Pedders Release

PeddStaff2 · 07-05-2010, 11:44 AM

Hello All Ford Forum members,

Please find information below relevant to the follow-up story conducted by Channel 9's "A Current Affair" program on Wednesday 5th May.

http://www.pedders.com.au/news/1/article74

Thank you to many of the Ford Forum members for your continued support of our great company.

SCOTT PEDDER

**DJM83** · 07-05-2010, 11:58 AM

Another ACA blowout.

gtxb67 · 07-05-2010, 12:21 PM

so is this suggesting, that there was an element of truth in the original show. i do not normally watch aca or tt because they do major beat ups, but i had thought at the time their claims, while probably exaggerated probably had some basis

most places will do this, so it is not a new thing. certainly many other places have tried it to me, much more than the pedders store i have visited

in my experience with pedders they did seem to do everything correct - did not replace much and once those things were replaced the noises disappeared. of course every company gets one or two ignorant or bad eggs and it is good to see pedders takes their integrity seriously

Paull · 07-05-2010, 04:43 PM

Scott
I would have thought that by now Pedders (Head Office) would have sent a very clear message to all Franchisees that this kind of (alledged) behaviour is simply un-assecptable. That is, ensuring that all Store Owners/Managers know that they should not be doing this (inclusive of all staff as Managers/Owners are responsible for staffs actions) and the negative perception that it creates in the community about Pedders.

However, after reading of the "Dis-gruntled Franchisee in the O'connor store" story back in 2003 and the following;

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11293477
http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11241128
http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11216068
http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=109839
http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=89314

I very rarely see a positive comment made on or about the Pedders Company in total. Yes, there are some very happy customers of Pedders, but 1 bad comment takes another 10 positive comments to make up for the damaged done to the Company's reputation.

This thread is also a good read as well as it makes mention of some quite valid points regarding the independance of advice sought.

http://www.pradopoint.com/viewtopic....st=0&sk=t&sd=a

**Falcon Coupe** · 07-05-2010, 04:43 PM

Always two sides to a story, good to hear this one.

A Current Affair making thier own news again.......

**DJM83** · 07-05-2010, 04:49 PM

I have only ever had one car at Pedders and their service was 2nd to none, but yes there is always 2 sides to the story and after all we are only human

PeddStaff2 · 07-05-2010, 05:07 PM

Paull,

Thanks for your post.

Please find below some positive comments just made about Pedders in a) the last month b) just on the Ford Forums and LS1 (Commodore) forum and c) only relating to the ACA issue.....enjoy!

“I got a pedders $14 28 point check years ago on my old VS Clubby I used to own after I saw the add running during a bathurst coverage, it was 8 years old when they ran it up on the big vibrating thing they chuck it on. The diagnosis was a clean bill of health, no up sells nor did they try to tell me I needed to change anything. They did say it looked as if 1 of the tie rod ends were stuffed but after checking it over it just needed to be tightened which they did for free.

On this occasion there was no dodgyness at all.”

“When i got the camber correction bushes installed in my VS, i had them do a 28 point test aswell.
The guy was great and pointed out a few sets of bushes were worn and he recommened they get replaced.
I didnt get it done as it wasnt that bad, but once i put the bigger brakes on, i noticed how bad the bushes are in the front end. “

“My local store Pedders store has never tried to charge me for unnecessary repairs”

“I think you'll find that the majority of Pedders dealers are fantastic. I discovered a leaking shock on my mums car after she hit a pothole, a couple weeks later we took it down to Pedders to get the car inspected further. Basically the shock had a slow leak, and they were honest enough to say the shock could last up to a year. They also advised not to spend the money fixing it if were weren't planning on keeping the car.

That to me is a pretty honest and straight up approach, they could have easily just slapped us with a fat repair bill, saying the work was urgent.

