Pissy: 2 Dealership: 0

Hotlipz gave me some good advice when she suggested calling management.

I called the Jack Ingram dealership (sorry...I've been spelling it wrong) before noon today.

I left a voice mail for the General Manager of the Volkswagon division, David Ingram. The voice mail was pretty much in the same tone that I took yesterday with Pat and the shop manager. All I added was that we didn't get a satisfactory answer yesterday from either Pat or the manager and I want one.

Period.

By this afternoon at 5:30 I had received phone calls from three different upper management people from Jack Ingram.

1. David Ingram ( a grandson maybe?) calls me. Very pleasant....tells me that he has forwarded my voice mail to the two upper level people over the shop and to the owner of the dealership. Shop manager's boss and the bosses' boss. One of them would call me before close of business today. If I didn't receive satisfaction, I was to call him back.

2. An hour or so later, one of the upper level guys calls. Tells me he's worked there 33 years...etc. etc. Also very pleasant. (This man had already taken the time to call my insurance adjuster to find out about the damage, etc. ) Wants to know what he can do to "make it right". I explained everything again....having been misled, etc. Upper level guy offers to get me a rental car. Told him I was okay with the car they had given me to use, but I appreciated his offer. I also told him about the '96 Lumina....he agreed with me that I shouldn't have been offered that car. He wanted to put the shop manager on the phone with me so that he could give me the status of the car. I said o.k. Shop manager gets on the phone with me and upper level guy. Upper level guy tells him the situation as he understands it from me. Shop manager agrees that my description is correct.

Today shop manager is ever so much more pleasant than he was yesterday.

Hmmmmm....no smart-ass remarks today, Mr. Manager?

He tells me that he has been out to look at my car and that the body has been painted. He also tells me that Pat has only been working there one year and didn't realize how long a paint job on a Beetle takes.

Bet Pat knows now.

Manager tells me that my car will be ready next week....unless something happens...like the roof falling in.

Guess he's trying to cover his ass in case of a natural disaster or something.

3. Jack Ingram himself phones me. Tells me that he'd received my voice mail. Again...very pleasant man. Asks me a couple of questions about my car....how long it's been there....the damage.... apologizes for not having called sooner and that because it's after 5:30, the body shop is closed so he can't talk to them today. He tells me that he will get with them first thing in the morning and call me back.

I think I've made them nervous.

The VW dealership in Montgomery is my bitch: Part 2

I told Sweet Man that I didn't expect the car to be ready today....even though he had been told the car would be ready Friday, the 6th by "close of business" (5:30 p.m.).

I was correct.

Sweet Man called Jack Engram VW in Montgomery this morning before we left to pick up my car.

The employee SM had been dealing with, Pat, told him it wasn't ready, but for us to come to Montgomery so he could show us the car. Pat would also take the rental car back for us and give us a loaner to use until our car is ready.

As I said, I wasn't the least bit surprised or angry, really. Pat is obviously a liar and has been lying to us since day one. I actually felt a sense of relief because I was finally going to see my car and meet this lying son-of-a-bitch face-to-face.

We get there. Pat tells us he isn't sure when the car will be ready. Maybe mid-week....maybe the end of the week. But my loaner car was waiting right outside and he wanted to show me my Beetle so I would "understand the situation".

I look outside. The only car I see is a faded and beat up old Chevy Lumina with a "Jesus Saves" license plate on front.

I look at Pat.

Pat looks at me.

Pat says, "I'm so sorry, that's the best I could do."

I say, "How old is that car?"

"It's a '96", says the suddenly sweating Pat. (I think he was a little warm in his Member's Only jacket)

"You mean to tell me that I'm turning in an '07 Altima that had 8 miles on it when I picked it up and you're going to give me an 11 year old car to drive? That is NOT acceptable!"

