I definitely have loved this location in the past - everything except the wait. I know they try to do what they can to accommodate the wait, but there's one tiny thing that bothers me as a long-time customer:
I typically get there early, as with most of my car-maintenance-needs that I haven't scheduled an appointment for, I arrive before they open and am typically the first one there. At Kwik Kar in Lantana, when I go for an oil change, they make note of this to the best of their ability and it's first-come, first-serve - which I LOVE!
At this Discount Tire, it's not often I go in for air checks, I typically do this at home, but the light was on and I was driving after dropping the kids at school so I figured I'd make a stop at the beginning of the day to be efficient. I arrived at 7:30, and parked in the parking lot - one other customer car was there other than me - I could see them having a staff meeting in the lobby, so I settled in for the 30 minute wait before they opened.
Time went by and more cars filled the lot - I wasn't bothered by this at all, at the time. But the moment 8:00 hit, I attempted to make my way to the Free Air Check stall, only to be turned away and told to form a line around the lot "because it was the only way to accommodate everyone." Against my normal shyness, I offered that I had been there since 7:30 and nearly everyone else had arrived for the same service after me, and was given a shrug and a "it's the only way" as a response.
So, slightly agitated at the poor customer service (I was right in front of the stall, I could have just been let in - even though I know that would likely cause issues with the rest of the people who were now waiting in that line), I drove my car toward the end of the line, only to have two more cars who JUST drove up get in front of me.
Fast-forward 30 minutes, and I'm there in the Free Air Check stall. 1 hour after I arrived, 30 minutes after they opened. Explanation for the 4 stars: Was this experience irritating? Yes. Do I understand why they made me get in line? Yes. Do I think it's a good business practice to not make a note of those who took the initiative to arrive early and serve them in a first-come, first-serve basis? No. Have I had good customer service there before? Yes. Have I had to wait an extended period of time even after scheduling an appointment? Yes. Did that typically bother me in the past? It would bother me less if they had free WiFi so I could work, but the short answer is no. Discount Tire on Justin Road has typically made me a happy customer - but this time, this experience, was a shot to the retail customer service worker in me. A 5 minute delay would have been one thing, but now I'm conditioned to arrive at Discount Tire Justin Road exactly at open time and participate in the cut-throat lineup all for a Free Air Check, existing long-time customer or not.
Makes me wonder if Kwik Kar Lantana would do air checks and tire services for me... read more