from an email sent by the same customer as below, two years later:
Hi Catherine,
I should have sent you this email a few weeks ago, the busyness of the holidays kept me running and on the road. I figure, better late than never!
Once again, you all have done a fantastic job! I dropped my car off at the Piedmont location a couple of weeks before Christmas, knowing that I was about to embark on a long road trip from Atlanta to Buffalo, NY and back. Sure enough, it needed some TLC to get it ready for the trip along with some new tires. I had to be out of town on business that week in Fort Worth, Texas, and I knew it would be a good time to leave the car with you folks.
Your manager was in touch with me the whole time I was in Texas with details and advice on what needed to be done now, and what could wait until after Christmas. I appreciated the honesty and coming back to a car that ran like a dream!
As usual, I sing your praises to my contacts, and let them know that I have never had a bad experience with you and your folks. This is the third car I’ve owned since moving back to Atlanta, and you folks have worked on all of them, over the years, for me.
Thank you again for the great service you are providing!
Sincerely,
Mark Ranney
and from a letter we received in the mail:
Dear Catherine and all,
I have had my car in for service twice at your Piedmont location since moving to Atlanta. Both times, the service has been exceptional. My car is running better than it has in a long time.
I wanted you to know that I'm proud to refer your facility to anyone. Keep up the excellent work!
Sincerely,
Mark Ranney
from an email sent by a customer:
Inspired by the sticker I see on my husband’s receipt for recent service, I am emailing you to let you know that I think Toby at your Northside location does a great job. (This location is most convenient for me and 99% of my interactions with anyone at that location are with Toby.) With so many customers, I appreciate that he manages to remember my name. He is friendly, prompt, and manages to get cars expertly shuffled around on the property in the midst of what seems like gridlock to a layperson.
Keep up the good work!
Christine Quillian (also writing on behalf of David Quillian)
from an email sent by a customer:
The battery on my car was discharged and at a friend's recommendation, I had my car towed to your 1916 Piedmont Circle NE location. I want to take a moment and express my gratitude for the great care I received. The whole experience was as pleasant as an experience like this could be thanks to Jerry and your knowledgeable team of technicians. Even the towing company you suggested was professional and courteous. I often feel that customer service is lacking--not so with your team. I'll be sure to think of you first for any future repair and service needs.
Thanks again,
Ron Ordas
from an email sent by a customer:
Hello Ms. Simpson,
I want to let you know that both Ken and Toby at your Northside Drive location have been great to work with. My 1989 Olds Station Wagon is dying a slow and expensive death. But both Ken and Toby have done a valiant job in fixing everything that goes wrong with it.
I would not take my car anywhere else! Please congratulate both of them.
Yours truly,
Mark Clinard
from a letter received in the mail:
Dear Catherine (and everyone at the shop),
I just wanted to write and thank you all for taking such good care of me and my silver VW Golf. You really saw it through and as a small business owner myself, I respect and admire that. I finally got to Philadelphia to visit my sister. The Golf drove great – no revving of the engine!
Thank you!
Nancy Solomon
from a letter received in the mail:
Dear Catherine,
I am writing you to let you know just how grateful I am to have found an auto repair shop that I feel I can trust with my repairs.
A few weeks ago, I was having a problem with my Infiniti and I took it to the dealership, which is what I have always done. What I thought was a minor problem, the dealership said that my problem was going to cost around $3100 to $4700 to correct. Needless to say, I could not believe this, after all my car only had 89,000 miles and I had not had any problems with the car. And they were talking about replacing my engine.
A dear friend of mine suggested I bring my car into Catherine’s Auto Repair because of the excellent service and master mechanics on staff. She felt that the mechanics would go over my car completely and be able to diagnose the problem. I am glad I did!!! After going over my car thoroughly, the mechanics totally disagreed with Infiniti and the cost to repair was only a fraction of the initial quote obtained from the dealership. And guess what, I did not need a new engine.
Thank you for restoring my trust in auto repair companies. Your staff was very professional and an absolute joy to work with. They kept me informed throughout the process of the repair and of testing my car to make sure everything was working properly before returning the car to me. I truly believe you have some of the best mechanics in the trade there at Catherine’s. I’m going to tell everyone I know of my experience. You are truly a company that provides high quality auto repair with integrity, honesty, and excellent customer service at a fair price and with a personal touch.
Sincerely,
Deborah A. Echols
from an email sent by a customer:
Good AM,
I wanted to THANK the Team at Catherine's Piedmont for servicing and repairing my truck on such short notice. The window works just like new.
It is good to know that there are Service companies out there that still stand behind their work and their service.
Again Thank you and I will be proud to recommend your Company to all.
