CASTLETON OUTDOOR SOLUTIONS

unknown

What I found was that it is a and quot;legitimate companyand quot;, however, there was a series of business and quot;assumptionsand quot; listed for this company, most of which had nothing to do with lawn and garden equipment. One assumed business was gun and ammo business, one was a BarBeeQ shop, one was a used car lot. Ok, I finally decided that I need to retrieve our tractor from them. At this point, our trust of this business was fully broke at this point and we did not want to waste any more time, or money, with them.So, on June 7th, 2011 around 10AM I went to their place of business with our flatbed trailer. I was not sure how to approach this, I needed to tell them that I need to retrieve our tractor and to tell them why I was doing so. When I entered their business that day, the only guy I saw in there was the and quot;service technicianand quot; back in the parts department. He asks if he can help me, I reply by asking if they have a store manager, or not. He replies by saying that they sure do. He then, does not immediately go and get the manager as I had requested, he asks what this is in reference to. I told him my name and what we had in for service. He asks if we (Castleton Outdoor Solutions) had called because it was done, I replied by saying and quot;no.and quot; He spent the next few minutes (3 or 4 minutes) not retrieving the manager as I had politely requested, but was spent looking for the repair and quot;sheetand quot; for our tractor. Three or four minutes later, I am not sure he ever found it, but he goes ahead and says to me that and quot;it is not done yetand quot; and I tell him that and quot;you guys lied to me, trust has been broken, I no longer trust you guys to repair our tractor.and quot; A few minutes later, the so-called and quot;managerand quot; arrived, even though his company logo did not reflect him as being manager. I went ahead told him the same things I had told the and quot;service technicianand quot;. He replied that they are and quot;swampedand quot; right now and and quot;everything is at least two weeks outand quot;. Apparently, he did not understand/believe that he had a previous commitment to us on our tractor for a timeline of a week to ten days. I did tell him that they told me and quot;a week to ten days, not (his new count) three weeksand quot;. When I was on Angieslist.com I had printed out a copy members complaints with Castleton Outdoor Solutions and handed it to the and quot;managerand quot;. He asked what that was, I told him it was a printout of Angielist.com of Castleton Outdoor Solutions. I asked him to read it because it was exactly my experience also. He then disappeared, not to be seen again. I waited another 10 or 15 minutes for them to figure out what to do. There were no other customers there at that time, so I thought this should be quick. The employee (kid, with no company shirt on, just T-shirt) says he would be helping load our tractor. From the and quot;parts deskand quot; where I was standing in front of, I could see our tractor in the and quot;service areaand quot;. I witnessed him start our tractor and try to drive it outside to our trailer. That was so cute, we brought the tractor in for service because it had a broken drive belt, making his trip a very short one. I told the and quot;service technicianand quot; that and quot;he is trying to drive our tractor with a broken drive beltand quot; and he hollered out to the kid to stop, so he turned off the tractor. He (the kid) then got off and tried to push the tractor but it would not budge. As he left the service area and walked by me he told me that our tractor was now and quot;locked upand quot; and could not be moved. I thought great, now what are they trying to do. Are they trying to keep our mower because of something else? Or was this just another ploy? Were they trying to trick/fool this female into believing that we will have to leave our mower here after all. Having driven this tractor almost weekly since we bought is three years ago, I knew that there was a and quot;parking brakeand quot; on the tractor that could be locked down that would cause it to be and quot;locked upand quot; also. When I mentioned this parking brake to the kid he acted like he did not know what I was talking about. So, I marched out into the scared and quot;service areaand quot; to see if the parking area was engaged, or not. As I went through the swinging door, the kid yelled at me frantically that this area was for employees only and that I was not allowed to enter this area. I ignored that warning, our tractor was just 10 feet away. As I approached our tractor, I could see that our tractor did indeed have the parking brake engaged. I immediately reached down and disengaged the parking and our tractor was able to roll freely. Total time in the scared service area, less than 30 seconds. As I went back out into the and quot;partsand quot; desk area, I told the and quot;service technicianand quot; that you guys and quot;had the parking brake on and it now rolls fineand quot;. He immediately, closed the swinging doors to the service area and seemingly locked them shut. What was the purpose of doing that? Was it really an insurance related issue, to have customers in the service area? Or was it as simple as I had caught him in yet another falsehood? From that point, it took them another ten minutes or so, to roll my mower out to my trailer and load it. From that point, things began to denigrate even further. The and quot;service technicianand quot; and the kid both pushed our tractor to our trailer. When they tried to load our tractor on the trailer backwards, I told them that if they did that and driving down the road, the wind would catch the hood and the seat and rip them off the tractor and that they needed to load it facing forwards. Were they trying to cause damage to our tractor by loading it backwards? Were they trying to get even with me by loading our tractor improperly? They are in the business of mowers of all kinds, I would assume this was an intentional attempt to cause damage. Before they could get the tractor onto the ramp backwards, I told and quot;service technicianand quot; about what can happen if they load the tractor on the trailer backwards. He did not reply to that statement but did ask me the following question, and quot;you are taking your tractor away from here, and you expect us to load it for you?and quot; My replied to him was, and quot;you can leave the tractor at the foot of the ramp if you want to, I brought a winch with me in case you would be this wayand quot;. Let's call it a fit of rage, they both heaved the tractor onto the trailer without regards of anything else and walked away. On the right side of our tractor is a hinged and quot;plastic chuteand quot; that was left in the down position when loaded onto the trailer. The end result was that it was crushed during loading. This is the only picture I took that day of this event. As I was getting my car to leave, I saw a potential customer driving into their lot with their tractor and trailer. As he got out of his car I drove over to him and spent the next several minutes telling him of what happened to me here. He apparently took my advice because he followed me off the premises. Finally, as I was driving out of their parking lot, I began to observe the and quot;service technicianand quot; standing outside of the and quot;serviceand quot; area with a phone in hand and to his ear. This experience is identical to other Angieslist.com members who stated that Castleton Outdoor Solutions called the police on them during their visit to their business also. He was on the phone the entire time I was driving away from their business. Update to this story; we took our little tractor to another service company, and they looked at it the same day and determined that the drive belt was not broken, just slipped off the drive pulley. He slipped the belt back on the pulley and $10 later we were mowing yard again. Castleton Outdoor Solutions was going to charge $400+ for the purchase and installation of two belts, the drive belt and the mower belt, plus sharpen three mower blades. Moral of this story? One would assume that Castleton Outdoor Solutions would/should have order all parts (those belts) as soon as I dropped off our tractor so that they could meet their seven to ten day deadline, but that was not the case. Apparently, it is not in their business model to do this. The tractor should have been looked at initially, confirm what was/is needed and order the parts accordingly. Their business model seems to have them not even looking to see if it needs parts until the seven to ten days have lapsed. Or perhaps, they did indeed look at the problem soon after I brought our tractor in to their business, discovered that they could charge for parts and labor, and just slip the old belt back on, charge for new belts and labor?

