Eventful Weekend..

[Scott_Mac]

LOL, possibly Ladders

 

Chris, i'd be interested to hear your comments, PM me by all means.

 

Bob, if you're MMC's are squealing - which they do, its often after the nasty weather has pitted them a little... the easiest way to fix it is some very hard braking, repeatedly.

 

I think my front pads have finally given up the ghost so have some new Eliseparts ones to fit - which i'll hopefully be doing this weekend.

 

Scott

[Chris_Exige]

I have seen *much* worse things come out of Horizon's doors.

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No offence Chris but that's a mighty brave statement to come out with on here.If i were you i'd put me tin hat on and "duck and cover".

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A mate of mine, who posts on this forum occasionally, sent his car to Horizon as the steering was making a knocking noise. They replaced the steering rack and when it came back the noise was still there so he gave me a call for a bit of advice. I told him to order a pair of front ball joints and track rod ends (from the nice people t EliseParts who I do heartely recomend) and bring it to mine as 9 times out this is what causes such noises. I replaced these parts and the noise was still there so I investigated a bit further only to find that the new steering rack hadn't been bolted up properly. Three of the bolts were OK but one had been cross-threaded and instead of pulling it out and sorting it properly the monkey had just wound it in until it seized about half way in. On top of this I found that the knocking was actually coming from the bottom UJ on the steering column so it didn't need a new rack at all.

 

Everyone makes mistakes and, in fairness, Horizon sorted the problem out FOC... BUT... the steering rack is a safety critical item and there is no excuse for making a cock up like this. There are four bolts through it because it NEEDS four bolts to hold it down, simple as that.

[ally]

Really dont want to get involved in this one. But it was my steering rack problem.

At the time i have to say i was pretty miffed. BUT I would completely aggree with BB. Its what is done about it that counts

Mike was devastated to find out that this happended and I believe the person involved in the cross threading incident was sent packing. The problem was of coarse sorted FOC.

In fareness it was a sloppy mistake (which could have been dangerous)but it was dealt with well and i would continue to take my car there as I no this sort of thing is rare. (unlike other lotus dealers i have read about).

 

Ally

[Woos]

This is really scary guys. As you know I very rarely post but in the interests of having a decent nights sleep tonight without any worries I feel that I must get this off my chest.

 

We realise that we have to take the bad with the good but when criticism and negative comments come from someone who is not a customer it is very difficult to take. Customers who know Mike and I will realise that if there is ever a problem with any work we have done then they only have to phone and speak to either of us and we will do our utmost to put it right. We know we are not perfect and there is always room for improvement.

 

We have put everything we own on the line to start up this business and we are here for the long haul and not just here to 'get rich quick', which is why we try to keep our prices reasonable and to gain repeat business from our customers. We have a conscience and really do care about what we do and it is very important to us that our customers are happy. We have had alot of positive comments and recommendations from this forum and we do not want to let you down. If there is any way that we can improve things then please let us know. Maybe it means that Mike will have to step up his quality control before the car leaves the workshop which can only be a good thing. Hopefully we can turn this negative into a positive.

 

I hope this thread has not done us too much damage and that we can restore your faith in us. I would like to thank Alex and everyone else who has come to our defence.

 

Many thanks

Wendy & Mike

[Rus]

This hasn't done any damage with regards to me bringing my car to horizon. Service for my car was A1 and even happy to help when i phoned for a rolling road recommendation for my bro's MR2.

 

Russ.

[Martin R]

Without wishing to go into the rights and wrongs of this situation. It sounds like it was dealt with as well as possible. My car is due a C service in the near future, it will be done at Horizon.

[Mark A]

This is really scary guys.  As you know I very rarely post but in the interests of having a decent nights sleep tonight without any worries I feel that I must get this off my chest.

 

We realise that we have to take the bad with the good but when criticism and negative comments come from someone who is not a customer it is very difficult to take.  Customers who know Mike and I will realise that if there is ever a problem with any work we have done then they only have to phone and speak to either of us and we will do our utmost to put it right.  We know we are not perfect and there is always room for improvement.

 

We have put everything we own on the line to start up this business and we are here for the long haul and not just here to 'get rich quick', which is why we try to keep our prices reasonable and to gain repeat business from our customers.  We have a conscience and really do care about what we do and it is very important to us that our customers are happy.  We have had alot of positive comments and recommendations from this forum and we do not want to let you down.  If there is any way that we can improve things then please let us know.  Maybe it means that Mike will have to step up his quality control before the car leaves the workshop which can only be a good thing.  Hopefully we can turn this negative into a positive.

