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Published : August 22, 2008 |
Author : gjlooper
Category : Auto Repair |
Business Name : AAMCO Transmission aka P&L Enterprises
Location : Colorado Springs, Colorado
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I'd like to share with everyone here a true story, an experience I had at an AAMCO shop I was employed at up until May of this year,2008. I'm not a customer complaining about having received bad service here, but rather a prior employee that wants to warn and try to prevent more innocent people from being taken advantage of if visiting this shop for repairs. I'll start off by saying I personally know first hand about the dishonesties practiced by this particular AAMCO Center. AAMCO CORPORATE, themselves are not responsible nor should they be blamed for some of the dishonest and shameless acts of thievery performed by (some) of their franchise owners. However if a particular Center's dishonest and unethical practices have been brought to their attention "repeatedly" they should get off their keysters and place more effort into investigating them than they do. Perhaps they're too busy counting all the royalties and penalty fees they collect from their bad boys. I personally called AAMCO Corporate many times trying to explain how out of control and unethical this particular guy was at conducting his business. But on several occasions my integrity and information would be questioned and regarded as false by the representive I would be speaking with ???. Even after stating I could show photo's and videos of fraud in the process. I was even told once I was as guilty as the owner in question because I knew these things and continued to work there, I think I still remember his name too, Mr. Petulla ...that's it. But perhaps that's the secret AAMCO policy, and part of their rep training procedure.... eliminate the whistle blower and no more problem...? Who knows. Having said that, I'll move onward about this one shop and make this brief so as not to bore anyone to tears! I personally was employeed at AAMCO Transmissions, 3310 Chelton Loop, Colorado Springs,CO.80909 as a main automatic transmission builder for over 8 years, where I was instructed to do some of the most dishonest and corrupt, not to forget, illegal acts ever performed in the transmission repair industry, sadly these things still continue today. I'm only posting this to warn innocent would be customers to exercise extreme caution if they still want to patronize this repair facility. Many times I personally had to produce damaged parts from cored out units so as to guarantee a rebuild. This practice goes on constantly, and has become the standard operating procedure here, that's right. If that couldn't be done then he would require an employee to bring out the acetylene torch and burn clutches and steels to make the unit in question definitely have bad parts, again I have photo's and videos to vouche for this. The torque converter would even be taken across the street to "his" own converter shop, and there it would be cut open for inspection. If it wasn't damaged internally they would also be asked to produce defective parts to sell the job. Now mind you, I can't say anything negative about these guys as they would be extremely reluctant to play his games. But they knew the consequences of not complying with his demands. Many customers would come in to this facility with minor problems (problems that could be repaired without an overhaul) but they would get, (and still do) the full package rebuild, not knowing their problems are really minor. You wouldn't believe it would be possible he could get away with it. So many people having to take out loans they couldn't afford in their budget, just to pad this persons wallet. It doesn't matter if they are young or senior citizens, or even if they are our Military, you know those guys. They're the one's giving their lives so he can run his business in absolute freedom without worrying for his safety. Everyone gets the same ruthless treatment here. This guy is shameless in the techniques he uses to rob anyone entering this shop. Overhauls because of plugged exhaust systems, I've witnessed many many times catalytic converters removed from an exhaust system, the meshing rodded out and the gutted out converter reinstalled, because the vehicle was misdiagnosed and didn't need a rebuild. Overhauls are being performed because of poor engine performance, because of low fluid levels, because of a failed solenoid, because of failed $15.00 sensors, that lead to $2000.00 repairs. Transmission services in which good money is paid for a service and filters are not changed nor bands are adjusted, gaskets are not changed but rather siliconed back on. Often times some poor soul would ask for the full transmission flush, a service impossible to do because there was no such equiptment there. He would then instruct an employee to retrieve a broken cooler line flusher tossed outside to be brought in and placed under the unsuspecting customers vehicle. There the broken equiptment would remain, (to deceive the customer in the event he entered the work area) until the regular pan drop and service would be done. Hustling the customer out of $25.00 to $40.00 extra for services not delivered. Lets not forget about insurance fraud either. So many times phoneyed up parts are laid out to trick the warranty insurance companies damage inspectors so that he could collect money on rebuilds. I saw all these things and was instructed to take part in them also. I'm also willing to testify in a court of law that what I've said here is the absolute truth.
