SJ: My GST Experience (neutral)
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Car Info: 05 STi
SJ: My GST Experience (neutral)
My GST Experience:
I went to GST because of all the rave reviews I have been hearing. I went in for the 30k maintenence, because I was too lazy to do it myself and thought they could do a better job quicker. I get there in the early morning before they opened with AR (x002x) because he was nice enough to escort me. My appt was @ 10AM, and my car was brought in @ 11AM. I left for lunching thinking everything would be taken care of. I get back at 12PM and bum around the waiting room and in the front for about an hour. My car is done! HOORAY, or so I thought.
I go to the front office and pay the $425 fee they charged me for the performance 30K service. Wanting to know what was done with the money, I asked the technician, Tommy, what was done to my car. He said in his own words of course, that he changed the motor oil, the rear dif fluid, topped off my brake fluid, and did an inspection around the car. Perplexed and appreciative that they took time to service my car I left. I drive back to San Jose, about a 25-30 min commute, and i get a phone call when I get home.
Greg called back telling me that Mike and the Tommy talked and they did not fully perform the 30K service I had paid for. He asked if I could come back today or another time at my convenience and apologized that there was some confusion about the service. I decide to go back anyway to get my money's worth. I get there and Tommy changes the tranny fluid and flushes the coolant. Another hour goes by and my car is done again! Or so i thought.
I drive away about 1/2 a mile down the road only to smell the familiar odor of coolant at the stop light. I'm thinking he may have spilled some on it's just burning off, because I too have done that. I decide to pull over and check anyway. I pop my hood only to see clouds of smoke rise up everywhere. Straight down to the splash guard, I see puddles of coolant and ancillary hose that goes to nothing. My coolant resovoir was no where to be found. I drive back and park in front of the garage. Smoke was leaking from the sides of the hood. Tommy said that it was just burning off spilled coolant. I pop my hood and point out the puddle and lack of resovoir. He got some water to dilute it and wash it out and replace the resovoir.
I left again towards home.
Overall, I would say my GST Experience was "Neutral". I wouldn't give a plus, but I wouldn't give it a minus. The fact that they called me back was awesome on their part. The fact that I had to come back for something they didn't complete wasn't so awesome. I did end up having to waste a major part of my day driving to and from San Jose and Hayward. And, had I left again without checking my engine bay, I would have got home without a coolant resovoir. And, I was slightly bummed that my time commuting wasn't compensated because another trip back and forth getting stuck in traffic SUCKS. But you can't win everything. I don't doubt their auto tuning ability and service they provide, but if you need a 30K service and have the time, you "might" save yourself some trouble and DIY.
************************************************** ******
Cliffs:
-Go in for 30k service
-Get home and get called to drive back so they can finish 30k
-Drove away, checked engine, missing coolant resovoir, drive back to get it put back in.
-Get home in traffic.
-Neutral experience, don't think I'd recommend for maintenence.
************************************************** ******
update:
Mike maintains GST's high level of customer service AND satisfaction and offers a fair solution. I am happy subi owner.
I went to GST because of all the rave reviews I have been hearing. I went in for the 30k maintenence, because I was too lazy to do it myself and thought they could do a better job quicker. I get there in the early morning before they opened with AR (x002x) because he was nice enough to escort me. My appt was @ 10AM, and my car was brought in @ 11AM. I left for lunching thinking everything would be taken care of. I get back at 12PM and bum around the waiting room and in the front for about an hour. My car is done! HOORAY, or so I thought.
I go to the front office and pay the $425 fee they charged me for the performance 30K service. Wanting to know what was done with the money, I asked the technician, Tommy, what was done to my car. He said in his own words of course, that he changed the motor oil, the rear dif fluid, topped off my brake fluid, and did an inspection around the car. Perplexed and appreciative that they took time to service my car I left. I drive back to San Jose, about a 25-30 min commute, and i get a phone call when I get home.
Greg called back telling me that Mike and the Tommy talked and they did not fully perform the 30K service I had paid for. He asked if I could come back today or another time at my convenience and apologized that there was some confusion about the service. I decide to go back anyway to get my money's worth. I get there and Tommy changes the tranny fluid and flushes the coolant. Another hour goes by and my car is done again! Or so i thought.
I drive away about 1/2 a mile down the road only to smell the familiar odor of coolant at the stop light. I'm thinking he may have spilled some on it's just burning off, because I too have done that. I decide to pull over and check anyway. I pop my hood only to see clouds of smoke rise up everywhere. Straight down to the splash guard, I see puddles of coolant and ancillary hose that goes to nothing. My coolant resovoir was no where to be found. I drive back and park in front of the garage. Smoke was leaking from the sides of the hood. Tommy said that it was just burning off spilled coolant. I pop my hood and point out the puddle and lack of resovoir. He got some water to dilute it and wash it out and replace the resovoir.
I left again towards home.
