Mr. Lube

You still have to pay for your oil change even if you get cut up and dirty training the staff how to do their work.
Tuesday 4pm — Drive my 2013 Ford Raptor into waiting bay at Mr. Lube 1725, 32^nd Ave. This is my third time back to this location. Everything seems to be normal with the service until I realize that something is a miss. I inquire as to what is taking so long and the girl tells me the they cannot get my oil filter off. They have basically given up on it and say they need to call someone.
They then were told to smash a screw driver through it and then spin it off. They fellow working below thought he could just poke the screwdriver through the side of the oil filter like it was a piece of sponge cake. I wanted to tell him he would have a better chance putting the screwdriver into his head than the filter with just hand strength. He then was trying to use a hammer in which I said that I did not what that done. They then told me that Ford Raptors are different and this is why this happened… like really? At this point I want to put the screwdriver into my head. Instead I called my office to get our large channel locks brought to me so I get this filter off because the ones they had they were not big enough.
While waiting for one of my staff to bring me the channel locks I started using the regular oil filter wrench to try to remove what they said could not be removed. Now it has been a while since I worked on cars but the High School Automotive classes combined also with changing tires and oil for Blaskin & Lane when I was 19 to changing motors, transmissions and brakes on my 1970 Nova for 20 years. I’m just pointing out that I know my way around cars. Now after putting some tricks to work I got the filter off but I made sure the fellow working there was watching how I did it in case he came across this again he could use the knowledge for future reference. I bring my truck here because I don’t feel like crawling under cars anymore especially when I am wearing $ 360 dollar True Religion jeans and $ 160 LaCoste shoes.
After getting all cut up and having scrapes on my arms and my hands all covered in dirt and oil while removing the filter the fellow there said that the oil change would be free of charge. Then the fellow was on the phone to try to get the code to put in the computer to have it be free he then came back and said that it is not free anymore. That the guy on the phone named Sam said that it was not their fault the oil filter was on that tight. I said the last three oil changes were done here. Does your computer not tell you that. He confirmed that it does. I asked to talk with Sam on the phone and they said that I could not do that.
I told the fellow working there that if it was free I would drive anyway satisfied and be a return customer. I also told him that a person will tell up to 5 – 6 people if they are satisfied with a company’s service but a person will tell up to 19 or more people not to use a business if it was bad. Like how stupid can a business owner be? Hello Sam? Are you stupid? I had a discount code for my oil change so it was not that overly expensive so for $ 45 you could have saved all this. Where are your personal relation skills?
I am helping out your men so I am not tying up one of the bays for hours. Also saving your guy from smashing the filter with a hammer that may have broke the spindle and then having it towed to a dealership for you to spend thousands to repair it. In the end it was one of your heads that put that filter on in the first place.
From not having the proper tools nor the education I can’t say too much for this place but at the end they were lacking common sense more than anything.

Great service. Friendly staff!

Saturday 3:30pm — What a bunch of Bozo’s at this Mr. Lube who is operated by Prairie Lube. I pulled up to wait and was ushered to another door that presumably was going to be quicker. I was given the paper and price list with no oil listed or oil prices just what they charged to do it. I was told it was going tp be a 30 minute wait. Fine I walked next door to A & dub and ate my food in the car. I noticed when I got back there were several cars more waiting. Well it was real nice for whatever reason after waiting half hour that one of the lackies to tell me a car that just arrived was a head of me. Don’t waste your time with this brain dead location they are not very organized.

It’s a handy place to go to when you can’t take your car to the shop, leave it overnight. Sure sometimes it can be busy, and guys will try to sell you every service, but that is their job, they are friendly, not pushy, at least I haven’t had a bad experience… my job is to get there, and get oil changed. that is it. For that, is good.

Ok Mr. Lube, you’ve got a great spokesperson in your owner in Dragon’s Den. You have friendly ads and the memorable logo that explains everything you do. You promise fast service in no time at all. What you don’t ever mention is your outrageous prices!!!
I normally get my car done at Meineke or some other places like Wal Mart and so on, but usually you have to set an appointment or be willing to wait for a few hours sometimes. But I had an hour or two to kill at the time, and it was already late enough in the day that it would have been impossible to get my car into either of my usual places. Besides, I saw the ads, and thought, why not.
Well, first things first, getting a fast oil change went right out the window. All the bays were full, but there was no other line up. When I asked about when I could get an oil change, I was told that they might have an opening in over ½ hour. Well, so much for the truth in advertising. But hey, I did have time to kill, and there was a pub in the same strip mall, so I thought sure, why not.
That’s when the other shoe dropped. He quoted me $ 140 for an oil change that I get done at Meineke for $ 20. Apparently the guy thought I was either just off the boat or totally clueless about the going market. If I’m going to pay that kind of prices for an oil change, they had better damn well detail the car as well. When I asked why were there prices anywhere from 3 to 7 times the going market rate and what it included, he said, you get an oil change and that’s the price, take it or leave it.
So I did what any sane person did. I left it, and have steered clear of ALL Mr. Lube locations across Canada. If my engine was on the verge of explosion and possibly taking out the entire population of Calgary with it and only an oil change could stop the reaction, I would STILL steer clear of them.
This is obviously highway robbery, and they can get away with those rates because some people don’t want to wait an hour… which I would have been forced to have waited anyways that trip had I gone through with it. Sorry guys, but you soured me on this chain forever!
#35 of Unilocal’s 30-​Day Review Challenge