Curry A. Roberts
Dodge Dakota Truck
from an email sent by a customer:
Catherine,
I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you and your staff. They are incredible. It means a lot to me, as a woman, to have a place that I feel comfortable taking my car. The most important thing is I know that I am getting a fair price and not getting ripped off. Every time I bring my car to your facility they go out of their way to help and are always very polite.
Again, I just wanted to say thanks and to let you know that I recommend your Northside location to everyone I know.
Thanks again!
Katie Morgan
From an email sent by a customer:
Hello Catherine,
I'd come into your shop on Tuesday and Jerry helped replace the front bulbs on our car. My husband (Mark) and I just wanted to let you know that we think you have a wonderful business with awesome staff who provide great customer service.
Thanks again,
Mark & Michelle Levine
from an email sent by a customer:
Hi Catherine,
I just got your newsletter in the mail and was so sorry to hear that you had to make the decision for Maggie to go to doggie heaven, but you made the right choice for her, I will miss seeing her around the shop.
I also wanted to thank you and all your GREAT staff at Piedmont Circle for being so awesome. Any time I take my Mountaineer in for whatever is going on at the time I can always bet that Jerry or Ansley has someone to take me to work so I can leave my car, and often they even bring it to me if I can’t get away long enough to run get it... it’s all the extras and all the little things that make your place the best.
I am so happy that I was referred to you by a friend and I have sent many people your way as well. I always love your newsletter, it’s real informative and fun. I thank you for being an honest, dependable, dedicated business that I can always count on.
Best wishes for many years of success...
Steven Brown
from an email sent to us by a customer, that he also posted on a Car Club Website:
Well, I must write this E-mail to tell the facts about my problems. I decided to take my car to Catherine’s Automotive on Northside Drive. I took it to them and Olja Ackovic test drove it with me. He said it didn't sound good. I needed to leave it with them. They were very busy and couldn't get to it until the next day.
They called me the next day and told me that it looked like it needed a transmission. My options were a new transmission or a used transmission (18,000 miles). I told them to proceed with the used. They also told me that I should consider a clutch if it was bad. Because we were replacing the transmission, there would be no additional labor to do so.
Today, Toby called me and asked if I was sitting down. My first thought was engine too? Instead he told me that they had found a service bulletin about the transmission possibly rubbing on the chassis of the car. They found traces where the transmission had been rubbing on the chassis. They replaced the clutch, removed the original transmission and re-centered it away from the chassis. Noise was gone. He told me that I didn't need a transmission. I could not believe what I was hearing!! I have never, I repeat NEVER, been told by a mechanic that something was wrong and then later told me that the repair was not needed.
The car is running like new!!! I felt that I needed to let everyone know my experience. Has anyone ever told you a repair would be $3,500 and later told you it was not necessary? I still can't believe it. Needless to say, at this time, I highly recommend Catherine’s Automotive. I have NEVER witnessed honesty, in auto repair, like this before.
I want to openly thank everyone at Catherine’s Automotive. When I left my car with them, Ken offered to drop me off at my house on his way home to Lawrenceville. They are truly a class act and I think they really are different and you should consider them for repairs on your S2000!!!
THERE REALLY IS A SANTA CLAUSE!!!!!
Rod Nun
from an email sent by a customer:
Catherine,
I’ve never written an e-mail to a company before in my life. I had to write in on how affordable and convenient my experience was at your Northside Drive location. I’ve been having car problems that have seemed to be unfixable and was about to be completely scammed by a _______ (national auto repair franchise) on the North side of Atlanta. They wanted to charge me $500 to do what you all did for $164. Toby at the Northside location helped me through everything from scheduling my appt. to getting me a new emissions test. So glad I found you!
Shelly Mason
from
an e-mail sent by a customer:
Catherine,
Just wanted to
drop you a note to tell you how wonderful the customer service is at
your company. You really do strive for high quality and your employees
reflect your influence beautifully. I
was a customer this past week at your Piedmont location. I was
having problems getting heat from my car and had no idea what was the
issue. Your staff diagnosed my problem as a leaking water pump. When
I was called with the issue... your staff immediately reminded me
that Catherine's had replaced the water pump before and was under warranty. Not
only that but when the car wasn't ready on time, a rental car was arranged
for me.
I have never been able to find a reliable auto repair shop that
I trusted in the past. I have been a customer of yours for the last 2
years or so and felt very comfortable bringing my car to your shop. Now
after this past week's experience, I will never take my car or my husband's
anywhere else.
Congratulations on building such a wonderful addition
to the community. I appreciate your company and tell everyone I know.
Thanks,
Leslie Hart
from
an e-mail sent by a customer:
Hi there,
I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know what a wonderful experience I had with your Northside Drive location. Your staff were courteous and friendly and a joy to work with - the complete opposite of the staff at the dealership where I used to take my car. I've always heard you should never take your car to the dealership for service but I didn't know where else to go - now I know.
