Jerk alert - MIDAS RT22 Bridgewater, NJ

[HT413]

So I stopped by a local Midas - I need an O2 bung welded so I can start fooling around with my new wide band gauge - simple enough job. Midas on RT22 in Bridgewater, to be exact.

So I walk in with my son (2 year old) and strike up a conversation with the receptionist, who is a very nice lady. I drove the belvedere there just incase they could fit me in right then. The owner happened to be standing behind her, and he looked at me, looked at my Belvedere though the window and just said, "sorry, we can't help you." I was pretty puzzled, so I asked him why, he simply repeated the same 5 words exactly as before, only this time with a smug smile on his face.

I thought perhaps it was because he had no bungs in stock, so I said I had the bung, he simply stated the same 5 words exactly as before with the same smug look. Finally I laughed, walked out and wished his receptionist a good day.

Later, while talking to 2 different local shop owners, they both told me about their own run ins with this horses a$$. On guy told me he called them for a quote because he wanted to farm out an exhaust job that was more than they wanted to handle. By the end of the phone call, he had to hang up because the jerk started cursing at him. A mechanic I met later that day said he went in looking to fill out an application when the owner walked into the room, started an argument and ended up throwing the kid out.

The whole time the look on the receptionists face was all I needed to see - she was terrified to make any expression at all.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Incidentally, anyone in the area know someone who can weld stainless?

 

[1971 plymouth roadrunner]

He sounds like a real jerk, I used to fall for these types **** all the time. Lately however, I have started figuring that it really isn't worth it to even respond to douche bags, I just never give them my business again. I would rather pay more at a different shop than deal with somebody who disrespects me

 

[Dako]

The other way to look at it is to be glad he didn't 'Rodger-up', then proceed to make a mess of your exhaust. My guess he doesn't have anyone capable of doing the welding and he doesn't want to admit it.

 

[Moparsmitty]

This is just my opinion, but I would never take a car to a chain muffler shop (especially Midas) to get any work done unless I had no other choice. I'm sure that you could find an example of a chain shop that does good work and has competent management and employees, but I've never seen one. We have a few muffler shops in our area and the only one I trust my cars with is an independent shop owned by a good guy that I've known for years. Hopefully you can find a good independent shop in your area. Good luck.

 

[mr. b]

I too will not go to chain shops I take mine to a good friends shop for repair and another good friends shop for exhaust work

 

[HT413]

This is just my opinion, but I would never take a car to a chain muffler shop (especially Midas) to get any work done unless I had no other choice. I'm sure that you could find an example of a chain shop that does good work and has competent management and employees, but I've never seen one. We have a few muffler shops in our area and the only one I trust my cars with is an independent shop owned by a good guy that I've known for years. Hopefully you can find a good independent shop in your area. Good luck.

I too will not go to chain shops I take mine to a good friends shop for repair and another good friends shop for exhaust work

10-4 on that. Only reason I went was it was just an O2 bung, but boy am I sorry I did. NEVER again.

 

[WileE]

My local guy went out of business & retired, partly because people go to these chain outfits run by jerks that sell & install cheap garbage.

 

[HT413]

The other way to look at it is to be glad he didn't 'Rodger-up', then proceed to make a mess of your exhaust. My guess he doesn't have anyone capable of doing the welding and he doesn't want to admit it.

Good point, Dako. With this guy's attitude, I'm sure any competent welder would walk 1st chance they get. And you're right, I'm glad I didn't find out he was an *** after he destroyed my exhaust.

 

[snakeoil24]

HT413 I can do it for you over the weekend if you can wait.

Regards,

Steve

25.00

 

[HT413]

HT413 I can do it for you over the weekend if you can wait.

Regards,

Steve

25.00

Awesome, Steve, I'll PM ya.

 

[ws27]

Ever hear of Yelp?

It's a great place to post your dealings with businesses. I tried to look them up, but found two others on RT22.

Sign in and leave an honest review.

It works both ways, good and bad. Personally, it has done wonders for my business.

 

[Bruzilla]

On the other hand... there's an equally good chance that the guy wasn't a jerk but rather a guy who had been burned by a jerk or two. Putting myself in his place, I don't know that I would be real anxious to take in what appears to be a very expensive classic car. I've got a staff of minimum-wage yutzes who can barely handle modern stuff, and now they're going to be working on a car that's worth more than their annual salaries combined? Add to that the owners of cars like this tend to be extremely picky about everything that's done to their cars, so there's a high probability that whatever is done won't be to their satisfaction and you'll be re-working the damn thing all day. Not to mention the risk that the owner will blame pre-existing damage on your shop.

So yeah, I can see where that guy might not want to take you on as a customer, especially if he had been burned in the past. He could have been nicer and explained his reasons to you, but he's probably tried that before too and ended up in argument with an owner.

His business is based on getting cars in and out as quickly as possible, and making sure they are functional when they leave. His business isn't based on "doing things like the factory", or "making it look original", or "that'll cost me points at a show", which are concerns collector car owners have for any work being done on their cars, so I can see where he may have looked out in the parking lot and saw a lot of problems on four wheels sitting out there.