Also different companies have different standards as to whats roadworthy. I've seen almost balled tyres pass a roadworthy at one business, whilst another said they needed to be replaced before a roadworthy could be issued. “

“Just to throw something up for discussion !

Pedders have been around for a long time for good reason

Having previously worked at a franchised store as manager for 6 years , I have also got to look at the other side of the coin ( which I'm sure ACA never looked at ) ....what then is the right thing ?

Most people will see this advice as a nice gesture , others may interpret it as a blatant disregard for road safety.....beleive me , I've heard it all...

Franchisee's seem to always be blamed for trying to be "rip offs" ... sure , go and get a second opinion , if the guy ( franchisee , store owner etc ) is fair dinkum he'll have nothing to hide.

As an example - I can recall dozens of times where we reported brake pads as requiring replacement because the wear indicator was almost in contact with the disc , only to be told by the customer that "his mechanic" thought the pads were fine , "his mechanic", who just serviced the car, said the brake pads should be ok for 10-15000 km!......

3 weeks later ,car is back , brakes are metal on metal , now it needs brake pads and brake discs......but customer insists the car just needs brake pads only.....discs should be fine because his mechanic said so !

I say better to be informed and let the customer make the decision than not saying anything and being negligent - and definitely , never , ever say " oh, it will be ok for xxx amount of time" - nobody has that experience.

I'll guarantee you that most people here ( me included ) would very quickly forget the "nice gesture" if they were put in a situation where for example , they'd nailed the brakes in an emergency stop , the car which had just been inspected and given the "she'll be right mate" tick of approval suddenly slewed sideways and into a tree - when later , you find out that it was partly due to the "slightly leaking shock absorber "

Now , suddenly , the guy that did "the right thing" is a jerk , because he should have told you that "for safety reasons" the shock should have been replaced , and that in fact it wasn't all right...

Damned if you do , damned if you don't...

I'll stick to tuning any day ! ”

“ACA and TT only ever show 1 side of the story. “

“Just remember all news programs be it TV or newspaper get their ratings and live on Sensationalism to get their audience

They will never tell you the other side of the story.......The 60 years Pedders has been in operation and the number of cars they have made safe and the number of lives the may have saved. Well I suppose that is another story.

I have dealt with Pedders in many different locations and many different cars over the years and have always found them to be straight to the piont explaining everything being good or bad with my suspension. “

“I had new Struts put in the mrs Rex at Pedders Prospect about
6 weeks ago (at my request, they didn't recommend them).
I asked them to go over the car at the same time and replace anything they thought needed replacing.
They came up with nothing, said everything else was fine. “

“Firstly from memory (which is poor) Pedders do not advertise on that station but on a competitors station...funny about that.

Also funny how my largest supplier was crucified by ACA and TT every 3 months or so with a "new" story that was a rehash of an old story or an overseas story for the same industry claiming poor practices that never happened in Australia.

Fast forward to 18 months ago when the same very large Australia wide supplier started to pay for advertising of their products on commercial free to air stations.....guess what, never a bad word has been spoken about their industry or their products again. In fact quite the opposite has happened fantastic "new" stories have magically appeared on how fantastic this product is for you.

The pen is mightier than the sword people. The Packers, Stokes and Murdoch's got very rich running/telling bad news stories. There is no money in goods news - that is called advertising. Has been going on for ages and the gullible public just lap it up, including some on here.

I mean FFS when did anyone get stupid enough not to question a $2-3k repair bill at not get at least three quotes or opinions.

Not defending the individual stores that may or may not have acted (in)correctly but I would reserve my judgement until the facts are laid out plain for everyone to see with out any gain from any party, but that would never happen.”

“I've had all my suspension work done through Pedders Marooka, and I reckon they're a pretty decent bunch.

It all started when I was getting a loud creaking noise when getting out of the car. The local mechanic thought all my IRS mounts were stuffed, which I thought it might be because I was getting bad axle tramp. The local guy said he'd sort it out for me but IRS is expensive work so I'd be paying near on a grand.

