And according to Spy Sweeper, when you go to the site he posted and click on a thread spy ware is installed on your computer unless you have a program that checks in real time, like Spy Sweeper, and warns you. Go there with great caution.
Which "thread" (link) installs Spyware? The only external links are mrtransmission.com, ripoffreport.com, and complaints.com.
This blanket indictment of AAMCO is just as wrong and unfair as Andrew's treatment of Mr. Transmission. As I wrote above:
"I've had work done by a local AAMCO guy who's been completely trustworthy. The rebuild they did on my Excel transmission lasted 115K miles, which is impressive when you consider that the orignal only lasted 64K. He's even told me when he didn't think that work was worth it on another car. He's good, he cares about his customers and the quality of the work his people turn out. These are the reasons that he's been in business at the same location for 20-something years. I refer people to him all the time.
OTOH, I've heard horror stories about other AAMCO stores. It's not the name on the building, it's the guys that work there that count."
My local AAMCO guy is as good as gold. It's a shame that yours isn't, but that's the fault of the personnel.
I once worked for a guy in the muffler biz and I watched him train and incentivise his employees to rip off customers (he called it "selling jobs"). Between his dishonesty and his cocaine habit, he didn't last long. Sales training can be beneficial in that in can help technicians to explain work to customers in a manner they can understand, but taken to an extreme (as above), it's wrong. Again, it's the people that make the difference and that's true no matter what the name of the business is.
It is obvious that you do not know how good franchises operate. They operate on their "good name" for business and good franchise operators make sure that bad apples are promptly removed. This is not the case of Mr. Transmission as some owners of franchises are not very happy campers. If you get past the intial canned hype at
Shane said on October 27th, 2004 at 10:43 pm: Just like Matt's report on RipOffReport, I did my research. Just like Matt, I worked at a shop for almost 20 years ? the work itself I could do with my eyes closed. I believed I could make money with Mr. Transmission. Guess what? NOT A DIME! Guess what else? I FINANCED THE $150,000 INITIAL INVESTMENT WITH A SECOND MORTGAGE!! UNLIKE Matt, this IS going to court. I want EVERY PENNY I put into this AND damages! I don't know about the work of other franchises, but DO NOT BUY INTO THIS SCAM, you will NEVER MAKE MONEY!
Better yet, go to
As for arbitration... who do you think decides which arbitrator to use? Not me... As you are clueless and need a steer, there are two parties involved in this dispute and one of them is me. I don't chose the place that arbitrates so who do you think will chose?
I'll type out the scenario very slow to you so you can understand. My transmission breaks and it needs replacing. I go to Mr. Transmission and pay over $3000 to have this done. I pick up my car a week later and it breaksdown due to the transmission light going on and transmission fluid venting out. I tow the car back and they keep it a few more weeks. They do such things as replacing an ECT sensor, whose only purpose is to make the dash temp gauge work. In addition they remove my Performance Control Module (PCM), do a compression check on my engine and many other things during those two weeks. They tell me they found the problem... wiring from another ECT to my PCM. They take the vehicle to another shop and have this replaced at my expense. I pick up the vehicle and what do you think happens? The transmission light goes on and my transmission vents fluid. Of course my dash temp, which was working before, is not working at this time.
I tow it back to the shop and they state that I'm out of luck because it is my engine and wiring which is at fault. I take it to the dealership. They reroute my transmission cooler back to the stock cooler. They replace a damaged/ incorrect dipstick in my transmission. They drain 5 quarts of excess transmission fluid from my vehicle due to the damaged/incorrect dipstick. They clean transmission fluid out of my MAP sensor.
Guess what... No more transmission problems after that. So what do you think was causing the transmission problems after getting it replaced? Very obvious when you look to see what the dealer did to correct the problem.
After this experience, I'm going to avoid all chains as I'm getting the picture of franchise owners hungry to get a return on their investments. It is better to deal with the small folks who make a living off of word of mouth or a dealership.
