[73] Bill:  Payment
 
I had my oil changed in about 20 minutes at store #1475 yesterday on June 3^rd and the total cost was $59.21.  However, the credit card machine was not working.  After about 5-10 minutes, the customer service representative had the manager, Scott Sutton, come help.  Scott proceeded to take another 5 minutes in trying the same thing, but the credit card machine still did not work.

At this point, Scott told me that I would have to pay another way.  I explained that I did not have any cash or checks on me, and asked to be billed.  Scott told me that this was not possible, and that I must pay now.  He asked me to write my credit card number down on a sheet of paper, and to leave that with him.  I explained that this was impossible, as I was not leaving my credit card information on a sheet of paper.

After repeatedly asking to be billed, Scott told me that this is impossible, and that he must receive payment now.  I have now been at the store a total of 40 minutes, so I explained to Scott that a business decision should be made, because Jiffy Lube was in danger of losing my business and my wife's business forever over a simple bill of $59.21.  Scott stated that he did not care, because he must have payment today.  He said his boss made the rules, and this was the rule.  Scott told me that his boss was unavailable.

Since Scott would not bill me, I drove my car to a Bank of America and was followed by another Jiffy Lube employee.  I then withdrew $60 from my account and gave the cash to the employee who then gave me $0.75 to complete the transaction (I did not care about the $0.04).

Now, is this standard procedure for Jiffy Lube in treating customers?  Due to the fact that Jiffy Lube's system was down, Jiffy Lube inconvenienced a customer for over 20 minutes, and then had him drive to an ATM to pay for the service.  Quite frankly, it was the most unbelievable display of customer service I have ever seen.  Since I am in marketing myself, I tried to explain customer service to Scott, but he would not hear it.  I even explained that my wife had spent over $350 (I looked it up in Quicken) at this store, and this repeat business was now in jeopardy, but it did not matter to Scott.  Again, Scott always explained that his boss was the one that made the rules.

I should also mention that when I was leaving the store to go to the ATM, I asked Scott if I could perhaps have a discount for the inconvenience I had suffered, but he promptly stated no.

Needless to say, this was an amazing experience.  It is unfortunate that Jiffy Lube has lost my repeat because of it.

[72] Stephen in West Springfield, MA:  Negligence
 
Hello:  I am a victim of Jiffy Lube's negligence............In a nutshell,  Jiffy Lube #2561, West Springfield, Mass service my Toyota and did not check the oil level in the differential as evidenced by the "N/A" on the receipt for differential oil check.  They obviously thought the car didn;t have a differential because it is a front wheel drive.  Two months later, with no leaks noted on the receipt or evident at the time it locked up, the differential locked up on the interstate and an accident was narrowly averted.  Two different concerns have evaluated the car and state that the differential was out of oil -- that is why it locked up.

I have written Jiffy Lube #2561 and Jiffy Lube Headquarters in Houston -- a month ago exactly, and have had no response.  Jiffy Lube is obviously ignoring this case.  I am having the car repaired at my own expense and will keep trying to get some attention from Jiffy Lube on the matter...................

I also wrote the Better Business Bureau in Springfield, Mass and we are adjudicating whether they will accept the complaint against Jiffy Lube or not...........not an encouraging response there either.................

Thanks for this website ---------- these Jiffy Lube crooked bastards need to be held accountable.................

[71] Glenn in Sherman Oaks, CA:  No Oil
 
Hello, yesterday (8/2/05) i took my car in for service at a jiffy lube in sherman oaks ca. long story short, after my oil change, i got 22 miles before my engine blew up on the freeway. two huge holes were in the engine, and a piston and a rod were sitting on top. there was NOT A DROP OF OIL ANYWARE ON OR IN THE ENGINE, the oil plug was in nice and tight. i quickly got third party 2nd, 3rd, and 4th opinions, and they all agreed...JIFFY LUBE FORGOT TO PUT OIL BACK IN MY ENGINE AFTER THEY CHANGED MY OIL. so now i`m told that the district manager is out on a business meeting and wont be able to talk to me about this untill monday 8/8/05.

[70] Joseph:  Unneeded Parts
 
on July 29, 2005, I had the oil in my 2002 Town and Country changed - the car only has 16,000 miles on itas I don't have to do much driving - the manager stated that it is recommended that the transaxle fluid be changed - he also recommeded that the engine be flushed with a detergent - I wasn't thinking clearly and I said to go ahead and change the transaxle fluid - when I later looked in my manual, it recommended changing this fluid at most by 48,000 miles and, under light driving conditions, they don't feel it needs to be changed at all.