I took it to Pedders to have a look at, and the owner of the store (I think his name is Mike) did the check and said he couldn't find the problem - and he was right. The problem was actually in the handbrake drums, as he demonstrated to me. He did point out there was a bunch of other stuff wrong however, like how both back shocks were rooted. Anyway, I thought as long as I was there I could get nolathine IRS bushes to deal with the tramp, some radius rod bushings and a camber kit. All of that stuff worked exactly as promosed, I lost the tramp, the steering tightened up and the car would actually stop when I wanted it to.

Three months later, both rear shocks blew out as predicted - so I oredered a set of coilovers through them, and it's all been pretty awesome from there. It did take a while to get a set of coilovers, but that would be the only problem. I've taken the car in twice after that, one was for a scheduled inspection to make sure everything was good, and the other one was because the rear right shock was loose. Both of these visits were free. I even got better advice about how my tyre pressures should be than the guys who sold me the tyres - who were adimant that 45psi was the way to go...

Anyway. That's my two cents - I reckon it's been a good experience. Overall, it's maybe three grands worth of suspension work on a car I bought for forty, and it feels like it's a way better car than it was when I bought it now so I'd say the money was well spent even _if_ I could have gotten it cheaper elsewhere. I'm even thinking of getting them to put in sways and maybe a diff mount next.”

“I use the Pedders at Geebung in Brisbane, i have found them to be very good, no pressure selling. fixed both problems first time. i will be using them again”

“ACA was contacted, and decided to check out the $14 Safety Check... Staff cars were taken to other Pedders stores, and given the once over...The other stores simply caught up in the hype...

What would have been really interesting would be to take the one car to all Pedders stores... Anyway the actual results, well did we see the detail... Nope... Why? Well let's face it... Us in the forum would love to have seen what was detailed... But the general pleb sitting at home on his couch couldn't care less about the detail... He doesn't care that the power steering pump on the Commodores was misting, like every Commodore since VL's do... He doesn't care that the rack in the Commodores has play in it... All he cares about is a sensationalised story, something that he can ********** about with his neighbour... Don't blame ACA, or TT, or the commercial TV stations... Blame the general public!!

Journalists write to tell a story that the public wants to listen to... And they have to do this all in 3 and a half minutes.... If it means leaving out some of the truth, so what... Really, people who know better and can think for themselves know there is two sides to the story, they can see there is missing information, they can see it's a sensationalised story, and they get on with their lives...

Commercial TV is about audience... What the audience wants, the stations aim to produce... No audience, no advertising, no revenue, no profits... No station!

Ask yourself this... If a story came on and they did give you both sides, would you be talking about it? Nope... You would have turned off, or you'd be watching the ABC!!!

I've had many Pedders checks, and in particular Pedders Enoggerra, one of the stores in question... Rob used to be there, then Neil, and I hope he's still there cause I'm coming in again soon! They've always been great... Have always pointed out what may need replacing, what could be done, and when it should be done... But never upsold.... Maybe I'm not a schmuck though!

To add fuel to the debate, has anyone ever had an RACQ inspection... I seem to remember some dodgy inspectors some time ago... I had one done when I sold a car... The buyer wanted it done, to which I thought "Oh O"... It came back with a clean bill of health... Maybe I just hid the problems too well before hand!

I'm happy to give Pedders praise...”

“jesus christ ACA ******** me !

My last commo (VT 5L) had some serious issues before I took the car to Pedders Moorooka. Admittedly I paid a LOT of money to get it sorted, but they were VERY upfront, showed everything that needed doing (in a previous accident not fixed properly, new crossmember, sway bars, bushes, z bars etc etc...) said that I didn't need to do the shocks and a few other things, but I got them to do it all anyway to make sure all was complete....handled like a DREAM.....

anyway 3 years later that VT still outhandled a mates BF typhoon up Mt Tambo with ease, and MOST other cars that I came across.

