CAPE CORAL Cape Coral hosts annual Holiday Boat-a-Long Families, residents, and businesses came out to enjoy Cape Coral’s annual Holiday Boat-a-Long and Christmas movie on Saturday.
FORT MYERS FGCU head volleyball coach steps down to coach UCF FGCU coach Matt Botsford announced that he is stepping down as head volleyball coach to join the University of Central Florida Knights.
FORT MYERS Top rated prospects shine in City of Palms Classic Year-after-year some of the top high school teams featuring many of the top players in the country compete in the Fort Myers Tournament.
Meals for Hope brings Southwest Florida together to fight hunger On Saturday morning, Meals for Hope held its annual Holidays Without Hunger event, aiming to ensure no one in Southwest Florida goes hungry during the holidays.
1 dead, 2 injured in four-vehicle crash on I-75 in Collier County A collision involving four vehicles on northbound Interstate 75 near mile marker 108 resulted in one fatality, minor injuries to two others, and a large paint spill.
Lee County woman’s home transforms into Santa’s Workshop for families in need One Lee County woman’s home has looked like Santa’s workshop since June.
Chilly first day of winter with plenty of sunshine overhead The Weather Authority says Saturday is the first day of the winter solstice, and it feels like it across Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Kitten recovering after surviving horrific abuse At 12 pounds and 12 weeks old, this little kitty was snatched from her home and literally dragged through the unthinkable.
Losing loved ones in the line of duty; Community offers support to Diaz family Heartbreak over Sergeant Elio Diaz’s death consumed the Charlotte County community, after the fallen hero was laid to rest Friday.
CAPTIVA Impacts of hurricane season on fishing in SWFL Whipping winds and torrential downpours are all too common with hurricanes.
CAPE CORAL What to know before gifting pets this holiday season Gifting someone a pet for Christmas may sound like a good idea but not always. Animal experts remind us that owning an animal takes a big commitment.
NAPLES ‘Beverly’s Angels’ prepare holiday sacks for kids in need Beverly’s Angels in Naples is providing kids the essentials they need during the holiday season, and they got some help from high school students across Southwest Florida.
‘He was a phenomenal human being’: Woman says Elio Diaz inspired her to turn life around WINK News has shared stories about people greatly impacted by Deputy Sergeant Elio Diaz’s work. Now we hear from a woman whose life he affected for the better.
PUNTA GORDA ShorePoint Health in Punta Gorda to permanently close If people in Punta Gorda consider themselves patients of ShorePoint Hospital, they will have to look for an alternate place of healthcare.
LEHIGH ACRES Lehigh Acres Fire and Rescue District gives holiday candle safety tips Holiday celebrations are a few days away, and nothing sets the mood better than candles. This warning is best given before the holidays.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral hosts annual Holiday Boat-a-Long Families, residents, and businesses came out to enjoy Cape Coral’s annual Holiday Boat-a-Long and Christmas movie on Saturday.
FORT MYERS FGCU head volleyball coach steps down to coach UCF FGCU coach Matt Botsford announced that he is stepping down as head volleyball coach to join the University of Central Florida Knights.
FORT MYERS Top rated prospects shine in City of Palms Classic Year-after-year some of the top high school teams featuring many of the top players in the country compete in the Fort Myers Tournament.
Meals for Hope brings Southwest Florida together to fight hunger On Saturday morning, Meals for Hope held its annual Holidays Without Hunger event, aiming to ensure no one in Southwest Florida goes hungry during the holidays.
1 dead, 2 injured in four-vehicle crash on I-75 in Collier County A collision involving four vehicles on northbound Interstate 75 near mile marker 108 resulted in one fatality, minor injuries to two others, and a large paint spill.
Lee County woman’s home transforms into Santa’s Workshop for families in need One Lee County woman’s home has looked like Santa’s workshop since June.
Chilly first day of winter with plenty of sunshine overhead The Weather Authority says Saturday is the first day of the winter solstice, and it feels like it across Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Kitten recovering after surviving horrific abuse At 12 pounds and 12 weeks old, this little kitty was snatched from her home and literally dragged through the unthinkable.
Losing loved ones in the line of duty; Community offers support to Diaz family Heartbreak over Sergeant Elio Diaz’s death consumed the Charlotte County community, after the fallen hero was laid to rest Friday.
CAPTIVA Impacts of hurricane season on fishing in SWFL Whipping winds and torrential downpours are all too common with hurricanes.
CAPE CORAL What to know before gifting pets this holiday season Gifting someone a pet for Christmas may sound like a good idea but not always. Animal experts remind us that owning an animal takes a big commitment.