They were helpful. The expense was not needed in the end but they did a great job. The problem was a warranty issue.

I dropped off my lawnmower on a Monday and followed up on Wednesday or Thursday of that same week. I was told by the person answering the phone that they would get to it in 7-10 days. I let them know I was not told that when I dropped it off (thus the reason for me following up). He said they would call when ready. On the 7th day I called to see and instead of checking on where I was in line the person answering said and quot; I told you we would call. We are running 7-10 days out and it hasn't been 10 days yet.and quot; I then waited till the 10th day and called and was speaking to the same person I had the last two times and let them know it had now been 10 days and that I this was my third call to follow -up. He then said that and quot;it's when people like you call that interrupts us from working on the mowers and we are running behindand quot;. I want to go out and tell over 100 people not to do business with a place like this. I can make sure they have no customers! Then I guess they won't be running behind or so inconvenienced by people like me.........customers! My husband is picking up our lawnmover today because I told them we weren't interested now in having them do anything with our mower. I will gladly buy a new mower now and make sure I don't buy anything from them. They took over the clients from the shop we went to before in Oaklandon and we never had issues with them. They truly had great service and we sorely miss them. My husband picked up our lawnmower and took it to The Mower Shop in Noblesville. He was told up front they were running at 10 days. He ended up buying a new Toro mower and we are never going to use anyone but them from now on! Too bad Castleton Outdoor Solutions is inconvenienced by CUSTOMERS!

Cost was double what I expected (no estimate given because "we won't know until we open it up". This is my second time there and both times I experienced the Castleton Outdoor Solutions "Take it or leave it" attitude. They could care less if you ever come back so I won't. Hiring customer service reps who are snotty and defensive is no way to run a business- there are too many competitors who WANT my business. Stay away from this place unless you like being treated badly.

