The check-in procedure at the Walmart Auto Care Center in Franklin, OH is the worst. I brought my car in one Saturday morning to have a tire replaced and to get an oil change. The line at the counter was about 5 customers deep. One person (Joe) was checking in customers and moving about as slow as I've seen any customer service person move. I noted the time (10:20am) and called my wife who was waiting for me in her car in the parking lot. Based upon the length of the line, the speed (or lack thereof) of the guy at the counter, and my past experiences, I told my wife that I predicted that it would be 30 minutes before I would be done checking in.
After about 10 minutes waiting in line, Joe asks another employee to work the counter while he goes to lunch. The new guy takes over and unfortunately doesn't move much faster than Joe. Finally, I reach the counter and check in for my service. While the counter person strolls out to my car to inspect my vehicle and get my mileage, I look at the clock, realize that I've waited in line for exactly 36 minutes, and I caution everyone behind me that I waited in line for over 30 minutes. To make matters worse, this location only had one model tire in stock that fits my car.
I'm questioning my sanity because the discount prices at Walmart don't make up for the value of the time that I wasted waiting in line just to check in. It's obvious that Walmart doesn't care about customer service when it comes to their Auto (Don't) Care Customers. If they really cared, they would assign a few people to work the Auto Center counter, especially on Saturdays. They should also look into streamlining the check in process. It takes way too long for the Walmart person to walk out to inspect each vehicle and record the mileage. Just ask each customer to note their own mileage and skip the unnecessary inspection. No other auto service center does an inspection while I'm waiting to check in. read more