To the Express Tire Leadership Team:

This is a formal complaint against the Express Tire branch located off Black Mountain Road for attempted coercion through fraudulent misrepresentation and a complete failure to provide basic customer service.

This morning (11/13/2008), I brought my car to said location around 7am immediately after realizing I had a flat tire. I went inside only to be ignored by a gentlemen, who was apparently very busy reading the newspaper. I opened with a friendly "good morning," only to be greeted with an unenthusiastic "we're not open until 7:30." I promptly responded that I did notice their business hours posted outside, and was just wondering if he could give me an ETA on a flat tire repair to help me determine if I needed to catch a ride to work, or wait. Unwillingly, he sighed, turned to the schedule posted 2 feet behind him, and said "9:00, maybe 10:00." Realizing my presence was an obvious aggravation, I left to make my phone call for a ride home.

This was where it went from poor customer service, to **** poor customer service. He followed me to the door, and locked the door behind me. When my ride arrived, I was forced to fill out an early bird envelope to bag up my key and throw it into the store where 2 employees were standing.

I knew this wasn't concierge service from American Express, but paying for service on a vehicle should not have barred me from receiving courteous treatment while waiting. At a time when businesses are competing for customers, it's surprising to see that an establishment with such incompetence and appalling treatment of customers could survive.

Then it got worse. After getting a ride home, I called around for price quotes on a replacement tire. Tirerack had it for around $330, and Costco quoted me $350. 2 hours go by, I received no calls about my car, so i called to check on the status. I was told the tire needed to be replaced as repairing was not a feasible option due to the placement of the puncture(usually near the sidewall). Not wanting for my car to be out of commission much longer, I asked and was absolutely shocked by the quote of $480 for the same replacement tire quoted by the other two companies.

By now I was furious. On top of the abysmal service I've received, now I'm being charged a 30% mark up! Why? Was it the Porsche premium? Maybe it was the desperate customer will pay anything premium? I declined the repair, and instructed for my tire to be inflated so I can drive home and figure things out. Interestingly, when the tire first blew out, it went completely flat within 2-3 minutes. This time, on my entire drive home, about 10-15 minutes, the tire stayed inflated, in fact, my tire pressure went up from the air expanding. Not wanting to risk being stranded, I left my car parked at home and got a ride to work. 9 hours later, the same tire that "ha[d] to be replaced" because "repair was not an option" apparently healed itself?

Confused, I took off the wheel only to find that the puncture near the center of the tire was successfully patched and the leak had ceased. Funny, because the liability waiver I was forced to sign before allowing to leave indicated that no work was done on the vehicle. I am conflicted. While I am happy that I no longer needed to spend $350 dollars to replace the punctured tire, I am equally, if not more outraged by the way the status of my tire was fraudulently misrepresented in an attempt to coerce me into paying a huge premium on a tire I didn't even needed. How many people fell for this neat little trick and was coerced into purchasing new tires? How many customers were left in the cold while the employees stayed warm inside because they arrived before the shop officially opened? The more I think about it, the more irritated I became. While injury is a prerequisite to a civil suit, discovery may uncover hundreds if not thousands of customers, through misrepresentation, were coerced into purchasing replacement parts they didn't even needed. Maybe even brake rotors, brake pads, or other wear and tear items.

I personally frequent Costco for tires due to convenience and generally competitive pricing. At the very least, I never got treated like a nuisance while I was there. I thought this would be a great opportunity to try something else for a change. I thought wrong. You can be sure I will never frequent this, or any other Express Tire location in the foreseeable future. Until something is done to improve customer service and to prevent these coercion techniques from being employed on customers in the future, I will advise as many people as I can to stay far away from your establishment.

Sincerely,

 

Wow Im pissed just from reading that. I have learned the hard way that if someone gives you poor service at the start, it will only get worse.

 

what a horrible story... personally, i hate the guys working most of these tire shops. i've had everything from scratched rims to total bull**** overcharging. I finally found someone good, but previously, the last time i took my 996TT into a shop for new tires, balance and alignment, the guy was talking **** about my car... unreal... saying stuff like, i can't believe how over priced these cars are and they are so expensive... like i give a ****, change my tires. unfortunately, they make minimum wage and hate their life... find someone good at a reasonable price and stick with them!