wife p. o.'d me

[yeti]

what captain klink said on pg.3.
you're lucky your wife is not one of these women that think that the red idiot lights are "pretty". no disrespect urrlord -- none of this would have happened had you checked your fluids more often. 5-6 week intervals is not often enough. you said that you added a couple of ounces of brake fluid. all the more reason to check the fluids more often than normal, to see if there is a problem. after all, you're a bitogger,man !
show your wife this post, give her a hug, and be a man about it, and admit that all of this b.s. is your fault. have a good day.

 

[bigmike]

Well the only clear thing to do in this case is prove your point by your actions.

Which means that you make a big deal of getting some cash from the ATM, going out and making a special trip to pick up the correct oil plus filter with a vehicle other than your wife's vehicle, and canceling a special appointment in the near future to do the oil change (preferably a wedding, funeral, or something your wife is dragging you to). This will prove your point sufficiently enough for her to stop thinking, which has been proven to be too dangerous for your well-being and happiness.

At least that's what I would do. It works. Trust me.

 

[beanoil]

Originally Posted By: urrlord
this morning as my wife was getting ready to leave for work she mentioned that yesterday she had wal-mart change the oil in her mazda tribute.
now this really annoyed me as back in the spring i had done a Semi Synthetic o/c where i had to fight with the oil filter due to poor placement/design that made it almost impossible to get a filter wrench on.now the oil probably had another good 2500 miles on it.
her reason for the oil change was---as she was out shopping the brake warning light came on.so she asked them to check the brake fluid and do an oil change "since it was only 30 dollars".
well SWalmartBO came in from work today and told me the brake light had came on again and wanted me to check it and show her where to check it.as i was doing this she told me the rest of the story.when the Walmart tech pulled the vehicle into the service bay he told her there was no brake light on.she thought he checked it anyway.
he did not bother to check it .this was evident since the master cylinder was only a quarter full.
so now i'm ill about her getting the over priced o/c in the first place esp. after reading the service ticket and finding they used castrol 5w30 bulk.this engine is spec'd for 5 w 20.which fact is prominently displayed on the oil cap.i know there is not a huge difference.i'm just not a big castrol fan and i'm not a big w-m fan either.
i'm ill about the tech not checking the brake fluid and as i looked over the service ticked they claimed they vacuumed the car(the wife did that that morning)checked the air filter,which i doubt because it is a pain to access and it is right near the master cylinder which he obviously did not check.and a host of meaningless other checks.
so right now i am contemplating going up to W-M tomorrow and opening a portal to hades back in the automotive dept.since they sent my wife back on the road without doing as she had requested,in a possibly unsafe vehicle.


I don't know if I'll be the voice of reason, or the voice of discontent... but here goes. The raging question in my mind is not Walmart, or your lovely spouse. Frankly I think she did the right thing by responding to an indicator on the dashboard. If there was 2500 miles left on the OCI, and you were there in the spring, lets say 4-6 months ago, how the heck did you lose 3/4 of the fluid in the master cylinder? On a 5k OCI, thats what 500 miles a month? Is there a leak? Brakes shot? Stuck caliper, wearing out pads? I say there is an issue here somewhere, but I don't exclusively think it's Walmart. That hood needs to be opened a little more often IMO.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: Jim Allen

Bill: If a person brings a car into a place for a brake issue and the brake issue is left virtually unattended, and an OIL CHANGE is done instead... with the incorrect grade of oil installed to boot ..???.. I think a customer has reason for a strong complaint. Sure, we know that 5W30 Castrol isn't going to hurt the car, but that's not the point at all.

WalMart: "Right...we didn't properly check the car after the customer complained of a brake warning light being lit and the customer died in an accident... but at least we got her oil changed (even though she didn't ask for it)!"

Customer: "....." (eerie silence... oh that's right, SHE'S DEAD!)


Well Jim lets look back at the OP...

Originally Posted By: urrlord
her reason for the oil change was---as she was out shopping the brake warning light came on.so she asked them to check the brake fluid and do an oil change "since it was only 30 dollars".

So she DID ask for a oil change.

And it also looks like someone is NOT checking under the hood often enough. Last spring was when the oil was changed so hopefully the brake fluid WAS checked at least then.

