A Toyota customer is going viral on TikTok after detailing her unfortunate experience at a Dallas-area dealership.
Michelle Tran (@xmichelletran) said she was elated when she received a text from her local Toyota dealership alerting her of a deal. She said Toyota of Dallas offered $20 oil changes—no questions asked.
After an unfortunate trip to the dealership, however, Tran said she rather would’ve paid full price.
“Do not get your oil change from Toyota of Dallas,” she warned viewers.
As of Friday, Tran’s video had received more than 180,000 views.
What happened at Toyota of Dallas?
In the text overlay of her video, Tran called her experience the “oil change from hell.”
It all started when Tran arrived at the shop, at 1:30pm, for an oil change after it advertised the discounted rate. She said an employee told her that the service would take 90 minutes, so Tran figured she’d wait around.
“I had work to do anyways and I brought it all with me,” she explained.
But after two hours passed by with no update, Tran said she starting to get “antsy.”
She said she asked a Toyota associate for an update on her car but was “completely ignored” when another employee interjected in their conversation.
“They start talking about a new employee that starts tomorrow and I’m like, ‘Hello?’” Tran recounted.
Thankfully, Tran said a manager overheard her plea for help and asked what she needed. But when Tran said she wanted an update on her car’s progress, she said the Toyota manager told her that her car was ready—and had been lying in wait for the past hour.
“No one wanted to tell me?” Tran said, obviously appalled.
Tran said the manager waived the cost of her oil change. Still, she was frustrated with the ordeal.
“I just wanted my keys to go home,” she said. “[The] moral of the story is that if the deal is too good to be true, it probably is. And it’s probably not a good idea to get your oil changed at Toyota of Dallas.”
Content creators detail bad customer service experiences
Tran certainly isn’t the first content creator to share bad customer service experiences.
In late December, a Redditor shared an unpleasant exchange they had with a Best Buy representative. According to the Redditor, the Best Buy agent asked whether they were having a good day. When the customer said that they’d been better, the agent responded, “It’s nice to hear that.”
While this might’ve been a simple communication breakdown, other social media users have had similar experiences.
A woman shopping at Target said in November, for instance, that several different customer service representatives accused her of stealing after a package she ordered was missing an item.
“I will no longer be shopping at Target,” the customer vowed.
Is Toyota of Dallas uniquely bad?
While the evidence presented on TikTok was purely anecdotal, negative experiences at this dealership appear widespread. According to Toyota of Dallas’ Yelp page, it has just 1.8 out of a possible 5 stars.
In a follow-up video, Tran said she initially didn’t realize this specific dealership might be unreliable.
“It saddens me that this is a common occurrence at this location,” she said.
Tran said the manager who helped her got in contact and apologized profusely for the error.
“I explained to him my entire experience with the three incidents that I had, and [stated] I would most likely not be going back,” Tran said of their exchange.
She said she also told the manager that commenters on TikTok had shared similar stories. In the end, Tran said the manager promised to “comp [her] whole service” if she ever returns.
“But how likely am I go to back? I don’t really know,” Tran said.
And in the meantime, viewers suggested other ways Tran could air her grievances with the dealership.
“Leave them a review on Google! Dealerships hate bad reviews,” one advised.
“When they email you the ‘how did we do’ review, give them all 1s. Corporate penalizes them for that too,” another said.
“Leave a one-star review for everything on that survey,” a third user wrote. “It directly affects the paychecks/bonus of the service advisor who you talked to.”
@xmichelletran save yourself the headache & time and don’t get your oil changed at Toyota of Dallas lol #storytime #dallastexas #toyotaofdallas #oilchangefail #toyota #dallastx ♬ original sound – MICHELLE TRAN
The Daily Dot has reached out to Tran via TikTok comment and to Toyota of Dallas through email.
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