NAPLES ‘Beverly’s Angels’ prepare holiday sacks for kids in need Beverly’s Angels in Naples is providing kids the essentials they need during the holiday season, and they got some help from high school students across Southwest Florida.
‘He was a phenomenal human being’: Woman says Elio Diaz inspired her to turn life around WINK News has shared stories about people greatly impacted by Deputy Sergeant Elio Diaz’s work. Now we hear from a woman whose life he affected for the better.
PUNTA GORDA ShorePoint Health in Punta Gorda to permanently close If people in Punta Gorda consider themselves patients of ShorePoint Hospital, they will have to look for an alternate place of healthcare.
LEHIGH ACRES Lehigh Acres Fire and Rescue District gives holiday candle safety tips Holiday celebrations are a few days away, and nothing sets the mood better than candles. This warning is best given before the holidays.
Brittany Zaldin took her car in for simple repairs more than two months ago. After that, she says her car got worse. It wasn’t until she took it to another shop and they looked under the hood, that she realized the disaster that she was dealing with. “That’s how it all started,” Zaldin explained, “with a traction light, and a check engine light.” A small beginning to what turned into a huge nightmare for Zaldin, who is an ICU nurse in Naples and needs her car. She is a lifelong Firestone Complete Auto Care customer, so when she saw her dashboard flash warning lights a couple of months ago, that’s where she took her car, to the location on Pine Ridge Road near Collier Boulevard in Collier County. Zaldin said, “At this point, I’m worried about how to get to work and how to make sure that I can get there on time.” The vice president of communications for the National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence, Trish Serratore, said Zaldin was smart to go with a shop she felt comfortable with and recommends drivers to do research before getting work done on their cars.” “Check with friends and neighbors,” Serratore added. Saying you should ask, “Who’s had good experiences? Who has cars that are similar to yours? Do your research before you need the shop and do a little research in your neighborhood.” Records show Firestone re-attached skid pads and replaced a spark plug, battery, and radiator, but Zaldin says the issues continued weeks after she took her car home. Zaldin said, “They checked the car again and they said, ‘oh yeah, I can feel that something is wrong.'” This is where she said the real issues began. Records show Zaldin took her car back to Firestone three more times until she realized the issue still wasn’t fixed, so she took her car to a different Firestone shop. “He was so embarrassed,” Zaldin recalled. “He used the word egregious. He said ‘I’m so ashamed.'” Her boyfriend Scott Burton walked us through the work: Scott: “It’s just being held together by zip ties.” Scott: “They showed us this metal bracket. During the initial service, they stripped a bolt off and broke it. Instead of telling us, they just cut a piece of scrap metal and bolted it to hold this coil in place.” Zaldin said the second Firestone location told her they couldn’t do any work and that she had to file a claim with Firestone corporate. She said the second shop claimed her car had been damaged by the initial repair job with scrap metal attached to the engine. Zaldin said they told her “At this point, because of all the damage that was done, you need a whole new motor.” We reached out to the second firestone location for more information about the car’s condition but they declined to comment. Serratore said it’s rare for shops to do damage during repairs but it can happen. “We are all human. Mistakes are made. Doctors make mistakes, and technicians make mistakes too … Cars are complicated, right?” Zaldin said her engine was leaking fluids and not functioning properly. Even worse, a new engine would cost more than $10,000 and she had to drive a rental car for weeks. “My car was fine before the engine light came on. If they hadn’t perpetuated the damage, then I wouldn’t have a problem.” Zaldin claims. “It’s been a horrible ordeal.” She filed a claim with Firestone corporate but couldn’t get anyone on the phone or find any progress to follow up through email. “I didn’t get a timeline, nobody was reaching out to me, nothing. And I thought that was really weird,” she said. That’s when WINK News stepped in. We visited the initial Firestone location but the manager wasn’t in and didn’t call after we left our information. However, just a few hours later we did get a call from their corporate team. Within a day, Firestone and Zaldin were in contact. By the end of the week, they’d reached a settlement. “Most facilities, because they want to keep your business, they don’t want a bad review … They’re gonna do what they can to make it right,” Serratore explained. “That’s what good shops do.” Zaldin isn’t allowed to discuss her settlement, but Firestone sent me a statement saying: “We aim to be the most trusted provider of tire and automotive care in every neighborhood we serve, and customer service is one of our top priorities. We are pleased to have partnered with the customer to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution.” As for the initial Firestone location, we never heard back from their manager. ASE recommends you look for their Blue Seal of excellence before you get work done. You can click here for a Blue Seal shop locator. The seal means that means your technician has been certified for quality care. According to ASE’s database, the initial Firestone location did not have this seal at the time they worked on Zaldin’s car.