I got into a minor accident and Helfman was given by USAA insurance as a preferred provider of body work. At the end of three weeks the work was done and it appears the quality of the work is very good. But like my other body shop experiences they kept making promises for completion of the work that could not be fulfilled. Yesterday afternoon I got the call that the car was done and I told him that I would get there by 6:00 PM when they closed to pick it up.
I got there and went into the office and was told he was across the drive in the shop and that he would be back shortly. I waited and then was surprised to see him stop on his way back for a smoking break (he did not know I had arrived already). The guys in the office made him cut the break short so he could come in and deal with me, and I waited as he completed the paperwork. Man, if I had been told by a customer that he would be arriving within an hour I would have the paperwork done before taking my smoking break. The car looked great other than the big bird dropping on the windshield. No big deal, and maybe it can't be helped, but it makes me wonder about the attention paid to the quality of paint and replacement parts, and how long is this repair going to last?
If they had simply told me to expect the car in three weeks I would have given them four stars. Instead it was "4-5 days" then "8-9 days" then "next Monday" but the actual day was the Friday after that Monday.
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