But my point is someone who comes off with;

A: Wife ticked off at me
B:
Quote:
opening a portal to hades back in the automotive dept


Just think how he treated his wife if he has this mindset towards Wal-Mart (or any other place)

The WIFE asked for the OC. Wal-Mart did drop the ball but in the total scope of things, I think if the OP needs to be ticked off at anyone, look in the mirror.

And THANK his wife for TRYING to LEARN about the vehicle and doing something. (ie having the oil changed and asking HOW to check the brake fluid since the OP does not often enough)

Most people just turn the key and take off. They DON'T look at those gauges or lights.

And again, NO BIGGIE that castrol 5w30 bulk was put in. His engine will be fine.

I doubt the vehicle was unsafe at anytime. The fluid was low so a light comes on. The light comes on WELL BEFORE anything is going to happen and his Wife NOTICED the light right away.

Take care, bill

 

[Jim Allen]

I didn't, and will not be, judging the OP's wife's actions but, Bill, the issue for me is twofold. One point is rock solid and the other is subject to my interpretation and "reading between the lines."

She specifically asked about a brake problem and the answer was staring at the (so-called) tech's face. I understand that you don't want to over fill a master if the brake linings are low ( in which case, was there a brake check done??) but there should be enough fluid in there to keep the light off and any shop that won't do that for a customer is substandard. The incident turned out fine but it easily could have gone another way had there been a more serious problem, such as a leak in the system.

Second, my interpretation (admittedly it could be incorrect) is that the wife was upsold the oil change and thought, "what the heck, it's only 30 bucks." If that is not the case, I humbly withdraw my comment, though it's by far the least important part of this. I'm a bit sleep deprived today after working three 15 hour days in a row, so I could be overreacting to this part of it. I'm not as snippy as I sound < )!

Let me climb onto my high horse and explain that I spent 20 years (ending about 20 years ago) working on cars professionally, was an ASE Certified Master Tech (as well as factory training on the car I worked on)and worked on a lot of high end cars like Porsches, Audis, Range Rovers and the like, both at dealers and at independent shops. Stuff like this was a firing offense at many of those shops, or if you were lucky, resulted in only some serious "carpet time" with the service manager. There are a few things I was trained to regard as a "no acceptable excuses" deal and this at least borders on that.

 

[Jim 5]

Originally Posted By: BDuece
When you open my hood I have a label that I made with a label maker. It says " Oil 5W-20 Capacity 7Qts, Oil Plug = 13MM " It is very noticable when you open my hood. I have one on each of my vehicles.


I do the same thing, but I have that on the first sheet of my vehicle maintenance binder, which comes out every time a service is done. It's really helpful at oil change time.

If I let anyone but me open my hood, I'd do the same thing. Great idea.

 

[db130]

the brake warning light trips quite easily on my mazda. i usually end up having to top off the master cylinder when the pads are down to about 50%. an ounce or two is usually all it needs and it is the only car in my extended fleet that has this non-critical condition. my father drove with the light on for a week earlier this year before he got around to telling me about the light.

i'd thank the wife for being attentive and let the matter go.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: BDuece
When you open my hood I have a label that I made with a label maker. It says " Oil 5W-20 Capacity 7Qts, Oil Plug = 13MM " It is very noticable when you open my hood. I have one on each of my vehicles.


Excellent idea...

But I can just see the "tech" (while its not rocket science to change the oil (just look at all of us

) calling them "techs" is a little too much) asking for the "13mm crescent wrench"...

Originally Posted By: Jim Allen

I'm a bit sleep deprived today after working three 15 hour days in a row, so I could be overreacting to this part of it. I'm not as snippy as I sound < )!


Jim.. As someone who works 10-12 hour days plus 2-3 hours (in good weather) commute daily;

Sleep is good!

The Mazada's are real sensitive on level in the master cyl. It does not take very much to set them off. (My neighbor has one and it took me about 3 times looking at it to see that when he parked it on a *slight* grade, it would lower the level to the sensor to trip the light. When on level it seemed ok...)

I doubt there was any upselling at Wal-Mart. If it was Iffy Lube or your local stealership then I'd have NO question.

But Wal-Mart is pretty low key for what I've seen.

Take care, Bill

 

[mechtech2]

Maybe your wife is mad at you for letting the brake fluid go down to only 1/4.

