RESOLVED: My experience with Filthy Unicorn Auto Studio

[EvilMKV]

UPDATE

After several conversations with Charles and working with him and the owner of the company that is currently working on my car to get it back to spec, we came to a resolution which I am happy with. It was an unfortunate series of events but I believe once the true nature of my issues were finally seen by him, he understood that this was not something that should have left their shop. He made sure after that point that he would do what was required to make things right, and he did.

I do not wish any ill will on them and hope it was an isolated incident which they're able to learn from and put measures in place to ensure this never happens again. This is a tough business to be in as most people that have expensive work like this done is because they are compassionate about their cars and want perfection, which can be tough to achieve.

At this point I'm ready to get my car back and put this all behind me.


Posting this hoping to save any Tampa Bay locals from the frustrations of dealing with this company.

I dropped my 6 week old 2023 Toyota Supra off at Filthy Unicorn Auto Studio on August 19th, 2023 to get several services performed on my car. The services I scheduled were tint, full front end PPF and ceramic coat (which was to include a wash/detail, polish and wheel coating.)

When I picked up my car on August 24th, initially I was excited as at first glance, the car looked great. The owner was not there to deliver the car and go over it with me so one of their other employees took care of us. I did notice at first some ripples here and there on the hood, but I was assured they were just work marks or moisture under the film which would correct itself while it cured (it did not).

I was in a rush to get home as it was late in the day, so loaded the car on my trailer and towed it home (my mistake). Once at home, I was able to more closely inspect the work, and that’s where my complete disappointment in the quality of work began.

The list of issues initially found were as follows:

-The wheels and brake calipers were still covered in brake dust. It looked as if it was barely even washed, and I’m not sure how you can ceramic coat wheels when they’re still filthy.

-Ceramic coated over sap on the roof that should have been cleaned in the detail

-PPF on the nose line was sloppily cut and had stretches and creases

-Numerous work/stretch lines in the PPF (especially the hood) which have not improved and now look like imperfections in the paint.

-One of the plastic hood vents was damaged, from improper removal

-The lower inside edges of the front bumper started peeling almost immediately, due to poor prep work. It got to the point where it started lifting completely and got dirt trapped under it so I had to end up cutting it off.

-And the worst discovery, they damaged the paint under the front bumper emblem, apparently in a novice attempt to pry the emblem from the bumper. The paint has been completely removed along the lip of the recess for the emblem.

When I discovered these issues, I immediately reached out to the owner Josh to voice my complete disappointment with the work that was done and how my car was treated. Treated so poorly to the point that they permanently damaged the paint on a brand new car. Damage that I would have to pay to get corrected. I at that point requested a full refund as not only was not all of the work that was promised performed, but the work that was done was poorly done, resulting in paint damage. Something you wouldn’t expect from a company advertising themselves as “premier provider for car detailing and “the areas #1 XPEL PPF installer”. I was given a partial refund, which at first I was amenable to, until I saw the true nature of the damage caused.

I decided to take my car to a trusted professional competitor in the area (who I should have gone to in the first place) to have it inspected and decide how to move forward. We made the decision that, due to the lack of quality of the work done, and discovering more imperfections outside of what was listed above, we should remove all the PPF applied by Filthy Unicorn and apply new film, properly, while also correcting the damage done. It was once the PPF was removed that we saw how badly they damaged the area around the emblem. This upset me further, so I went back to Josh to request the remaining monies be returned to me, which he denied. Stating that they were not given the opportunity to correct any issues found. But, knowing how disrespectfully my car was treated, I made it very clear that they were not allowed to touch my vehicle at any point going forward.

I’m in complete disbelief in how my experience with this company went down. More so disappointed that I was not given the respect to be informed about the damage done to my car, which had to have been glaringly obvious by the one who damaged it, yet ignored it and passed it off as “quality work”.

All I can say is, if you choose to take your vehicle here, please be sure to fully inspect every inch of it before you leave their parking lot. I hope no one else has an outcome like this.