I have no idea who from Castleton Outdoor Solutions the AL Members dealt with when they rated Castleton Outdoor Solutions as anything above an F; my experience was a unbelieveable nightmare! To begin, my Father-in-law brought my Toro lawnmower to Castleton Outdoor Solutions for repair on Monday 28 June. I called mid-week to receive a status because I had not heard from the service department and I wanted to know if it would be finished by the Fourth of July Weekend. Steve (co-owner) was curt, and stated he did not know if he could complete repair before the holiday weekend. His phone demeanor ensured that I would not call again to check on the repair status, but wait until I received a call to pick it up. Picked the mower up on Saturday, 10 July. Examined the repair invoice as I was paying my bill (credit card), and noticed a $10.00 "Outside Labor Charge" with the initials "SC" preceding the charge. I inquired with the cashier (Jesse) about the charge, and Jesse stated he did not know what the charge was, it was something Steve charged. However, he stated "it might have something to do with.." and pointed to a sign on the top of the cashier counter, under plexiglass, that stated there would be a $5.00 charge for every call a person made to inquire about the status of a lawnmower repair. Steve appears and my father-in-law confirmed with Steve that this was the only place the company displayed this policy. No one in the business informed him when he dropped the mower off or me during the previously mentioned phone call of this policy. Therefore, I requested that he (Steve) return the $10.00, and he refused. An argument between him and me ensued. Finally, I asked for my lawnmower so I could leave and Steve stated he had no idea where it was and that he was done with it. My father-in-law found the lawnmower sitting on the sidewalk, as he opended the door from the cashier area. We left the premise not believing what we just went through, and the $5.00 charges I incurred for inquiring about the repair status of my lawnmower. Steve then appears and follows me and my father-in-law to our vehicles, screaming at me, and requesting to know for whom I worked. I finally stopped talking to the guy and he stated he would find out by taking my license plate number. We left and I noticed Jesse standing on the sidewalk, in front of the shop door. He stated he was sorry for Steve's behavior and that he hated to lose a customer. NOTE: Co-owner was EXTREMELY rude, argumentative, and verbally abusive. Furthermore, I feared that he may get physical with me during during this encounter. Filed a complaint with the Indiana Better Business Bureau to requesting Castleton Outdoor Solutions return my $10.00.

My husband has been saving for a Toro pushmower for over a year. I decided to surprise him with it for his birthday. Jesse was helpful and effecient in helping me complete the purchase and agreed to prepare the mower and complete all the registration paperwork for our surprise pick-up on Saturday. I was crushed to return home from work the following day to find the same model sitting in our garage, impulsively purchased by my husband! My embarrassed husband phoned Jesse to cancel the purchase I had made earlier in the week. Jesse was very kind and understanding, reversing the credit charges that very afternoon. They could not have been more professional nor understanding.

I have been a customer of theirs for several years. They are friendly and very professional. When I have a problem with my mowers I can call on the phone and they can talk me through it or if it can't be solved over the phone, I will take my mower in and they will try to repair it while I wait.

The owner was extremely rude to me and hung up on me because he said I was not speaking loud enough. I called back and apologized for not speaking loudly. I said I would try to speak up but he did not need to be rude to me. He then hung up on me again for calling him rude.

The nice store sits back aways from Shadeland Ave. There were two gentlemen working there and when I handed my coupon to one of them and said what I was there for, the other said, "I'll sharpen it right now if you would like to wait!" He got right up and had it done after a few minutes. Had it all wrapped so I wouldn't injure myself. They were so nice and efficient. In the meantime I also asked the gentleman behind the counter if he could show me how to re-attach the blower shield to the lawn mower, which he did. I am already looking forward to going back when I have any future lawn mower needs.

They came out on time. They were very professional and friendly. This was the first time that we have dealt with the company, but I would certainly recommend them.

I took the tool in on 5/2. Steve, the owner, immediately told me (without looking at the machine) that "the engine was burned out". When I expressed skepticism and pointed out that the starter rope had no tension, I was told that "the starter was fine". I asked him to look it over despite his protestations. When I brought up the warranty, Steve immediately retorted, "You probably didn't register it, did you?" When I told him I had filled out the registration, he said that I needed to call the company to find out warranty repair details. I did and faxed the info to Steve. Finally, Steve called saying that the machine was repaired. I made a special trip to pick it up. When I got there, Steve tried to start the tool, at which time he broke the starting mechanism again. I still don't have my weed eater, but at least the company may be convinced that the starting mechanism was bad all along and get the correct replacement parts.

I took it to start out with about a year ago. They said they fixed the problem, but when I got it home, it still exhibited the same problem. I took it back about 3 weeks later, and they said it was bad gasoline from sitting over the winter. I changed the gasoline, and it still wasn't working. I took it back a third time, and they said that there was nothing wrong with it. They said they started it up fine, and said I must have flooded it. I took it home, and it worked for a little while, but it has not worked consistently. I tried some simple maintenance, and it still won't run right. I am not pleased with their service, and will not use them again.

