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Maaco Complaint - Abusive store manager, poor quality ambassador-level paint job - Ambassador paint job
Ambassador paint job - Complaint
PEABODY, MASSACHUSETTS -- What occurred is this: Maaco store #1682, Peabody, Massachusetts offers three or four levels of paint job, with various names like (to the best of my recollection): Emperor, presidential, supreme, Ambassador. I ordered the Ambassador, which is the least expensive, but which is in fact an offered paint job. I understood that it was to be only one layer of paint, without extra protective coatings added. They explain the Ambassador as an all-in-one single coat paint job which has paint and some protective portion mixed in.
I had a subcontractor working for me who was going to be adding extra layers of "clearcoat", so I did not need or want the more expensive levels which would be doing just that. My subcontractor detail person had done the body work and I wasn't holding Maaco store #1682, Peabody, Massachusetts in any way responsible for any of the under-layers or bodywork, I just wanted to have the car painted. My guy had prepped the car, and Maaco store #1682, Peabody, Massachusetts did whatever minor work they had to do in order to paint it.
This we endeavored to do October 5, 2007. In fact the car was painted my desired color silver. There are problems with the paint job however. There is a distinct "mottling"-appearance (basically you can see the air-brush's strokes, like tiger stripes) at various parts of the car in particular at the trunk, but seen at certain places along the sides. There are bunchings-up of the paint at area spots on the car. These appear like "milk mustaches", for instance along the vertical edges of the doors. Their detail work was very poor: they let paint spray into the well under the front hood, near the windshield wipers. Paint sprayed onto other parts that aren't supposed to be painted. They painted the windshield-spray-nozzles. There were paint drippings along the wide horizontal silver logo at the back of the trunk.
Maaco store #1682, Peabody, Massachusetts' behavior thereafter was reprehensible. My detail man brought the car back on the first available business day of the very next week, October 11, 2007. He was treated in for a paint you a a brutal fashion: the manager was staying in his office, and refused to come out and look at the car. He said through a worker, to bring the car back in two weeks to look at it. This store is some 15 miles from my office and it is a bit of a burden to have to bring it in the first place. My detail man called me up on his cell phone to tell me the situation that car could not be looked at. I spoke with the store's manager, and I have never, seriously, had any business person scream and yell at me on the telephone such as he did that day. He said that I was a "cheap (**)!", and he said he couldn't "believe a doctor would ever order such a cheap paint job". I pointed out that it was one that he and Maaco offered. If it is such a bad paint job choice,then perhaps they shouldn't offer it in the first place.
He said he had a bad knee and didn't want to get up out of his chair to go look at the car. I recommended that he send his best assistant to look at the car and make an assessment, given that we had spent the time, half hour - 45 minutes to drive it up there through traffic. He started saying how he hates (all) doctors, and doctors don't deserve to be treated well themselves (I couldn't figure out what he was talking about, I had never had any dealings with him previously).
He cursed, grumbled, hung up the phone on me saying that he himself would look at it. I didn't hear back from him that day, but my detail man says that he came storming out of the office cursing and ranting and physically pushed him to the side, causing him to stumble. the store's manager repeatedly cursed at "that cheap *&^% doctor".
the store's manager (despite his supposed "bad knee"), then got down (literally) on his own hands and knees and in theatrical fashion "begged" my detail man "Please let me give that "cheap *&^% doctor" a free paint job". He then was bowing and trying (theatrically) to kiss my guy's feet. My detail man was laughed at by workers working on the street nearby, and felt humiliated. the store's manager then told my guy to "right now get out of here".
The situation was ludicrous!!! My detail man called the local police afterwards and was shaken up physically and emotionally. He refuses to go back there and deal with the store's manager. Separately he has dealt with an assistant Carlos, from whom he bought touch up paint at separate price, some $40 or so. Additionally this touch up paint is not the color on the car. My detail man's assessment is that likely when they did the "Ambassador" paint job they significantly watered down the paint, thus the touch up paint is so much darker. This has caused additional problems because we have tried to fix some of the "bubbles" (of their poor paint job). These now looks like blemishes, given the different color of the touch up paint.
I called the national Maaco office and dealt with somebody in their service/customer relations department: Marilyn. We have had more than a half dozen telephone calls back and forth to try to mediate the situation. Ultimately we have not gotten very far. the store's manager made some excuses about his mother's having been in the hospital, as his reason for hating doctors. He says that he will repaint (only) the trunk. This is not adequate. I have already spent money to clearcoat the car (hoping to see some improvement in the mottled color effect, and to protect the paint job such as I have) and would have to do that all over again (at considerable expense).