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[Avarela99]

Wow that is just awful. I hope you got a full refund that’s just wow

 

[B58_ hwAyaq]

Keep fighting. You have lots of great pics to post on all the relevant review locations.

See if XPEL can back you. I’m sure they bad not want installers representing them like this.

Don’t get too worked up over it (enjoy the car), but if you hassle them enough, I’m sure you’ll get more back.

 

[George Dankha]

Posting this hoping to save any Tampa Bay locals from the frustrations of dealing with this company.

I dropped my 6 week old 2023 Toyota Supra off at Filthy Unicorn Auto Studio on August 19th, 2023 to get several services performed on my car. The services I scheduled were tint, full front end PPF and ceramic coat (which was to include a wash/detail, polish and wheel coating.)

When I picked up my car on August 24th, initially I was excited as at first glance, the car looked great. The owner was not there to deliver the car and go over it with me so one of their other employees took care of us. I did notice at first some ripples here and there on the hood, but I was assured they were just work marks or moisture under the film which would correct itself while it cured (it did not).

I was in a rush to get home as it was late in the day, so loaded the car on my trailer and towed it home (my mistake). Once at home, I was able to more closely inspect the work, and that’s where my complete disappointment in the quality of work began.

The list of issues initially found were as follows:

-The wheels and brake calipers were still covered in brake dust. It looked as if it was barely even washed, and I’m not sure how you can ceramic coat wheels when they’re still filthy.

-Ceramic coated over sap on the roof that should have been cleaned in the detail

-PPF on the nose line was sloppily cut and had stretches and creases

-Numerous work/stretch lines in the PPF (especially the hood) which have not improved and now look like imperfections in the paint.

-One of the plastic hood vents was damaged, from improper removal

-The lower inside edges of the front bumper started peeling almost immediately, due to poor prep work. It got to the point where it started lifting completely and got dirt trapped under it so I had to end up cutting it off.

-And the worst discovery, they damaged the paint under the front bumper emblem, apparently in a novice attempt to pry the emblem from the bumper. The paint has been completely removed along the lip of the recess for the emblem.

When I discovered these issues, I immediately reached out to the owner Josh to voice my complete disappointment with the work that was done and how my car was treated. Treated so poorly to the point that they permanently damaged the paint on a brand new car. Damage that I would have to pay to get corrected. I at that point requested a full refund as not only was not all of the work that was promised performed, but the work that was done was poorly done, resulting in paint damage. Something you wouldn’t expect from a company advertising themselves as “premier provider for car detailing and “the areas #1 XPEL PPF installer”. I was given a partial refund, which at first I was amenable to, until I saw the true nature of the damage caused.

I decided to take my car to a trusted professional competitor in the area (who I should have gone to in the first place) to have it inspected and decide how to move forward. We made the decision that, due to the lack of quality of the work done, and discovering more imperfections outside of what was listed above, we should remove all the PPF applied by Filthy Unicorn and apply new film, properly, while also correcting the damage done. It was once the PPF was removed that we saw how badly they damaged the area around the emblem. This upset me further, so I went back to Josh to request the remaining monies be returned to me, which he denied. Stating that they were not given the opportunity to correct any issues found. But, knowing how disrespectfully my car was treated, I made it very clear that they were not allowed to touch my vehicle at any point going forward.

I’m in complete disbelief in how my experience with this company went down. More so disappointed that I was not given the respect to be informed about the damage done to my car, which had to have been glaringly obvious by the one who damaged it, yet ignored it and passed it off as “quality work”.

All I can say is, if you choose to take your vehicle here, please be sure to fully inspect every inch of it before you leave their parking lot. I hope no one else has an outcome like this.

Sorry to hear and see this. Hopefully it all gets worked out in the end. I find it hilarious that shops say "You didnt give us a chance to correct it!" .... GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!... i had a similar issue with a shop where the tuner uploaded a horrible tune that threw a drivetrain malfunction error when the car began hitting boost and put my car in limp. Went back to the tuner and he sent me a "revised" tune. Same shit... When i reached out to the owner asking for a refund for the tune only after i spent more money getting a new tune from someone completely different, i was told... "i wish you would have brought it back to us first before getting a new tune". My car was at that shop for a month! Live and learn. Anywho, hope it all works out.

