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Ok, as many of you know, Firestone offers "lifetime alignments". A very cool deal for people with IFS vehicles. In a past life (pre-jeep) I bought one ($120) for my lifted s-10. I had it aligned every month or so, never cost me anything after that first time.
Anyway, since I just installed the lift in my jeep, I needed someone to set the castor for me since I cannot measure that in the garage. So I call them up and set up a appointment for a non-lifetime alignment (once the castor is set, it won't change, and I can set the toe in the garage). So I drop it off, explain about the adjustable upper control arms, and the lack of eccentric washers, then walk over to Sears to wander aimlessly around the tool department. An hour later, I spent $10 and went back to see how progress was on the jeep. I figured they would have problems, and that I would have to coach them a little. Much to my surprize, the jeep was out front waiting for me. So I go in to pay, and ask them for the printout (first sign that somethign is wrong...they always offer them to you, and explain what it all means). They said they didnt' print one out because all they had to change was the toe, in fact, that is all they could change. (Big red flag). So, I explain once again that you could, indeed, adjust the castor via the adjustable UCA's. To which I recieve in response, well, he didnt' need to, because it was in spec.
Ok, now I explain to the manager that I had just installed the lift, and I was sure that the castor was out, due to the poor handling. I proceed to ask him to print out a copy of the readings, even if it meant the tech had to put the jeep back on the rack. Grudgingly, he agreed.
tick tock
tick tock
15 minutes later, there are 4 tech's standing in front of my jeep, on the rack, all scratching their heads. I turn to the manager and mention that it must not have been quite as "in spec" as they said.
Fast forward 1.5 hours of me explaining how to adjust the damn thing. I stood in the shop the whole time, leaning against the rack, and made sure that the numbers were all in spec. Once they were, I went back in to sign off on the deal while the tech wrapped things up.
I let them know I am rather *upset* about being lied to about the original alignment (or lack there of). They apologize, offer to buy me lunch, I turn them down as I just want to go home and go to bed (pulled a 12 hour night shift last night). So I drive around the corner, stop and roll under the jeep. Well, they left the control arm jam nuts loose, along with the drivers side TRE clamp.
Quick u-turn, and I am on stop #3 in the same day. I tell them of the problem, and they pull it back in. Upon returning it, I ask them if they got them all, because I was going to check. "yes" was the answer.
Fast forward 30 seconds. I walk back in for the 4th time. They forgot the TRE clamp. At this point, the manager hangs his head, walks out, gets a new guy to look it over, refunds my $$$, and prays I will JUST GO AWAY!!!!
Yes, they finally got it, 3 hours later, and after their customer (me) was lied to, and had to bring the vehicle back 3 times for a simple alignment. The lack of attention to detail was a killer. There will be phone calls to the owner of the store tomorrow, phone calls to the corporate office, and with any luck, one alignment tech will be looking for a job by the end of the week. It is pretty sad when the customer gets lied to, has to show someone how to do their job, and then they STILL cant get it right on the first 3 tries.
The moral? Watch them every second! Then double check their work if you can. Don't leave until you are satisfied, and if they screw it up, pull a Nailer and make them give you the service for free. I'm not nearly as mad as I would be if they had not refunded 100% of the cost.
OOH! Its raining...gotta go!
Have fun 'yall!
Anyway, since I just installed the lift in my jeep, I needed someone to set the castor for me since I cannot measure that in the garage. So I call them up and set up a appointment for a non-lifetime alignment (once the castor is set, it won't change, and I can set the toe in the garage). So I drop it off, explain about the adjustable upper control arms, and the lack of eccentric washers, then walk over to Sears to wander aimlessly around the tool department. An hour later, I spent $10 and went back to see how progress was on the jeep. I figured they would have problems, and that I would have to coach them a little. Much to my surprize, the jeep was out front waiting for me. So I go in to pay, and ask them for the printout (first sign that somethign is wrong...they always offer them to you, and explain what it all means). They said they didnt' print one out because all they had to change was the toe, in fact, that is all they could change. (Big red flag). So, I explain once again that you could, indeed, adjust the castor via the adjustable UCA's. To which I recieve in response, well, he didnt' need to, because it was in spec.
Ok, now I explain to the manager that I had just installed the lift, and I was sure that the castor was out, due to the poor handling. I proceed to ask him to print out a copy of the readings, even if it meant the tech had to put the jeep back on the rack. Grudgingly, he agreed.
tick tock
tick tock
15 minutes later, there are 4 tech's standing in front of my jeep, on the rack, all scratching their heads. I turn to the manager and mention that it must not have been quite as "in spec" as they said.
Fast forward 1.5 hours of me explaining how to adjust the damn thing. I stood in the shop the whole time, leaning against the rack, and made sure that the numbers were all in spec. Once they were, I went back in to sign off on the deal while the tech wrapped things up.
I let them know I am rather *upset* about being lied to about the original alignment (or lack there of). They apologize, offer to buy me lunch, I turn them down as I just want to go home and go to bed (pulled a 12 hour night shift last night). So I drive around the corner, stop and roll under the jeep. Well, they left the control arm jam nuts loose, along with the drivers side TRE clamp.
Quick u-turn, and I am on stop #3 in the same day. I tell them of the problem, and they pull it back in. Upon returning it, I ask them if they got them all, because I was going to check. "yes" was the answer.
Fast forward 30 seconds. I walk back in for the 4th time. They forgot the TRE clamp. At this point, the manager hangs his head, walks out, gets a new guy to look it over, refunds my $$$, and prays I will JUST GO AWAY!!!!
Yes, they finally got it, 3 hours later, and after their customer (me) was lied to, and had to bring the vehicle back 3 times for a simple alignment. The lack of attention to detail was a killer. There will be phone calls to the owner of the store tomorrow, phone calls to the corporate office, and with any luck, one alignment tech will be looking for a job by the end of the week. It is pretty sad when the customer gets lied to, has to show someone how to do their job, and then they STILL cant get it right on the first 3 tries.
The moral? Watch them every second! Then double check their work if you can. Don't leave until you are satisfied, and if they screw it up, pull a Nailer and make them give you the service for free. I'm not nearly as mad as I would be if they had not refunded 100% of the cost.
OOH! Its raining...gotta go!
Have fun 'yall!
[COLOR=blue]Chris[/COLOR] 
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