They are a good company and were nice about giving us good service. Sometimes they take a little longer because their busy, but they did a good job.

I had a Homelite Backpack LeafBlower with a broken throttle cable. I went to Castleton Lawn Mower and Power Tool Repair to check on parts or to buy a new blower. Spoke with Steve who was very helpful. He ordered me the part and then explained the difference in using them vs the big bos stores. I will buy from them when it is time to replace my leaf blower. It may cost $10-15 more than Home Depot, but who are we going to have fix our equipment when all of the local dealers go out of business.

My experience was excellent. When they first tuned the mower, it did not run properly. I returned the mower and even during the busiest time for them, the problem was corrected within 4 hours and no additional labor cost.

STEVE AT CPW THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE A 45 DOLLAR PART. HE SAID THAT WITH LABOR IT WOULD BE AROUND $80. WHEN THEY LOOKED AT IT, IT ACTUALLY ONLY NEEDED A SPARK PLUG. SO I WAS VERY HAPPY THAT IT COST LESS. HOW OFTEN DOES THAT HAPPEN. I'VE TAKEN THINGS TO BE REPAIRED HERE BEFORE. GOOD GUYS.

NEGATIVE. IN CHECKING OUR RECEIPT, I FOUND 2 ERRORS. 1. THE RECEIPT SHOWED WE BOUGHT #1502, BUT HE GAVE US #1505 (THE ONE IN STOCK?). 2. WE USED MASTERCARD AND THE RECEIPT SAID VISA (WHY?). I QUESTION THESE INCONSISTENCIES, AND WOULD NOT DEAL WITH THEM AGAIN.

THEY WERE POLITE, GAVE ME A REALISTIC TIME FRAME, AND I THOUGHT THE PRICE WAS FAIR. THEY TOLD ME IT WOULD BE A WEEK TURN AROUND A TIME, AND THEY DID HAVE IT DONE IN A WEEK. I WAS A BIT IRRITATED WHEN THEY CALLED AND TOLD ME IT WAS DONE THOUGH, BECAUSE I EXPECTED THEM TO CALL AND GIVE ME AN ESTIMATE FIRST-I THOUGHT THIS WAS PROTOCOL. THEY TOLD ME IN THE FUTURE TO LET THEM KNOW IF I EXPECTED AN ESTIMATE CALL. THE TRIMMER HAS WORKED FINE SINCE WE GOT IT BACK.

IT TOOK ABOUT A WEEK, ACTUALLY 5 DAYS SHORTER THAN THE ESTIMATE. THEY CALLED WHEN IT WAS READY.

I TOOK THE TIRE IN TO THEM, THEY DID REPAIR WHILE I WAITED. I HAD TO TAKE IT BACK, BECAUSE THE REPAIR DIDN'T HOLD AND THEY FIXED IT AGAIN, AT NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE.

OWNER IS POLITE AND VERY EXPERIENCED. WORK WAS DONE WITHIN THE TIME PROMISED. MOWER HAS BEEN RUNNING PERFECTLY SINCE REPAIR. (NOW OVER 6 WEEKS).

WAS TOLD TURNAROUND TIME OF 1 WEEK- 1 WEEK LATER I GOT A CALL W/AN ESTIMATE AND THAT A NEW GASKET HAD TO BE ORDERED-PROBABLY READY IN ANOTHER WEEK. 1 WEEK LATER STILL NOT READY(AUG 25TH).SEPT 2 I CALLED AGAIN AND WAS TOLD IT WAS NOT READY AND GASKET HAD BEEN ORDERED ON AUG 25TH. CALLED THEM AGAIN SEPT 4 AFTERNOON AND WAS TOLD IT WAS FINISHED THAT MORNING--NO PHONE CALL? AUG 11TH-SEPT 4TH-- 3 1/2 WEEKS. NO APOLOGY ,NO EXPLANATION,NO PHONE CALLS. THEY SHARPEN MOWER BLADES WHILE YOU WAIT FOR $5, BUT SERVICE ON THIS REPAIR WAS HORRIBLE. WILL ONLY USE AGAIN FOR SHARPENING MY BLADE.

THOROUGH, RELATIVELY FAST, REASONABLY PRICED, AND GOOD PEOPLE TO DO BUSINESS WITH.

DID NOT LIKE THEIR ATTITUDE, SEEMED UNFRIENDLY