There are problems at various parts of the car and the whole car needs to be repainted. I don't feel comfortable going back to his store and Maaco is not able to transfer any possible credit I might have at his store anywhere else. They refuse to go any further with this case. I think that the money I spent here should be rescinded, come back to me, so that I can put it towards a decent paying job somewhere else. I think also Maaco shouldn't intimate that the Ambassador is in fact a paint job; conversely they could name it something less important-sounding and more realistic such as the "blind man's special" (no offense to blind people of course).
I think that I have done due diligence here , trying to work through Maaco's own channels, and have taken far more abuse and disrespect than any man deserves, let alone somebody who innocently just wanted to have a simple paint job. Same goes for my detail man. I would like to close out this bad chapter and have my money refunded. I don't think that his behavior which borders on the criminal should be justified by a payment via Bank of America.
I can't, honestly, think of a less professional individual than the store's manager, and less professional actions than he brought about.
I had a subcontractor working for me who was going to be adding extra layers of "clearcoat", so I did not need or want the more expensive levels which would be doing just that. My subcontractor detail person had done the body work and I wasn't holding Maaco store #1682, Peabody, Massachusetts in any way responsible for any of the under-layers or bodywork, I just wanted to have the car painted. My guy had prepped the car, and Maaco store #1682, Peabody, Massachusetts did whatever minor work they had to do in order to paint it.
This we endeavored to do October 5, 2007. In fact the car was painted my desired color silver. There are problems with the paint job however. There is a distinct "mottling"-appearance (basically you can see the air-brush's strokes, like tiger stripes) at various parts of the car in particular at the trunk, but seen at certain places along the sides. There are bunchings-up of the paint at area spots on the car. These appear like "milk mustaches", for instance along the vertical edges of the doors. Their detail work was very poor: they let paint spray into the well under the front hood, near the windshield wipers. Paint sprayed onto other parts that aren't supposed to be painted. They painted the windshield-spray-nozzles. There were paint drippings along the wide horizontal silver logo at the back of the trunk.
Maaco store #1682, Peabody, Massachusetts' behavior thereafter was reprehensible. My detail man brought the car back on the first available business day of the very next week, October 11, 2007. He was treated in for a paint you a a brutal fashion: the manager was staying in his office, and refused to come out and look at the car. He said through a worker, to bring the car back in two weeks to look at it. This store is some 15 miles from my office and it is a bit of a burden to have to bring it in the first place. My detail man called me up on his cell phone to tell me the situation that car could not be looked at. I spoke with the store's manager, and I have never, seriously, had any business person scream and yell at me on the telephone such as he did that day. He said that I was a "cheap (**)!", and he said he couldn't "believe a doctor would ever order such a cheap paint job". I pointed out that it was one that he and Maaco offered. If it is such a bad paint job choice,then perhaps they shouldn't offer it in the first place.
He said he had a bad knee and didn't want to get up out of his chair to go look at the car. I recommended that he send his best assistant to look at the car and make an assessment, given that we had spent the time, half hour - 45 minutes to drive it up there through traffic. He started saying how he hates (all) doctors, and doctors don't deserve to be treated well themselves (I couldn't figure out what he was talking about, I had never had any dealings with him previously).
He cursed, grumbled, hung up the phone on me saying that he himself would look at it. I didn't hear back from him that day, but my detail man says that he came storming out of the office cursing and ranting and physically pushed him to the side, causing him to stumble. the store's manager repeatedly cursed at "that cheap *&^% doctor".
the store's manager (despite his supposed "bad knee"), then got down (literally) on his own hands and knees and in theatrical fashion "begged" my detail man "Please let me give that "cheap *&^% doctor" a free paint job". He then was bowing and trying (theatrically) to kiss my guy's feet. My detail man was laughed at by workers working on the street nearby, and felt humiliated. the store's manager then told my guy to "right now get out of here".
The situation was ludicrous!!! My detail man called the local police afterwards and was shaken up physically and emotionally. He refuses to go back there and deal with the store's manager. Separately he has dealt with an assistant Carlos, from whom he bought touch up paint at separate price, some $40 or so. Additionally this touch up paint is not the color on the car. My detail man's assessment is that likely when they did the "Ambassador" paint job they significantly watered down the paint, thus the touch up paint is so much darker. This has caused additional problems because we have tried to fix some of the "bubbles" (of their poor paint job). These now looks like blemishes, given the different color of the touch up paint.
I called the national Maaco office and dealt with somebody in their service/customer relations department: Marilyn. We have had more than a half dozen telephone calls back and forth to try to mediate the situation. Ultimately we have not gotten very far. the store's manager made some excuses about his mother's having been in the hospital, as his reason for hating doctors. He says that he will repaint (only) the trunk. This is not adequate. I have already spent money to clearcoat the car (hoping to see some improvement in the mottled color effect, and to protect the paint job such as I have) and would have to do that all over again (at considerable expense).