Overall, I would say my GST Experience was "Neutral". I wouldn't give a plus, but I wouldn't give it a minus. The fact that they called me back was awesome on their part. The fact that I had to come back for something they didn't complete wasn't so awesome. I did end up having to waste a major part of my day driving to and from San Jose and Hayward. And, had I left again without checking my engine bay, I would have got home without a coolant resovoir. And, I was slightly bummed that my time commuting wasn't compensated because another trip back and forth getting stuck in traffic SUCKS. But you can't win everything. I don't doubt their auto tuning ability and service they provide, but if you need a 30K service and have the time, you "might" save yourself some trouble and DIY.
************************************************** ******
Cliffs:
-Go in for 30k service
-Get home and get called to drive back so they can finish 30k
-Drove away, checked engine, missing coolant resovoir, drive back to get it put back in.
-Get home in traffic.
-Neutral experience, don't think I'd recommend for maintenence.
************************************************** ******
update:
Mike maintains GST's high level of customer service AND satisfaction and offers a fair solution. I am happy subi owner.
Last edited by BeeSTi; Jun 15, 2007 at 10:42 AM. Reason: update
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+1 on your write up.
+1 on the call back. a shady shop would have just let you go. and put $200 on black in the roulette table in vegas w/ your money. (which is where i will be in SEMA this year!)
people make mistakes... its what you do after you muck up.
i'm sure mike and the crew will be more than happy to have you again the next time you need service on your car and I bet it will be a +1 post next time!
good luck!
i went to sjsu, and i know all about that damn 880! 680 FTW!
-sd
+1 on the call back. a shady shop would have just let you go. and put $200 on black in the roulette table in vegas w/ your money. (which is where i will be in SEMA this year!)
people make mistakes... its what you do after you muck up.
i'm sure mike and the crew will be more than happy to have you again the next time you need service on your car and I bet it will be a +1 post next time!
good luck!
i went to sjsu, and i know all about that damn 880! 680 FTW!
-sd
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iTrader: (14)
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 3,246
From: Hayward, CA
Car Info: WRX, EVO, MSP3
My GST Experience:
I went to GST because of all the rave reviews I have been hearing. I went in for the 30k maintenence, because I was too lazy to do it myself and thought they could do a better job quicker. I get there in the early morning before they opened with AR (x002x) because he was nice enough to escort me. My appt was @ 10AM, and my car was brought in @ 11AM. I left for lunching thinking everything would be taken care of. I get back at 12PM and bum around the waiting room and in the front for about an hour. My car is done! HOORAY, or so I thought.
I go to the front office and pay the $425 fee they charged me for the performance 30K service. Wanting to know what was done with the money, I asked the technician, Tommy, what was done to my car. He said in his own words of course, that he changed the motor oil, the rear dif fluid, topped off my brake fluid, and did an inspection around the car. Perplexed and appreciative that they took time to service my car I left. I drive back to San Jose, about a 25-30 min commute, and i get a phone call when I get home.
Greg called back telling me that Mike and the Tommy talked and they did not fully perform the 30K service I had paid for. He asked if I could come back today or another time at my convenience and apologized that there was some confusion about the service. I decide to go back anyway to get my money's worth. I get there and Tommy changes the tranny fluid and flushes the coolant. Another hour goes by and my car is done again! Or so i thought.
I drive away about 1/2 a mile down the road only to smell the familiar odor of coolant at the stop light. I'm thinking he may have spilled some on it's just burning off, because I too have done that. I decide to pull over and check anyway. I pop my hood only to see clouds of smoke rise up everywhere. Straight down to the splash guard, I see puddles of coolant and ancillary hose that goes to nothing. My coolant resovoir was no where to be found. I drive back and park in front of the garage. Smoke was leaking from the sides of the hood. Tommy said that it was just burning off spilled coolant. I pop my hood and point out the puddle and lack of resovoir. He got some water to dilute it and wash it out and replace the resovoir.
I left again towards home.
Overall, I would say my GST Experience was "Neutral". I wouldn't give a plus, but I wouldn't give it a minus. The fact that they called me back was awesome on their part. The fact that I had to come back for something they didn't complete wasn't so awesome. I did end up having to waste a major part of my day driving to and from San Jose and Hayward. And, had I left again without checking my engine bay, I would have got home without a coolant resovoir. And, I was slightly bummed that my time commuting wasn't compensated because another trip back and forth getting stuck in traffic SUCKS. But you can't win everything. I don't doubt their auto tuning ability and service they provide, but if you need a 30K service and have the time, you "might" save yourself some trouble and DIY.
************************************************** ******
Cliffs:
-Go in for 30k service
-Get home and get called to drive back so they can finish 30k
-Drove away, checked engine, missing coolant resovoir, drive back to get it put back in.
-Get home in traffic.
-Neutral experience, don't think I'd recommend for maintenence.
I went to GST because of all the rave reviews I have been hearing. I went in for the 30k maintenence, because I was too lazy to do it myself and thought they could do a better job quicker. I get there in the early morning before they opened with AR (x002x) because he was nice enough to escort me. My appt was @ 10AM, and my car was brought in @ 11AM. I left for lunching thinking everything would be taken care of. I get back at 12PM and bum around the waiting room and in the front for about an hour. My car is done! HOORAY, or so I thought.
