Walmart screwed the pooch on tire install

[CharBaby]

I agree that mistakes can happen and I am tolerant to some. However this particular W*M that I frequent, was having some in house/garage issues and I thought I'd contact them. So, I wrote them a nice professional letter/complaint to explain my/our situation(s), and we had been having many at that time.

They ended up removing the whole group of techs & shop mgr(one at a time) in this store as I had detailed every complaint in writing. I was contacted by phone from the Store MGR and again, explained all of our situations.

When the Store Mgr and I met at the store for my next tire service(which was to have the tires mounted correctly), he found every Tech on break at the same time and it was only 10:30 in the morning and the shop was busy and customers were waiting. This is when they finally changed out their staff!

 

[Claud]

Fitting tires doesn't require a high skill level. Perhaps an ability to read and understand the writing and figures on a tire sidewall is a skill that should be taught to aspiring tire techs.
If the tire tech isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer then he (or she) should be properly supervised until they understand how to do the job properly.

Claud.

 

[Ct70NuT17]

I learned a long time ago that WM auto might not be the brightest crayons in the box but if you tell them EXACTLY what you are after they will at least try to do it right. I also only let certain techs work on my cars, no newbies allowed. They are fast to pay up if they break or loss anything up to 350 out of the drawer without a MOD having to override it or approve it. I have had them loss center caps that i am sure were brittle and gladly pay 100 each as long as I bring them a receipt for the amount. NO questions asked. Peace of mind.

 

[MCompact]

I ran Pirelli P77s on my 1973 Bavaria. In 1985 those tires were fairly new so I told the service writer at the tire store that they were marked "Inside" and "Outside." I also think that the inside had a yellow band.

 

[JTK]

Lube/tire techs can be a special bunch.

On one of my tire visits to Wally, as I went out to retrieve my Forester after a tire install to go home, one of the WalMart techs was in my Subaru, trying to get a Ford key to fit. At least he had plastic on the seat and had a paper floor mat down..

My kids thought it was the funniest thing. I was loading stuff into the back. 'Ummm dude? You're in the wrong car'.

On my most recent visit, getting 2 new tires put on the van, it took quite a while and I was standing outside to get some air. A tech finally pulled out of the shop with my completed van and parked it on the "finished" line right near me. I asked if everything looked OK with my van. His response was "Huh?? WHAT?! all put off, as he scurried back into the shop like 'don't talk to me.. This isn't part of the process'! LOL. Yet I keep going back..

 

[AdRock]

Walmart could care less about the employees they hire for the garages. I worked at one for a month or so when I was between jobs as a mechanic. Get the customers in and out. The guy in the pit knew just enough to r&r a drain plug and a filter. They couldn't really care less if you know anything about vehicles or how they work. I was reprimanded for letting a customer know that their vehicle wasn't safe to drive. With my temper that didn't go well at all and it got ugly.

 

[Traction]

As far as getting a tire mounted backwards, it is actually pretty easy to do, even when you are trying to pay 100% attention to detail. I've caught more than I would like to admit installed on the car, before I sent it down the road. Some tires are very difficult to determine their orientation by tread, and some are faintly marked, or in 3 different languages. I spotted a coworkers car the other day with all 4 directional Blizzak's installed rotating backwards. He took the car directly back to Discount Tire.
If the tire companies cared as to how their product was installed, they could easily make it more obvious to the installer with a removable mark. And in addition to that they could quit putting barcode stickers on the bead creating leaks!!!

 

[Papa Bear]

Lucky they didn't just mount the rims inside out to correct the fault ....

 

[BalticBob]

If you want it done right, do it yourself.......too bad some tasks have to be done by others ..... I ALWAYS check their work.

Can you imagine how many car owners are clueless about anything car related?
Some shops depend on this!

Same goes for house repairs, many are not knowledgeable about what meets building code or is poor quality work.