Here's what Harold's did for me, and I'm sure they can do it for you too: kept my trimmer for 3 weeks, charged $89 for work that wasn't needed, and returned the trimmer with the same problem it was originally taken in for. I will never use Harold's again nor recommend this shop to anyone.
Here are the details. I took my Shindaiwa trimmer to Harold's to be looked at due to the clutch not working, for which I was charged a $20 evaluation fee. No problem there. Here's where I do have a problem. After several weeks, I received a message saying the trimmer was repaired and the charge was an additional $69. There was no "here's what is wrong with the trimmer and this is how much it will cost if you want it fixed." I was never given a repair quote nor any opportunity to accept/decline work, only a bill. Had they actually repaired the trimmer, I probably wouldn't be quite as upset.
When I arrived and asked what they had done to it, I was told they had "repaired the fuel system". The fuel system is not what I brought the trimmer in for. If the shop would have said it was the fuel system that needed work, I would have declined and just written them off as incompetent. Confident the trimmer had not actually been repaired (or much, if any, work had been done to it), I asked the employee to start the trimmer. He could barely start it due to the clutch not working. The employee had to place the trimmer on the ground just to be able to pull the cord. Now this was the problem it was brought in for. After "repairing the fuel system", a reputable repair shop would have started the trimmer to verify it functions properly. I spoke with the owner, and his contribution to the situation was to say if the clutch had to be replaced, I would be better off just buying a new trimmer. Why was that information not provided as part of the $20 evaluation they charged for? Since this is a $300 trimmer, I contacted an authorized Shindaiwa dealer after leaving Harold's, who quoted a maximum of $50 to replace the entire clutch assembly (if needed, it may only need a pin replaced) with a 2-day turn time. End result after a visit to Harold's: I have $89 less in my wallet and the same trimmer that doesn't work, and it only took Harold's 3 weeks to accomplish this. I'm sure they can do the same for you. read more