The boys at Moorooka know their stuff, and if they say it needs doing....it bloody well needs doing ! “

“Rob has moved from Enoggera and now owns the Slacks Creek store in Moss Street. I can definitely recommend him and his work. Even his attitude is "NO BULL" as he is very straight down the line. “

“With my suspension issues, I have only the best things to say about Michael at the Lawnton store. He is also very happy to be of assistance to the LS1 boys.

I have had a number of cars with Pedders products and the coilovers in my VE are an awesome product. Couple that with the great service at Lawnton (not exactly my closest store by any mean)”

“It's a pitty that the 2 ex employee's didn't even last a week before they were laid off. Maybe there is a bit of a sour taste in someone mouth and thought they would take advantage of this. I am led to beleive one of the guy's was there for 5 days and didn't turn up for 2 of them and then was laid off. There is always 2 sides to a story. Wonder how much they got paid to come forward , They even look like a couple of guy's that I wouldn't let touch my lawn mower let alone my car. Also noticed that one of them looked like he was operating a mechanical practise out of his home garage. Thats a bit Illegal isn't it . Wonder what the council would say about that!
I have dealt with Pedders Southport for a long time and have never been ripped off under old management or new.”

“because everything that appears on ACA or TT is 100% accurate, true and fair ”

“Not sure I can do it again; last time I watched A Current Affair the right side of my face dropped and I couldn't tie my shoes for a week.”

“I'd think the real scammers are ACA masquerading as an informative and reliable source.”

“its a bit hard to read anything into the story. the '2nd opinion' they used was the RACQ, which, if they are anything like RAA, i wouldn't be taking too much notice of their opinion either.”

“this is why they are known as sensationalists. pedders will quote on any part that is not 100%, which is perfectly fine to do. the independant (RACQ) mechanic said that the cars were perfectly safe 'as long as' items were looked at in due course as part of the normal servicing.

pedders could mark things as urgent through to non urgent (they may do already), but they also have to cover themselves, because if someone does get a safety check done, and gets told the car is fine and then they fall off the road, there's a good chance the owner would point the finger at the pedders franchise. damned if they do, damned if they don't.”

“back in jan / feb this year, i wanted every suspension part & steering part replaced in my 97 NL fairlane. i went straight to pedders. got quotes on the exact same parts from different stores all over australia, including the rockhampton store. prices were all the same, only the labour charge changed. prior to having the work done, i took the lane into the rockhampton store for the $14 safety check. turned out only a couple of front bushes were worn and the brake pads / front discs needed attention. as the lane was already booked in to have the major work done, there was no $14 charge. as far as im concerned they did a great job and were very honest.”

“ACA NEVER get both sides of the story. they are, always have been & always will be one sided.”

“I have had one pedders experience, rang them up because I needed a new set of coilers, brang the car down 30mins later and got the car back by c.o.b same day and couldn't be happier.

btw this was pedders in Dandenong”

“I had my XP with them to get it roadworthy as some of the suspension and steering parts are shot, I have good mechanical knowledge, I was walking around the car with the mechanics, yes 2 of them, there always is for parts of these checks, and I agreed with everthing they found.”

“Do you know if they showed all the cars that they sent in for test? I would not be surprised if they sent in more and just picked out the ones that had the greatest difficulty.

Also after reading your press release, a lot of this makes sense. You mark it down as requiring immediate replacement if replacement is likely to be required within 10,000 km (fair enough too). The RACQ inspector said that some of the components on that day were ok but would need to be inspected at the regular service. Too me this means Pedders said it will not make 10,000 replace it (fair call) and RACQ said it is ok now but will need replacing.

To me, that is essentially the same thing but Pedders are being more conservative in their trust of the life expectancy of the questionable component. You can not slam them for that.

