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Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by Dminor, Dec 8, 2007.

  1. Dminor

    Dminor New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2007
    20
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    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Just finished having the soundlink ipod integration done on my car at Stereo City, in Culver City, CA.

    I selected Stereo City after hearing good things about them here in this forum, but I'm using this thread to warn everyone in SoCal to stay away from Stereo City.

    Not only did it take them 2.5 hours to install, they managed to take my 2 week old car and scratch up the upper dash, shift knob, panel near the smartkey hole, front cup holders, lower dash (under the stereo, this is the one I'm most upset about, as it is the most visible), dirty my center console fabric and the passenger side armrest (because one of their "tech" people decided to bring his grubby hands into my immaculate interior.

    When I made a stink about these things, their reply was "it's plastic and it'll scratch eventually." They never apologized, they only offered me a measly $60 off the cost of the installation.

    I will NEVER go back to this shop. They are unprofessional (taking time to go look at other cars and give quotes while working on my car) and never claimed fault for anything, simply stating "we never had anything down there, so how could it have gotten scratched."

    Just a warning to any other SoCal prius (and non prius) owners considering having stereo components installed.
     
    #1 Dminor, Dec 8, 2007
  2. fruzzetti

    fruzzetti Customization-Obsessed

    Joined:
    Dec 5, 2007
    377
    6
    0
    Location:
    California (Pulled over 6x, ticketed 2x for tint)
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Might I make a few productive suggestions? It never feels right when you wind up sitting there and tolerating a business' bullsh**

    (1) Write down in the best detail you can everything that happened and list and itemize all the damage done to the car during their installation. Take photos. If you have any "before" photos then your case is that much better documented.

    (2) Call the shop and ask to talk to the owner / manager / top fellow. Explain the issue, explain the damage and your discontent, and try to be as diplomatic as possible. I always use the Italian style "How are you?..." to start a diplomatic conversation and when they ask how you are, it's good to say you're ok but a little frustrated. It's a good lead-in that usually leaves folks pretty receptive. I have also had the best luck with saying, "I know it's not your doing, but please understand my frustration with what happened to the car while it was in YOUR SHOP'S CARE." Sensitive language can really make the difference. You would ideally try to give the guy a chance to understand where you're coming from and give him an opportunity to rectify the situation so you don't have to look into alternative courses of action.

    If you have a telephone transcriber ($20 from Radio Shack and it hooks up to your computer), record the conversation. It's not admissible in court in most states without both people's permission, but you can still review it later and it's the best way to fuly document a conversation.

    (3) Call the Better Business Bureau, explain in detail your experience with the shop and ask what recourse you have.

    (4) Though it hurts the wallet, it might be worth the risk to you to pay an attorney to make a "telephone call of advocacy" to remind them you probably DO have legal options here.

    Just a few suggestions that have worked for me.

    ~ dan ~
     
    #2 fruzzetti, Dec 11, 2007
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