Now I always schedule appointments early, so I can get in and out pretty quickly. So right after I arrived at 8 am, checked in, and went to the waiting area, a pickup truck pulling a fairly good size travel trailer arrived. And I'm watching to see how fast my car will be pulled into the garage for the work to begin, and they pull the travel trailer in first, with my car is still sitting out front. Unbelievable. Since the trailer people were from out of town, I doubt they made an appointment the previous week like me.
Above is what I discovered when I came home. Great work huh? The plastic gas tank shield just hanging. What they did was cut it wrong, and the threaded screws did not line up at all. Pretty pathetic workmanship indeed. So after discovering this, I took several pictures, and added zip ties to hold the cover up. The following week I went back to The Hitch House with photos. There were two woman and a man behind the counter. I showed the photos to them, and the manager, or owner, whoever he was, took a fast look and quickly went away. Then a service guy came in the back door to the counter, and the photos were passed off to him. It was pretty comical to hear him try to explain the situation. And then he named all the upscale cars they had installed hitches on in the past. That was laughable too. So then the guy wanted to put the car back on the rack to see why the cover was hanging, I told him no. They already had it on the rack once, and they failed to do a proper job. I informed him I was taking it to a paint and body shop to have it fixed right.
Here's a review from Fendell P on Yelp on 3-3-20: I regrettably missed two appointments to put the hitch on in this very uncertain climate of cov19. I lost track of the second one due to concern over my father. The owner called at 8 am very hostile and completely rude and told me she is sending the part back and that was my last chance with them , that I may never.go there period. I apologized and was treated like something you step on. That was it..I would have gone and probably left a nice review, however feel spared seeing how I was " dealt with" by the owner. I have never been treated with such anger and disdain before by a stranger and it's foolish to be so unkind when we all are suffering together in this new climate. All business will suffer as well including this one. What a waste of a potential client. I needed that hitch.
Here's a review from Bryan L on Yelp on 7-12-13: Had a terrible experience with Hitch House. They swore that they had experience installing hitches on Porsche Cayennes and not only was the work sloppy cutting too large of a whole to fit the hitch they had to bend the bumper to get the hitch to fit and insisted that it was the correct way that the hitch fits on a Cayenne. To this day a year plus later I have never seen another Cayenne that was fitted with an aftermarket hitch that required the bumper to be bent. Added to this the hitch (Curt) quickly rusted. I couldn't be less satisfied with their work.
Also be aware of reviews that praise a business as though they're the most perfect and fantastic in the world. It's always obvious these are most likely written by employees.
So I took the car to Gary Auto Body and Paint on Clark Road in Sarasota. As you can see from the picture above (on the right), the cover was fixed properly. The cost? About $125.00. Remember reviews can mean nothing much of the time, but photos mean everything. They are the ultimate proof of work done on your car. So the next time you want a hitch installed in Sarasota, just remember what kind of job The Hitch House might do for you. But if you're a gambler, go right ahead.