 

[B58_ hwAyaq]

Maybe you can get tint out of the place. Kind of hard to screw that up. I’d focus on getting cash or services than setting out to prove a point.

 

[PMIRO2]

Sorry to hear. I got my windows tinted at Tinterz in Tampa and got to see a few vehicles getting wrapped. Had a good experience and place seemed legit.

 

[Viper]

If you placed it on a credit card you can file a dispute? That will get their attention

 

[Syeeee]

With a name like Filthy Unicorn Auto Studio... I expected them to delete all negative comments on their page.

 

[Charles]

I'll address this.

I'm one of the owners of Filthy Unicorn Auto Studio. Obviously, the worked performed in the pictures is sub standard and not representative of the work that we normally do. I will own that. 35% of our business is repeat business, and we have garnered 172 5-star reviews in 2 years. I'm ashamed that this is what was delivered.

With that said, Taylor spent $3600. $3k for PPF/Ceramic and $600 for Tint. As soon as he notified us that he had an issue, we explained that we would address any issues on the 2 week check up once the film cured. The next day, after he reviewed the car further and raised additional concerns, we asked for him to either bring the car back to us, or we would have the car picked up via Trailer or Tow Truck at our expense. Taylor refused. I explained we believe in customer satisfaction but he was adamant we would never see the car back at our shop. Based on a phone conversation yesterday evening with Taylor, he was sending us pictures to our CRM based Text system, which does NOT SUPPORT receiving pictures. Until yesterday, I had never seen ANY of these pictures and Taylor refused to let us see the car or his concerns.

Regardless, we actually refunded him $3k within hours of our initial conversations via text. Not days, hours. We also did this never seeing the items he was complaining about.

Yesterday he texted us out of the blue, stating that it was worse than he had thought, and demanding a refund on the Tint job (which he was happy with). I refused. I had yet to see his concerns, and i blindly refunded him all the PPF/Ceramic $$$ weeks before. I was not presented with an estimate for repairs, just a demand for more $$$.

For those telling him to go to XPEL, I'll gladly provide our rep's contact info. We are in good standing with XPEL, and the first thing our rep would say is "Did you take it back to the dealer", which he did not.

Secondly, our regional XPEL rep is already familiar with this car. We actually applied PPF 6 times (2 different rolls of film)to the front bumper, and each time it refused to stick. Finally, our rep had XPEL corporate call us and we changed our slip formula for this car. It wasn't bad prep, we don't know what it was, but apparently it lifted after it left. Before you go thinking "these guys are newb's", we average 3 cars a week for PPF. This was a first for us.

Were there other "circumstances" that may have led to this, sure, but these are just excuses and don't resolve the issue. The car should NOT have left our possession like that and as I said earlier, I will own that.

During my call with Taylor last night, he let it slip where the car was being worked on. It's at a shop with someone I know very well and I reached out to him today and we discussed it. Based on our conversation, I will find a way to refund Taylor the additional ~$600 that was paid for the tint.

I mean without pictures, without being shown the car, without being given the opportunity to correct anything, I'm not sure what more I could have done for Taylor (and yes, you could say "do it right the first time..." but things happen.) What happened here is not indicative of the service we provide here. I personally stand behind everything that we do.

I live by 2 mottos within my 2 businesses.
1. Customer service isn't about being perfect, Customer service is about "what" you do when you're not perfect
2. Failure's are learning lessons, lessons on how not to do something.

I'm truly sorry Taylor.

 

[Awales74]

IMHO... A consumer must give a business the chance to correct something as long as it was NOT something truly egregious (sexual harassment, racism, threat violence, illegal activities, etc..). A poorly trained poorly motivate employee can make a mistake. It's a human process and human processes fail. And you have to give a business at least an attempt at making it right. And this should be done before you name and shame on the internet.

