I took the Mustang in to Jiffy Lube yesterday for its regular oil change. If I had gotten all the “recommended” maintenance that the very earnest and helpful sales associate told me the car needed, I would have spent over $300. As it was, I spent $22 for the oil change — I had a coupon for $20 off — and said no thanks to the rest.
Talk about upselling.
Jiffy Lube is famous for cheating customers,most new cars from 2006 on have no lube points,the points are sealed from the factory and are good for 20 years,Jiffy Lube will try to tell the uninformed that they need to lube your joints and charge you for something they can’t do,I stay away from them and go to WalMart,the price is right and they seem to do a good job,the dealerships are not trustworthy either,they come out with a list of things that need service even on a new car.
Like any auto service center, the oil change is what gets you in the door. Not to pick on Jiffy Lube alone, I’ve taken my car in to another national chain for an oil change and was told I needed new brakes two weeks after I had them replaced by my real mechanic.
Okay, I will pick on Midas Muffler. My daughter took her truck (she’s my tomboy daughter), to get the $20 oil change. They told her she needed tons of other stuff done. She declined, took the truck to my smart and kind used-to-be-a- mechanic neighbor and he said, No way! It happens all the time. I am sure the corporate office gives them stricted instructions to “up sell.” My girl is no dummy and is not easily intimidated.
Not just cars. . . we tried a new dentist in our new town and “holy Jesus! You have five cavities that need immediate repair. I’ll pull out the gold fillings and fix you right up, say next Tuesday?” We had visions of having to take out a bank loan to cover the cost. Yet having been a twice a year cleaning and twice a day brushing customers we were puzzled at why our old dentist hadn’t found these in his xrays. So we called. Yes, he’d seen them but, he said he believed doing lenthy dental operations on an 86 year old man was only risking further problems unlike the way he’d treat a person in his/her 40’s. So we’re going back to our old home for a dental visit where our guy can do a bit of patch-up. And look for another dentist later in the year.
Edit the above to say we had our teeth cleaned twice a year and we floss daily. The rest of the tale is on the mark.
Edit done. If you lived here, I would introduce you to Dr. Savedoff. He is my guy. He has a simple office, no hygenist, and charges me $80 a cleaning. I had a filling replaced last summer and it cost another $50.
Wow.