Out here one of the more popular chains is "Les Schwab". They appear to be a more upscale / full service outfit than most. They might be a good store for some customers, particularly walk-ins who need common sizes and don't care what tires they get, but I've never had much luck doing a transaction with them.
One time I went in the store and asked about a single tire in a size that was becoming uncommon. They didn't have it, but were happy to look it up and order it for me. Everything was arranged and they informed they'd give me a call when they got it in, ETA about 1-2 weeks. I never heard back. About 3 weeks later I called, and they seemed to have no idea why it wasn't in or when it would be. I still never heard back. For all I know, today they might have it laying in a corner somewhere about to be written off due to old age.
I ended up getting the tire through a relative who worked at a car dealership. It wasn't a tire the dealer would ever need, but they quickly located one and got it in 1 week. The price wasn't bad either, but an employee discount might have been involved.
A couple years later I called Les Schwab about mounting some tires I had ordered online. I don't remember what they quoted, but it was expensive. They didn't really want to deal with people who don't buy the store's tires.
At that time, and again just a few months ago, I've looked on their web site while tire shopping. They have almost nothing on it. Just vague descriptions of some unknown store brand tires (ie unresearchable) without a size list or any prices. All the site is really good for is a list of store locations. That might have been acceptable in 1995, but not in 2015.