But saying that. The business seems to lack a quality control mechanism that should have held the car in the shop OR a long conversation with client before it was put on a trailer. Or better yet, a long conversation with the client about your struggles before they drive to your shop. Something on the account should have flagged it. That flag should have come up when pulling up final paper work. That car should have been so infamous in the shop so no one would just send it off with the customer. No way the customer should have been able to load an embarrassment to company on a trailer.

Question: why does the owner complain of "without being shown the car" but then on same message they say " We actually applied PPF 6 times (2 different rolls of film)to the front bumper, and each time it refused to stick." The owner knew of the issues or he did not. I do not understand how both could be true.

So I agree and sympathize with the customer but believe the customer should have still given the business that opportunity to make it right. The business needs to make the car right AND seriously consider their process.

 

[Syeeee]

Kudos for the write up from the store. OP should have given them a chance to make it right then. But understandable why he wouldn't go back to them. It is quite hard to PPF this car tbh. But offered refunds etc is good practice regardless right away.

Still don't like the name of company though

 

[Charles]

IMHO... A consumer must give a business the chance to correct something as long as it was NOT something truly egregious (sexual harassment, racism, threat violence, illegal activities, etc..). A poorly trained poorly motivate employee can make a mistake. It's a human process and human processes fail. And you have to give a business at least an attempt at making it right. And this should be done before you name and shame on the internet.

But saying that. The business seems to lack a quality control mechanism that should have held the car in the shop OR a long conversation with client before it was put on a trailer. Or better yet, a long conversation with the client about your struggles before they drive to your shop. Something on the account should have flagged it. That flag should have come up when pulling up final paper work. That car should have been so infamous in the shop so no one would just send it off with the customer. No way the customer should have been able to load an embarrassment to company on a trailer.

Question: why does the owner complain of "without being shown the car" but then on same message they say " We actually applied PPF 6 times (2 different rolls of film)to the front bumper, and each time it refused to stick." The owner knew of the issues or he did not. I do not understand how both could be true.

So I agree and sympathize with the customer but believe the customer should have still given the business that opportunity to make it right. The business needs to make the car right AND seriously consider their process.

As I mentioned, there were other factors at play, but in the end they are excuses. But since you brought it up... Our operations director, the person who runs the shop lost his father recently and had resigned to leave the state for an extended period of time to settle his fathers estate. We had not found a replacement or a process for that yet. We were also in the middle of moving from our old 2500sq ft facility to a much nicer 5,000sq ft facility. Taylor's car was the last one at the old shop, and I already had our lighting moved. And yes, we did discuss some of the challenges with him, and asked if the car had maybe received a ceramic or some other type of coating. Filthy Unicorn is not a big company, we only have 5 employees.

Question: why does the owner complain of "without being shown the car" but then on same message they say " We actually applied PPF 6 times (2 different rolls of film)to the front bumper, and each time it refused to stick." The owner knew of the issues or he did not. I do not understand how both could be true.

"Without being shown the car" After the car was delivered, and Taylor had concerns, I never received any pictures (even though he felt they were being delivered via text, they were not). He refused to bring the car back for us (or have us pick it up) to see it. I am well aware of the issues we had installing the film, because I took time away from my other company to come see and help if I could. I don't do that often. Yesterday he sent us 2 pictures via email (the ones of the scratch by the emblem). All the other pictures I only saw after he posted them online. Regardless, I had already refunded him $3k.

Moving locations and losing a key member played into this. Regardless, we did not deliver as promised, and I've said it before. I own that.

 

[Charles]

Kudos for the write up from the store. OP should have given them a chance to make it right then. But understandable why he wouldn't go back to them. It is quite hard to PPF this car tbh. But offered refunds etc is good practice regardless right away.

Still don't like the name of company though

Sorry, you do not like the name. During my son's senior year of high school we released his own line of car cleaning chemicals under the "Filthy Unicorn" brand.... Filthy Unicorn, the only thing left dirty is your mind. We went through the entire process of selecting chemicals, naming, website development, selling at booths at car shows, etc. We even trademarked it. Once he graduated, we thought of other names for the shop, but in the end, our friends convinced us to keep it. I know it's not for everybody, and that is ok.