Finally, anyone that thinks they can pay $14 for a suspension and steering check, expecting it to take 2 hrs and not expect the company to suggest their own parts for repairs required, is a fool. Of course they are going suggest their own services and parts, that is how they keep a business going.”

“Media beat up once again ! Always 2 sides to a storey.
Well done Pedders you have far more satisfied customers than not imo......
Have used a variety of Sydney stores with results I expected,especially wheel alignments know their stuff !”

“know from my dealings with pedders stores, which was Liverpool with my VN Gp A, one in Perth on my ED and Capalaba with my SP, I have only had positive experiences.

If I do any suspension mods to our Mini and our new F6 (when we pick it), I know where I will be going.”

“ive had dealings with Pedders at gateshead (newcastle) and i found them very good. i just went in to get sway bars fitted (i sourced them elsewhere) and they didnt try to "upsell" at all, which i like from a business as i generally know what im after before i go somewhere

also i know of a forum member here involved with Pedders and hes done lots of work on my car without ever trying to sell me a single product.”

“I've been to Pedders in Ferntree Gully VIC a couple of times and have always found them to be very thorough and accomodating at short notice.

Great customer service and I'd definately go there again!!”

“A long time ago, i got my torana all refitted at pedders in capalaba store and they did a wonderfull job. I will be looking at shocks/springs for my SS in the not too distant future and i was wondering how they were going.

Thx for the heads up, ill be taking my car there.”

“never trusted a RACQ person..... they are mechanics who didnt quiet make it. Yet some people think the sun shines out their behinds and they take their word as the holy gospel why? simple. brand. R.A.C.”

**Dave R** · 07-05-2010, 05:16 PM

It just takes certain bad stores to ruin the reputation. Pedders Campbelltown for instance, they lied and screwed me over big time and for that, Pedders will never have my business ever again. I'm sure certain stores have made honest mistakes and people blow them out of proportion, but my case with Campbelltown was black and white - the bastards ripped me off and even charged me for a job that they didn't do. The mechanics actually seemed like good blokes - it was just the guy running the joint giving all the "advice" and making all the sales that ruined it, all he wanted was my money.

Remember, this is a franchise and they have to sell their products and services to stay in business. Like I said, I'm sure there are good stores out there with honest employees, but my experience has turned me off the franchise in fear that I'd cop another bunch of scammers.

dsyfer · 07-05-2010, 05:27 PM

ACA and TT are Australia's answer to Jerry Springer, trash for the masses.

All could easily be forgiven with the timely release of the "E-Series" Extreme Coilovers

to divert attention the right way.

**SSD-85** · 07-05-2010, 07:18 PM

My experiences have been good with my local Pedders. Honest, upfront and, you guessed it, no bull. Given the owner/operator is well known within the community, more than just the Pedders store is at stake for him.

But as it has been said, nobody cares for good news.

Lightning Strike XR6 · 07-05-2010, 07:18 PM

Might wanna send a rocket over to Burleigh.

Absolute disgrace.

It's a pity as now I certainly would not go to any Pedders just based on my one experience.

**DJM83** · 07-05-2010, 07:25 PM

Lets not turn this into a Pedders bashing thread thanks.

Copie · 07-05-2010, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lightning Strike XR6

Might wanna send a rocket over to Burleigh.

Absolute disgrace.

It's a pity as now I certainly would not go to any Pedders just based on my one experience.

I tend to agree, ive only had my car at Pedders once to get a set of bushes fitted (i supplied them since i could get whiteline @ cost) and they hoisted the car and i physically showed them what bushes they were, and even supplied them with all the correct torque settings and the lower control arm removal instructions (since the Magna was slightly different to every other one they may have come across)

8 days later, work still not completed and they had the balls to tell me that they are not the correct bushes, i triple checked the part numbers and confirmed they were the correct part, and it turned out to be they had been trying to fit them to the rear control arm instead of the front!

End of the day it ended up costing me a little over 500 bucks in labor + 300 bucks worth of bushes for them to not even do anything.

