Magnotti Small Engine Service

I took a walk behind mower there for a new PTO, after a month with no phone call except the ones from me to him I finally get to pick it up. When I get there he presents me with a $327 bill for a USED PTO he had (he was doing me a favor in his words) but my mower would not run, both front tires were flat and one wont hold air at all, he put a pull cord on (the one on it was less than a week old) and charged me for "engine tune up" per my bill. When I questioned this he started cursing at me and physically tried to have an altercation with me until one of his employees grabbed him and restrained him. I did not raise my voice or curse at him yet a grown man acts this way?? I will never go there again and would suggest you not to either!

Review: When I took my lawn mower to this place I asked the owner to please look at it and call me with an estimate on how much it would to fix it. Several days later I recieved a phone call stating that my lawn mower was done and it would be $xxx.xx amount to fix it. When I originally took it in I advised the owner that I had other lawn mowers that were also broke and that it may cheaper to bring in one of the others in for repairs instead of this one thats why I was only requesting an estimate. Today I recieved a phone call from this palce of business advising me that if I did not come in and pay the amount that he was going to sell my mower. I advised him that I never signed anything that said I agreed that if I could not pay for the service you had the right to sell my property. I never gave permission to fix it I only requested an estimate. The owner was very rude to me over the phone continued to talk over top of me then hung up instead of trying to resolve this and come to an agreement. I was not happy with this service at all and would not recommend them to anyone I know.Desired Settlement: My desired outcome would be for him to adjust the amount owed since I origanly requested an estimate and work out

a payment plan with me so I can pay it off and get my property back. I also hope that he does not sell my property.

Business

Response:

What

is RUDE? – Requesting a service of a company then leaving the machine with the

repair company since May 21, 2015 with no response to any of the several

messages. Then trying to change the

request and make the service company the bad guy.

The

service request on the machine in question has the name [redacted] on it,

not [redacted] The request for service simply

states:

SP Cables? -

Won’t stay running – Sharpen

Once the technician completed the work order he noted:

Cable put back in handle,

works.

New Carb 799868

Sharpen

Completed 5/21/15

As usual, in May we are at peak season and the repairs for

this machine were no more than what was quoted at the time the equipment was

brought to my shop. This particular

machine is a relatively new machine and well worth the repairs. The machine received a normal seasonal

service for a machine that had not been properly cared for. Average price for this type of seasonal

service is between $85 to $125. The customer was told this when she dropped it off.

Upon completion of the service phone calls to the customer were made on; 5/21 – 6/25 –

7/24 – 8/18, and messages were left on the customers voice mail when it was not

full and not able to take any new messages..

None of the messages we left informing the owner were responded to by the owner. On 8/18 my intent was to let the person who

answered the phone know the machine had been repaired in May 2015 and still

here in August. Machines that sit with

fuel in them for more than 30 days will have issues running. This machine was brought to my shop because

of the failure of the owner to properly understand and perform end of season

preventive maintenance on the fuel system.

Now I am the bad guy who helped.

She states she never gave us permission to fix it? Please understand that at peak season we

will give estimates prior to repair.

Unfortunately, during Peak season an estimate will increase the time

your equipment is in the shop. There

was no indication of a requested estimate noted on the work order I wrote,

dated May 5th. The work

order was simply a push mower that needed a tune up. It was a standard tune up request. No notation was on the work order for an estimate and the work

was completed on time by May 21st.

The customer also needs to understand that a $35 fee is charged when we

give a requested estimate and the customer does not want us to perform the

service. If the customer requested this

estimate service, notations on the work order would be in place and the $35 fee

would have been understood. I

understand the need for my customers to try to save money, but they need to do

their homework and not assume that they are always right and that somebody is

trying to screw them!

Customers receive an invoice for the service we perform;

it clearly states what was done and what is due. Just like the non-existent request for an estimate, the

complainant is now asking for payment terms.

We do not offer payment terms; we have posted a payment policy of COD -

CASH, Company Check, or personal check for over $200. I will not sell the machine because State Law requires me to take

a few extra steps. I probable cannot

sell this machine anyway as it now has been sitting for 90 days and the fuel

tank and carb will again be in need of cleaning. I also have a policy to charge customers storage charges of $4

per day after the equipment has sat on my lot for 14 days after they are

notified that their equipment has been repaired. The machine also had a thirty day warranty that has already ran out on June 21,2015.

The price on the repair is valid and reasonable and will

not be adjusted except for storage. I

do have legal remedies if the equipment is not picked up and paid for within a

reasonable amount of time. It actually

is amazing how fast a person will respond when they think they will lose

something. As I stated earlier we left

voice mail messages on; 5/21 – 6/25 – 7/24 with no response from the

owners. The call on 8/18 was done in an

effort to get the customer to take action.

Was I rude to her? It is hard to

have a conversation when the customer does not respect you and as she claimed,

I was the only person with a talk over issue.

Please inform the customer that her machine was ready for

pick up on May the 21st, I will complete the disposal paper work by

the end of November if it is still at my facility. I normally do not charge my customers storage fees, but in this

case storage fees will apply if this machine is not paid for and removed from my site by

Friday 8/28/2015.

Sincerely

Bob Magnotti