On June 27, 2014 I had Wilke Tire Service, Inc. install four new tires on my car.
On the 28th I noticed that the front two tires were mounted with the opposite sidewall facing out than the back two. So I went back to Wilke to have the mounting corrected. The owner, Donald Wilke, came across as dismissive and disinterested. He gave no explanation nor apology for wasting my time with a return trip. He just said, "take your car into the bay and tell the technicians your problem." So the technicians remounted and re-balanced the front two wheels. I also pointed out to Donald Wilke that he annotated the incorrect mileage of my car on the invoice. Once again he offered no explanation and dismissed the mistake like it didn't matter. The fact is I saw him look inside the car but my car has a digital odometer so you have to turn on the ignition to see the mileage. He didn't ask me for the keys even though I was standing only a few feet away. He's just lazy and pays no attention to detail.
Then on June 29th while washing the car I noticed the weights on the left front rim were lose. So at about 8:45 am on July 1st I took the car back to Wilke. Again Donald Wilke was dismissive and without any concern for my problem nor did he ask me why I had brought the car back, he said he was too busy to work on it and to come back in 3 to 4 hours.
When I told him I disliked the way he was treating me and that this was my second time back with a problem, he said in a flippant way, "Praise the Lord." and turned away from me. His words and demeanor came across as though he totally took no interest or care in the fact that my return visits were his fault. For all he knew I came back with a safety problem but he wouldn't even take a second to ask why I came back. He is by far the most unprofessional and rude business owner I have dealt with in recent years.
I immediately drove my car to a Discount Tire dealership. They inspected the weights and found they were weights for aluminum rims and not for the stock steel rims on my car. So I had to pay Discount Tire to remove the weights and re-balance the two front wheels.
Additionally the tire installers at Wilke are as unprofessional, if not more so, than their boss. They continually use profane language in the presence of customers and while I was standing there talking to them, they turned their attention to a young lady walking with her child across the street and began making cat calls at her. This kind of conduct is unacceptable in any environment but without a doubt should never be tolerated in a workplace.
Donald Wilke's bad attitude and unprofessional approach to his business is manifested in his conduct, in that of his employees, and in the filthy and disorganized condition of his shop.
I like giving my business to locally and independently owned businesses but this is the gamble you take when not having a corporate headquarters to watch over a dealership. I don't know how Wilke has been in business in Corpus Christi for so many years --- it is shameful.
So if nothing I've said here discourages you from doing business with this tire shop then here is one other bit of information. The person I spoke with who said he was the shop supervisor on Saturdays told me to inflate my tires to 40 psi contrary to the 30 psi listed on the door jam by GM. He said that since the tire sidewall said the maximum inflation could be 44 psi that filling the tires to 40 psi would allow them to increase psi by a few pounds because of the heat generated while driving that I would get the best gasoline mileage and best wear at 40 psi. After hearing that bit of information I contacted the Uniroyal factory representative who said that under no circumstances should the tires be inflated to 40 psi and to always inflate them per the manufacturer's door jam rating, which in the case of my car is 30 psi. He stated that over-inflating them would actually cause them to wear prematurely. My owners manual also speaks to the hazards of over-inflating the tires. So I reduced all four wheels to 30 psi instead of the 40 psi put in by the Wilke technicians. Unlike many people, I have a mechanical background so I know how to check if a job was or was not done correctly. I only wish I had all the necessary tools at my disposal to do all work myself. Unfortunately, I don't so I have to take my cars to service and tire shops just like you.
Please pass the word about Wilke and let's help him go out of business. Feel free to contact me via Yelp if you need additional information. I hope this review helps you decide at least where not to go. Sometimes the big chain shops and stores are the safest bet. At least with them you have a higher headquarters to which you can address complaints, compliments, and other issues.
Update 7/24/14: On 7/9/14 I contacted the Better Business Bureau. On 7/23/14 I received a check from Wilke for $200.00 instead of the $212.00 I asked for to cover future rotations and re-balancing. read more