Mr. Transmission takes the cake though in transmission repairs. They state a nationwide warranty on their website but when you look at their locations, they are only located in 21 states in America. They also state they have the best warranty in the business but I do not see them offering a lifetime warranty like Aamco does.
I know EXACTLY how a franchise operates, as I worked for a franchise company at one point.
That's up to the main office. The degree to which they can do that also varies with the contract they have with their franchisees. There is no "standard" contract for all franchise businesses.
That can be said for virtually ANY franchise. Granted, there are some that are basically rip-offs, but there are also a lot of people who can manage to lose money no matter what business they're in. It's easy to blame the head office for poor business sense. In some cases it's justified, but in most it's not.
Good for you. What did they do, send you a letter?
If it's voluntary arbitration, you have a say as to who the arbitrator is. If they're trying to push the mandatory arbitraton on you, I don't blame you for resisting.
I understand your situation and I have said that I completely agree with your actions against the local store. Is that plain enough for YOU to understand? What I disagree with is your trashing of the entire company for the actions of ONE store. Got it???
If you got a bad cup of coffee at a Dunkin Donuts, would you put up a website called dunkindonutscoffeesucks.com?
A lot of franchise stores ARE small folks. My local AAMCO store is a three man operation and the same three guys have been there for at least
10 years. They work hard, do good work and charge fair prices. His reputation is flawless and deservedly so. He gets a lot of business via word of mouth. The fact that he's a franchise store doesn't change that.It's amazing that you try to tell me that I don't understand the franchise business, but you make statements like this. Contrary to your belief, there is nothing inherently evil about franchising. What do you think most gas stations are? Most coffee and donut shops? Most restaurants? Most convenience stores? The list is endless. We all deal with franchise stores all the time and in most cases, they're fine. As with any industry, there are inevitably bad apples, but they're the exception, not the rule.
Do they offer the same warranty through all their stores? If so, that's technically "nationwide". The fact that they don't have stores in all 50 states is irrelevent. Perhaps they have plans to get there, but they can't force people to open stores.
Then you have an issue. Since you're already on a crusade, why don't you see if you can get the FTC to force them to remove that claim?
I guess you missed the part about providing great customer service.
Bad business = Bad publicity. Any decent main franchise office goes by that adage. If they don't then they are a fly by night outfit.
If you take a deep look into you will see. This chain states they have a nationwide warranty but they are located in only in 21 states in America. Look at their website for locations. "Best warranty in the business"? Aamco offers a life-time warranty and Mr. Transmission does not.
If you looked at the website you would have seen the letter by their legal staff..
It is mandatory arbitration by the American Arbitration Association per the "contract". They have already picked the deciding party. This is in the fine print of every Mr. Transmission service agreement. You need bright light and a magnifying glass to read it though.
The NAF (National Arbitration Forum) handled collection disputes for the bank First USA. First USA paid NAF several million dollars as a result of the contract, and First USA won 99.6% of the cases out of 50,000 total. From Reynolds Holding, Private Justice: Can Public Count On fair Arbitration? Financial Ties To Corporations Are Conflict Of Interest, Critics say, October 8, 2001.
The AAA ( American Arbitration Association) has held shares in AT&T, Bank of America, Aetna, Cigna Corp., General Electric - all of which the AAA has resolved disputes for. General Electric and Sprint corporate officers have sat on the AAA board. In 2000, the AAA received 2.1 million dollars in membership fees from GE Industrial Systems, Aetna, and other corporate interests.
This is conflict of interest but it does not seem to apply.
The franchise head office was involved for a short time during my discussions with the local shop. All they did is back the local shop.
A cup of coffee does not cost $3000 + and it does not cost close to another $2000 to get you a good cup of coffee.
You failed to miss the point. Why was my car transmission finally working correctly when the dealer 1). Pulled off the aftermarket cooler and rerouted it to the stock cooler? 2). Replaced a damaged/incorrect dipstick out of my transmission? 3). Drained 5 quarts of excess transmission fluid from my system? It is very obvious the shop screwed up but the head office refuses to step in and take care of business. That is bad business.
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