VIDEO: Toyota Employees Taped Stealing From, Watching Porn In Customer's Truck
UPDATE: Dealership Video-Responds To Customer's Hidden Camera Expose
The first two times Jason brought his truck in to his local Toyota dealership for service, he noticed that someone had taken quarters from his change compartment. He complained both times, but was ignored. So the third time he brought his truck in, he placed a video camera on the passenger side. The dealership didn't ignore him this time.
Jason was originally only concerned about the missing quarters, but his camera also captured Hampton Toyota employees sifting through his medication, using racial slurs, and watching porn in Jason's truck. Jason emailed us a copy of the letter he sent the owner of Hampton Toyota.
Dear Mark Hampton:
I am writing to you as an unsatisfied customer. I think the DVD enclosed will speak for itself. First, a little history about my experience with your dealership.
I purchased my truck, brand new from your dealership, in June 2007. I brought my truck in for the first 5,000-mile service/oil change. Upon picking up my truck I noticed over $10 worth of quarters were stolen from the driver's side door compartment. I complained and even mailed a personal letter to the dealership, addressed to the general manager. I never received a reply, or an apology.
The second time I brought my truck in was in December 2007, for my 10,000-mile service. I took note of the amount of quarters in that same compartment. Upon picking up my truck, I noticed that half of them were stolen. I immediately complained to the service department. I was told the manager was in a meeting and would contact me. He did not return my call, and I was able to speak with him after calling several times.
I also informed my salesman, by letter, after he sent a follow-up letter asking how I was enjoying my truck. I explained both of these situations, yet never heard back from anyone.
In June 2008, I decided to use Hampton Toyota to get my truck serviced again. I previously used dealerships out of Lafayette, but I was tired of the drive and inconvenience of driving to Opelousas or New Iberia. After all, I was not in the wrong. This time I decided to take action to prove the theft. I placed a small digital video camera, clearly visible, in the passenger side inside door handle compartment. Upon me arriving I hit record to see what would happen. I also inventoried everything in my truck, specifically the amount of money inside. The result is on the DVD enclosed. On this DVD you will find the following:
1. The first person to touch my truck was the service manager, Mike (see DVD video #1 "Mike the Service Manager"). He opens my door, puts my keys in the ignition, writes down my mileage, and then removes the keys. Next, he takes a notice in my keys. I keep a red pill vial, used for hikers, on my key chain. I keep personal medication in it for emergencies. He then unscrews the vial, looks inside and smells the vial. Next, he pours them into his hand and inspects them. He then puts them back in the vial and then licks the pill dust from his hand. He then screws the vial back together, replaces the keys, and then writes down the VIN number from the door sticker. Before closing the door, he checks the door compartment where my previous thefts occurred. He closes it without taking anything. He then returns to the vehicle, opens then compartment and proceeds to remove quarters (3 of the 6, totaling $0.75). He then inspects the other contents of the compartment, closes it, and then inspects the bottom door compartment before closing my door.
2. The second person to appear is the unnamed service male (see DVD video #2 "Oil Change Guy"). Upon entering my truck, he places it in reverse and says "ole stupid nigger, back the fuck up." Apparently someone was behind him and he could not back up. He then proceeds to drive my truck around the dealership and into the service garage. Immediately after placing the truck in park, he opens the astray, which contains pennies, nickels and dimes, and visually inspects the contents. Next, he lowers the center seat console, which was raised, and inspects the first compartment. He then opens the second compartment, takes out my CDs and inspects the compartment. He returns the center seat console to the upright position. Next, he inspects the contents of the glove compartment and the compartment above it. He is seen pulling out a personal bag from the compartment to inspect it. He then rolls down the window and inspects the door compartment, which Mike the Service Manager previously stole money from. He drops a small flashlight, which was in the compartment and picks it up off the floor. He then inspects the bottom compartment located in the door.
3. The third guy is the computer technician. He connects the laptop to my truck, located under the steering wheel, and begins working on the laptop. At approximately 3:27 into the video, a male and female voice, is heard coming from the laptop. The audio from the laptop plays the following:
MALE: "I'm sitting here with Violet. How are you today Violet?"
FEMALE: "Pretty good."
MALE: "You doing pretty good?"
FEMALE: "Yeah"
MALE: "So you're gonna do some modeling for us today, huh?"
FEMALE: "Yeah"
MALE: "Yeah, nice. So I see you're wearing a little see-through top. Not bad, nice. A little skirt."
This audio, which is coming from the laptop, is obviously some type of pornographic video due to the language and context in which it was spoken, which is being accessed using the company's laptop.I have been deciding what to do with this video footage. I would hate for it to go to waste; therefore I have decided to make it available to you. This is not the first time my encounters of theft has been reported. I have complained in person and in writing, yet nothing has been done.