[69] Armando in Dallas, TX:  Employee
 
I am a former employee of jiffy lube #1954 in dallas texas (6190 beltline road).  I started working there back in 1999 and worked for the same untill 2001.

my first year of work was great, I started as a lube technician and state inspector with a not so good salary, was told that after the 90 day probation period I would get the hourly rate I was promissed. we had a verry good team and we always closed late instead of closing 5 or 10 minutes early (like some of our other shops) . we never denied service to any customer that pulled in before the closing time (6:00pm.) if they were in our parking lot  even a few minutes after six, they would get service. we had road cones that we purchased with money from our own pockets, the way we used them was after 6:00 pm ,we placed them behind the last cars that were in line for service, that was our "closed" sign. we always had a lot of loyal customers that came to us for service, I remembered some drove 20 to 30 minutes just to get their oil changed here.all was running well untill our manager decided to quit because "jiffy lube" (dba lone star lubrication) told him that he would not get a raise because the store was doing verry poorly , this is when we were number 1 and sometimes number 2 in car count and sales. we did our jobs honestly and without having to lie to customers about their car needing services. after he quit, I was assigned as temporary manager for this store and again was told that I did well as an assistant manager and would receive my raise or "salary" after I took over.I had the job of lube technician, state inspector,assistant manager and manager for the same pay as I did when I started working there. as time went by ,I wanted to hire some people I had worked with in other quick lube shops and was told by my regional manager that they would "cost" the company too much and this would "hurt" his monthly bonus. so he hired unexperienced kids that had no clue about the responsibility of maintaining a vehicle, it was more like just a summer job for them. I could not take more of what was going on at the store that I just had to call my regional manager at the time(David Johnson) ......after him and i talked for about 20 minutes , this is what he said: the more I make for the company, the bigger my pay check. I simply replied to his answer : a team without its manager is not a team anymore as well as a manager without good help is just another face in the crowd. he hung up the phone and was in my shop within 30 minutes. he gave me 2 options, option 1: I would get with the program and concentrate on training these kids to "sell"  and make sure the numbers were good, or option 2 :if you don't like it, quit.  so I did, got another job the same day as an automotive technician(mechanic) which I had before . I used my automotive experience while I was working for jiffy lube making sure the job was done right and within reasonable time.

I guess no good deed goes unpunished, all of us that originally worked there since it opened were pushed away by making our job impossible and braking all the promisses that were made to us.  I kept visiting the jiffy lube even to this day and  remembering that this store was doing so well and now its just another "quick lube shop".... I remember times that it was so buisy,some times we could not fit anymore cars in the parking lot. I went past there this past saturday and only 3 cars were outside, when we sometimes serviced 60+ vehicles every saturday.

working with cars for me is more than just a job, its fun and educational because you always keep learning no matter how much experience you have,because if you are not enjoing your job, its never going to be done right and you wont get anywhere in life.

its hard to find the right shop for your vehicle needs and the only advice I can give you is that the best service shops are the ones that are buisy, just like a good restaurant,if a its always buisy it just means that their food and service is good.  same aplies to automotive shops,a lot of cars usually means good quality service. unfortunately in this world what most shop owners are concerned more is about their "profit" . I had my share of "bad" jobs and had to quit because their work ethics means nothing to them. in some cases ive seen drug use within their facility and sometimes inside the shops.

choose carefully . also cleanliness of the shop itself has a lot to do with the quality of their service, if a shop is clean it means they will be careful with your car ( no oil stains or foot prints on the carpeting etc) and usually these clean shops will use disposable seat covers,steering wheel covers,floor mats,and fender covers in your vehicle eensuring that your car will leave the shop as clean as it did when you took it there.  this is my experience as a former manager of jiffy lube #1954. 6190 beltline road dallas, tx. 75240........

[68] Leslie in Austin, TX:  Oil Amount
 
My husband took my 2 year old Nissan Altima to a Jiffy Lube on North Burnet Rd. in Austin, TX. The car runs like a dream, mainly because it is still fairly new and I take care of it. I have had no problems with it until he took it to Jiffy Lube for a scheduled oil change. Everything seemed fine after he came back, but within a day or so, the car was kicking out some intense smoke from the exhaust and started acting like it was only driving on 3 cylinders. The problem seemed to clear up, so I thought it was just a dirty spark plug. But one day when I was leaving work, it spewed out enough smoke to make it look like a smoke machine gone awry at a disco! When I pressed on the gas, the car was sluggish and I could only go about 10 MPH. I finally decided to take it into a local mechanic that I trust, and what do you know? Jiffy Lube had put 7 quarts of oil in my engine, that only holds 4 quarts. Brilliant. That could have completely ruined my engine. And the mechanic told me that they get a lot of Jiffy Lube's "victims". Wow. Of course, we called JL and they totally ignored us. I tell you...there ain't nothing JIFFY about them, and they don't even know how to LUBE! Let's get 'em, people!!!!

