Customer Service/Service Quality....Tire Rant

[jerryrigg]

I'm venting here so stand by... .



Picture this... driving down the highway at 5am, raining, gusting winds and the occasional patch of ice... my 7 year old daughter is peacefully sleeping in the back... when suddenly... . not one not two but two and half 360's that's 900 degrees at 70mph on a bridge... but wait if 900 degrees that means... . Your right folks 70mph backwards on the interstate downhill, raining, gusting winds to 80mph and the occasional patch of ice on a BRIDGE...

suddenly you hear a whisper. . papa where are we, with every

orifice and sweat gland in overdrive you slowing apply breaks get off the bridge and do a quick 180 because the lights of the big rig in my face are getting closer... . I say go back to sleep honey but I don't think were going to make it to your Uncle's for Thanksgiving ... . turned around and drove home to figure out what the H happened.

... .

The Rest of the Story

... .

You see I had new tires put on the night before... I show up at my appointed time, 4 vehicles that arrived after I did are pulled in ahead of me, after an hour I tell them to refund my $1000 I'm going elsewhere... the manager jumps into action and in 3 minutes my truck is in getting tires... all 6 are mounted and balanced they start putting them on the truck... but wait yeh Mr Manager what happened to my Steel Valve Stems... they put short rubber stems in... time to bust all 6 tires down again put the correct stems back in and rebalance them... finally the truck is done I drive 1 mile home to rest for a 3am departure for thanksgiving vacation... . in the morning the truck did seem a little weird at first but I figured it had been a while since I had good tread and a balancing done... it just seemed a little quicker on left turns... oddly enough that was the direction of my 360's... . when I got home I decided to check the truck over... I checked the tires and air pressure... well rear passenger outer tire 85psi. . max is 80psi, rear passenger inner tire 65 psi rear driver side both 65psi. . mounting instructions I told them 50psi... I even says so on the receipt... but there is more

dually wheels go on only one way (at least there suppose to) so that valves etc matches up... . well the passenger side wheels were 180 degrees out so to check the inner tire pressure I had to remove the outer tire... . the inner wheel also has one of the old alignment studs that inserts in the outer wheel alignment hole... well if it is 180 degrees out the the tire is cocked out about say 4-5 degrees... . well lets review... outer tire over inflated

and angled outward no wonder she wanted to turn/spin to the left... ... Just glad my daughter, truck and myself are OK...

Yes I've already had a chat on the phone with the Regional Vice President of Discount Tires he was going to visit the store I bought them at today(Wed)... and anything else I need call him first... ...



You see it is not just the stealers who forgot what customer service and service quality is all about. Buyer-Beware...



-Matt

 

[truckstom]

So what will the VP do about it?? "talk to them"...

He should have them in the store today, thanksgiving or not and have them FIX it right..... then I would never go back... ...

 

[baby.driver]

Yeah but the tire store manager can't stop the bridge from freezing.

 

[willyslover]

the problem isn't the tire dealer it's the personel he has... .

in todays marketplace it is VERY hard to find quality help. . the kids or better said young men and women do not care. . it is like finding gold when a good young person who cares and has manners comes along, saying nothing about if they can read or write.



Don't ya just love what our school system is putting out these days, they can't read or write, have no respect, and think that you should pay them $18. 00 to start with no working history, oh let's not forget work them 10:00 to 5:00 as before that they will be late and after 5 they need to party with friends. please do not correct them as they will sue ya for harassment



It is rare to find a young person who showes that Mom and Dad were involved with raising them. . who politely says please , thank you and no thank you, cleans after themselfs, and generally shows manners were taught at homeand and given good work ethics.



Now compound that with some age or maturity. . what do ya have , an employee with a bad attitude, who thinks the management is screwing him / her every time they can, and can get away with anything [usually does] do to todays PC world.

 

[baby.driver]

Willyslover

HEAR HEAR!!!!!



That's just ONE of the reasons we homeschool our kids!



Jay

 

[willyslover]

Jay good for you !!!!

what a real challenge that is. . especially in this PC state

heck you even have to fight the school system for that right, just so you can see your kids get educated and not dumbed down with the rest... . God Bless you and your wife to make that commitment



Matt... BTW I'm not excusing the tire shop for their errors, just find todays retail world to be very difficult. You have the public mad as hell [rightfully so] for poor service and high prices and attitude.

Then corporate office demanding profits without a clue what it takes to do business today at the storefront, demanding lower labor and operating costs with increasing prices for operating the location, light, heat & power and increased costs from home office by higher wages and benifits and mandated PC meetings/training without the resources [$] budgeted to do their demands, and the manager caught in the middle with no labor, usually marginal equipment, and seldom enough inventory to do the sales demanded [at least the sizes needed in his market ] and the many hours demanded on the department managers time is a whole story in itself [usually 60/70+ hrs a week] heck at the corp level they think the dept managers are working a 40 hr. week and are very proud they "they do not take advantage of their staff like other companies do" and still demand more and more without the $$ to do it. . now take that to the General Managers level and he/she are running around trying to please the mid. level managers, the customers and the hourly employees and still make the budgets without any problems YA SURE... ... ... how do I know this stuff. . BTDT only at the level of 150 million a year sales with 220/250 employees now RETIRED and damnnnnn glad of it.

