I rarely write reviews of companies for two reasons. 1) For me to leave a positive review, a company would have to do something beyond typical business practices. Something completely unexpected. I know of only one company that values customers that much and they're hugely successful because of it. 2) For me to leave a negative review, a company must have a blatant disregard for their customers. Unfortunately, I have to leave a negative review for Youngstedts in Maple Grove. After buying a set of tires from there a few months ago, I took my truck in yesterday for a routine rotation. I had an appointment that shouldn't have taken more than 20 minutes. It took 87. I was told it was because they were extremely busy. Apparently they value walk in business (more than likely new customers) over that of current customers. Then, when I picked up my keys and paperwork, I was told the serpentine belt, and A/C belt, were in bad shape and needed to be replaced at cost of $201.22. The salesman obviously thought I was ignorant and would pay an exorbitant charge to replace a couple of fan belts. Ironically, I knew the serpentine belt wasn't bad as it was just replaced a year ago when I had the water pump replaced. I still tried to give them the benefit of the doubt by checking out the condition of the A/C belt myself when I got home. I don't know how they could have checked it as the V portion of the belt is completely hidden by shrouding and other components from both above and below. I could see the outside of the belt where it wraps around the A/C pulley, and it looks fine without any imperfections.
Observations: 1) Once they receive your money, you're put at the bottom of their priority list. 2) They're more interested in gaining new customers than maintaining a good relationship with the ones they have. Apparently they're not concerned about you becoming a repeat customer. Strange. 3) They show a blatant disregard for customers by trying to charge exorbitant prices for goods & services that aren't needed.
I regret having purchased the tires from them, not just because of what happened yesterday, but also at the time of purchase. When paying for the tires, I was asked if I wanted the front-end alignment checked. I view of the question was the salesman is just trying to get more money out of me, not realizing he was trying to tell me something. The previous set of tires went way beyond what they were rated for mileage wise, and the truck was handling fine so there wasn't any evidence that something was wrong with the alignment. I said no, again not making the connection that my decision could be more costly in the future by not paying for an alignment now. It wasn't until I got home and started reviewing the paperwork that I discovered the alignment check would have been free, and, they had documented that I had declined it. So why didn't he tell me it was free? Why did they deliberately make note that the alignment wasn't checked? Why was the same note on the new receipt that I received yesterday? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the reason, but I can't say it's 100% accurate until it actually happens so I'm not posting it here until it does. Hopefully I won't be updating this review, and hopefully now you have a better insight as to how this company operates.
Like everybody else, I don't like being taken for a sucker. So regardless of the long-term results, Youngstedts won't be getting any more money out me even if I have to go somewhere else and pay more. I continue to be baffled by companies that concentrate their efforts on making a buck in the short term rather than building a repeat customer base that will be there through tough economic times, which will help to ensure its' continued growth and long term survival. read more