Pep Boys Auto Parts & Service

Reviews 4

AN

Angelo Welihindha

This is the shabbiest auto service company that I’ve visited, and I discourage Bay Area residents from turning to Pep Boys in San Carlos for service. My friend took her car in for a simple oil change. Four hours later we returned to Pep Boys to learn that they couldn’t find the work order and the keys. They questioned my friend about when she’d come in, who she’d talked to, and whether she had actually dropped off her car with them. The insinuation was that my friend was lying to them. After several more searches, three employees got into a debate -- visibly and audibly -- about which one of them was going to break the news to us; that while the work order and keys had been found, they had not serviced the vehicle! They were smart enough to offer a free oil change but not an apology for wasting our time or questioning our integrity. Fast forward seven days... I chose to use the same Pep Boys location for my own car oil change. After all, they couldn’t be this bad all the time, right? I pulled my car up to the “Drive up service” lane, next to the service bays, but received no drive-up service. So I walked inside, and handed over my details and car keys with the promise of service within 3 hours. I gave them an extra hour to be on the safe side. When I returned to the Pep Boys lot I noticed my car sitting in the same spot in the drive up lane. With a little anxiety, I walked into the store and was dismayed to hear that they could not find my work order!! Could this really be happening? In frustration, the employee (a different one from when I handed my keys in) even muttered “we lose work orders here all the time!” Wow, that’s quite discouraging as a customer, and it is appalling that such failure is accepted within the store’s culture! A number of searches and minutes later, the employee even turned his computer screen toward me to demonstrate that my car wasn’t logged into the system -- as if to tell me that they didn’t believe I had come in at all. And the employee that originally helped me check my car in said he didn’t recall me and my car! Eventually they found the work order at the same register at which I’d been served; it had barely moved. “It’s alright. We can get it done in 30 minutes!”, he said. But no, it’s not alright, Pep Boys. None of this is alright. Two awful consecutive customer service experiences? Unacceptable. This store requires a complete upheaval; a customer service re-training and work process intervention. Without it, Pep Boys in San Carlos is destined to lose more customers like me. And yes, Ive emailed Pep Boys Customer Service about this.

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CA

Carol Cunningham

I am still seething over the *unbelievably worst* experience I have ever encountered with any company (not just automotive service), which is preventing me from sleeping right now, so am writing this review to seriously warn others. I wish I could give negative stars! I had an appointment scheduled this morning to have a trailer hitch installed that I had purchased from the same company online. After scheduling our day around this install because they informed me they would need about 4 hours (even though we had an appointment), I receive a message after 1.5 hours telling me that they cannot complete the installation because it requires drilling and is too complex. Note that the part specifically indicates no drilling is required, so this is the first red flag. I go pick up the car and get a recommendation for a couple of hitch installers in the area. I ask if the part is in the car and the manager tells me that it is, so I go on my way - no drama, although internally I am annoyed because our familys day has been wasted and I get the feeling that the manager hasnt been straightforward with me regarding the installation. When I get in the car, I notice some packing material sitting on top of the new bike rack I had purchased, so I take a closer look and realize there doesnt appear to be a trailer hitch. I open the trunk and not only did I not find the trailer hitch that the service manager told me was in the back, it looked like an animal had torn open my new bike rack (see attached photo). First of all, why was someone going through the trunk of my car and tearing open a box of my personal property that had nothing to do with the hitch installation, especially when the hitch was delivered to the shop directly?! Secondly, why would you open a box in this manner (what if the contents needed to be returned?) and just leave it like that for the customer to take home?! They only taped it up for me after I came in to complain about the situation, but that was it - no apology, no regrets for our time or their mistake in opening up my belongings and rendering it possibly unreturnable, not to mention the possibility of missing parts now. And I wont even get into the issues I had with the order fulfillment process. As a side note, as I was dealing with this fiasco, I overheard another customer yelling at one of the associates, and even swearing, over some mistake or oversight regarding a shock installation, so clearly, I am not alone when I express how infuriated I am over this experience. The incompetence, irresponsibility and dishonesty - just shameful.

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AB

Abhi Jha

Theres no option for giving a zero, hence Im giving them a 1. Ill have to take this up with someone at Google. Ive been a loyal customer of PepBoys in my Chicago and Boston days and have found my interactions in the past very comfortable and sometimes exceptional (esp. once when a service lady personally drove to an Audi dealership to get me a part and then they replaced it at a much lower overall charge than the dealer). My couple of experiences here at San Carlos have been a rude awakening. The first time an oil change for a Civic took 1.5 hours and I thought it was just a one-off. Yesterday, I went for a 2 PM appointment and was told theres just one mechanic available and I would have to wait for 2-3 hours so I should reschedule. Customer service 101 for PepBoys "CALL THE CUSTOMER if there is any change in expectation, so that they dont have to waste 20 minutes getting to your shop, stand 10 minutes in line and then be asked to reschedule". Anyway, I show up for my rescheduled appointment at 10 AM next day and get to the service desk at 10:30 AM. Im told nothing about a potential delay - again PepBoys please refer to the customer service 101 noted earlier. I finally get my car 2.5 hours later, after 4 interactions that went from a mild nudge to a full blown altercation. Bye bye Pep Boys - have a good business. If this is what you want to do then you are doing a fine job.

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NI

Nicole High

This location used to be my go-to service stop, but not after today! My last visit here was also unsuccessful. I didnt make an appointment for an oil change,but after sitting in the waiting room for for 90 minutes while my my car sat in the parking lot, I decided to leave and go elsewhere. Lesson learned- make an appointment... or so I thought! I called yesterday and made an appointment for two new tires. When I checked in and we went over cost I explained what happened at the last visit and asked if there was a wait today. I was assured that my car would be taken care of right away. Sadly, 40 mins later I looked in the parking lot and my car was still sitting there. I went to the service desk and they said that their mechanics left early and the next mechanic would be there in 10-15 mins. My appointment was at 4:30, the first group of mechanics left at 4 and the next scheduled mechanic started at 5:30(ish). I am frustrated for multiple reasons.... why wasnt I given a truthful answer about the timing in the beginning? Why bother making an appointment if they are not actually honored? Why is the customer service at this location so poor? I asked to speak with a manager and was directed to another employee who was not the manager. Do yourself a favor and do not make the same mistake I did, find another place for service and dont waste your time here.

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