Then Pat starts his song and dance about how our insurance adjuster took two weeks to get there and look at our car. VW couldn't start the repairs until the adjuster came. I knew that was a lie, so I said, "Please look up the date the adjuster came." Pat looks at the file, "The adjuster came on March 8th." I said, "That's right. TWO DAYS after my car arrived here. Not TWO WEEKS~big difference!"

Pat didn't say a word. What could he say? He'd been caught in another lie.

By this time, we're walking back to the service bays so he could show us the Beetle. We stop in front of some yellow bumpers and doors sitting on the cement floor of the shop. "Here is some of your car", says Pat, "and over here (pointing to another area) is the body." It was also painted with yellow primer. Oh, and there was now a crack in my front windshield that wasn't there when the tow truck picked it up. We pointed that out to Pat. Of course he tried to bullshit his way out of that. I told him I could prove the crack wasn't there. I have photos of the car from the day of the tornado. Pat was looking a little nauseous at this point.

Then....

Pat was also helpful enough to point out the three other cars that had been "put ahead"of ours.

Yes. You read it right. My car has been there since March 6th and is still in fucking pieces, this asshole had told SM it would be ready last Friday, its NOT AND he had the balls to tell me they had put other cars ahead of mine!?!?!

Oh, it was ON now!

I went off on Pat's ass. I didn't yell. I didn't cuss. I was extremely firm, aggressive and to the point when I told him that he had obviously been dishonest with us since the beginning, none of this was acceptable to me and that I wanted to talk to his boss.

Right now.

Pat knew his ass was in a sling now.

As we walked to the shop manager's office, he kept telling us the same things over and over, but phrased differently.

Pat... Pat ...Pat...

Don't try to bullshit me.

Being a professional bitch was part of my job description for 12 years at the District Attorney's office. I have years of experience dealing with lying bastards. So this one was in a shop rather than in a courtroom. Didn't matter. Pat was going down!

We arrive at the manager's office. Pat repeats his story AGAIN. The manager tries some song and dance about how "it always takes at least 30 days for a paint job". Of course we remind him that we were told 3 weeks, not 30 days. Besides which~it's been OVER 30 days and my car is still in pieces. The manager tries to explain the same thing that Pat had already told me. I didn't need to hear that shit again. All I wanted to hear was when my freakin' car would be ready! I told them that. "Just tell me when my car will be ready." The manager says, "well, based on what Pat has said, it will be the middle to the end of next week before it's ready."

There was really a lot more that was said, but if any of you are still reading this, I won't bore you with all that.

Just know that the manager was a son-of-a-bitch too and tried to get smart with me.

When I told him several times that I was NOT taking an 11 year old loaner, he said to Pat "You got your magic wand to wave around? I'll get mine and we'll see what we can do."

I don't care if you take your dick out of your pants and wave it around, Mr. Manager...just get me a newer car!

Pat made a couple of phone calls.

He tells us he'll be right back.

Less than 10 minutes later he comes back with another car.

This one is an '06 Dodge Stratus.

"Will this one be alright?", asks Pat.

"I'd have been back sooner, but I had to put gas in it."

Gee, Pat. I thought the '96 was "the best you could do".

Lying bastard.

Sweet Man and I take the car and leave.

Sweet Man says to me, "It's a good thing you came with me. I would have brought that Lumina home."


Stay tuned for Part 3.



p.s. I'm calling my attorney friends tomorrow. If my car isn't ready by next Friday, Jack Engram will be getting a letter from one of them about this situation.

Easter Weekend photos

We had a fabulous weekend in Atlanta....cold, but fabulous!

Lots and lots of shopping, eating, hanging out, redecorating and a Braves game for the guys. We even went to church Easter morning with Gabelle and Z.

We also went to the boutique in the Highlands where Little Pissy bought her wedding gown so that I could see it on her in person. It was beautiful in the photos I'd seen, but truly stunning in person.

I managed to get some photos in one of my favorite stores~ Swoozie's. I would have taken more, but I kept expecting to get caught and thrown out....which wouldn't have bothered me that much, but Gabelle might want to go back there again.

