Open Letter to John R. Hayes of Diagnostic Auto and Tire Center
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Mr Hayes,
The reason this page exists is in order to let other consumers in Las Cruces know of my experience with your company, and to allow them to make their own decision based on the facts. You've had several chances to make this right, and to not only make a prospective future customer happy, but also to avoid the bad publicity this page has undoubtedly given to your business. You told me that you rely on customer referrals and repeat business, however it was apparent to me not only by the way I was treated by you and your service manager, but also by the way you treated my credit card information and my subsequent complaints to both Capital One and the Better Business Bureau that you don't respect me as a customer. You've accused me of lying and trying to cheat you or 'get something for nothing,' yet I was obviously overcharged ridiculously for the parts you put in my vehicle and had my credit card run behind my back. An agreement was never reached, and I was never contacted to work anything out. You either automatically assumed I was mistaken or lying when I said I was told $300, or your not being honest with me. You were unwilling to work with me to resolve this situation, and resorted to taking money from my pocket without my consent, knowledge, or proof. There are a few times in life where you make a decision to dig in your feet and not only stand up for the little guy, but also for yourself. Because you had the absolute disregard for my trust and a total lack of respect for me and my money by running my card without my knowledge or permission, this is one of those times for me. Even after being treated so badly by you and your company, however, I'm not an unreasonable man.
Originally our disagreement was over the $470.09 that was charged without my consent using the credit card information you obtained without my permission. Had this amount been returned to me prior to this web page going live, it would've ended there. After spending some time going over this situation with my friends, professional mechanic acquaintances, and doing some research of my own, however, I've come up with the following compromise. Where we go from here is up to you.
- Option 1: You ignore this letter and this page about your business stays right where it is. Consider it my service to the citizens of Las Cruces by warning them of the horrible experience I had with your company in all respects.
- Option 2: You refund me not only the $470.09 that you where not authorized to charge me, but also the average difference in all the parts you've overcharged me for. By my calculations this comes out to $386.24, and I'll tell you how I came up with that number at the end of this letter. Combined that's a total of $856.33. In return I will remove this page and all negative reviews I have posted that I am able to remove. Those which I cannot remove I will reply stating that you've made things right.
- Option 3: You refund me $470.09, the original amount in dispute, and I amend this page. I will add to the very beginning that you have resolved this issue in a matter that I am satisfied with, however the story of what happened will remain here. This letter and link to the BBB will be removed.
Please understand Mr Hayes, this is not a bribe or a blackmail. I'm not trying to extort you or trying to destroy your reputation. Nowhere on my page or in this letter have I called you an outright liar, brought the quality of your repair work into question, or made any personal attacks. This is simply a page detailing my experiences because I am completely and totally dissatisfied with your service and how you run your business. While I cannot change what happened and will certainly never use your shop again, my satisfaction level is not set in stone. Should you choose to remedy this situation as I have outlined, I will be satisfied enough to no longer consider my experience with your business to be unsatisfactory and therefore this page will no longer have a purpose and will be removed. I'll only remind you that hosting this page costs me nothing, and it will be here for a very long time if you take no action. You've failed to make the right business decision regarding me so far... the question is if you will continue to do so. Is keeping your $850 worth having this page be the first thing those searching for you on the internet will see? That's your call, not mine.
Now, I'm sure you're wondering how I came up with $386.24 for the parts. I can assure you, I tried to be extremely fair considering how I was treated. I tried to find the most expensive MSRP part that I could on the internet that is comparable to what you put in my vehicle, up to what you charged me. I might add that only in the case of the radiator did I find any parts that were more expensive than what you put in my vehicle, and all the radiators I found for that much were performance parts. Of course, nobody charges MSRP unless you're out to be uncompetitive. So, instead of MSRP, I calculated what the most expensive vendor was charging and added a 25% markup. Here are the three parts:
- Fuel Pump - MSRP: $654.21 | Purchase Price: 315.95 | + Markup: $394.94
- Window Motor - MSRP: $117.44 | Purchase Price: $56.26 | + Markup: $70.33
- Radiator - MSRP: $182.67 | Purchase Price: $146.14 | + Markup: $182.68
You may feel as though those prices are too low, and perhaps for your business they are, but I went out of my way to find expensive versions of those parts because I know that to expect internet prices at an automotive repair shop is unreasonable. Regardless, $856.33 is what it will take for me to believe I was treated fairly. That still affords you a 25% markup on those three parts, full markup on the rest, and all your labor costs. I never agreed to pay the $470.09, so I don't even consider that a charge you're entitled to. Again, as I said, it's up to you to make this right.
I await your decision Mr. Hayes.
Sincerely,
Ed Zenisek