I emailed and phoned your head office about it and just got stonewalled. I can see why they went to ACA/TT because sometimes its the only way to get a response from franchised stores.

This isn't a bash on Pedders, merely pointing out my bad experience with this particular franchise group and the response i recieved from them in regards to my complaint.

dallasv8 · 07-05-2010, 11:24 PM

i had pedders 65mm lowered springs and shocks fitted to my EA a few years ago and they were great,they even threw in a few stickers at my request and supplied the extra shims needed for the camber kit to get it right.

ill gladly fit pedders to any car i own.

Falc'man · 08-05-2010, 03:21 AM

Who on earth watches tt/aca anyway?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scotty85

My experiences have been good with my local Pedders. Honest, upfront and, you guessed it, no bull. Given the owner/operator is well known within the community, more than just the Pedders store is at stake for him.

But as it has been said, nobody cares for good news.

I once spoke to Pedders Bankstown before redoing all the suspension on my car. The guy there was happy to answer a lot of questions and in the end even recommended what he new would be better than his own product, knowing that he wouldn't get any sale from his advice.

The problems we hear about have nothing to do with Pedders themselves, it's more the automotive repair industry that is riddled with mistrust.

Angeldust · 08-05-2010, 10:30 AM

i will be lowering the SS on pedders soon

scoupedy · 08-05-2010, 10:45 AM

This is a business they are there to makes money and usually don't care how,
What i do is i get the safety check and tell them that i will be doing the work myself and sourcing the parts myself. They usually don't bs too much then.

LazyBrennan · 16-05-2010, 05:57 PM

I am not "attacking" Pedders in general, Just the Slacks creek one in south Brisbane.
I went there for a 28 point safety check for $14. They told me I needed this and that done NOW coming to a total of $2250.
They said my rotors were at 23mm, And I needed all these bushes done and everything was stuffed.
I took my car to a specialist on the weekend, After going over my car, I had nothing wrong with it at all. My rotors were at 26mm NOW so still legal. Pedders told me i had 15% of brake pads left, I really have 30%. They told me I needed to get them done NOW.
While I was at pedders they told me all about there finance plan.
I would advice everyone to stay away from Pedders in Slacks Creek in South Brisbane.
When we lived in Victoria we went to a Pedders all the time there cause he was good and honest. Its not all Pedders.

Road Games · 16-05-2010, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJM83

Lets not turn this into a Pedders bashing thread thanks.

Agreed!
*Sigh*A reprint from another thread...
First up .. i work for K-mart tyre and auto...and we share the same principles displayed as Pedders..
We evaluate / we qoute ,but the end game is up too YOU !
If something doesn't get picked up then look out (insert towtruck recoverage here and a kick up the bum soon to follow) alternatively we record everything and wait for the TV cameras to rock on in and prove ourselves ?

It really is pathetic, the previous manager of Southport Pedders had just left for another company and look what happens to the new guy???

The poor bloke hadn't even found his feet and here we are baggin a reputable company offering a service & who are trying to save lives ..Just because of the sensationalist news programs!
Sure we all have targets to meet, but i also have a heap of pics on my phone of the death traps out there ..
Belonging to people who dont have the money?
-to fix these vehicles which SHOULD be put off the road !!!

Dammed if ya do dammed if ya dont?

Forget the sensationalism guys .. if you dont trust the established mechanical shops then my inbox is always open .. but please cut them some slack..because we are ALL human and humans make mistakes..
Daz..(the specialist)haha..xx.

Jason[98.EL] · 16-05-2010, 06:46 PM

pedders bendigo will be getting buisness from me when i get back to work full time.

when i spoke to them on the phone a few weeks back he was probably one of the most honest sounding guy i have ever spoken to about my car ever

Jason

Melz · 16-05-2010, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason[98.EL]

pedders bendigo will be getting buisness from me when i get back to work full time.

when i spoke to them on the phone a few weeks back he was probably one of the most honest sounding guy i have ever spoken to about my car ever

Jason

Grant and the team at Pedders Bendigo are great to deal with. You will be extremely satisfied with the professionalism and the end product! (plus their new premises!)

