My experiences at Town Fair proved to be a demonstration of the modern adage that low advertised prices are often not what they seem. You can only get what you pay for after all, and large companies like this that undercut local competitors with grand claims of low prices cost consumers in other ways.
Because this shop is on my way home and I had an acute need for a set of tires, I looked them up online, checked out their prices, and made an appointment. Their website showed the tires to be in stock and gave a price for the complete job as being a bit lower than the quote from the local tire shop that I normally use. So far, so good.
Upon arrival, the employee at the counter informed me that, despite the appointment, there would be a significant wait, perhaps an hour or more. When I asked him why, he gave some explanation that struck me as disingenuous. Not wanting to wait, I agreed to try again the next day. In the short time I was there I witnessed another customer having a dispute with the employee. The snippets that I overheard gave me the impression that he was unhappy about being asked to pay more than he expected to. In retrospect, this was a nice bit of foreshadowing.
On the way home I called the local shop, who said that they would do the job the next morning, no appointment necessary, and have me out quickly. When I showed the owner of the local shop the quote from Town Fair, he chuckled, claimed he couldn't match it, and said "good luck" actually getting that price from Town Fair. The local shop installed the tires, for the price that was quoted the day before, and had me out the door quickly. More foreshadowing.
Fast forward a few days. Again, for convenience sake, I ordered a set of steel wheels for my wife's car and made an appointment to have a set of previously purchased snow tires installed on them. Their price on the wheels was nice, and they quoted a low price for installation. So far, so good.
Upon arrival I was again told to wait, despite the appointment. A pattern? Because I had more time than before, I played along. As before, a customer was questioning the employee, upset that the tires she wanted were not in stock despite previous claims to the contrary, but that more expensive ones were. She was unhappy at being asked to buy the more expensive tires, and also at having to wait despite having an appointment. Hmm.
As I perused my bill, I noticed an added charge, not previously disclosed, for resetting or replacing the tire inflation sensor. When I asked the employee he informed me that these need to be reset, replaced, or have their batteries changed when new tires are installed. Seemed reasonable, but by this point I was becoming suspicious about Town Fair's business practices. Because I had time I looked up the inflation monitoring system on that car and learned that it doesn't use sensors attached to the valve stem.
Another visit to the employee led to another claim that I found disingenuous, that they charge that even for cars that don't have sensors, for valve stem installation. The price, which seemed reasonable for parts and labor to service a sensor, seemed steep for a valve stem, and the local shop had never presented me with questionable charges.
When I pressed him, the employee informed me that they charge this fee to all customers in order to help pay the shop employees. This also struck me as odd, for it wasn't that much money, and it made me wonder why they didn't just include employee pay in the cost of the tires rather than add this additional charge. Did the shop employees get paid more for installing valve stems, which are very inexpensive and take seconds to install, than they did for working on tires that had the sensors, which I imagine are more expensive and take more time to install or service?
The sum total of my experiences and the complaints overheard from others customers gave me the impression that their business model relied on low advertised prices to lure people in, with additional charges tacked on for services of questionable value. It was now clear why the local shop owner was so cynical about Town Fair.
When I considered the value of my time waiting around and my irritation at dubious charges, explained unconvincingly by an employee who didn't strike me as very knowledgeable, I felt I got a better deal from the local tire shop, with honest pricing, fast service, and questions answered by a knowledgeable owner rather than a shift manager. Caveat emptor. read more