My next course of action is to make it available to the media outlets in Acadiana. Both the local newspapers and TV stations will receive the same DVD and letter I am providing to you. I have already reported this to Toyota, Inc. and am waiting for the southern region representative to contact me regarding this.
Everyone always wonders if the workers dig through personal belongings. I think this DVD not only answers that question, but proves it happens multiple times. Could it be a coincidence that this happened only to me three times?
In closing, I hope you and your management staff find some way to address this with your employees. Customer satisfaction is crucial, especially in slow times like these. I know other customers feel the same, as your Better Business Bureau rating is an F, as verified using the bbb.org website. However, I feel my video will speak more than their report could ever do.
Soon after Jason sent the letter, the owner fired all three employees and the service manager who had ignored Jason's complaint, personally apologized to Jason, and extended the warranty on Jason's truck.
Jason has taken the videos off of YouTube after the dealership resolved his situation, but he said we can post a couple clips he sent us. Here's the repairman snooping through Jason's pill container:
And here's the repairman taking change from Jason's car:
Hidden Camera Catches Dealership's Attention [The Daily Advertiser]
(Photo: Great Beyond)
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Comments:
@backbroken: Ok. I reread the next to last paragraph and it would seem that the service manager is gone too. Something is still amiss however as I only count 3 guys in the story...not 3 guys plus the service manager. That was my confusion.
WOW. Good for him. I've never found anything missing after having car work done at my local Saturn, but I would be upset just to know that much snooping had gone on.
Love the straightforward, yet relaxed tone of his letter. "I have been deciding what to do with this video footage." Too funny. Wish there'd been a video camera on the manager when he read this.
Awesome!
I hate thieves and I hate being stonewalled. I'm glad the owner fired these idiots. I think I would take it a step further and file a complaint with the police.
GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!! It's about damn time these people pay for their actions. I am so tired of companies backing their crummy employees and making you think you are imagining things.
I wish I could say this was unbelievable but I know it happens all the time. Makes me want to leave something truly disgusting in all the compartments before I drop off my car for repair.
So the service guys rifled through all the different compartments and never noticed the video camera sitting in the armrest of the passenger side door? Crazy.
I just leave gum and half-melted candy in my various compartments. It works great in combination with all the fast food wrappers and empty soda cans on the floor. They want to spend as little time as possible inside my car. If they are really desperate for some goo-encrusted coins, they are welcome to them.
Dang. Almost makes me wonder if an appropriate response is for dealers to place their own vid monitor in the cars. This is ridiculous.
I've never gotten the whole need to watch your porn DVD "whenever/wherever" thing. I mean, when you're doing the diagnostics on your laptop at work and you feel the need to pop in a Porn DVD to pass the time, you might have some decision-making skill problems.
I'm amazed someone didn't notice the video camera and steal that, too.
Standards of behavior are set from the top down. I don't feel bad for they guys that got fired but they got fired for doing something that was most likely very common place behavior at that dealership.
No?
"Soon after Jason sent the letter, the owner fired all three employees and the service manager...."
The service manager was fired....
@backbroken: Maybe this sentence
Soon after Jason sent the letter, the owner fired all three employees and the service manager who had ignored Jason's complaint, personally apologized to Jason, and extended the warranty on Jason's truck.isn't as clear as it could be. The service manager was fired, too; the owner personally apologized.
I once had the oil changed on my Frontier and discovered a bright pink, sparkly, greasy streak on the driver's seat. It looked like lipstick. The dealership immediately cleaned it off for me when I complained but the implications of its presence are unnerving, to say the least.
This reminds me of my favorite Datelines, where they would install cameras inside a home/car, and have repair people take a look at something, and you would see the disgusting things they would do, mostly ripping people off.
@backbroken: Reread 2nd to last sentence. It's an awkward wording, but results are:
People Fired: 3 employees in video + service manager
Person Apologizing and extending warranty: Owner
assholes...I'm glad he kicked em in the balls like that. The whole story reaffirms why I remove anything of value from my truck before I bring it in for service.
This is internet win.
The tone of the letter is just amazing. It was James Bond smooth, but without the British accent.
Bustin' makes me feel good!
The fact that three separate employees did inappropriate things speaks greatly about the work culture at the dealership. Somehow I don't doubt this will stop.
He's a manager, so no, I'm not surprised the guy still has a job.
It sounds like he at least got a slap on the wrist, not to mention the embarrassment from having to personally apologize.
Regardless, if I were Jason, I would be extra cautious about bringing my auto there again. At the least he needs to empty the truck of all personal belongings before dropping it off. At the worst, the manager may not be so forgiving of this guy's sleuthing. Just because the three employees were fired doesn't mean the chain ends with them. Jason needs to pay extra special attention to the way his truck runs just in case any future repairs and service are done improperly.