There are problems at various parts of the car and the whole car needs to be repainted. I don't feel comfortable going back to his store and Maaco is not able to transfer any possible credit I might have at his store anywhere else. They refuse to go any further with this case. I think that the money I spent here should be rescinded, come back to me, so that I can put it towards a decent paying job somewhere else. I think also Maaco shouldn't intimate that the Ambassador is in fact a paint job; conversely they could name it something less important-sounding and more realistic such as the "blind man's special" (no offense to blind people of course).
I think that I have done due diligence here , trying to work through Maaco's own channels, and have taken far more abuse and disrespect than any man deserves, let alone somebody who innocently just wanted to have a simple paint job. Same goes for my detail man. I would like to close out this bad chapter and have my money refunded. I don't think that his behavior which borders on the criminal should be justified by a payment via Bank of America.
I can't, honestly, think of a less professional individual than the store's manager, and less professional actions than he brought about.
Comments:
Posted by bargod on 2007-11-21:
Sounds like a case for small claims court. Judge Judy are you listening?
Posted by chris513 on 2007-11-21:
I don't know, I am actually partial to judge mathis.
Posted by superbowl on 2007-11-21:
Think you have issues? Check this out:
http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/1107/473776.html
http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/1107/473776.html
Posted by big fish on 2007-11-24:
it is amazing that people except a great job when they take the less expensive paint jobs. What you should of done is taken the better paint job. END OF STORY. they should of treated u better though
Posted by big fish on 2007-12-19:
what the owner of the car should of done is payed more for a better paint job. The crew of that Maaco should of treated you better though. I would tell him to repaint your car for free.
Posted by rrpostal on 2008-07-06:
My but you sound like a pompous person. Why didn't you have your "detail man" do the work? What exactly is a "detail man" and where can I get one? I assume you were paying him to drive your car around and argue with people for you. Why not just DRIVE IT YOURSELF to get a GOOD paint job. You even say 15 miles is a hard, out of the way drive for someone else to make for you!
Honestly, sounds like the manager was a jerk who has no business doing any customer service. But you bought BY FAR the cheapest possible paint job on the planet and then wonder why you are not treated like you would be at the country club. The reason they offer it, as you oddly inquire, is because some people have actually done menial jobs in their lives and know what to expect from low-paid semi-skilled labor offering super low discount work. That's not to say if it was a horrible job I wouldn't take it back. But I wouldn't have "my help" take the car a whole 15 long miles and try to argue for me. And I'd try to be a little in touch with what I was expecting and who was working on the car and realize the lowest price at the lowest cost chain might not be a good, decent or even run of the mill. It will be what it is.
I would LOVE to see the picture of these problems.
Oh yeah! Like I tell my children- Just saying "no offense" does not make what you just said less offensive. Actually it can be seen as a sign of conceit. Offend if you mean to, but don't say it if you don't mean to offend. You can't have it both ways.
No offense, though...
Honestly, sounds like the manager was a jerk who has no business doing any customer service. But you bought BY FAR the cheapest possible paint job on the planet and then wonder why you are not treated like you would be at the country club. The reason they offer it, as you oddly inquire, is because some people have actually done menial jobs in their lives and know what to expect from low-paid semi-skilled labor offering super low discount work. That's not to say if it was a horrible job I wouldn't take it back. But I wouldn't have "my help" take the car a whole 15 long miles and try to argue for me. And I'd try to be a little in touch with what I was expecting and who was working on the car and realize the lowest price at the lowest cost chain might not be a good, decent or even run of the mill. It will be what it is.
I would LOVE to see the picture of these problems.
Oh yeah! Like I tell my children- Just saying "no offense" does not make what you just said less offensive. Actually it can be seen as a sign of conceit. Offend if you mean to, but don't say it if you don't mean to offend. You can't have it both ways.
No offense, though...
Posted by rexbuiltmyhouse on 2010-02-17:
Thanks for posting this. If my review of your review can bring any additional solace, rest assured that they will NOT get my business!
Posted by hdlp4604 on 2011-12-29:
I just had a run in with the store manager of the Maaco in Manassas, VA. They ruined my mothers Camry. We thought Maaco was a respectable franchise where you could get quality work done. Wrong! The manager and I had lively yelling match in his parking lot after I called him out on his staffs crappy work. We are currently working on getting our money back. And if it means takin this jackass to court then so be it.
Posted by dave on 2012-02-05:
people need to realize you get what you pay for, the managment was totally wrong for acting the way they did . A great paint job is expensive , quality primers, sealers, basecoat, clear coat, hardners, reducers ext. can easily run $1000 thats just materials, add to that sand paper, masking tape, masking paper and labor a paint job under $2000 isnt going to be much of a paint job
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