[67] Gwen in Gainesville, FL:  Negligence
 
July, 2005 - Two weeks ago, I visited my local Jiffy Lube for an oil change.  I've been using JL for 7 or 8 years.  I'm pretty certain that I've paid for unnecessary repairs and parts in the past, but my experiences have overall been good - until now!

It was Saturday morning and when I pulled in, I was the only customer.  I had a seat in the waiting room (the one with the big picture window over the repair bays, thank GOD!).  I watched as they pulled my car in and did a little Keystone Kops routine.  Several minutes later, a serviceman came inside and told me I had a signal bulb out and asked if I'd like to go ahead and replace it.  I figured how much could a bulb be, so I said yes.  For the next 20 minutes, I watched (not amused!) as 3 technicians tried unsuccessfully to figure out how to get into the light fixture to replace the bulb.  By that time, I was getting impatient and a little worried that they'd break something, so I politely walked into the repair area, opened my passenger door, got the owner's manual out of the glovebox and handed it to one of them.  I said something like, I had trouble with those lights too and had to look in here to see how to get to them.  Fine.   It took them only a few minutes to replace the bulb after that.

I drove home and thought maybe I'd better check to see if the bulb actually worked.  Walking around the car, I noticed that the hood didn't seem to be closed.  Upon opening the hood, I found the oil cap sitting on top of the radiator, and oil spilled all over the engine.  Of course, I called the store immediately and informed the manager.  He offered to give me a FREE oil change on my next visit.  I didn't say it to him, but I was thinking, "It'll be a cold day in July when I ever take my car back to Jiffy Lube."

To add insult to injury, I was detailing my car today, and opened the hood to look around.  Something didn't look quite right.  That's when I noticed that the radiator overflow tank is MISSING!!  I recalled having seen them remove it, and wondered why.  Never would I have imagined that they wouldn't have put it back!  After another frantic call to the manager today, I was assured that a report would be filed and that he would be in touch with me tomorrow to let me know what they plan to do about it.

I'm amazed that so much could go wrong in one short visit where I was the only customer on the premises for most of the time!!!  Do these guys not have a clue how to even CHANGE YOUR OIL?  Unbelievable! 

[66] Paula:  Attitude
 
First of all, I prefer to have my husband take the cars in because I hate to be cornered and told all of the things that are going to go wrong with my car if I don't purchase a radiator flush, rotate my tires, etc.  He can handle the riduculous scare tactics better than I. These guys are more determined to sell you the extra services than they are on just doing a good job of what they say they're going to do.  We have a perpetual transmission leak (even after repair) and it is necessary to be "topped off" several times in between oil changes.  The reciept from the last 2 oil changes has read "full" under the Transmission /Transaxle Fluid Level, when in fact it has not been.  So I have to surmise that it wasn't even checked since it said full.  Today, after my oil change I questioned the guy about it saying full and asked if it was necessary to add any, he said no.  I said that's hard to believe my parking space in the driveway tells me it's low!  I came home and checked the level myself.  It's extremely low.  I called them explaining my situation.  He said, "you can come in and get it topped off".  I said, "you've missed the point".  They don't get it.  Not that it's a big deal, but they don't vaccum back seat floors either.  What else do they say they do that they really don't?

[65] Victim:  Oil Amount
 
When I drove in, I saw cases of oil neatly stacked. Most of it was 5W30.  Being the middle of summer, I asked for10W40. The "mechanic" said that they had it, and showed me a quart of it. Later, someone else called me out to sell me a cabin air filter which I didn't need. Sitting on the floor was a box with 4 quarts of oil for my car.

One quart was the 10W40, the other three were 5W30. I made an issue of this, and the employee said: yes, they had what I wanted, and would put it in. Had I not seen and questioned the 5W30, I am pretty sure that is what I would have received.

After paying for the service, I went out to my car. I opened the hood and saw a fair amount of spilled oil on top of the engine. I asked them to clean it up, which they did. No word of apology. I guess spilled oil is more or less standard.

When I got home I checked the oil level. There was too much oil in the engine. In some engines this can be a problem. I should have taken the car back, but I didn't want them to touch it again. I also found some more spilled oil that they did not clean up.

