Warning - rant to follow about WalMart. Just getting some things off my chest.I have 4 vehicles that I have been getting oil change service done at WalMart for many years. Never had a problem until yesterday. Anyways, my oil change finished late in the afternoon yesterday, and it was dark when I drove home. I did not read the new oil change sticker until today. Then I noticed they had put in the wrong weight oil and the odometer reading was off by 30,000 miles! OK, I got someone else's sticker. But I was concerned that the service on my car had been performed correctly. So, today I went back to WalMart to have them check their records and put on a new oil change sticker. A simple 5-minute job - or so I thought.
I went to buy some groceries and came back about 10 minutes later.
Instead of sending a service mechanic out to the car to verify the odometer and that the correct service had been done yesterday, they just handwrote me a new sticker, gave it to me, and told me to put it on the windshield myself. Red flags going up at this point because I knew nobody had verified the service or the mileage.
Well, I go out to the car to put on the new sticker and noticed that the mileage was still all wrong. So, back into the store again to find out what is going on. Turns out the mechanic had entered the wrong mileage when he performed the oil change.
At this point, I suggest that a service mechanic actually go out to the car, verify the correct information, and fix it. Well, the manager says she will do that. She adds that she knows "How picky I am." What!? She does not know me at all. Period. That really got me on the defensive.
She goes outside and does not come back, for quite a while, maybe 10-15 minutes. So, I go out to the service area and look through the door window to see what's taking her so long. She is not at my car, nor walking back to the service center. I see her outside apparently taking a break, just walking around doing nothing.
She finally comes back into the store. Then she takes the new sticker and goes back outside to put it on the windshield, taking her sweet time, burning up more of my time. I think she planned it that way.
She finally comes back into the store and says everything is taken care of. Well, I ask if she updated the mileage in the computer of my oil change. Nope, she says she can't do that. She would have to schedule another oil change to make any change in their system. Nothing can be done. End of story.
I told her that I was not satisfied with her attitude and the service I received. I asked how to submit a complaint to WalMart. Nope, she would not give me a form, an address, or a telephone number to call. She said I could go home and look up that information online.
At this point, I asked to talk to the store manager. Nope. She was the service manager and she would deal with it. I insisted on getting the name of the store manager and another employee finally got me a WalMart business card and wrote the name of the General Manager on the back. I thanked him and left.
Well, I actually drove around to the front of the store, went to the main customer service counter, and asked to talk to the manager on duty for the store. A nice young man can up to the front, listened to my experience, and gave me all the information I needed to file a written complaint about my service experience. He told me to write everything down and send it to him via email, which he would forward to the GM. He assured me that WalMart would get back to me in the next few days.
The 5-minute stop I had planned turned into over an hour!
Long story short, I ended up writing a 4-page complaint about the service I received and the attitude and insults I got from their service manager. I have been getting my cars serviced at WalMart for years and never had such a negative experience. Depending on the response I get back from the GM at our WalMart, I might have to look elsewhere for oil change service, or maybe my complaint will lead to some improvements. I hope so. I enjoy being able to go online and schedule my oil change, and then do our grocery shopping while waiting for the service to get done. Never had a problem until this recent episode.
I expect I'll get a refund on the oil change. The refund may address the transaction, but it does not resolve the experience. It's not about the money. They need to do better.
Thanks for listening to my rant.