I go to the front office and pay the $425 fee they charged me for the performance 30K service. Wanting to know what was done with the money, I asked the technician, Tommy, what was done to my car. He said in his own words of course, that he changed the motor oil, the rear dif fluid, topped off my brake fluid, and did an inspection around the car. Perplexed and appreciative that they took time to service my car I left. I drive back to San Jose, about a 25-30 min commute, and i get a phone call when I get home.
Greg called back telling me that Mike and the Tommy talked and they did not fully perform the 30K service I had paid for. He asked if I could come back today or another time at my convenience and apologized that there was some confusion about the service. I decide to go back anyway to get my money's worth. I get there and Tommy changes the tranny fluid and flushes the coolant. Another hour goes by and my car is done again! Or so i thought.
I drive away about 1/2 a mile down the road only to smell the familiar odor of coolant at the stop light. I'm thinking he may have spilled some on it's just burning off, because I too have done that. I decide to pull over and check anyway. I pop my hood only to see clouds of smoke rise up everywhere. Straight down to the splash guard, I see puddles of coolant and ancillary hose that goes to nothing. My coolant resovoir was no where to be found. I drive back and park in front of the garage. Smoke was leaking from the sides of the hood. Tommy said that it was just burning off spilled coolant. I pop my hood and point out the puddle and lack of resovoir. He got some water to dilute it and wash it out and replace the resovoir.
I left again towards home.
Overall, I would say my GST Experience was "Neutral". I wouldn't give a plus, but I wouldn't give it a minus. The fact that they called me back was awesome on their part. The fact that I had to come back for something they didn't complete wasn't so awesome. I did end up having to waste a major part of my day driving to and from San Jose and Hayward. And, had I left again without checking my engine bay, I would have got home without a coolant resovoir. And, I was slightly bummed that my time commuting wasn't compensated because another trip back and forth getting stuck in traffic SUCKS. But you can't win everything. I don't doubt their auto tuning ability and service they provide, but if you need a 30K service and have the time, you "might" save yourself some trouble and DIY.
************************************************** ******
Cliffs:
-Go in for 30k service
-Get home and get called to drive back so they can finish 30k
-Drove away, checked engine, missing coolant resovoir, drive back to get it put back in.
-Get home in traffic.
-Neutral experience, don't think I'd recommend for maintenence.
The tech certainly made a mistake with your resovoir which in it's own right would have caused you a trip back and wasted time and gas, to this end we would like to offer to cover a tank of gas for you. Drop me a PM with the cost and where we should mail the check.
Again I apologize for any inconvienence this may have caused you.
Mike
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Originally Posted by suby_dude
people make mistakes... its what you do after you muck up.
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Now that is going the extra mile right there.
The one thing I really like about shops like GST, LIC, and I am assuming DBTuned (but still haven't been there....sorry Paul, I'll come by soon 
) is that if anything happens to you or your car, regaurdless of fault or situtation, they do their best to help you out even at their own expense.
Mike's a great guy and obvisiouly wants nothing but +1's for GST and I think they deserve it. Great job guys because for a lot of people its harder to admit they did something wrong and then fix it at their own expense than just ignoring a problem and hidding their mistake at the customer's expense.
) is that if anything happens to you or your car, regaurdless of fault or situtation, they do their best to help you out even at their own expense. Mike's a great guy and obvisiouly wants nothing but +1's for GST
and I think they deserve it. Great job guys because for a lot of people its harder to admit they did something wrong and then fix it at their own expense than just ignoring a problem and hidding their mistake at the customer's expense.
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Sorry for the inconvienence we caused you, this was entirely my fault as I had just recently reviewed and changed our own 30K process and not clearly identified certain parts of that with the techs.
The tech certainly made a mistake with your resovoir which in it's own right would have caused you a trip back and wasted time and gas, to this end we would like to offer to cover a tank of gas for you. Drop me a PM with the cost and where we should mail the check.
Again I apologize for any inconvienence this may have caused you.
Mike
The tech certainly made a mistake with your resovoir which in it's own right would have caused you a trip back and wasted time and gas, to this end we would like to offer to cover a tank of gas for you. Drop me a PM with the cost and where we should mail the check.
Again I apologize for any inconvienence this may have caused you.
Mike
that is awesome mike. thank you for taking your time to deal with a customer. i can see how GST strives to maintain the high level of customer service AND satisfaction. :RockOn - not mine:
Race Gas?LOL Sorry to hear about the experience. Rest assured if something goes wrong at GST, Mike will take care. He always does. Last thing he wants is to loose a client.
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Car Info: 02 WRX, 85 AE86, 84 FJ60
so...motor oil/filter, tranny service, dif change, "top off" brake fluid, coolant flush, and multi-point check?
What about fuel filter, belts, power steering fluid flush, air filter and spark plugs?
What about fuel filter, belts, power steering fluid flush, air filter and spark plugs?
Thread Starter
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Car Info: 05 STi
belts didn't need replacing, just inspection
power steering flush, i didnt even think was necessary,
air filter was replaced,
spark plugs are suppose to be replaced @ 60k for turbo cars.
i would have liked the brake fluid to be replaced, but i plan to put in upgraded lines anyway so it'll get changed later.