1 /5 tva il: Being new to Washington I needed new car insurance, and was referred to Brad Shay & Associates by a reputable car repair shop that has done excellent work for me and which I trust.
In order to save myself time, energy and petrol I first emailed Mr. Shay to find out whether I needed an appointment or if I could just walk in.
Mr. Shay replied that I did not need an appointment, I could come in as a walk-in, and that he could also do my insurance online. He included a form to fill out history and information for a quote, but the form was not interactive, a read-only document.
Since I prefer to handle new business in person upon first acquaintance, I decided to go into the office rather than conduct something as important as obtaining car insurance online.
The next day I stopped by late morning to get my insurance only to find out that Mr. Shay was not in the office. Apparently he had a personal emergency and was gone for the remainder of the day.
The receptionist told me I could come back the following day. I asked to see another agent explaining I could not come back until next week. She said there were no other agents, that next week would be fine.
The following week I stopped by again, this time early afternoon. The receptionist advised me that Mr. Shay was in the office but was busy, and that I really should have an appointment, especially coming in as a new client; an appointment was the best was to see Mr. Shay.
When I replied that I had emailed and asked about an appointment before ever stopping by, and that I was told by Mr. Shay himself that an appointment was not necessary, she told me I was wrong about that, that all emails go through her and she would never have given me that information.
She asked to see the email, her attitude quite clearly expecting me not to be able to produce such a document - in essence, accusing me of lying. When I was actually able to produce the email confirming what I told her, she went back and spoke with Mr. Shay.
From the doorway of Mr. Shays office she advised me that Mr. Shay said he was too busy to see me.
At this point, having wasted time and petrol, having been insulted, and been refused service twice, and aside from my mounting aggravation, I no longer felt I would want to place my trust, time and money, with Mr. Shay, I left.
Mr. Shay did find time to write me an email not long after I left his office: "I am sorry that I missed you"; that he is "free most days but in customer service that can change quickly"; "if you’d like to make an apt, perhaps that would be best?"; "I can imagine that you are frustrated but it’s not different here that a Dr. or dentist, if you walk in there is a chance that you may not be seen right away."
As a senior on a limited income I must be extremely conscientious about money. I make every effort to plan my errands and appointments in such a way as to save time, energy and petrol (consider the rising prices of petrol!).
Mr. Shay has no other agents working with/for him; on both occasions that I was in his office, there was no other agent to write up and establish a policy for me. It appears that he does not need other agents to assist with overflow work. So much for the "& Associates".
Nor does it seem that he needs my business. My observations and exposure lead me to venture that he quite likely does not need any other prospective clients business either.
Mr. Shays obvious deflecting of personal responsibility and blatant attempt to pass the blame onto a prospective client for not being able to obtain services due to unreasonable expectations, not only leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth, but that I could have engaged his services given a slightly different set of circumstances, makes me feel as though I made a narrow escape.
His business practices and ethics do nothing to excuse his careless misuse and waste of other peoples time and money.
This was my experience. You must determine for yourself how much time and money you can afford to waste. (Trust and confidence notwithstanding.)