 

[kluther]

people gripe about costs of professional knowledge. like car dealerships. if you quality workmanship it costs more. like the diesel mech. that knows almost everything about your truck, would you rather go to a quick lube or have him do for 25$ more?in todays world it takes money to get and keep good help. if you pay 5. 00$ an hour ,you get 3. 00$ worth of work. i always inspect anything that i didn't do myself. glad to hear all was alright and you and daughter are safe. ken

 

[willyslover]

Kluther. . 100% agree . . can't get quality people for free

however with that said... ... a fresh new zero expierenced guy/gal who expects 16/20 $ an hour to start [same as a expierenced person with many hrs. training & abilities] has a total misunderstanding of their worth in the marketplace. . I have no problem with training and teaching and raises to go with ability and time to whatever the max $$ is but to get an attitude because he/she isn't paid the same is what is happening because of the PC / liberal world we're in. .

in the world I came from we paid the highest wages and strived to get the best help... did many hrs. of job training gladely. .

not many tire shops pay aprox. $16. 00+ bennies for installers [toped out]and more for supervisiors and 47K for the shop mgr. [to start] .

 

[PRout]

I hate ice. 70 mph in those conditions sounds too fast.

 

[Pit Bull]

Glad you and your daughter are OK. What brand tires did you have installed? Good help is hard to find. I normally stand and watch them do the work. Will not go to a place where I can't watch what they are doing and talk with the guy doing the work. Willy, I have a solution for the young kids with the attitude. I saw it work when I was in the Marine Corp. Its called Boot Camp. I saw the DI knock the **** out of many a recruit, and if they did not understand the program then the Platoon straightened them out that night. Worked every time

 

[jerryrigg]

My typing is a little slow... . full belly...



Lets see where to begin...



Truckstom:... Asst Mgr has been fired... getting a deal on tires for wife...



Willyslover:... . Couldn't agree more about finding good people these days... I'm retiring from Navy in Jan. . been dealing with these uneducated 18 years old for a while now... and your right getting quality people for low wages is harder and harder to do...



Shortshift:. . I love ice... just caught me by surprise on that bridge with a wind gust... but your right a little slower wouldn't have hurt



Pitbull:... . I put on Goodyear MT/Rs all the way around, and I tell you not only was I watching I was helping considering it was taking twice as long since they change the valve stem... problem was while I put on the driver's side rear, their guy did the passenger side... . I don't know when you went to boot camp but now at days they give all recruits "Stress Cards". . when they feel they have been yelled at too much they flash the card and wimper in the corner... hell they get to do all their runs in running shoes instead of boots now for about the first 3/4s of boot camp...



One last tip gents... . verify your lug torque settings before getting tire work done... . their computer printout shows torque at 160 lbs I watched the guy dial it up and torque them... of course after I fixed all the problems I checked the service manual... . 145 lbs... I tell you I've dealt with Discount Tire and Sears for years on tires never had the slightest problem... maybe it was just my turn...



Thanks for letting me vent

-Matt

 

[JTBMC]

Matt,

glad to hear that you all were not hurt.

TJ

 

[Pit Bull]

Originally posted by jerryrigg





I don't know when you went to boot camp but now at days they give all recruits "Stress Cards". . when they feel they have been yelled at too much they flash the card and wimper in the corner... hell they get to do all their runs in running shoes instead of boots now for about the first 3/4s of boot camp...



-Matt

I was in USMC 1969 through 1971. Lets see, we had a recruit go nuts at the range and in the middle of the night run out on the freeway and kill himself. The guy next to me at the range got his front teeth kicked out when we were snapping in. One of our DI's was released from the Corp during my Boot Camp because of his sadistic behavior, he was a Sargent (E-5) and they would not let him reenlist. Man, I wish I would of had a stress card I still remember my first run in boot camp, I got sick to my stomach and was bent over throwing up and the DI started kicking the **** out of me. I never had to throw up during a run again. It was all good training for life. Sounds like they ruined it and it is now PC.

 

[Bill Lins]

Originally posted by Pit Bull

I It was all good training for life. Sounds like they ruined it and it is now PC.

Amen. Nowadays the DI's are not allowed to TOUCH a recruit. Sure would have messed up Gunny Juarez' style! Semper Fi.

 

[mbaston]

Schools?

Ok, I am biased but... . you should see what we are given to work with (dysfunctional kids from dysfunctional homes)in the schools. It is estimated that within the next 10 years, the majority of students in public schools will meet the criteria for being ask risk. In addition to that, the long list of things teachers have to do now that they didn't have to do in the past is amazing.



Schools would do much better if more parents would be parents. But it is not PC to say that.

 

[curatchko]

Re: Schools?

Originally posted by mbaston





Schools would do much better if more parents would be parents. But it is not PC to say that.

That, my friend is the real deal.



The school is not responsible for raising kids.



Parents are too busy getting divorced, working, and living their own lives to raise kids these days.



It's all about 'Me'

 

[Pit Bull]

Re: Schools?

Originally posted by mbaston

Ok, I am biased but... . you should see what we are given to work with (dysfunctional kids from dysfunctional homes)in the schools. It is estimated that within the next 10 years, the majority of students in public schools will meet the criteria for being ask risk. In addition to that, the long list of things teachers have to do now that they didn't have to do in the past is amazing.



Schools would do much better if more parents would be parents. But it is not PC to say that.

From what I notice based on the bumper stickers they are all parents of "honor roll students". I think that most schools have changed the requirements for being a honor roll student. I believe the reason for the change in requirements is to try and make all of the students "feel" like they are smart (lack of discipline). Problem is that will end when they go out into the real world. What I see happening with kids is the development of personality disorders, because the people that are responsible for their growth don't have any discipline in their own life. I'm talking about parents!!! You need a license to drive a car but anybody can be a parent