I've been a loyal customer of Roland's Tire Service and have spent thousands of dollars here over…read morethe past year, but my most recent experience was beyond disappointing.
Less than a year ago (about 10,000 miles), I bought four brand-new tires and had an alignment done here. Recently, I brought my 3-year-old car to the dealership for a recall and mentioned excessive road noise. After inspection, the dealer told me all four of my tires were cupped. They checked the wheel bearings, suspension, and steering -- everything was tight. Sure enough, when I got home, I checked myself, and they were right: all four tires are badly cupped.
Wanting to give Roland's the chance to make things right, I brought the car back and explained what happened. I made zero demands, accusations, or complaints -- just explained the situation and was hoping for a simple alignment check and fix. Instead, I was met with immediate hostility from the manager. His response was basically to blame my driving and claim the alignment could have been ruined within a month of getting the tires installed by hitting potholes.
I've been in the trade for 25 plus years and know how alignments and tire wear work. My old tires wore evenly; these new ones, installed with an alignment, are now all cupped after 10k miles. That points to an issue with the setup. The manager's "solution" was either pay $50 for a quick toe adjustment (while it was already on the rack) or buy four new tires. No empathy, no ownership, no apology -- just finger-pointing. This $50 adjustment would have taken less than 5 minutes mind you. He had his tech literally get the car on the rack to show me a report of an alignment that wasn't really out of spec. It was worse before I had the tires installed 10k miles ago. I have done literally hundreds of alignments working for Goodyear and the final outcome is only as good as the initial setup. They are easy to manipulate. Toe & go is not a 4-wheel alignment. The proof is in the tire wear. The printout today was virtually the same as it left 10k miles ago and the tires are cupped. Riddle me this?
Even basic professionalism was missing. I was accused of also driving the car with low tire pressure which would cup the tires. 30PSI..... I asked what the spec was, and he told me it's on the door jamb. Which is correct but how can you tell me its low if you didn't look at the spec yourself? By the way the spec is 33 and when I got home, I checked the pressure, and it was 32. Honestly at 28 PSI the tires aren't going to cup that bad on only the inside edge. It's an alignment issue.
What bothers me the most is the complete lack of customer service. I wasn't looking for free tires -- just accountability, respect, and maybe a simple alignment correction. Instead, I was treated rudely and dismissed. The manager basically gave me the cigar and said take it or leave it. $50.... Was this worth it? Making the adjustment and being empathetic would of easily avoided this review.
It's sad because I supported this shop, even tipping the techs on jobs because I know the work they put in. But after this, I can't justify coming back. A little humility and care for customers would go a long way. Please take the time to read other reviews. You will see the trend of an egotistical maniac that admires praise but will tolerate zero criticism. Not crying over spilled milk but do better. Be positive and Good luck on your future endeavors.