Paul V., Service Advisor at Pep Boys Store #978 Antonio, Store Manager Mr. Thomas J. Carey, Chief Customer Officer & Senior Vice President From suspension diagnostic to human rights suspension: a customer’s ordeal at a national auto repair facility San Diego CA

UNPROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR

My wife and I had a very unpleasant experience with Paul V., a service advisor at Pep Boys. He was condescending, rude, and unprofessional. He refused to call the manager until I insisted I would contact Pep Boys corporate. He also claimed that he was a “good” person, but I told him that his customers should be the ones to judge that, not him.

POOR COMMUNICATION

Paul said he had been working at Pep Boys for 10 years, but I doubt his skills and knowledge. He showed us some small and blurry pictures of the damages on our vehicle, and the “Not Yet Authorized” repairs which totaled $2573.96. He did not explain what the pictures were or how serious the damages were. He just expected us to trust him and authorize the work. I asked him to send the pictures to my phone. Unfortunately, they did not arrive while at the facility, so I asked him to send the pictures to me via email, but he said their system did not work that way. The pictures arrived shortly after leaving the facility.

BAD ATTITUDE

I took my vehicle to Pep Boys for a second opinion regarding both front lower control arms. He seemed offended by this and presented a bad attitude. He also insulted me by saying I did not know how to use technology—that is, I am not capable of locating his texted pictures, Work Order and results to my phone. He acted as if he was doing us a favor by speaking to me and my wife, but he was actually doing a poor job.

SIMILAR EXPERIENCE WITH SON

My son had a similar experience with Paul when he went for an oil change. Paul was short with him and told him there were some issues with his car. My son also saw how Paul treated me and my wife when we were talking to him. He decided to let us handle it.

REQUEST FOR MANAGER

I then asked for the manager several times, but Paul kept stalling and avoiding my request. Finally, he relented and about 13 minutes later, Antonio, the manager, walked over to us, who was very polite and helpful. He enlarged the pictures on the computer screen and explained the damages in detail. He answered all of our questions without hesitation. He was the only one who treated us with respect and professionalism.

I was very disappointed and dissatisfied with Paul’s service. I think he needs to improve his communication skills and customer service etiquette. I also think Pep Boys needs to monitor their front-line employees more closely and ensure they are doing their job properly. I hope this feedback will help them improve their service quality and customer satisfaction in the future.

THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN LIFETIME INCOME LOST

We value the quality of service and professionalism that we expect from Pep Boys. however, we were deeply disappointed by the behavior of Paul, who was rude and disrespectful to us. He not only cost Pep Boys a significant work order of $2573.96, but also the potential future business from us and our son.

The lifetime value of a customer is priceless, and we hope that Pep Boys will take this feedback seriously and improve its customer service standards.

DESIRED OUTCOME

We are very disappointed by the lack of response from both Antonio, Store Manager and Mr. Carey, Chief Customer Officer & Senior Vice President after our unpleasant experience at Pep Boys. 

Paul was rude and disrespectful to us and our son (on separate visits), and he clearly needs more training on how to deal with customers. Antonio ignored our letter of complaint and did not bother to apologize or offer any reason for our harse treatment.

We expected better service from a national company like Pep Boys. We are now sharing our story online, since the corporate officer and manager seem to be indifferent to our treatment and concerns.