Tiller1240
09-04-2007, 04:51 PM
Ok folks, time for me to take 2 minutes on my soapbox. Figured I would pass this on to the rest of you in the central Maryland area. I had the most ridiculous experience with Jiffy Hitch Trailers in Millersville, MD today.
About 3 weeks ago, one of my employees mashed up one of our dump trailers. He wasn't paying attention when he raised the dump bed and didn't realize that the rear gate doors weren't latched to the side of the trailer. As a result, he mashed up both doors pretty good.
A few days later I dropped the trailer off at Jiffy Hitch in Millersville (one of the larger local trailer shops). I have dealt with them several times in the past to buy new trailers and also to have some other repair work done. Anyway, they looked at it and said that they would have to replace all four hinges on the gates but that it would only take a few days to finish so I should have the trailer back by the end of the week.
A week goes by and I haven't heard anything from them, so I called to inquire about my trailer. They told me that they had to order the parts and that they were supposed to be arriving that day, but that they could take care of the repair and have the trailer back to me by the end of the week (that was last Tuesday).
So today I stopped by to check on it, and noticed it was still sitting in the corner of the yard in the same place it was last week. I go inside and the girl behind the counter tells me that the parts came in last Tuesday, but they hadn't had a chance to start the work yet. She didn't know when they would get to it, so I went outside and talked to the shop steward.
The guy gives me some attitude and makes excuses about the parts not coming in and it being a holiday weekend, and also says that they do all their hitch work before they do any repair work. He said he might be able to get to it today or tomorrow, but couldn't promise anything.
So back inside I go to talk to the office manager. Little did I know that my joyful experience was just beginning. I explained to the office manager that I just wanted my trailer repaired and felt it was pretty unreasonable to keep pushing my repair to the side while other customers who have come in after me are able to get their work done. This "lady" gets totally belligerent with me and continues to make excuses about why it hasn't gotten done and basically how they'll get to it when they get to it.
So I told her that if they couldn't get to it, then instead of jerking me around, just give me the trailer back and I'll happily take it to someone else who wants the business. She says "fine, I don't give a damn, you can take your trailer and get the f*** out of my store." Instead of returning her professional attitude in kind, I simply asked to speak with her boss. She picks up the phone and calls the owner (Jiffy Hitch is a local franchise with a couple of locations, the main office being up in Baltimore).
She picks up the phone, talks to someone for a minute and tells him that she had a customer in the store who wanted to find out when his trailer would be done, and yes, she told him to get the f*** out of the store. Ok, at least she was honest with the owner. Well, I get on the phone with the owner and while he is at least a bit more professional, he still isn't able to get me any kind of answer on when my repair work would even be able to start.
Now I realize it is sometimes hard to say when repair work will be completed, but at least offer to make sure that it gets into the shop to start the repair work today. Not to mention, you could offer some form of apology for the way your office manager talked to me, even if it was an ingenuine apology.
So anyway, I took my trailer and the parts to a local welding shop (Padgett's Welding in Crofton, MD). Hopefully they'll be able to handle things as well as they promised me, and I should have the trailer back on the road in 2 or 3 days. In the meantime, I wanted to make sure that I relayed my story to the rest of you guys on here. I'm sure I'm not the only one who buys trailers in this area, and Jiffy Hitch is definitely not the only place to do business. For anybody thinking of doing business with them, caveat emptor pal (buyer beware!).
Have a nice day!
About 3 weeks ago, one of my employees mashed up one of our dump trailers. He wasn't paying attention when he raised the dump bed and didn't realize that the rear gate doors weren't latched to the side of the trailer. As a result, he mashed up both doors pretty good.
A few days later I dropped the trailer off at Jiffy Hitch in Millersville (one of the larger local trailer shops). I have dealt with them several times in the past to buy new trailers and also to have some other repair work done. Anyway, they looked at it and said that they would have to replace all four hinges on the gates but that it would only take a few days to finish so I should have the trailer back by the end of the week.
A week goes by and I haven't heard anything from them, so I called to inquire about my trailer. They told me that they had to order the parts and that they were supposed to be arriving that day, but that they could take care of the repair and have the trailer back to me by the end of the week (that was last Tuesday).
So today I stopped by to check on it, and noticed it was still sitting in the corner of the yard in the same place it was last week. I go inside and the girl behind the counter tells me that the parts came in last Tuesday, but they hadn't had a chance to start the work yet. She didn't know when they would get to it, so I went outside and talked to the shop steward.
The guy gives me some attitude and makes excuses about the parts not coming in and it being a holiday weekend, and also says that they do all their hitch work before they do any repair work. He said he might be able to get to it today or tomorrow, but couldn't promise anything.
So back inside I go to talk to the office manager. Little did I know that my joyful experience was just beginning. I explained to the office manager that I just wanted my trailer repaired and felt it was pretty unreasonable to keep pushing my repair to the side while other customers who have come in after me are able to get their work done. This "lady" gets totally belligerent with me and continues to make excuses about why it hasn't gotten done and basically how they'll get to it when they get to it.
So I told her that if they couldn't get to it, then instead of jerking me around, just give me the trailer back and I'll happily take it to someone else who wants the business. She says "fine, I don't give a damn, you can take your trailer and get the f*** out of my store." Instead of returning her professional attitude in kind, I simply asked to speak with her boss. She picks up the phone and calls the owner (Jiffy Hitch is a local franchise with a couple of locations, the main office being up in Baltimore).
She picks up the phone, talks to someone for a minute and tells him that she had a customer in the store who wanted to find out when his trailer would be done, and yes, she told him to get the f*** out of the store. Ok, at least she was honest with the owner. Well, I get on the phone with the owner and while he is at least a bit more professional, he still isn't able to get me any kind of answer on when my repair work would even be able to start.
Now I realize it is sometimes hard to say when repair work will be completed, but at least offer to make sure that it gets into the shop to start the repair work today. Not to mention, you could offer some form of apology for the way your office manager talked to me, even if it was an ingenuine apology.
So anyway, I took my trailer and the parts to a local welding shop (Padgett's Welding in Crofton, MD). Hopefully they'll be able to handle things as well as they promised me, and I should have the trailer back on the road in 2 or 3 days. In the meantime, I wanted to make sure that I relayed my story to the rest of you guys on here. I'm sure I'm not the only one who buys trailers in this area, and Jiffy Hitch is definitely not the only place to do business. For anybody thinking of doing business with them, caveat emptor pal (buyer beware!).
Have a nice day!