I used to be a very loyal Discount Tire customer. I have always bought from them and even took my girlfriends son there recently. Loyalty, however, has its limits and Discount Tire has exceeded it, and then some. Earlier this year I took my car in because it had a slow leak. They said they fixed it and I went about my business for about a month until the same tire went flat again. This time they said they could not find a leak and the tire was ok. I new that was not right, but it was a free service so I purchased a portable air pump and used it on a number of occasions. One morning the tire was flat again air was coming out of a crack in the sidewall. I could not change the tire because there was an odd size nut on it. There were also two lug nots that where only hand tight. So I had to hire a wrecker.
I went straight to good old Discount Tire in Holland Michigan. I spoke to the manager about the problem with the lug nuts. He went right on the defensive and denied any responsibility for the odd lug nut and really didn't even address the two loose ones. All I really wanted was some assurance that this was some fluke but he was adamant that he watches the techs like a hawk. I was less then satisfied with his response but I purchased four new tires anyway, they were coming due. I gave them the keys at 11:00am and I was given a completion time of 5:30 - 6:00pm. At 5:00pm I called the shop for an update and the answering machine, which recognized my phone number, announced that my car would be ready by 6:00pm. It was quarter to 6pm when I got there fully expecting to grab my keys and go. Needless to say I was a bit miffed when I was told that I was going to have to wait another hour. When I asked to speak to the manager again I was told that he was not there. I had to speak to the Senior Assistant Manager, who copped attitude with me right away. He spun his monitor around and pointing at the screen said, "see how busy we are." I pointed out that he took on too much work at the expense of customer service. I played the recording of the promised completion time for him (and everyone else.) That's when I started to hear from other customers who received promises. It would seem that Discount Tire spends more time on sales training then on job estimating. The Senior Assistant Manage complained out loud how he was going to be there all night (getting paid). So out loud I promised to help him in the future by never coming back.
I thought that was the end of it and sat down with the dozen or so others and occupied myself with composing a quick Yelp review. About fifty minutes later I received a text that my car was ready. I was never told to expect such a message. It would have been nice to know. I gathered my belongings and headed to the front to pick up my car. I am sure that I was visibly annoyed. It had been a long day made longer by carelessness, disrespect, and incompetents of others. As the tech stepped out of the car, holding my keys out, he launched into a mechanical delivery of the company script. Without a word I took the keys got into my car and closed the door. Yes, that was a little impolite but it didn't warrant what came next. He leaned in toward my window and in a loud sing-song voice he thanked me for my "patients." As he walked away laughing, I rolled down my window and thanked him for being an asshole. As I rolled my window back up I expected him to return the blessing, but he didn't. Instead, he stood in the open doorway and yelled, "if you come in here again, I'll KICK YOUR ASS." I was stunned, not because I've never heard that phrase before. I was stunned because it came from an employee of a business directed at a customer. When he walked into the service area, laughing the whole way, I entered the show room. Standing behind the counter, and a witness to the encounter, was a person I would assume to be the Junior Assistant Manager. I asked to speak to the manager and he asked why. I told him he heard what his coworker said and he said that he didn't know what happened outside. That was certainly a good point but irrelevant because I asked to talk to the manager. I had to ask three times before he rolled his eyes and walked off in a huff. As I waited for the manager I watched as the grey hooded tech share his mirth with the other employees; all of whom seemed to enjoy the story he was telling. When the manager arrived my discussion with him was as pointless as the first. I cut it short and went to my car to wait for the cops to arrive. I knew that nothing was going to happen at this level so I wanted a report to send to their corporate. read more