 

[addyguy]

I worked in a WM shop recently, and the policy, AFAIK, is that we would 'note' the level of the brake fluid, but not touch it or top it off. We were told up front that brake systems are sensitive, and that 'messing' with them can cause problems we are NOT trained to fix.

Maybe it's different down there, but up here, if someone came into our shop and even started to talk about low brake fluid, we'd tell them to go see Speedy, Midas, C-T, or another full-service garage with trained brake techs. We would never give the impression that we would check or fix this.

 

[Jim Allen]

Well, I'm old enough to have been around when two guys came out out pump your gas and wash your windshield. I'm not a geezer quite yet (though I can see it up ahead) but I have lived to see the day when "service" shops won't even top off a master cylinder. Not sure what to say, except perhaps heaven help us.

 

[urrlord]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
Originally Posted By: Jim Allen

Bill: If a person brings a car into a place for a brake issue and the brake issue is left virtually unattended, and an OIL CHANGE is done instead... with the incorrect grade of oil installed to boot ..???.. I think a customer has reason for a strong complaint. Sure, we know that 5W30 Castrol isn't going to hurt the car, but that's not the point at all.

WalMart: "Right...we didn't properly check the car after the customer complained of a brake warning light being lit and the customer died in an accident... but at least we got her oil changed (even though she didn't ask for it)!"

Customer: "....." (eerie silence... oh that's right, SHE'S DEAD!)


Well Jim lets look back at the OP...

Originally Posted By: urrlord
her reason for the oil change was---as she was out shopping the brake warning light came on.so she asked them to check the brake fluid and do an oil change "since it was only 30 dollars".

So she DID ask for a oil change.

And it also looks like someone is NOT checking under the hood often enough. Last spring was when the oil was changed so hopefully the brake fluid WAS checked at least then.

But my point is someone who comes off with;

A: Wife ticked off at me
B:
Quote:
opening a portal to hades back in the automotive dept


Just think how he treated his wife if he has this mindset towards Wal-Mart (or any other place)

The WIFE asked for the OC. Wal-Mart did drop the ball but in the total scope of things, I think if the OP needs to be ticked off at anyone, look in the mirror.

And THANK his wife for TRYING to LEARN about the vehicle and doing something. (ie having the oil changed and asking HOW to check the brake fluid since the OP does not often enough)

Most people just turn the key and take off. They DON'T look at those gauges or lights.

And again, NO BIGGIE that castrol 5w30 bulk was put in. His engine will be fine.

I doubt the vehicle was unsafe at anytime. The fluid was low so a light comes on. The light comes on WELL BEFORE anything is going to happen and his Wife NOTICED the light right away.

Take care, bill




well here is the OP.i went to wal-mart this a.m.and talked with the auto service manager about the incident.he informed me that they do not check brake fluid even if requested by the customer.that he had no idea who worked on my wifes vehicle so he could not verify any thing,whether or not they told my wife they could not check the fluid.so i pulled out the service ticket and asked him if the tech had signed off on it.he mumbled something and insisted they did nothing wrong.so i asked him how would he like it if a service dept sent his wife back on the road with a potential problem with the brakes.he allowed that he would not like that and could understand where i was coming from.but they had did nothing wrong,and would i like to talk to the asst store manager.
the asst manager came out. i explained the situation to him.he stated that wal-marts policy was not to even touch or open master cylinders.i told him i understood their liability issues,but if they were not going to check the fluid they should have told my wife and on this model vehicle the cylinder is transparent so the tech would not even have to touch it.and the sole reason she requested the oil change was to compensate them for the fluid check.and he agreed that they dropped the ball on this.he said when he ran the automotive dept how he handled cases like this were to tell the customer what the problem was and how to remedy it and let them do it.he stated he would have a talk with the techs involved and since the wrong spec oil was used bring the vehicle back in and they would drain and fill with the correct spec. oil.
i was polite with a bit of edge the whole time.i worked with the public for years as has my wife(customer service dept) and we both have little tolerance for bad customer service.she hides it better than me though.in fact she wanted me to go back to wal-mart yesterday afternoon to question them as to why they did not check the fluid level.i chose to wait a day.


now on to other things--bill in utah, you hinted that i treated my wife badly. i love my wife and treat her well,she has the newest vehicle in the driveway and the best tires,best oil etc. that is one of the reasons i was hot towards w-m.you state it was last spring when i changed the oil,i stated it was this spring.that is about 5 months ago,i check under the hood of her vehicle once a month on average.once or twice this vehicle has done this i.e.rapid fluid drop,in as little as a week.when checked, the shop finds nothing wrong.i did not appreciate wal-mart not acceding to a reasonable request.i don't appreciate you casting aspersions about me .you don't know me.right now you DON"T WANT TO KNOW ME.have a good day sir.