I probably would have bought this,
but I already have one....
just without the words.

Why didn't I get this for my birthday?!?!?

I'm obsessed with wrapping paper.....
and ribbon....

actually, I'm obsessed with paper products in general.
Aren't these napkins cutastic?

This flower shop was next door
to the wedding gown boutique.
***************************************************

I hope your weekend was fabulous too!

In case you're wondering what I did with those bunnies...

They ended up here...

(I love how the bunny is looking out of the corner of his "eye")

along with some precious "chick" salt~n~pepper shakers

and other assorted Easter goodies.

In my opinion, you're never too old for an
Easter basket. ;-)

I put these together
for Gabelle and Little Pissy.

Happy Bunnies

On the off chance that I scared some of you with my last post, this one is all bunnies (with some flowers thrown in just for the hell of it)....

Pretty pretty azalea garden
(in someone's yard on the golf course)

Note the bunny tablecloth..

I especially like their bunny bellies....

...and their green polka dot bows....

Have I redeemed myself?


HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY!

The VW dealership in Montgomery is my bitch

I STILL don't have my Beetle back from the shop!

They've had my car 30 days.

When the dealership got my car, they said I'd have it back in 3 weeks.

Last Monday they said I'd have it by Friday.

Friday they said I'd have it by Wednesday (tomorrow).

Today they said they're not sure how long it will be before they finish.

Ummmm....NOT acceptable!

My rental car is due back tomorrow. I've used up the allowance provided by my car insurance.

When the VW dealership got my car they knew I only had a rental for 30 days.

And now they're trying to act like we're being unreasonable?!?!?!

Today they told Sweet Man...."you ARE getting a new paint job, you know..."

Uh, yeah, ASSHOLE~ and we're paying you $4,200.00 for it and the other repairs! It's not like you're doing us a favor or something!

Sweet Man has been dealing with them all this time.

I wanted to call them today after I found out about this.

SOMEBODY was gonna God damn tell me EXACTLY when my car would be finished...I didn't care if it was the shop manager or the owner of the dealership...but I was gonna have an answer!

TODAY!!!!

Sweet Man knew how pissed off I was so he called them back and got a little more assertive with them instead of being "Mr. Nice Guy" like he always is.

Suddenly....the car will be ready on Friday afternoon by 5:00 p.m. and they've arranged with the rental car company for me to have the rental until then.

Humph!

That's more like it!

Tea Party in Hell: Part Deux

Yeah....I know...I said I wouldn't go to anymore of these. But I actually like these people and felt obligated to go...even though it was Sunday afternoon, I was still in my pajamas and it raining like a mo-fo. I would have felt bad if I hadn't gone....you know how it is...

So I can't say anything about the attendees. Well, I could of course, this is ME, after all....but really...the star of today's event was the house where the event was held. (I didn't know the owner of the house ~she was one of 10 hostesses)

There was so much stuff in this house....I could hardly take it all in. Normally I would have been rearranging the furniture in my head. I always do that. Not this time. It was too visually overwhelming. Think of any ...and I do mean ANY decorating trend that has been popular since 1982 and it was all in this house. A home decor "time capsule", if you will.

Seriously.

Ornate Paneling....wainscoting, exposed brick....columns...flocked wallpaper....carpet...hardwood...formica...tile...ornate wood molding everywhere...tons of furniture of all types....wicker, leather, upholstered, glass...you name it~it was there.

I think I can sum it up best by what was in one of the "dens": a fully decorated Christmas tree...with lights lit .... AND a treadmill.....AND a baby grand piano.

In. The. Same. Room.

You could see it from the entrance hall...right after you came face-to-face with the big ass lighted Christmas wreath hanging in front of an ornate gold filigreed mirror.

AIEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

My head hurts just from describing it (and there was really so SO much more)...so I'm going to end this post now and go lay down.

In a tastefully decorated room, of course.