 

[Jonnyuma]

It's good to be able to see both sides of a situation, but there's few things that get my goat like someone repeating themselves in a smug, condescending (my word, not HT413's) manner. No explanation given, just an out-of-hand dismissal. It's an F you. If the guy had said "Sir, I'm afraid I can't help you with this because of X, Y, and Z, but there's this other shop down the road blah blah blah....tell him I sent ya"...No, he's not obligated to give an explanation, but he's not obligated to be a jackass either. Rudeness pisses me off...a LOT. From a customer is bad enough, from a business owner, manager, or employee its just intolerable.

 

[bobtile]

What an a-hole. If Snakeoil can't do it for whatever reason, let me know. I have a guy up here that can do it. I'm about 45 minutes from Bridgewater.

 

[HT413]

On the other hand... there's an equally good chance that the guy wasn't a jerk but rather a guy who had been burned by a jerk or two. Putting myself in his place, I don't know that I would be real anxious to take in what appears to be a very expensive classic car. I've got a staff of minimum-wage yutzes who can barely handle modern stuff, and now they're going to be working on a car that's worth more than their annual salaries combined? Add to that the owners of cars like this tend to be extremely picky about everything that's done to their cars, so there's a high probability that whatever is done won't be to their satisfaction and you'll be re-working the damn thing all day. Not to mention the risk that the owner will blame pre-existing damage on your shop.

So yeah, I can see where that guy might not want to take you on as a customer, especially if he had been burned in the past. He could have been nicer and explained his reasons to you, but he's probably tried that before too and ended up in argument with an owner.

His business is based on getting cars in and out as quickly as possible, and making sure they are functional when they leave. His business isn't based on "doing things like the factory", or "making it look original", or "that'll cost me points at a show", which are concerns collector car owners have for any work being done on their cars, so I can see where he may have looked out in the parking lot and saw a lot of problems on four wheels sitting out there.

I hear ya, Bruz, it wasn't that he didn't want to do it, it was how he treated me. In fact, I went to 3 shops that day (just cruising around with my boy), they all told me they couldn't do it. One guy said he was a terrible welder but offered his services for anything else I might need and then recommended another shop. The next shop said his insurance policy was very specific and won't allow welding on stainless (or transmission work, he added). I thanked them both and was on my way. That Midas owner was just one of those nasty people that feed on pissing others off.

 

[coronet340]

On the other hand... there's an equally good chance that the guy wasn't a jerk but rather a guy who had been burned by a jerk or two. Putting myself in his place, I don't know that I would be real anxious to take in what appears to be a very expensive classic car. I've got a staff of minimum-wage yutzes who can barely handle modern stuff, and now they're going to be working on a car that's worth more than their annual salaries combined? Add to that the owners of cars like this tend to be extremely picky about everything that's done to their cars, so there's a high probability that whatever is done won't be to their satisfaction and you'll be re-working the damn thing all day. Not to mention the risk that the owner will blame pre-existing damage on your shop.

So yeah, I can see where that guy might not want to take you on as a customer, especially if he had been burned in the past. He could have been nicer and explained his reasons to you, but he's probably tried that before too and ended up in argument with an owner.

His business is based on getting cars in and out as quickly as possible, and making sure they are functional when they leave. His business isn't based on "doing things like the factory", or "making it look original", or "that'll cost me points at a show", which are concerns collector car owners have for any work being done on their cars, so I can see where he may have looked out in the parking lot and saw a lot of problems on four wheels sitting out there.

Always playing the devils advocate. lol.

I agree with Johnny. HT even asked him why and he did not explain. Dude sounds like a jerk and going off what the other owners said it wasn't the first time he acted like that. When another business owner is willing to send him work and ends up hanging up on him something is wrong. And going off HT's description of the ladies face it is a common occurrence.

On the bright side HT, you just gave me an idea. When my son gets to be around your sons age I'm going to make a code word with him. And when I say said word he will go pop the jerk in the nuts. Lol.

 

[HT413]

It's good to be able to see both sides of a situation, but there's few things that get my goat like someone repeating themselves in a smug, condescending (my word, not HT413's) manner. No explanation given, just an out-of-hand dismissal. It's an F you. If the guy had said "Sir, I'm afraid I can't help you with this because of X, Y, and Z, but there's this other shop down the road blah blah blah....tell him I sent ya"...No, he's not obligated to give an explanation, but he's not obligated to be a jackass either. Rudeness pisses me off...a LOT. From a customer is bad enough, from a business owner, manager, or employee its just intolerable.

You got it, jonny.

- - - Updated - - -

On the bright side HT, you just gave me an idea. When my son gets to be around your age I'm going to make a code word with him. And when I say said word he will go pop the jerk in the nuts. Lol.

Ha! Now that's a good idea. My son's training starts tonight.

- - - Updated - - -

What an a-hole. If Snakeoil can't do it for whatever reason, let me know. I have a guy up here that can do it. I'm about 45 minutes from Bridgewater.

Thanks a lot, Bob, for the offer. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[SteveSS]

I thin the great part about a chain store is he just made Midas look bad. You can call the Midas HQ and they'll chew his *** for making the company look bad. I would. I always go to the top.

 

[HT413]

I thin the great part about a chain store is he just made Midas look bad. You can call the Midas HQ and they'll chew his *** for making the company look bad. I would. I always go to the top.

Hmmm. Food for thought.

 

[barnfind]

It seems to all boil down to poor customer service. Going to the top of the company with a well worded email is a good idea, then there's the BBB.