Kwik Fit BBC Watchdog last night

VERYinterested

Last night's Watchdog on BBC will have done huge damage to Kwik Fit's 'reputation'. Lot's of punters sent in complaints of quotes for work that they felt were unnecessary. They went to their local dealers, MOT centres for second opinions and were told the work was not necessary. New brakes, new exhausts etc. Watchdog put ten cars through different centres for services and the results were damning. They checked the cars before and after the services, none of them were performed satisfactorily. Watchdog even put a dab of silicon on wheelnuts to prove that the nuts had not been budged, but Quik Fit were able to say that brakes needed to be replaced without removing the wheels! Pity we can't look at BBC i Player because this was an eye opener.

They are going to 're-train' their staff!

neris

are the same kwick fit we get here? been to them twice here with a puncture and got the you,ll need to replace another tyre or three aswell. Staff come across as real dopes with no manners or customer service skills

mike65

Doesn't surprise me at all, many of these tyre/brakes/exhaust type chains seem to be peopled by chancers and the barely employable.

http://www.prfire.co.uk/press-release/bbc-watchdog-adds-to-which-dishonest-garage-findings-27195.html

The garages visited by BBC Watchdog and Which? investigatory teams confirm that motorists are risking their lives and their wallets in many bad garages today.

Tonight BBC Watchdog showed how Kwik-Fit does its business today and why it is so profitable. With 570 branches it is one of the UK's biggest service and repair garage chains and yet it is ripping motorists off by overcharging them and not doing the job properly or even at all. Customer complaints on the TV programme involved Reading, Southend and Hastings Kwik-Fits as well as Watchdog's own sample at 10 of their branches where not one car was serviced correctly, according to a garage services expert. Some cars were left in a dangerous state and others were repeatedly told they needed unnecessary work done or sold repairs that then weren't done.

These findings are marginally worse, albeit with a smaller sample, than those following the recent garage investigation carried out by consumer organisation Which?. Their mystery shopping exercise involved 62 cars with pre-existing faults where they found the following 'shocking levels of incompetence' and 'inexcusable dishonesty' in UK garages and dealerships.
Only 8 garages did the job properly
90% of garages missed (or ignored) at least one potentially dangerous fault
39% charged for topping up screen wash unnecessarily
48% garages failed to top up low brake fluid levels
68% didn't re-inflate the flat spare tyre
57% didn't spot that a reversing light had blown
21% didn't rectify low pressure in the nearside rear tyre

Cookie_Monster

I have only ever heard bad things about them from others though I got my brakes replaced there without issue once. That said I don't think I'd ever use them again just based on the poor reputation they seem to have built up.

(and yes the brakes were replaced, I watched them do it)

Homer

VERYinterested wrote: »

Pity we can't look at BBC i Player because this was an eye opener.

Get yourself a VPN for as little as $10 a month from overplay or similar and watch BBC iPlayer and all the US TV content.
Plus Pandora on your iPhone or PC rocks

bonzodog2

Or use ToR to act as a proxy for iPlayer. I have a thread in the Computers forum about it a couple of months ago.

VERYinterested

VERYinterested wrote: »

but Quik Fit were able to say that brakes needed to be replaced without removing the wheels! Pity we can't look at BBC i Player because this was an eye opener.

They are going to 're-train' their staff!

You can examine brake pads and discs without removing wheels and see if they need changing or not.

R.O.R

neris wrote: »

are the same kwick fit we get here? been to them twice here with a puncture and got the you,ll need to replace another tyre or three aswell. Staff come across as real dopes with no manners or customer service skills

Kwik Fit haven't operated in Ireland for a few years now.

Their outlets were taken over by Fast Fit.

keithclancy

They are Kwik-sh*T the world over.

Got my car serviced in the Hague, yer man rounded the sump plug head off so just sucked some of the oil out the top of the engine instead and refilled it, didnt even bother changing the air filter.

Then tried to charge 99 euros for the pleasure.

He wasnt going to tell me, only i noticed the leaking oil, he'd loosened it but just left it as is hoping i wouldn't notice, made up some story first about gluing it closed, then said they sucked the oil out.

Never again. Can't get better than a Kwik-Sh*T fitter me arse.

Bing_IRL

I know of a kwik-fit who when asked to fix a brake problem, disassembled an instrument cluster and removed a warning bulb from the ABS light :eek:. Cowboys!!

Should have seen the letter I wrote for the guy to get it sorted!!

VERYinterested

RoverJames wrote: »

You can examine brake pads and discs without removing wheels and see if they need changing or not.

The mechanic that the BBC used is wrong so. He said you have to remove the wheels to be absolutely sure.

keithclancy

keithclancy wrote: »

They are Kwik-sh*T the world over.

Got my car serviced in the Hague, yer man rounded the sump plug head off so just sucked some of the oil out the top of the engine instead and refilled it, didnt even bother changing the air filter.

Then tried to charge 99 euros for the pleasure.

He wasnt going to tell me, only i noticed the leaking oil, he'd loosened it but just left it as is hoping i wouldn't notice, made up some story first about gluing it closed, then said they sucked the oil out.

Never again. Can't get better than a Kwik-Sh*T fitter me arse.

Do you mean air filter or oil filter ?

KamiKazi

Were you VERYinterested in it OP?

VERYinterested

KamiKazi wrote: »

Were you VERYinterested in it OP?

Yeah it had me whipped up into a frenzy like a suicide attacker.

KamiKazi

High five!

sundodger5

like all big organizations they have good and bad people working for them.
the tv and press when doing these investigations only use the bad footage the people who do it right get edited out.

KamiKazi

sundodger5 wrote: »

like all big organizations they have good and bad people working for them.
the tv and press when doing these investigations only use the bad footage the people who do it right get edited out.

When the bad people are supposed to be maintaining some of the most vital components of cars they deserve to be weeded out.

keithclancy

RoverJames wrote: »

Do you mean air filter or oil filter ?

Air Filter, Oil and Oil Filter are supposed to be in the Standard service.

Took it out and it was feckin manky.

From what I gather in this case the program highlighted the bad people were profiteering. No negligence regarding safety etc. A lad in Fast fit told me they got commission on everything they sold, hence why they are so keen to sell exhausts, shocks, brakes etc.

Plenty of other places to go to for good, non rip off service.

Our man in Havana

Other garage chains are just as bad. You will always get the chancers that will tell you that you need this or that or oooohhh I don't like the look of that.

Ireland is full of such places.

Owen

RoverJames wrote: »

A lad in Fast fit told me they got commission on everything they sold, hence why they are so keen to sell exhausts, shocks, brakes etc.

This seems to be becoming the norm even in main dealers now. Service staff incentivised to sell service packages, check ups, accessory packs, etc. That will never end well for the consumer.

sundodger5

KamiKazi wrote: »

When the bad people are supposed to be maintaining some of the most vital components of cars they deserve to be weeded out.

I agree 100% my point is that it does not mean all kwik fits are bad and that all the staff are bad also