Thanks for providing a great service.
Elan Perry
and from a letter we received in the mail:
Dear Catherine and all,
I have had my car in for service twice at your Piedmont location since moving to Atlanta. Both times, the service has been exceptional. My car is running better than it has in a long time.
I wanted you to know that I'm proud to refer your facility to anyone. Keep up the excellent work!
Sincerely,
Mark Ranney
from an e-mail sent by a customer:
To Everyone at Catherine's Auto Repair -
You've done it again! Thank you for the excellent service and smile. You've always got a recommendation from me!
Sincerely,
Kristan Drake
E-mail to AAA:
About a month ago I needed to have some maintenance work done on my car
and I looked up repair shops from the AAA web site. You suggested Catherine’s
Auto Repair in Atlanta, GA. This turned out to be one of the best experiences
that I have ever gone through with putting my car in the shop. I was treated
very courteously. The work was top quality and reasonably priced. Someone
even opened the shop early so that I could drop my car off before work.
Thank you very much for such a wonderful recommendation.
Molly Bumgarner
Another
e-mail sent to us by a customer on his first experience with us:
Ms.
Simpson,
I did not meet you this week while your shop made repairs to my vehicle,
but I wanted to express my appreciation for both great service and a fair
price for the work done at your shop...
Allen White
Click
for the complete letter
A
letter received in the mail from one of our good, regular customers who
moved to Texas and then had a problem, which we covered under our warranty
for her:
Dear Catherine:
I wanted to thank you for having my car repaired expeditiously. It would
have been easy for you to ignore my situation, especially since I am a
thousand miles away...
Ayanna
McPhail
Click
for the complete letter
from an e-mail sent by a customer:
Catherine,
Recently one of your mechanic's exhibited such honesty and helpfulness that I am committed to supporting your business by bringing our family cars to it as long as the doors are open.
Our 1999 Saab suddenly quit starting and we had it towed to Catherine's Automotive in Atlanta To make a long story short, as the employee talked to my husband he realized that a $700.00 repair was likely not the product of our driving but rather probably something that happened while it was being towed.
I don't mean to imply that other mechanics would have hid this from us, but I do seriously doubt that your mechanic's conversation would have even happened at some other businesses. In short, without your mechanic's listening to and taking seriously our concerns-we would have paid $700.00 needlessly.
Time is important and no less so in a small business that does not overcharge their customers and pays their workers fair wages- and I am sincerely grateful that your mechanic spent some of his precious time listening to our concerns.
In appreciation,
Christina Hendrix
from
an e-mail sent by a customer:
I just wanted to send an e-mail about the Catherine's Corner piece in the Spring 2005 Under the Hood. I have always appreciated the service I have received from Catherine's Auto Repair and I think one reason why is that all of you treat us a "clients". I say clients in that when we come to you, we are treated better than a customer passing through the express lane at the grocery store. I feel like I get alot more individual attention kind of like how a professional service firm treats its corporate clients. You guys are great and I always recommend you to everyone I know. Also, the article about trade secrets was great. I am going to circulate it to everyone at work.
Thanks for always taking care of my old Dodge Neon!
Patrick Kim
from an e-mail sent by a customer:
I just wanted to drop you a note saying what a pleasant experience I had sending my car to your repair shop on Northside.
I called before I dropped off my car to get an estimate of the cost, and Toby answered my questions and quotes in a no-nonsense way. All prices included the labor, so I wasn't surprised when I got the final bill. After dropping off my car, a technician named Eric dropped me off at my house, and told me along the way how much he enjoyed working at your garage.
The work was done when I was told it would be done, and it cost what I was told it would cost. I have to congratulate you for bringing honesty and integrity to the car repair business. I'm going to tell everyone to go to Catherine's!
Neal McSpadden
And
from some quotes from the AAA survey return cards
"They are the greatest. Friendly, knowledgeable staff. I trust them emphatically! Will not go anywhere else!!"
"friendly, courteous, caring people"
"Great. Actually told me less was wrong than I thought."
"service is always excellent and staff is very professional and courteous."
"I was very impressed by this facility. It was so nice to get the wonderful service I received – being new to the area and not knowing anyone. Definitely will recommend to others"
"this repair shop was excellent and has tremendous customer service"
"Catherine’s is the best!"
"I would highly recommend Catherine’s and have. Very honest,
unlike (a large auto parts/shop chain) that will do things to your car
when it doesn’t need it."
"They FAR exceeded my expectations. I will definitely be returning for future needs."
"great people and attitude and work with customers well"
"THE BEST!"
"great personal attention to detail and I appreciate the ride to and from work"
"Catherine’s is the best for service and price and courteous staff"
"excellent service, they gave me an estimate and the bill was less not more!!! I will take my vehicle here from now on. Best in Atlanta"
