Kwik-Fit GB

I’ve only dealt with Kwik Fit once, but after the experience, I won’t be going back.
Earlier this week my boyfriend noticed his brakes acting a bit funny and he expected that the winter grit was clogging them up. So, he swung his car into the nearest mechanic and went on his way. They phoned him once, saying that the brakes needed this that and the other thing, and oh did he want a full service while he was there? He agreed, and away they went.
When we picked up the car we were greeted by the manager who mentioned that they’d had to jump the car to get it started. They what? He said that there was an issue with the alternator. There was? Since when? He reported that the battery wasn’t charging properly because of this and the car might not turn on again without a jump.
What???
When my guy dropped his car off, the only issue was with the brakes. All of a sudden it’s being reported that there is a major electrical fault which, by the way, is going to cost about £250 to fix.
We had places to be and were confident that there couldn’t really be a problem because we’d had absolutely no problems with the alternator before taking it to Kwik Fit, so we took the car and headed on our way.
Five minutes later the car started ticking, then all of the lights on the dashboard went off. We pulled the car over to check it out, turned it off, and were never able to turn it back on.
We have since been told that the alternator really can go at any time. It’s a tough one though, because mechanics have a bad reputation and as such it is very hard not to wonder at the amazing timing of the whole thing. The alternator was perfectly fine and the battery light was off before taking it in. Upon picking it up, the whole thing’s screwed and needs an overhaul? What?
Beyond that, under the assumption that this was indeed a problem from the start, the question put to us by the roadside assistance guy was — why on earth did they do all of the fiddly little additions to the service, and not even mention the alternator until we arrived to pick up the car? We were told that this should absolutely have been dealt with before anything else.
So, the car has now been taken to a different mechanic who is miles away, but our view is that anyone is better than Kwik Fit.