then he called us back looking to acquire a refund saying he fixed his boat by replacing the part we told him to replace, ignoring the fact that the only work we charged him for was the carb rebuild which was necessary, and a part that solved a his second minor problem All of which we understood to have made him a very happy customer We believe he is just trying to find an excuse to get his money back, since the third time he complained about something that we never experienced with the motor He is incorrect in saying that we were unfair, and didn’t do any of our diagnostics, properly As well as incorrect in saying that we worked on the same issue multiple times without success and that he was charged for all three visits We always did our due diligence, only really charged him for the first repair (at a discount) and an extra part with free installation, and told him which part would fix his motor for free, despite spending lots of time figuring it out This is a diagnostic service we usually charge So we do not feel we owe any refund, since everything we charged for was legitimate and necessary When we tried to tell him why we wouldn’t refund him he would not take the time to understand what we were saying to him, that we only charged him for a certain repair, and that since he did the repair himself on a part that we didn’t fix and that we didn’t charge for that we could not issue any refundWe were honest in everything we told him, and went above and beyond to make him happy, unfortunately it did not work

To whom it may concern,                 This is a rebuttal to the complaint filed against us by Mr. [redacted].  Unfortunately, Mr. [redacted]’s account of the situation has many inaccuracies in it that I would like to respond...

to now. When we first met Mr. [redacted], he came to our shop asking if we could repair his boat.  When we told him we could, he started to give us a rundown of the history of his experience with the boat.  First he mentioned to us that he had taken the boat to [redacted] in Universal City, and that he was happy with what they had done to his boat, but that it only lasted for about a month then started to operate poorly again.  So he took the boat to [redacted], located on the east bound access road of [redacted].  He said he had to take it to them multiple times, but finally stopped going to them because they were telling him it would need more parts and that it would cost more.  He took his boat, refused to pay for the services they had done, those that were above the original ticket they charged him for which was rebuilding and cleaning the carburetor.  All of this story is his own accounting to us. So now we are into the part of the story where he tells me all of the things that he had done to it himself trying to make the boat run without help.  He told us that he had replaced the whole fuel system, from the tank to the carburetor.  This included everything, according to his personal accounting.  I was lead to believe that the fuel line and all components had been replaced including the part in question, which was the quick connect hook up to the motor.  Also, on his list of things he did himself, was the fuel pump as well as opening the carburetor and flipping the needle valve around thinking that [redacted] had done the work improperly, and adjusting on the air mixture as well as the timing to make it idle “correctly.”  According to him, the motor idled well, ran on top end perfectly, but he had a hard time going from a mid-range throttle to wide open throttle, the symptom being that the motor would choke out and die when attempting this common action. So now that I have all the history and info I need I am ready to begin my work.  From his accounting, I already know that I will have to fix the carburetor, because when he flipped the needle around inside the carburetor, he caused it to flood, and when he adjusted the idle he adjusted to a flooding situation, which would cause him to have the trouble he is having.  But,  I did the diagnostics anyway, which include, compression testing the motor, checking the electrical system to find out if we have inconsistent or weak spark at certain rpm ranges, as well as inspecting the fuel systems and air intake systems to make sure everything is operating properly.  Everything but the fuel flow system seemed to be working according the specs provided to us by service manuals that we have acquired over the years. So we do the repair and charge him accordingly.  The bill came to over $500.00. That’s labor and all parts, plus tax.  He was upset, saying that we didn’t warn him of the cost being incurred although it was part of the discussion we had when we gave received the boat for repair.  We removed the charge of carburetor kits, and settled on a price of $486.00.  He said he only had $407.00 at the time of completion and asked if we could let him give us that amount of money, use his boat and he would pay us the balance later.  This is something we usually don’t do, but we allowed it.  When he returned he seemed pleased with the performance of his boat, but did mention that every time he shut down the motor, he would have to pump his primer bulb to get it to fire back up.  I immediately know that that symptom is related to a fuel line fitting at the top of the pickup tube of the fuel tank that contains a one way valve.  This is a one-way check ball system tends to get stuck shut or stuck open, as opposed to moving freely on demand, when the fuel system has been stagnant for a long period of time.  When they stick open, they allow the fuel to drain back into the fuel tank and cause you to have to pump the bulb in order to deliver fuel to the system.  This part we did not originally check, since we had been told by Mr. [redacted] specifically that this was one of the parts that had been recently replaced.  Upon inspection, we realized that it was replaced, but with a hose fitting that did not have a check ball in it. We replaced it for him, charged him accordingly and he finished paying the balance of his original ticket, with no penalties, as well as the additional part we put on.  We forgave labor which would usually be another $90.00, since it is a quick fix and shows our customers some appreciation.  He paid the balance he owed, plus the additional part, which came to $92.00.  He test drove the boat, was pleased with the outcome, and we thought all was well.  He was so pleased with the work that he told us he contacted [redacted] and told them that we had his boat running properly, and that the work they had done was incorrect, and that he received a refund from them, despite the fact that he had been the one who messed with the work that they had done.  This is a dishonest thing to do.  When he mentioned that, we didn’t think too much about it though.  Mr. [redacted] then returned the third time, saying that his motor wasn’t operating properly, the complaint being that he had to keep pumping the primer bulb on the fuel system to keep the engine from dying out.  This is usually an indication of a failed fuel pump, or large blockage in the fuel system that causes a restriction. Mr. [redacted] thought maybe that the check ball fitting we put in was causing a restriction.  When we received his boat, the only thing we experienced was that after idling for 15 to 20 minutes, the motor would sputter out.  Otherwise, it wasn’t operating poorly as described.  We spent some time trying to figure out what was causing this issue.  We finally determined that his quick connect system was not operating properly, but do to the build of the part isn’t one that can be cleaned, but should be replaced.  This is another part we thought he had replaced before.  When we told this the customer, he got upset.  He accused us of trying to sell him more and more without every truly fixing the problem.  This is where everything went bad, he lost his trust with us thinking we were cheating him, took his boat from us without the fix.  Then he called us back looking to acquire a refund saying he fixed his boat by replacing the part we told him to replace, ignoring the fact that the only work we charged him for was the carb rebuild which was necessary, and a part that solved a his second minor problem.  All of which we understood to have made him a very happy customer.  We believe he is just trying to find an excuse to get his money back, since the third time he complained about something that we never experienced with the motor.   He is incorrect in saying that we were unfair, and didn’t do any of our diagnostics, properly.  As well as incorrect in saying that we worked on the same issue multiple times without success and that he was charged for all three visits.  We always did our due diligence, only really charged him for the first repair (at a discount) and an extra part with free installation, and told him which part would fix his motor for free, despite spending lots of time figuring it out.  This is a diagnostic service we usually charge.  So we do not feel we owe any refund, since everything we charged for was legitimate and necessary.  When we tried to tell him why we wouldn’t refund him he would not take the time to understand what we were saying to him, that we only charged him for a certain repair, and that since he did the repair himself on a part that we didn’t fix and that we didn’t charge for that we could not issue any refund. We were honest in everything we told him, and went above and beyond to make him happy, unfortunately it did not work.