 

I hope this thread has not done us too much damage and that we can restore your faith in us.  I would like to thank Alex and everyone else who has come to our defence.

 

Many thanks

Wendy & Mike

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Again, I don't know the rights or wrongs of what happened and I'm not a customer, however I will say that while you seem to get lots of positive comments, which is obviously great for your business, you do need to understand that if you do make a mistake you will get bad press, that is the way of the world and TBH I think that is right, as long as it is warrented and not just someone out to damage the reputation of a company for their own gains.

Chris I think was very honest in that he mentioned you had fixed Ally's car FOC but he obviously sent some time helping Ally find the source of the problem and therefore knew what had happened as well as anyone.

[Mark H]

Beefcake - can you dispose of this thread completely, it is not by any means consistent with the spirit of this forum and cannot be of any constructive value.

 

 

The thread stays, I am very anti deleting threads or even moderating unless they get out of hand, very few threads have ever been edited, only one or two ever deleted and it seems to work well.

 

The point made by Chris was fair and honest and Horizons response was well placed. Its an open forum and people have to take the negatives and the positives in life, there is no damage to Horizons reputation in my opinion as they dealt with the matter well and resolved the issue. Infact if anything it has been to the benefit of everyone as it has raised the issue and Mike has it in hand now.

Nobody expects any garage to be perfect but to try their best, mistakes happen in life and you have to deal with the matter, it is unfair to delete any negative threads just because someone else has had perfect service they still have valid points to make IMHO.

 

Horizon never contacted me with any complaints about the thread or asking for their names to be removed so it stays as it is.

 

[sootysteve]

i just got back from horizon today, had A service, track rod ends, roll bar drop links, new rear discs n pads, very friendly service, very very helpful, and I WILL be using them again.

[dss123]

Don't worry Wendy,

 

Myself and others that have had excellent service from Horizon in the past will, I'm sure, continue to trust you with our cars.

 

The odd negative comment in an overwhelming sea of positive reviews will do very little to deter custom, particularly as you dealt with this issue (and the offending mechanic) quickly and efficiently.

 

To me, I don't even see the point in posting a thread as a slur on a company when the situation has been resolved amicably, more so when you aren't even the customer in question!

 

This particular issue probably accounts for a tiny fraction of of 0.1 of a percent of all the cars you see.

 

This is why programs like Watchdog bug the hell out of me (and Nicky Cambell of course) "Dear Sirs, I bought my washing machine 4 years ago and it is now on the blink" blah blah. Yes, but how many 10's of 1000's of the same washing machine are out there working fine? Get a grip!

 

(loosing the plot now!- re-focus)

 

People know you do a fantastic job. You care about the cars and the customers and you are hard to beat on value - There are so many dealers out there where shoddy service is the norm and they are the ones that should be "named and shamed". I won't go into the story about the wheel that rolled off my Mini when I was driving it home from it's anual service!

 

I really don't think you got anything to worry about.

 

Sleep tight

 

 

Duncs

[PPPMAT]

Someone once said to me that you only really find out about good service when something goes wrong

 

anyway, the point is - something went wrong and it was sorted out pretty well - that's the mark of good service

[bermudabob]

Yep, I fully agree with that - I've already recommended Horizon to several Lotus owning friends simply because you actually care about what you are doing and go out of your way to fix any problems.

 

Rob

P.S. Actually, got some other things I want to get done now, so you might be getting another phone call soon...

[Scott_Mac]

Being one of the first folk to go to Horizon and being extremely happy with the work, as you know i have probably been back more than most with bits falling off the car here and there... I would happily trust them with my car for any work, safe in the knowledge that in the unlikely event of something being done incorrectly it would be rectified with the minimum of hassle and cost to all parties.

 

Coupled with that you'd struggle to find a friendlier bunch of folks.

 

Now about that bacon sandwich.....

[Phil Dance]

After reading this thread Horizon is where I want to take my Elise! I like the feed back and Customer Care, quite refreshing really. I am new here so where are Horizon and how do I contact them?

Phil

[A_C_Miller]

After reading this thread Horizon is where I want to take my Elise! I like the feed back and Customer Care, quite refreshing really. I am new here so where are Horizon and how do I contact them?

Phil

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This should help. I'll add my tuppence in and can only say good things about them, even if it was only my little Ka they were working on...

 

Horizon here--- yep here indeedy