January 31, 2022
I have been going to this company for seven years. I even left a five-star review for this company once. (It's in the "6 reviews for Tire Doctor that are not currently recommended" section for some reason, maybe because I don't do lots of reviews.) In fact, there are lots of good reviews from the 2017-2019 period.
But it was under different management then and times have changed.
I just had an inspection done and needed two tires to pass. They don't keep tires in stock here any more, to cut down on inventory, which means I had to come back another day. They said my tires are a very common size. (Doesn't logic dictate that you should keep the common sizes in stock?) So I ordered two tires and came back once they had been delivered. (The tires were ordered and delivered on time, so that's one star.) I believe there were two cars ahead of me and It took two hours to have the tires installed and they didn't even put on the valve caps. The tech was a very nice guy, but...attention to detail folks.
You know how at a tire shop you hear that pneumatic wrench going all the time, removing and installing lug nuts? It used to be that way here, but not now.
After the two hours it took to install my tires, there were now people ahead of me in the inspection line, even though they all arrived after me. I was looking at another hour wait because they can't just update the inspection from three days ago, they have to hook the car up to the computer all over again.
Way out of time now, and since they wouldn't move me up in the line, I asked if I could make an appointment to come back. No, it's first come, first served. (Not really true, because I was there before the people ahead of me in the inspection line.)
So I asked what was the best way assure speedy service, and they said "be here when we open". So I said, "even if I'm here when you open, there could be people ahead of me who left their car overnight. How can I tell what the wait might be?" And they said that there's no way to tell.
In desperation I asked if I could have a refund on the inspection so I could take the car somewhere else. No, no refunds because "the state won't let us". Umm, how can the state of North Carolina possibly care if a customer gets a refund?
So...
1) Tires not kept in stock any more.
2) Inordinate wait times for tire change.
3) Inordinate wait times for inspection.
4) Only one bay with tire changing equipment---when you only need a wrench and an air hose! It's the "TIRE Doctor", and only one bay out of four can change tires? By the way, 50% of the bays were unused while I was there.
5) More people not working than working. I was shocked at the number of idle personnel going in and out of the break room. No company can afford to pay idle personnel for long, let alone that many. Ordinarily an idle mechanic would be put to work cleaning or organizing the shop, or doing SOMETHING productive. This does not bode well.
6) No appointments. That used to be OK, but then you didn't use to wait two hours to have tires changed, ever.
7) Inability to logically process or track customers in the queue.
8) The receptionist asked me for my name three times. The first lesson of customer service is to remember the customer's name. Most repair shops don't even use my name, rather I am the "2012" Corolla", or whatever I'm having serviced.
9) Slow service means the six seats in the waiting area are no longer enough.
10) A one hour job would have taken three, had I not left after two.
11) Once an inspection has begun you are locked in, unless you want to pay all over again somewhere else.
I'm afraid the future is not looking bright for the Tire Doctor, and that makes me very sad, because it used to be one of my favorite stores. I looked forward to going down there every year to spend time with Nigel and the gang. Now, Nigel is gone, none of the old gang remain, and new management is going through the motions rather than managing. It's an old story that I've unfortunately seen play out before.
Some one person needs to be in charge and making sure that everybody is pulling in the same direction, and that's not happening. No, the managers answer the phone for a while and then disappear. Nigel was always at the counter, and things always ran smoothly under his watchful, competent eye. He managed that with fewer employees than they have now too.
I suppose I'll have to drive a bit further now, but I don't have time for this, and nobody should.
Nigel, we miss you! read more