 

[Captain_Klink]

with all due respect, I suggest, that since you say you treat your wife very well, and the evidence is that she has the newest car, then I suggest for guidance in this matter, one of the oldest guides, that people have forgotten to read (because they did all that in Sunday school), is
Read:
the parable of the prodigal son. if you don't understand it (and i didn't), then I highly recommend logging onto eprodigal.com and having an actual scholar explain it. This is the MOST worthwhile 60 minutes that I have spent in a long time. I also recommend this to all of the bitog members. I am posting this because it has nothing to do with religion, but a lot to do with how we treat each other.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: urrlord

now on to other things--bill in utah, you hinted that i treated my wife badly. i love my wife and treat her well,she has the newest vehicle in the driveway and the best tires,best oil etc. that is one of the reasons i was hot towards w-m.you state it was last spring when i changed the oil,i stated it was this spring.that is about 5 months ago,i check under the hood of her vehicle once a month on average.once or twice this vehicle has done this i.e.rapid fluid drop,in as little as a week.when checked, the shop finds nothing wrong.i did not appreciate wal-mart not acceding to a reasonable request.i don't appreciate you casting aspersions about me .you don't know me.right now you DON"T WANT TO KNOW ME.have a good day sir.


Calm down. You are proving my point.

Don't make threats.

Your mindset in the original post shows some anger. Your last line above proves some anger.

Then lets go with the subject line...

Quote:
wife p. o.'d me


Why is she ticked off at you? Could it be something that YOU did or acted?

You are correct I don't know you, but people can tell how someone is when they post or put up a subject line like you did.

If I offended you I am sorry you took it hard. But look back on your original post and the subject line from someone who does not have a bias and its easy to come up with the suggestion to calm down.

Its just a stinking car.

Take care, bill

 

[FZ1]

Come on,man. Just one of Life's Imperfections. Let 'em change the oil and filter and tell your wife what you would prefer her to do should this happen in the future. P.S. I let only the Dealer do my oil changes,brakes,etc.

 

[Captain_Klink]

exactly, it's just a stinking car.

 

[Silver02ex]

I'm guessing they probably put a Fram filter on there too... To be honest if my wife saw the brake light on and had someone look at it, along with keeping up on her oil change i would be very happy.

 

[tonycarguy]

Don't make them dump the fresh oil. Just ask for a free coupon for another oil change or a refund. To them it's the same amount of effort and cost either way

 

[gj]

I worked for walmart,not in TLE .We used to joke when we showed up for work and see an oil trail about one of the "TLE idiots forgot to put in the drain plug",or say "walmart had to buy someone a new engine there goes our bonus"A friend of mine almost got fired ,he did get demoted because one of the associates forgot to tighten someone's lug nuts.That happened a lot.If you notice now the manager on duty will double check to see if the lug nuts are torque and tightened.Now instead of the TLE having 1 manager,the manger is responsible for the toy hardware and sporting goods depts.DO NOT TAKE A SUBARU TO WALMART TLE,the transmission filter and drain plug confuses the [censored] out of em' I 've read on the Subaru forums that many a Transmission got drained by them.Just something to pass along to your wives ect.

 

[webfors]

My original reply with respect to WWIII was directed at Walmart service dept, not your wife. We have just 1 car, a 08 Forester, and she knows that I'm the human that makes decisions with respect to the car, simply because I have spent too much time on bitog, and other sites, knowing what's best for the car. That doesn't meant that she can't take matters into her own hands, it means she doesn't have to since I work from home, and she's home with the kids. So we are *all* home 24/7 so there's no reason to go anywhere else for help.

Now, being home with a 3, 5 and 35 year old doesn't have it's challenges, but I wouldn't have it any other way and that's a different story altogether.

Leave the 5w30 in, enjoy the car, listen to Bill and don't worry. It's a car, replaceable, mechanical, irrelevant.

Just don't go to Walmart for service anymore