Wow...old Mr. Repairman looks like he might have already been a little fucked off beforehand. Notice how he goes to screw the pill container BACK into the ignition AFTER he had already removed the keys. Also, looking like the creepy fat guy from that Bam Margera show doesn't work in ANYONE'S defense.
@Snakeophelia: It's a little disconcerting that they go through all of your stuff, but I never really thought that they didn't. I'm not really worried about that part, though the stealing is unacceptable. I just don't think about the snooping - it's like a restaurant kitchen, you'd really rather not know what's going on back there.
BTW, those pills must have been good, because the guy forgot where the keys were after he licked his hand. I also liked how he checked the quarters he stole. He's not only a thief, he's a numismatist.
Now me? I would have marked those coins and even some bills, wrote the serials/took pictures of the bills coins in an envelope, sealed it, then when I discovered it missing, called the cops to report breaking and entering, illegal entry, etc... and had them arrest people. Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice/three time? Meet Bubba.
Seems like the video should also be sent to the police.
@TheyCallMeStacey_GitEmSteveDave: I've found the cameras people have used to observe me making repairs on seemingly broken pieces of equipment in order to test the honesty of my labor. The worst part of all is the leads they used for the camera broke loose, were sucked into the fan assembly and killed it. Thereby needing a real repair.
The theft would certainly be a misdemeanor, but the service manager intentionally injested some of the guys meds - even if it was just powder - that may be a felony.
Extending the warranty on the truck was probably a no-brainer since the warranty is totally useless at Toyota at least in my experience.
Where has all the trust gone in this world?
- We can't trust mechanics to fix the car without stealing something.
- We can't trust the baggage handlers to treat our bags nicely and load them on board without stealing something.
What else?
@JGKojak: Honestly it just proves Toyota should be wiring up test cars and auditing their own dealerships. There is no reason to wait for a customer to do it. Especially when this dealer had an F rating by the BBB.
I read the United story and now this one in a row...I'm thinking secret cameras in luggage handles might be a good idea. I'd LOVE for the airlines to see just how much their employees rifle through our luggage and help ourselves to our stuff. Try and blame THAT on the TSA, United (oh, and I still want my Christmas gifts back)!
True... sometimes Consumerist doesn't get it right and they don't always proofread before posting. This might be one of those times.
@Riff-Raff: Regardless, if I were Jason, I would be extra cautious about bringing my auto there again.
Yeh - I would not think of going back there. One of the fired guys friends may do somthing to get back at you.
Folks. I am the the Jason Leonard above. First, this has been an interesting experience.
To clear something up, I found out the guy in the video was not the actual manager, as he told me. However, the actual manager, no way associated with this, was also let go. He called me and apologized directly. I feel bad for him, but he said it wasn't all tied to this.
I will post an article from the local paper when I get back to my house in a few.
I was given an extended warranty for my troubles. The management actually did a good job of trying to make right. However, the fact and truth still hurts.
@Riff-Raff: The manager was fired. 3 employees + 1 manager. 4 people total. They were fired by the owner.
If the owner is smart at all he will put in some cheap cameras to keep further people honest.
@sir_pantsalot:
Yep, and as you could see from the article the service manager that the customer was complaining to was one of the main culprits.
I would have reported this to the police also. The quarters stolen is petty theft a misdemeanor.
I had about $5 in change stolen from my car when I took it to a dealer for service. I complained to the service manager and he offered to give me the $5 back. I asked him what he planned on doing to prevent it from happening again and he said there was nothing he could do. So I told him that if it ever happened again I would show up at the dealership, call the police, and very loudly file a theft report in the middle of their showroom but since I never planned to get service there again, the point was moot.
these 4 knuckleheads just raised the unemployment rate for no reason.
Wait a minute, while no one should be condoning the behavior of the staff there, but I have a question...
Why leave your money in the vehicle? Yes, it is an inconvenience, but you wouldn't leave money lying around in your hotel room would you? I use a maid service, but I make certain that all our jewelry and valuables are either locked up or someone is present.
The sad part about all this is that those dealership mechanics are paid pretty well. They probably don't need to steal his 75 cents. It's not like they are the $7/hr grease monkeys at jiffylube - these guys probably make $50 -$60k. They steal just to do it. That is the same mentality that would lead to doing subpar work or no work at all on a car that comes in for service.
@Stephmo: Perhaps he was bookmarking for later. I know I hate it when I have the mood right, and I have to go searching for another video. Damn ADHD.
@selianth: Maybe they thought the customer put it there on purpose to see if they were going to steal it
Ok, so the service manager is still on the job? Are you kidding me?