This automotive service business has good and not-so-good issues. I started doing business with…read morethem in December 2011 after another Havoline Express I used for years closed down for a road expansion.
Here's the good: This place is clean and my wife would certainly feel comfortable there. Most of the employees are polite and professional, especially those who ring you up when your work is done. Only once did they try to upsell me car services that I did not need (I was a mechanic earlier in my career). Depending on when you arrive, you can often be in and out in under 20 minutes. The wall between the waiting area and the work area is glass, allowing you to somewhat see some of the work being done to your vehicle.
Here's the not so good: When my oil filter is replaced, it drips lots of oil onto a support under my engine. If the mechanic doesn't clean it off, it drips on the floor of my garage for the next couple of weeks. The Havoline Xpress I used before this one always cleaned the oil off and it was never a problem. The technicians here, regardless of how nice I ask, will not clean this area after removing the oil filter even though they assure me they will when I ask. I have a vehicle with rear wheel drive. From the waiting area I can see they do not check the lubricant level in the rear differential even though they say on their check sheet (the one they give you when you leave) that they did. They also make erroneous comments on the check sheet regarding your response to questions they ask you.
Once I realized the mechanics here were not performing services they claim to, I contacted the general manager, Doug Langford in writing to ask about it. To his credit, Doug contacted me by e-mail, advising me that he and the owner were looking into my concerns. To his detriment, that was the only time I heard from him. When I returned a couple of months later, things seemed very differently for the better. As best I could tell, all service functions listed on the check list were performed including the oil that drips on my garage floor after an oil change.
Sadly this is not the end of the story. When I returned two weeks ago, service was back to bad. The lubricant level on my rear differential was not checked, the support that catches (then leaks) the oil was not cleaned, and although no mechanic spoke to me while I was there, my check list stated that I had told a mechanic that all services (for other things not included in an oil change) had been done. The following day I sent the manager another message outlining my visit, but it's been a week and a half and he hasn't responded yet.
I am sorry to walk away from this business because it is clean, most of the people there are nice, and it is conveniently located to me. But if they will falsify information, pick and choose the services they do underneath your vehicle, as well as fib about something as little as wiping some excess oil off, I can't trust them with my vehicles anymore. On top of that, I am afraid of other important lubricating services/functions they may be skipping underneath my truck. Checking the differential is much simpler than some of the other things they are supposed to do underneath my truck. Knowing they are skipping that makes me feel they are likely skipping other things. I don't plan to go back. Without trust, I cannot do business here.