So I wound up have to get under the car which is why I took the car in in the first place. I guess I was lucky there was nothing seriously wrong, however, it was a very unpleasant experience. I know most people don't know what goes on under the hood, but I am an engineer and have worked as a mechanic in the past.

I don't expect perfection, but I do expect them to be able to pour the correct amount of oil in the hole and not outside.

[64] Frank:  Battery
 
I took my car to a Jiffy Lube for an oil change.  The technician insisted that the battery should be replaced.  I resisted at first, then finally let him do it. He spent three hours with the car after he took out the battery, finally admitting to me that he didn't get it in right and I should take the car to the dealer.

I drove the car home, but the lights and radio didn't work.  As I took the car to the dealer the next day, it stalled out on the highway.  They charged me $880 to fix the problem caused by Jiffy Lube.

[63] June in Virginia Beach, VA:  Attitude
 
It is 7:45pm on Wed., July 27, 2005.
I stopped by the Jiffylube in my neighborhood, Independence Blvd., Virginia Beach, VA, where I have had a lube job on several occasions.  I arrived at their shop at 6:55pm.  I asked when did they close and he told me they "open" at 8:00am.  I looked at the clock in his reception area and it said 6:55pm.  (The man obviously did not want to work on my vehicle because he wanted to go home.) I explained that I could not come back at 8am.  He said nothing, so I said "just forget it!!!" Is that the  kind of service you guarantee??

[62] Susan:  Oil Filter
 
I've had it. They say when you're happy with a company you tell 10 people, but when you are unhappy with a company, you tell 100.

[61] Duaine:  Employee
 
I was working at Jiffy Lube for 5 years.  I started as a tech washing windows and vacuming vehicles out.  I worked my way up to manager after about 3 years.  I knew as a tech working in the pit that we did not do things the way it should be done.  I have worked on many BMW's and Mercedes that have canister filters (not the spin on type), that we did not have and my boss, who is the general manager now, would tell me to don't worry about it just drain the oil and fill it up and lets get it out of here.  The key is to speed up service and move customers faster than you did last week.  The customers would come in requesting 10w30 synthetic or 5w30 synthetic which we did not carry or we would run out and again my boss would tell us to do not order from the parts store just put in regular oil and maybe throw in some slick 50 oil treatment.  When I made manager I started to find out exactly how this business is ran.  I stayed there because I was paid decently.  I was told that I had to work 45 hours a week minimum without overtime pay.  I ended up working 6-7 days a week.  Any problems that customers would come in we were to not admit guilt and keep everything inhouse.  DO NOT give out the 800 number to jiffy lube international because then they will be on our butts and we dont want to deal with that.  We had a customer complain that we pinched an electrical wire by the air filter housing and cut it.  It cost the customer about 150 dollars and two days without the car while they were diagnosing the problem.  He returned to us with the complaint and I was told to give him a cooling system flush, transmission flush, and an oil change for free.  Total cost to the customer for that would be 170 dollars.  But to us would cost a total of 34 dollars for our parts.  They recently fired me because sales were going down and I wonder why.   We hire kids 17 years old and pay them minimum wage, run them like dogs and the training sucks.  Most training for the kids in the pit is about 2 cars of us showing them what to do and letting them go.......they are certified lube technincian now that the manager has spent a total of 20 minutes training them.  Since leaving Jiffy Lube my migraine headaches have almost vanished completely.  I was getting them 3 times a day and now i get them 3 times every 3 months.  Wow what a difference.   So I really am sorry for all the people that jiffy lube has screwed and the people that jiffy lube make me screw because they didn't want to put out the money to make a customer happy and have a return customer for the future.  Spread the word dont use jiffy lube.  Use a mechanic shop or go to your local dealer.  You may stay alittle longer waiting for the vehicle but you wont leave disappointed.

[60] Joe:  Oil Plug
 
well im pleased im not alone , they have pulled a fast one on me this time , they the pit boss from down under stripped my oil plug in my neon, they didnt say any thing untill i paid the bill of 33.00 dollars for a oil change and then said that they tryed to put in a temp. replacement plug in and that i should go to a mechanice to have it retaped, i said really ive never had a proplem like this with any other car ive owned and ive had this one for 4 yrs now and you are telling me its stripped before i got here . right . ive called the main # twice talked to 2 diff managers saying its my falt no its not i know its hot under their they just were in a hurry and overtighten it , im not going back they want another chance to corret this problemm as the owner will be their this time

[58] Lori:  Fraud
 
My experiences were minor, so I just went on about my business, I had no idea there was a website dedicated to their shotty service.

