Jiffy-Lube THIS…

By Janet Grace

I have been frequenting the exact same Jiffy-Lube since I relocated to Maryland six years ago.

My review for them had five stars. ☆☆☆☆☆ ‘Amazing service every time’…

Or so, that’s what I had experienced until two weeks ago. I even brought my family members’ cars here if their schedules were tight. We’d trade cars for the day and I’d bring their ride to Jiffy Lube.

That’s what I did two weeks ago. At 40k miles, I needed a full synthetic oil change and a tire rotation. It was done in an hour and I was back on the road, but my super smooth ride felt like crap.

I returned the next day and asked if by chance they’d balanced the tires, checked the air. They looked at each other and laughed. I was surprised. I’d noticed that when they rotated the tires, instead of doing it in an “X” formation, where the left driver’s tire is traded with the rear right tire and so on, they exchanged the left front tire for the left rear tire. I didn’t think anything of it at the time but after their cackling, I was now dubious is they even said “chicklet.”

Ignoring the fun time they were having. I asked what it would cost to balance the tires.

$89.00

Yup.

You read that right.

$89 bucks, as if this were my first rodeo. I don’t own a shop but I was my Daddy’s grease monkey, or so he’d say, and I continued the love and journey of learning about cars and their maintenance, after he crossed over to Valhalla. so I know what it costs and it’s not $89.

I looked at both of them smiling at me and walked out of the store.

I drove “one block over” to Mr. Tire and the sweetest young man ever told me EXACTLY what I KNEW it cost when I asked him what they charge to balance tires. $24.99.

I called Jiffy Lube, asked to speak with the gentleman I normally work with, not the two mechanics I’d walked out on.

I told him what had transpired, including getting the job done across the street for the correct price of $24.99, $8.00 per tire. I asked him what was up with that? Was it an error?
He stood by his mechanics and told me that $89 was the correct price and that’s what it costs, period.

Basically, ya don’t like it, do what ya did and go elsewhere.

Soooo, check around people. Good; consistently good, mechanics are hard to come by. Check prices. Watch them as they work on your car. You’re not being anything but a wise consumer, protecting your $$$ investment.

Soo, am I THE KAREN?

You bet your ever-lovin’ ass, I am. If they have no integrity for me, they won’t have it for you either.

This is our community. Don’t rip us off and brag about it. Damn straight I’m alerting my townsfolk, neighbors and friends.

Not on my watch.

Just so you know.

Peace/Out,
JG )O(