In regards to deleting the review, why would we do that? That's not the type of person that I am. While I feel I went out my way to try and provide the best customer service, we failed at the customer experience. Nobody is perfect.

 

[Delta1Seven]

Damn dude sorry to see this happen to your brand new car. I can tell you trailering it there just proves you car significantly about the paint and protecting it.

Sucks to see places like this... Short staffed is never an excuse, increase your lead times if staffing is an issue. Trying to pump out cars to maximize profits will always catch up to you.

Seeing the cut lines on your film, the damage done to your paint in that one photo of them taking off the emblem, makes me believe someone who wasn't very experienced was the installer, or at least the helper.... And saying there isn't any quality control is just baffling because this isn't a QC issue, this is an installer issue. Who ever installed it is definitely not experienced, or completely rushed and did not care.

 

[kyle9]

I'll address this.

I'm one of the owners of Filthy Unicorn Auto Studio. Obviously, the worked performed in the pictures is sub standard and not representative of the work that we normally do. I will own that. 35% of our business is repeat business, and we have garnered 172 5-star reviews in 2 years. I'm ashamed that this is what was delivered.

With that said, Taylor spent $3600. $3k for PPF/Ceramic and $600 for Tint. As soon as he notified us that he had an issue, we explained that we would address any issues on the 2 week check up once the film cured. The next day, after he reviewed the car further and raised additional concerns, we asked for him to either bring the car back to us, or we would have the car picked up via Trailer or Tow Truck at our expense. Taylor refused. I explained we believe in customer satisfaction but he was adamant we would never see the car back at our shop. Based on a phone conversation yesterday evening with Taylor, he was sending us pictures to our CRM based Text system, which does NOT SUPPORT receiving pictures. Until yesterday, I had never seen ANY of these pictures and Taylor refused to let us see the car or his concerns.

Regardless, we actually refunded him $3k within hours of our initial conversations via text. Not days, hours. We also did this never seeing the items he was complaining about.

Yesterday he texted us out of the blue, stating that it was worse than he had thought, and demanding a refund on the Tint job (which he was happy with). I refused. I had yet to see his concerns, and i blindly refunded him all the PPF/Ceramic $$$ weeks before. I was not presented with an estimate for repairs, just a demand for more $$$.

For those telling him to go to XPEL, I'll gladly provide our rep's contact info. We are in good standing with XPEL, and the first thing our rep would say is "Did you take it back to the dealer", which he did not.

Secondly, our regional XPEL rep is already familiar with this car. We actually applied PPF 6 times (2 different rolls of film)to the front bumper, and each time it refused to stick. Finally, our rep had XPEL corporate call us and we changed our slip formula for this car. It wasn't bad prep, we don't know what it was, but apparently it lifted after it left. Before you go thinking "these guys are newb's", we average 3 cars a week for PPF. This was a first for us.

Were there other "circumstances" that may have led to this, sure, but these are just excuses and don't resolve the issue. The car should NOT have left our possession like that and as I said earlier, I will own that.

During my call with Taylor last night, he let it slip where the car was being worked on. It's at a shop with someone I know very well and I reached out to him today and we discussed it. Based on our conversation, I will find a way to refund Taylor the additional ~$600 that was paid for the tint.

I mean without pictures, without being shown the car, without being given the opportunity to correct anything, I'm not sure what more I could have done for Taylor (and yes, you could say "do it right the first time..." but things happen.) What happened here is not indicative of the service we provide here. I personally stand behind everything that we do.

I live by 2 mottos within my 2 businesses.
1. Customer service isn't about being perfect, Customer service is about "what" you do when you're not perfect
2. Failure's are learning lessons, lessons on how not to do something.

I'm truly sorry Taylor.

Looks like your shop does absolute dogshit work. Shocking that you even manage to get 35% of your business from repeat customers.

Maybe learn to manage your business and you won’t have to write such long posts.

Edit: looks like you should fix all the damage that you caused in addition to the refund.

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