A man has been left furious after discovering an inappropriate message scrawled on the air filter of his fiancee's car.
Drivers spend around 20 percent of their monthly income on their cars, according to a recent survey, so ensuring they get the best possible service is of paramount concern to many motorists today.
One man in the United Kingdom, who asked not to be named, has certainly been left unimpressed at the quality of service his fiancee received after making a shocking discovery under the hood of her car.
The man told Newsweek that his partner took her car in for a service at a branch of Perrys Motor Sales in Broadstairs, England, last year. "My fiancee had been using them for services for a few years as she bought her car there," he said.
However, they are now rethinking where they go next time after he discovered a rude message while replacing the car's air filter. It's a message he suspects someone at Perrys wrote and reads simply: "You are Fat."
The man said he was incensed when he first saw it.
"I was absolutely livid," he said. "My fiancee is the kindest, sweetest person you could ever meet. She doesn't deserve that." He also revealed that so far he has kept the discovery a secret from his partner. "I haven't told my fiancee as it would only hurt her feelings," he said.
That hasn't prevented him from sharing it on the internet in an effort to raise awareness of what allegedly happened.
In a post shared to Reddit under the handle u/Landrost, he shared a picture of the filter alongside the caption: "My fiance's air filter installed during her service last year at a Perrys dealership in the UK..."
Several Reddit users were quick to suggest that the message was not intended for the man's fiancee. One commenter said it was "probably a note for the next mechanic when the car is serviced," adding, "Look inside any locker or galley equipment on naval ships and submarines. You will find the same sort of thing."
Another Redditor commented, "I did oil changes while I was in college. I used to write notes on oil pans for the next guy." A third person wrote, "My friend does the same thing at his job, only he usually does middle fingers."
The man acknowledged that it's "definitely a possibility." He still thought it was out of line though. "They could have assumed that we'd never change our own air filter and it was aimed at a colleague," he said. "Risky assumption though."
He said what especially annoyed him was the response of the customer services manager at the Perrys dealership when he made a complaint.
He alleges that the manager "flat out refused to consider the possibility that his staff would do something like that." That response was what prompted him to air his grievance online.
"If lower management won't take it seriously, then maybe some negative attention will get their attention. It worked," he said.
A Perrys spokesperson told Newsweek: "We are aware of an image circulating on the internet and are investigating. We can't comment further until that investigation is complete, but we are talking directly with the customer."
The man who made the complaint claims the customer service manager he dealt with defended the technician who worked on his fiancee's car. "He said he'd worked with that particular technician for years and didn't believe he was capable of something like that," the man said.
Regardless of the intent, the man said the incident has put him off from returning to Perrys.
"Even if it was a joke aimed at another mechanic, we won't be using them ever again," he said. "It's immature, and these guys are supposed to be responsible for keeping our cars safe."
About the writer
Jack Beresford is a Newsweek Senior Internet Culture & Trends Reporter, based in London, UK. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
