I believe in life there are certain business that need to be your "regulars". Places that you have a relationship with, places that you trust without a doubt. I go to the same hairstylist, I have a regular doctor that I see, I go to the same church every weekend, I use the same plumber, heat and air company, and electrician when a need arises. There is a certain security in knowing and trusting a select few businesses that we trust to perform services, and we frequent on a regular basis.
Another big one for me, that I did not list previously, is my auto repair shop. After moving to Asheville for years I used a repair shop located in Leicester, recommended by a good friend. I really liked him and he was always fair priced and most of all I trusted him. The only issue I had with this shop was the inconvenience of getting rides back and forth when I needed to drop off my vehicle. Over a year ago I decided to change to a shop within walking distance of my house, again from a recommendation of a good friend and neighbor. This new repair shop is called North Asheville Exxon and is located on Merrimon Avenue opposite Stein Mart, and just before Ingles. Over the course of the last year I have taken all of our vehicles to the Exxon for all of our service needs. I saw they stayed busy, seemed very nice and knowledgeable, and of course the location was very convenient. With all these factors in play I never once doubted their trustworthiness, I never double checked the price of a part, or ever called for a second opinion.
On Tuesday while parked in the Lowe's parking lot my work van decided it was not going to crank, no matter how badly I wanted it to. I had to have it towed in for service, and of course without hesitation I told the driver to take it to my repair shop – North Asheville Exxon. I got a call from Paul at N.A. Exxon and he explained it was my fuel pump and that the gas tank would have to be removed to replace it and it would be between $700 and $750 to repair. That just about took my breath away, I don't think I have ever paid that much for any vehicle repair, ever. Something inside of me said this is not right you need to check this out. I called around and found that it was only $525.00 at other places. I called N.A. Exxon and explained that I had found it cheaper and said if you can meet halfway I will leave it at your shop but if not I have to go somewhere else for service. He said I should take it elsewhere because he could not come down on his price. This was a major inconvenience, because I had to have it towed to the other repair shop which cost me $60.00 more. The tow truck driver called me from N.A. Exxon and said they needed to run my credit card for the diagnostics fee, so I once again took for granted they were trustworthy and gave them the number over the phone for the $39.05 charge.
Biltmore Lake Automotive (828)670-6522 was the repair shop that I decided to have the van towed to. Biltmore Lake Auto called me on Wednesday to tell me the van was ready, and they had a question for me. They asked me if I had put gas in the van at N.A. Exxon or if I had asked Exxon to. I replied "No, of course not, there was plenty of gas in the van, I just filled up the day before". They said stapled to my diagnostics receipt was also receipt for 2.5 gallons of gas that was also charged to my credit card. Now I know I had never asked or authorized N.A. Exxon to put gas in the van, and I wondered out loud why they would have done that. Scott from Biltmore Lake Auto told me he knew exactly why they did it. He explained that it makes it extremely difficult for them to remove the tank and it was almost twice as much work. Exxon had filled the tank so full the gas was all the way up the tube to the gas cap, and they had done it on purpose to spite me and Biltmore Lake Auto. If the tank had been empty it would have been the easiest to remove, however even being 2.5 gallons less it would have been so much more manageable.
I was amazed at how selfish, inconsiderate, and even childish North Asheville Exxon acted toward a long time customer. I am now disgusted to think I have even given them one cent of my hard earned money in the past, but I am happy to now know their true heart towards their customers. I have now seen that they don't care about any of their customers, only their money and they will rip you off and stab you in the back at the drop of a hat. I was speaking to my neighbor tonight about my experience, and he shared with me that he just recently stopped using N. A. Exxon because of multiple excessive charges where the same problem kept re-appearing. He said that when he took his truck to a different shop the problem was fixed the first time and for a much more reasonable price too. He said he will never go there again, and is telling everyone he knows to avoid that shop. I hope that this blog will help to spread the word, and that unethical businesses like North Asheville Exxon will change their business practices or falter, and the more ethical business that care for each and every customer, like Biltmore Lake Automotive, will prosper and grow.