FPV8U · 16-05-2010, 07:04 PM

Friends, Family & Myself have used Pedders Traralgon, nothing but praise from me, had the $14 Check done to sort out a front end knocking noise, tightened the swaybar bolts, noise gone the check was very efficient but nothing was missed and no pushy upselling.

Death to ACA & TT!

**Elks** · 16-05-2010, 07:35 PM

Pedders Campbellfield lower my ZF in January, fantastic serive and the thing drives like a new car.

scoupedy · 17-05-2010, 08:59 AM

Sam and his crew at Pedders Capalaba (Qld) are always helpful you just have to understand that these are specialist and they charge that way

hoich · 17-05-2010, 01:58 PM

Pedders Campbellfield have been fantastic for me, fitting my XR6 springs then replacing bushes and ball joints. When I had a question about a noise they fixed it the next day.

FG XR · 17-05-2010, 04:26 PM

great to hear all the positives but took a while for an official statement hey?

XDV800 · 19-05-2010, 06:46 PM

Scott, unfortunately it is pretty clear that this issue was easily manifested by ACA due to the fact that Pedders has such a large national base of stores, and there is bound to be a few bad apples running a few of those shows.
I'm unsure of the screening process that is undertaken when handing out a franchise, but i'm certain you don't carry out psych evaluations on all staff!

Also the fact that the outlets may be operated by a 2IC or 3IC if the manager/proprietor is away on leave/just out of the store/sick/etc.
A change of management brings a different outlook on how business should be carried out, for the better, or worse more often than not

I used to work for Jeff and then Lonny in the Mackay branch, and can positively say that Lonny was an honest operator, (had my suspicions about Jeff!) and the store did not benefit from any questionable selling. We viewed the exchange of parts for no good reason as common theft basically.
The support network was great to assist in any dilemmas and the Pedders philosophy was ALMOST spot on.
I say that because I can see how dishonest up-selling may have been viewed as Ok by some, if their interpretation of the guidelines was misguided, or they were just shonky operators. Offering bonuses to outlets in exchange for top sales is frought with danger.
It can be difficult for some of us grease monkeys to comprehend how to deal with a savvy talking customer, who simply does not understand the advisories made about future issues they may face with their vehicle. All they see is a large bill. That puts them offside immediately.

I think the training needs to be expanded more (if it hasn't been since '05)
to better prepare staff for these dealings. Also some possible ammendments to the Pedders technical guidelines.
Also these recent complaints I hope have been taken seriously and an active investigation carried out to check the integrity of the slandered stores and determine whether there are bad eggs within the organisation.

Also have you or an associate approached ACA to try to air a redemption story. Tell the other side of the story. Free plug. Kick Tracy Grimshaw in the head?

Trevor 57 · 19-05-2010, 06:59 PM

Pedders is not the first National store that either ACA or TT have targeted, they have to make up stories to fill in between the ads. And I am sure Pedders will not be the last.

They are ******** shows and can't be trusted with anything

SVTVNM · 20-05-2010, 09:01 AM

An example of how bad press effects small business, The Pedders agent in Ballarat(who is also a long running exhaust shop) had some people cancel jobs on their cars the following day after the ACA story went to air. Maybe if any Ballarat AFF members could elaborate if they have heard anything different. Also heard nothing but good things about the Pedders guys in Bendigo.

LTDterri · 20-05-2010, 09:11 AM

There are good and bad in all companies, I for one will never use a certain Pedders again, they are purely in the business to rip off unsuspecting customers, BUT I will have the car at Pedders again just not these fools who honestly thought I would take their word as Gospal.