The first time they told me I needed something I knew I didn't need ... I just declined and went on.

I trust Midas now ... I asked them to replace my break pads and they said I didn't need to yet, but I said that's okay better early than late.  (I've done that before).

The second time, my windshield wiper was frayed a quarter of an inch.  They pulled on it so the rubber was half way off the metal, I couldn't prove it, but I just informed them I was not a dumb broad and I could change my own wipers and went to the nearest auto parts store and bought the best.  I've never gone back since.

I always tell people about my jiffy experiences.  It's a shame, they'd be a good business if they were an honest one.

[57] Tom in Corvallis, OR:  Attitude
 
While my issues are minor in comparison to many other postings, it still needs to be aired. I was a long-time customer of Jiffy Lube here in Corvallis (OR), having received good or better service for a number of years.

[56] Steve:  Oil Filter
 
I went to have my oil changed and they were out of filters. They didn't know when they would have filters, and they wouldn't go next door to Shucks to buy one. I sent a complaint to the corporate site and they sent a coupon for a free change but they still don't know when they will have any filters. Someday, someday....

[55] Kenny & Joanna in Hagerstown, MD:  Transmission
 
This happened a very long time ago but I did not forget---1989 Nissan Pulsar NX.  Jiffy Lube in Hagerstown Maryland suggested a transmission flush when I was in a for a routine oil change.  They performed the oil change and transmission flush and two days later, you guessed in, my transmission went out of my car on the way to work.  I did a U-turn and drove directly to the Nissan dealership when I heard the strange noises coming from the rear end of my car.  By the time I made it to the dealership, the internal parts in the transmission had turned to a white color where the metal had superheated.  The mechanic at the dealership discovered the transmission was basically dry because the drain plug either had not been replaced or had fallen out.  JL claimed ignorance and took no responsibilty.  Luckily, the dealership mechanic at Nissan BS'd the extended warranty company and they replaced the transmission under the extended warranty (their cost $1,800).  Had he not done this, I would have been beaten broke and car-less since I did not have the time, money or wherewithal to fight JL to replace what they had obviously ruined.

[54] Yolinda:  Employee
 
My husband worked was an employee of Jiffy Lube who worked his way up from a pit man all the way up to manager. His experience as a pit man was terrible, bad treatment from the manager who was already a convicted felon who should not have been managing a store anyways. My husband had to eventually transfer to another store. When he transferred he was eventually moved up to manager ,where he worked sun up to sun down with no recognition, no appreciation,and worked with only one person everyday.I felt he was treated very poorly considering that he did work 7 days a week.

He fixed problems after problems that were sent over from other stores. He was a very devoted manager that was told constently to sell, sell, sell products to people even if they really did not need it if he wanted to keep his job.  This was so much stress on him that I had to that his body physically broke down .  Eventually he could no longer work for them because of the the injuries and stress that he endured.  And during the same time they were filing chapter 11, and he also had to endure that  until he had to see an doctor.  It's really a shame that my husband had to start all over again because of cheats, liars and crooks. And you know what he got out of it, NOTHING!!!

[53] Carolina:  Oil Amount
 
today July the 6th at 6:15pm i went to get my oil changed, had to buy my own oil because they said they did not have any 15-40, while the employee was adding the oil i was standing at the door, he was ash asking someone how much oil it took  for my truck. i told him that i takes 15 quarts. the employee did not listen to me at all. i waited until he was adding the last gallon, just as he was half way, i ask him if he was going to pour it all in, he said nothing. after all this he checked it and said it was ok. so i went into the office and paid and i told the lady that i would check it when i drive around to level ground, so i do and it is one quart high. the employees were standing out back, i went around back and let them look at the dip stick, one of the employees said would you like us to drain out a quart, i first said no, the guy that added the oil should have listen to me or to the computer he looked it up on. i said i have to get back to work, so the employee that mad the mistake started laughing so i went to my truck and drove around and said yes i would like you to drain out a quart, then this employee started towards me as if he wanted to fight,two of the employees held him back. never have i had this happen anywhere.

[52] Patricia in Albuquerque, NM:  Negligence
 
My 16 year old daughter took her 93 Toyota Camry in for a basic old change. She didn't realize (being 16) that they had not properly closed the hood. While traveling home her hood flew open and into the windshield. In addition to scaring her to death, the hood and windshield are destroyed. Jiffy Lube manager told me he believed the latch must be defective and would not be liable for the damages. I'm grateful my daughter was not physically hurt, but I'm out monetary damages for their negligence.

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