Until next time...
Another big one for me, that I did not list previously, is my auto repair shop. After moving to Asheville for years I used a repair shop located in Leicester, recommended by a good friend. I really liked him and he was always fair priced and most of all I trusted him. The only issue I had with this shop was the inconvenience of getting rides back and forth when I needed to drop off my vehicle. Over a year ago I decided to change to a shop within walking distance of my house, again from a recommendation of a good friend and neighbor. This new repair shop is called North Asheville Exxon and is located on Merrimon Avenue opposite Stein Mart, and just before Ingles. Over the course of the last year I have taken all of our vehicles to the Exxon for all of our service needs. I saw they stayed busy, seemed very nice and knowledgeable, and of course the location was very convenient. With all these factors in play I never once doubted their trustworthiness, I never double checked the price of a part, or ever called for a second opinion.
On Tuesday while parked in the Lowe's parking lot my work van decided it was not going to crank, no matter how badly I wanted it to. I had to have it towed in for service, and of course without hesitation I told the driver to take it to my repair shop – North Asheville Exxon. I got a call from Paul at N.A. Exxon and he explained it was my fuel pump and that the gas tank would have to be removed to replace it and it would be between $700 and $750 to repair. That just about took my breath away, I don't think I have ever paid that much for any vehicle repair, ever. Something inside of me said this is not right you need to check this out. I called around and found that it was only $525.00 at other places. I called N.A. Exxon and explained that I had found it cheaper and said if you can meet halfway I will leave it at your shop but if not I have to go somewhere else for service. He said I should take it elsewhere because he could not come down on his price. This was a major inconvenience, because I had to have it towed to the other repair shop which cost me $60.00 more. The tow truck driver called me from N.A. Exxon and said they needed to run my credit card for the diagnostics fee, so I once again took for granted they were trustworthy and gave them the number over the phone for the $39.05 charge.
Biltmore Lake Automotive (828)670-6522 was the repair shop that I decided to have the van towed to. Biltmore Lake Auto called me on Wednesday to tell me the van was ready, and they had a question for me. They asked me if I had put gas in the van at N.A. Exxon or if I had asked Exxon to. I replied "No, of course not, there was plenty of gas in the van, I just filled up the day before". They said stapled to my diagnostics receipt was also receipt for 2.5 gallons of gas that was also charged to my credit card. Now I know I had never asked or authorized N.A. Exxon to put gas in the van, and I wondered out loud why they would have done that. Scott from Biltmore Lake Auto told me he knew exactly why they did it. He explained that it makes it extremely difficult for them to remove the tank and it was almost twice as much work. Exxon had filled the tank so full the gas was all the way up the tube to the gas cap, and they had done it on purpose to spite me and Biltmore Lake Auto. If the tank had been empty it would have been the easiest to remove, however even being 2.5 gallons less it would have been so much more manageable.
I was amazed at how selfish, inconsiderate, and even childish North Asheville Exxon acted toward a long time customer. I am now disgusted to think I have even given them one cent of my hard earned money in the past, but I am happy to now know their true heart towards their customers. I have now seen that they don't care about any of their customers, only their money and they will rip you off and stab you in the back at the drop of a hat. I was speaking to my neighbor tonight about my experience, and he shared with me that he just recently stopped using N. A. Exxon because of multiple excessive charges where the same problem kept re-appearing. He said that when he took his truck to a different shop the problem was fixed the first time and for a much more reasonable price too. He said he will never go there again, and is telling everyone he knows to avoid that shop. I hope that this blog will help to spread the word, and that unethical businesses like North Asheville Exxon will change their business practices or falter, and the more ethical business that care for each and every customer, like Biltmore Lake Automotive, will prosper and grow.
Until next time...
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1 comment:
I love Biltmore Lake Automotive. They have worked on my MINI and are fair and honest as far as my experience goes. I worked at a largish employer nearby when I went there and basically everyone that worked there trusted them.
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