Employees have been allowed to work there with serious drinking problems, drinking while working on paying customers vehicles, driving them later, with no drivers license at all, employees keeping marijuana in their tool boxes, getting high at every available opportunity with the employers full knowledge of it. Employees with schizophrenia living on the premises, sleeping in box trucks, feeding on dog bisquits by the 50 pound bag, illegel Mexican imigrants living on the shop property, sleeping in customer vehicles because they couldn't get residence in town. Sadly enough this shop owner even uses totally inexperienced employees, often times they don't even have a drivers license... even cleanup people who know absolutely nothing to test drive customers vehicles, vehicles that are left there for honest driving diagnostics that they don't get! The decision for an overhaul was already determined by the shop owner without the test drive. That was merely a formality just to say it was driven.
Some in the past were given instructions to cram them up in park at 30+ MPH to damage something internally so as to guarantee a problem did exist in order to get an overhaul from the vehicle owner! I had often overheard some individuals laughing over what they had done, saying the owner had directly instructed them to do this.
On one occasion the OWNER came in early and started up a cusomers vehicle and revved it up to the limit and pulled it in gear multiple times until he broke it internally. I worked on the transmission myself and could not understand how the damage occured until I was informed of what happened. I swear this is factual.
Now if he does this to customers what would this person do to his own employees? Good question, I have seen him personally attack the very people he's hired, I recall over 10 employees I personally saw him beat down onto the floor, choking them until they become limp from lack of oxygen and blood flow, almost into unconciousness...huh..."Woody", thrusting his knee into their chest and lashing out at them, bloodying their faces and lips. Slamming them into bay doors, screaming like a mad man, shattering out 2 sets of large glass panes in the door, right..."Frank"? Now why doesn't this guy go to jail? Now on that particular occasion I was privileged to personally be called into the office with several other employees and experience first hand how he tries and succeeds to manipulate everyone into going along with his version of the incident. Now, why doesn't this guy go to jail. On another occasion, (we'd been expecting it for quit some time to happen because he was pacing the shop floor extremely red faced and disoriented looking by the expression on his face), he lost control and went off on a small Mexican employee, maybe 90 lbs. soaking wet, walking up to the customers vehicle that the employee was in ..."Mauriceo Castro" was his name, reached into the auto through the drivers window and crammed it into park, ripped open the drivers door, pinning him down in the drivers seat and commenced choking and beating the holy crap outa the little guy, leaving serious looking choke marks and nail scratches completely around his neck area, (proof even to a rookie cop who the victim was), ripping off his work shirt and bloodying his face and lips, screaming and cursing like a mad animal totaly out of control. It's impossible to restrain him when he's in that frame of mind. Often it takes 2 sometimes 3 people to subdue and calm him down. Why doesn't this guy go to jail? Police are called, but the witnesses and alibi was already established again by the time the Police had arrived, the little guy was forced to vacate the premises and a restraining order was placed on him to prevent him from returning. The owner confiscated his very work tools, over a $15,000.00 investment and sold them later for pennies on the dollar. Often times he kicks his employees once he's got them down, breaking one guys ribs once. Even ripping their shirts off in his uncontrollable fits of rage. Sneaking up behind and catching them in headlocks and rendering them litterly unconcious too. That's the favorite move of all, you know ...behind the back! On occasions even getting it on with disgruntled customers. Why doesn't this guy go to jail? Truth is, it's the person who calls the Police first (that's his routine, down to a science) and has the most witnesses to testify in their behalf, that are believed. Incident closed and the person attacked is ordered off the premises.
In closing you decide if this is the repair facility you would want to patronize. But I hope this causes some to sit up and listen before solicitating the services here. You make the decision yourself if you want this quality of person working on your vehicle. And again I have no problem swearing in court that what I've said here is factual and not misrepresented, as there are others who will validate this to be entirely truthful also. |
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